| The E-MU ESI2000 sampler | | | | A Preset is a collection of one or more samples that |
| The ESI2000 sampler is E-MU's cheapest sampler | | | | you have mapped to areas of the keyboard and |
| (£858), they have achieved this by cutting down | | | | assigned to a MIDI channel. Here you can define how |
| on some features such as the built in Zip drive and | | | | the sound will change depending on how it is played. |
| DSP that featured in the now discontinued ESI4000. | | | | The ESI is very well specified here, for instance giving |
| The 'missing' features become available by fitting the | | | | you no less than nineteen different kinds of filters. You |
| 'Turbo Option' (£259), more about that later. | | | | can do all the stuff you would expect here, such as |
| The Operating System | | | | feeding some of the envelope signals into the filter to |
| The E-MU operating system takes a little getting used | | | | create dynamic wah type effects. I don't know if I am |
| to. To create a sample you hit the 'Sample | | | | just asking too much but I couldn't seem to make them |
| Management' Key which then prompts you to select a | | | | scream like some old Akai machines I know. |
| sub-module; if you know where you are going you can | | | | There is an LFO, which can be used to create |
| hit the appropriate numerical key - for instance '5' will | | | | sweeps, flanging and phasing. Unfortunately those are |
| take you straight to the 'sample set-up' page. If you | | | | about all the effects you will find in this sampler. It has |
| don't know where you are going, then merely rotating | | | | no delay, reverb or other DSP type effects; for this |
| the data wheel will list the options possible. This | | | | you will need to upgrade to the ESI Turbo option (see |
| method of modules and sub-modules continues | | | | Expansion below). |
| throughout the whole operating system, so once you | | | | Loading and storing samples |
| have the concept grasped it becomes second nature. | | | | The sampler comes with a SCSI interface (the older |
| Indeed most functions are no more than a couple of | | | | 'Centronics' style SCSI-1 socket) so you can connect a |
| button pushes away. | | | | SCSI Zip Drive or something similar to it. |
| Sampling and Sample Editing | | | | The sampler comes with two CDROMs of sounds, |
| To sample, select your source (e.g. analogue), set the | | | | but these are in E-MU format so the only way you |
| level, arm the sampler and then play it into the ESI. | | | | can use these is if you have a SCSI CDROM drive. |
| There is a VU meter displayed when you set the level, | | | | Maybe bog standard audio CD would have been |
| but there is no such display when sampling is in | | | | better! |
| progress. This brings up the usual E-MU v. Akai | | | | It's worth noting that although you can import Akai |
| sampler debate. Akai have always had good graphical | | | | sound libraries, this is only over SCSI and not floppies. |
| displays of samples - an idea which E-MU have never | | | | Hmmm! |
| really embraced. To be honest though, by the time you | | | | The Manual |
| know this sampler well enough to make your killer hit, it | | | | The sampler comes with a 28-page printed handbook, |
| won't be a problem. | | | | containing seven 'Guided Tours'. It is a cut down |
| You can now define the start and end of the sample, | | | | version of the full CDROM manual which contains |
| loop it, reverse it, change the gain or create fades, cut | | | | another ten sections (plus an up-to-date version of |
| portions out of a sample and paste it wherever you | | | | 'Guided Tours'), which go into great detail. These |
| like. There is a 'pitch shift' option where you can move | | | | manuals are written in PDF, so to read them you will |
| your samples pitch without changing it's length, which | | | | need a PC or a Mac with 'Adobe Acrobat Reader' |
| of course means that you can in theory vary the | | | | software. This is becoming an increasingly popular |
| samples length without changing the pitch, this is one | | | | way to publish information but personally I find it |
| sure way to make interesting breakbeats. | | | | immensely irritating. Someone whose only computer is |
| Extra Weirdness | | | | an Atari or even a Workstation or a Groove Box |
| Some functions in a module called "Digital Processing II" | | | | would find it even more annoying! A hard copy manual |
| are unique (as far as I know) to E-MU samplers. The | | | | makes good bedtime reading - a CDROM doesn't! |
| strangest of these is 'Transform Multiply': as the | | | | Expansion |
| manual says, "...t his function merges two sounds | | | | The standard machine comes with 4Mb of RAM and |
| together in a unique way which can create many | | | | a 1.44Mb floppy drive to store your samples. Although |
| strange and beautiful sonic textures. Frequencies | | | | this will get you started, it will only be a matter of |
| common to the original sounds are accentuated while | | | | weeks before you are fed up with having to load up |
| uncommon frequencies are discarded." Not knowing | | | | to three floppies per song. The memory can be |
| what to expect, I made a sample of myself saying | | | | expanded to a huge 128Mb with standard SIMMS, |
| 'transform', another saying 'multiply', and then put them | | | | which are now cheap and cheerful. If you expand the |
| into the transform multiplier. At this point the ESI told | | | | memory to anything like this amount, a SCSI hard drive |
| me that it would take 90mins to complete and did I | | | | will be your only serious option for storage - even in |
| want to continue? I continued..........the result was a sort | | | | these days of cheap IDE drives - SCSI hard drives are |
| of "woof raahh" sound of an underwater dog - plenty | | | | still expensive. |
| of room for experiment here methinks! | | | | The ESI Turbo option adds two 24-bit stereo digital |
| There is also a Doppler/Pan function that moves a | | | | effects processors with over 70 effect algorithms; S |
| sound from front to back and side to side in a 2-D | | | | PDIF digital I/O for interfacing with other digital |
| space, which actually works very well. The Sonic | | | | equipment; and two additional pairs of sub-mix outputs |
| Enhancer adds brilliance and "cut" to a sample making | | | | which allow external processing of specific sounds. |
| it stand out in a mix; this is useful when you have a | | | | This makes the ESI2000 into a very well specified |
| wicked sample that just seems to get lost in the mix. | | | | sampler. |
| Presets | | | | |