EMULATOR II+

OWNERS
MANUAL
By Craig Anderton

OS Version 3.1 and 3.1 HD

© 1985,1986,1987 E-mu Systems, Inc., Scotts Valley, CA ▪ All Rights Reserved
Restored by the Emulator Archive ▪ www.emulatorarchive.com
CONTENTS

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................11
WHAT’S AN EMULATOR II? ............................................................................................. 12
WELCOME TO THE EII+ and EII+HD ...........................................................................................13
MANUAL RESTORATION NOTES ................................................................................................13

SEND IN YOUR WARRANTY CARD NOW! ...................................................................... 14

HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL ........................................................................................... 17

DEFINITIONS: HOW THE EMULATOR II ORGANIZES SOUND ...................................... 18

Sampling Basics .............................................................................................................................18
The Emulator II “Map”.....................................................................................................................19
The Bank ........................................................................................................................................21
The Voice .......................................................................................................................................21
The Preset ......................................................................................................................................21
Voice Processing............................................................................................................................22
The Disk Archives...........................................................................................................................23
The Keyboard .................................................................................................................................24
The Output Channels .....................................................................................................................24
Re-cap ............................................................................................................................................24
Always Remember to Save Your Work ..........................................................................................24

OTHER DEFINITIONS ....................................................................................................... 25

THE GUIDED TOURS ..............................................................................26

HOW TO USE THE GUIDED TOURS ................................................................................ 27

GETTING READY FOR THE GUIDED TOURS.................................................................. 27

GUIDED TOUR #1: MEET THE EMULATOR .................................................................... 28

DISK HANDLING............................................................................................................................28
LOADING A PERFORMANCE DISK .............................................................................................28
SELECTING DIFFERENT PRESETS ............................................................................................28
THE EMULATOR II’s “MODULAR” PHILOSOPHY........................................................................29
ACTIVATING and DE-ACTIVATING MODULES, SELECTING FUNCTIONS ..............................30
LOADING OTHER PERFORMANCE DISKS.................................................................................30
TUNING THE EMULATOR II TO OTHER INSTRUMENTS...........................................................31
TRANSPOSING THE KEYBOARD ................................................................................................31
FORMATTING DISKS ....................................................................................................................31

GUIDED TOUR #2: SPECIFYING THE “CURRENT VOICE” ............................................ 32

BACKGROUND..............................................................................................................................32
IDENTIFYING WHICH KEYBOARD KEYS BELONG TO WHICH VOICE ....................................32

GUIDED TOUR #3: THE FILTER and VCA/LFO MODULE............................................... 36

BACKGROUND..............................................................................................................................36
SPECIFYING THE CURRENT VOICE...........................................................................................36

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FILTER FUNCTION 1: CHANGING CUTOFF FREQUENCY, Q, and ENVELOPE ......................36
FILTER FUNCTION 2: LFO AMOUNT AND KEYBOARD TRACKING .........................................37
FILTER FUNCTION 3: ADSR SETTINGS .....................................................................................37
VCA/LFO FUNCTION 1: ADSR SETTINGS ..................................................................................38
VCA/LFO FUNCTION 2: LFO SETTINGS .....................................................................................38

GUIDED TOUR #4: REAL TIME CONTROL and VIBRATO DEPTH................................. 39

BACKGROUND..............................................................................................................................39
SELECTING A CONTROL SOURCE and CONTROL DESTINATION .........................................40
REAL TIME FUNCTIONS ..............................................................................................................40
PROGRAMMING VIBRATO DEPTH .............................................................................................41

GUIDED TOUR #5: THE DYNAMIC KEYBOARD.............................................................. 42

BACKGROUND..............................................................................................................................42
ASSIGNING KEYBOARD VELOCITY TO DYNAMICS .................................................................42

GUIDED TOUR #6: BASIC SAMPLING............................................................................. 43

SETUP............................................................................................................................................43

GUIDED TOUR #7: DIGITALLY PROCESSING SAMPLES .............................................. 45

PLAYING A VOICE BACKWARDS ................................................................................................46
TRUNCATING A VOICE ................................................................................................................46
LOOPING A VOICE........................................................................................................................47
SPLICING VOICES ........................................................................................................................47
COMBING VOICES........................................................................................................................47
SAVING VOICES ...........................................................................................................................47

