Price Paid: US $129.95
Ease of Use: 10
Installs quicly into compatible synths. Mine is a Halo.
Features: N/A
64 to 128 polyphony depending on what you install it into. 64 in the Halo. 32 MB of sounds and presets.
Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
Great Sounds! I do not consider myself to be a "dance" musician -- if there is such a thing, but I love the sounds and find them inspiring. It's exactly what I was hoping it would be and more!
Reliability: N/A
Customer Support: 1
Emu is going bye-bye...
Overall Rating: 10
Great ROM -- I'm sure I could find something useful in all of the Emu ROMs, but I tried to select carefully in a way that will give me an inspiring musical tool that can cover many facets. I would buy it again in a heartbeat if it were available. I love the sounds.
My musical background includes a Music Theory Degree and I've been playing most of my life. I'm into Classical (Liszt, Bartok), Fusion (DiMeola, Methany), Progressive Rock (Dream Theater, Queensryche), and anything dark, heavy, and musical (NIN, Garbage). I like that the sounds are so different from what I am used to. The only thing I hate is that Emu is discontinuing their synths, so it's get 'em while you can :o(.
Though my main instrument is guitar, I've been playing keys for quite some time, have been teaching piano for around seven years, have played keys with national bands... Point is, I'm extremely experienced and have played alot of different synths -- I know when something is good or if it sucks.
My other synths are: Roland A-90ex, Roland A-70jv, Alesis QS7.1, Korg N5ex, and I have previously owned or used extensively: Ensoniq TS-12, Korg O1W/FD, Korg M1, Korg DW-8000. The Emu is unlike any of these and though it's a relatively new piece of gear for me, I am already inspired by it.
Finally, I should just add that I wasn't in the market for E-mu or Ensoniq. The only Ensoniq product I've ever owned was the TS-12 which I thought was pretty mediocre. I had been looking at the Kurzweil KME-61 because I wanted a smaller, lighter board than my Rolands with a good piano sound for gigging. Well, when the Halo and PK-6 dropped to $399, I had to take a look at them. All I can say is that while I'm glad I got the gear for the low price, I wish I had discovered it sooner!
Submitted by Anonymous at 12/18/2003 15:15