GUIDED TOUR #8: OTHER VOICE DEFINITION FUNCTIONS ........................................ 48

CHECKING SOUND LENGTH.......................................................................................................48
SOLO MODE..................................................................................................................................48
VOICE ATTENTUATION AND TUNING ........................................................................................48
CONTROL ENABLE.......................................................................................................................48

GUIDED TOUR #9: MANAGING THE BANK .................................................................... 49

WHAT’S IN THE BANK? ................................................................................................................49
COPYING AND ERASING WITHIN THE BANK ............................................................................49

GUIDED TOUR #10: CREATING PRESETS and LIBRARY DISKS.................................. 50

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS.....................................................................51
1 - SELECTING THE CURRENT PRESET ........................................................................ 52

2 - ASSIGNING THE CURRENT VOICE............................................................................ 53

3 - EXITING A FUNCTION ................................................................................................. 55

4 - LIBRARY DISK VOICE NUMBERING PROTOCOL ..................................................... 55

5 - DISK HANDLING .......................................................................................................... 56

Common Courtesy for Disks ..........................................................................................................56
Disk Type........................................................................................................................................56
The Disk Drive ................................................................................................................................56

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CONTENTS
Labeling Disks ................................................................................................................................56
Write-Protecting Disks ....................................................................................................................57
Single-drive vs. Dual-drive Emulator Il’s.........................................................................................58
Inserting the Disk in the Drive ........................................................................................................58
Always have a Disk in the Top Drive!.............................................................................................58

6 - SELECTING REAL TIME CONTROL FUNCTIONS...................................................... 59

7 - CATALOGUING............................................................................................................ 60

8 - KEYBOARD NUMBERING PROTOCOL ...................................................................... 61

MASTER CONTROL MODULE ................................................................62

DYNAMIC ALLOCATION .................................................................................................. 63

TUNE ................................................................................................................................. 63

TRANSPOSE ..................................................................................................................... 64

DOUBLE MEMORY ........................................................................................................... 65

DOUBLE MEMORY HARD DISK SAVES......................................................................................66

FILTER MODULE .....................................................................................67

0 - CHANGE CURRENT VOICE ........................................................................................ 68

1 - FREQUENCY, Q, ENVELOPE AMOUNT ..................................................................... 68

2 - LFO AMOUNT, KEYBOARD AMOUNT........................................................................ 69

3 - ADSR SETTINGS ......................................................................................................... 70

LFO/VCA MODULE..................................................................................71
0 - CHANGE CURRENT VOICE ........................................................................................ 72

1 - ADSR SETTINGS ......................................................................................................... 72

2 - LFO PARAMETERS AND VCA AMOUNT.................................................................... 73

VOICE DEFINITION MODULE .................................................................74

00 - CHANGE CURRENT VOICE ...................................................................................... 75

11 - TRUNCATE START and END of SAMPLE ................................................................ 76

12 - SET LOOP START and LOOP LENGTH POINTS...................................................... 80

About Autolooping ..........................................................................................................................83

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 4

CONTENTS
13 - FORWARD/REVERSE LOOP..................................................................................... 87

14 - SPLICE ....................................................................................................................... 89
About Autosplicing..........................................................................................................................91

15 - SOUND LENGTH........................................................................................................ 93

21 - VELOCITY ASSIGNMENT TO LEVEL and ATTACK................................................. 94

22 - VELOCITY ASSIGNMENT TO FILTER....................................................................... 96

23 - VIBRATO DEPTH ....................................................................................................... 98

24 - VOICE ATTENUATE/TUNE ........................................................................................ 98

25 - SOLO MODE .............................................................................................................. 99

26 - LOOP IN RELEASE.................................................................................................... 99

27 - BACKWARDS MODE............................................................................................... 100

28 - COMBINE VOICES ................................................................................................... 101

28 - COMBINE VOICES ................................................................................................... 102

29 - CONTROL ENABLE ................................................................................................. 103

30 - SAVE VOICE TO DISK ............................................................................................. 104

PRESET DEFINITION MODULE ............................................................105

11 - GET VOICE............................................................................................................... 106

12 - COPY/NAME VOICE................................................................................................. 107

13 - ERASE VOICE.......................................................................................................... 108

14 - ERASE SEQUENCE ................................................................................................. 109

15 - ERASE PRESET....................................................................................................... 110

16 - ERASE BANK........................................................................................................... 111

17 - CATALOG VOICES .................................................................................................. 111

18 - CATALOG SEQUENCES ......................................................................................... 112

19 - CATALOG PRESETS ............................................................................................... 112

20 - MEMORY REMAINING ............................................................................................. 113

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CONTENTS
21 - CREATE PRESET .................................................................................................... 114

22 - ASSIGN VOICE ........................................................................................................ 115

23 - EDIT ASSIGNMENT ................................................................................................. 117

24 - DE-ASSIGN VOICE .................................................................................................. 119

25 - VELOCITY SWITCH ................................................................................................. 120

26 - VELOCITY CROSSFADE ......................................................................................... 121

27 - POSITIONAL CROSSFADE ..................................................................................... 122

28 - NONTRANSPOSE .................................................................................................... 123

29 - ARPEGGIATOR........................................................................................................ 124

30 - MIDI SETUP.............................................................................................................. 126

31 - COPY/RENAME PRESET......................................................................................... 130

32 - REPLICATE PRESET............................................................................................... 131

SAMPLE MODULE.................................................................................132
1 - VU MODE ................................................................................................................... 133

2 - DEFINE VOICE ........................................................................................................... 133

3 - GAIN SET ................................................................................................................... 135

4 - THRESHOLD SET ...................................................................................................... 135

5 - SAMPLE LENGTH...................................................................................................... 136

7 - ARM SAMPLING ........................................................................................................ 136

9 - FORCE SAMPLING .................................................................................................... 137

0 - STOP SAMPLING....................................................................................................... 137

DISK MODULE.......................................................................................138
1 - GET BANK DISK 1 ..................................................................................................... 139

2 - GET BANK DISK 2 ..................................................................................................... 140

3 - SPACE REMAINING................................................................................................... 141

3 - DISK IDENTITY .......................................................................................................... 142

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CONTENTS
4 - COPY DISK ................................................................................................................ 142

5 - CATALOG VOICE....................................................................................................... 144

6 - ERASE VOICE............................................................................................................ 144

7 - SAVE BANK ............................................................................................................... 146

8 - FORMATTING A PERFORMANCE OR LIBRARY DISKETTE ................................... 147

HARD DISK SUPPLEMENT...................................................................149

BACKGROUND : WHY HARD DISKS............................................................................. 150

THE HARD DISK PERSONALITY ................................................................................... 150

POWER-ON WITH HARD DISK MODEL ......................................................................... 151

HARD DISK SECTION NOTES........................................................................................ 151

DISK 2 - GETTING A BANK FROM HARD DISK ............................................................ 152

DISK 7 - SAVING A BANK TO HARD DISK.................................................................... 153

DISK 8 - FORMATTING FLOPPIES IN A HARD DISK SYSTEM..................................... 154

HARD DISK SPECIAL FUNCTIONS................................................................................ 155

SPECIAL 22 - FORMATTING .......................................................................................... 155

Important Note: Errors ..................................................................................................................157

SPECIAL 21 - SHOW HARD DISK ERROR LOCATION ................................................. 158

SPECIAL 20 - ERROR SCAN .......................................................................................... 159

SPECIAL 19 - ENTER ERROR LIST ............................................................................... 160

SPECIAL 18 - AUTO HARD DISK BACKUP ................................................................... 161

SPECIAL 17 - COPY HARD DISK SOFTWARE .............................................................. 161

REALTIME CONTROL MODULE...........................................................162

CONTROL 0 - Destination: OFF ..................................................................................... 163

CONTROL 1 - Destination: PITCH.................................................................................. 163

CONTROL 2 - Destination: FILTER Fc........................................................................... 163

CONTROL 3 - Function: LEVEL ..................................................................................... 164

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 7

CONTENTS
CONTROL 4 - Function: LFO to PITCH.......................................................................... 164

CONTROL 5 - Function: LFO to FILTER Fc................................................................... 165

CONTROL 6 - Function: LFO to LEVEL......................................................................... 165

CONTROL 7 - Function: ATTACK RATE ....................................................................... 166

FOOTSWITCH 0 - Function: OFF ................................................................................... 166

FOOTSWITCH 1 - Function: SEQ CTRL ........................................................................ 166

FOOTSWITCH 2 - Function: SUSTAIN........................................................................... 166

FOOTSWITCH 3 - Function: RELEASE.......................................................................... 167

FOOTSWITCH 4 - Function: SUSTENUTO .................................................................... 167

FOOTSWITCH 5 - Function: ADVANCE PRESET.......................................................... 167

ENTER MODULE ...................................................................................168

ENTER DATA .................................................................................................................. 169

SEQUENCER MODULE .........................................................................170

BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................... 171
WORKING WITH A SEQUENCE .................................................................................................171
ACTIVATING AND DE-ACTIVATING THE MODULE..................................................................172
THE “CURRENT SEQUENCE” ....................................................................................................172
NOTES, PRESETS, TRACKS, and CHANNELS.........................................................................172
SETUP PROTOCOL ....................................................................................................................173

SEQUENCER EXT CLOCK ............................................................................................. 174

DEFINE 1 - Function: CREATE SEQUENCE.................................................................. 178

DEFINE 2 - Function: TIME SIGNATURE....................................................................... 179

DEFINE 3 - Function: SEQUENCE LENGTH.................................................................. 180

DEFINE 4 - SUPERMODE ............................................................................................... 181

SETUP 1 - Function: SELECT TRACK ........................................................................... 183

SETUP 2 - Function: TEMPO.......................................................................................... 184

SETUP 3 - Function: AUTO CORRECT.......................................................................... 184

SETUP 4 - Function: CUE............................................................................................... 185

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CONTENTS
SETUP 5 - Function: SMPTE START ............................................................................. 186

SETUP 6 - COUNTDOWN ............................................................................................... 186

RECORD, PLAY and STOP............................................................................................. 187

Record ..........................................................................................................................................187
Playback .......................................................................................................................................187
Stop ..............................................................................................................................................187

SELECT SEQUENCE ...................................................................................................... 188

EDIT 1 - ERASE TRACK ................................................................................................. 189

EDIT 2 – PUNCH-IN......................................................................................................... 190

EDIT 3 – BOUNCE TRACKS ........................................................................................... 191

EDIT 4 - STORE CONTROLS .......................................................................................... 192

EDIT 5 – REASSIGN PRESET......................................................................................... 193

EDIT 6 – APPEND SEQUENCE....................................................................................... 193

ADVANCED APPLICATIONS ................................................................194

THE ART OF SAMPLING ................................................................................................ 195

PART 1: TAKING THE BEST POSSIBLE SAMPLE........................................................ 196

GENERAL TIPS ...........................................................................................................................196
SAMPLING FROM TAPES ..........................................................................................................197

PART 2: MANIPULATING THE SAMPLE........................................................................ 198

TIPS ON MANIPULATING SYNTHESIZER SAMPLES...............................................................199
“SIGNAL PROCESSING” WITH THE EMULATOR II ..................................................................199

PART 3: EFFICIENTLY COMBINING SAMPLES INTO PRESETS ................................. 201

I. The Situation .............................................................................................................................201
II. Getting ready ............................................................................................................................201
III. Sampling the Voices................................................................................................................202

PART 4: CREATING MULTI-INSTRUMENT PRESETS .................................................. 204

MIDI SUPPLEMENT ...............................................................................207

BASICS: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT MIDI ................................................... 208
What does the MIDI cable do? .....................................................................................................208
How can information control a synthesizer? ................................................................................208
How does MIDI differentiate between different MIDI instruments?..............................................209
16 channels, huh? Sounds like a lot of patch cords to me!..........................................................209
What kind of words does the MIDI language include? .................................................................209

TYPICAL MIDI APPLICATIONS ...................................................................................... 210

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CONTENTS
CREATING A “MIDI PRESET” WITH THE EMULATOR II .............................................. 211

FINDING OUT ABOUT OTHER SYNTHESIZER’S MIDI CAPABILITIES ........................ 212

DEALING WITH “MIDIOSYNCRACIES” ......................................................................... 213

SMPTE SUPPLEMENT ..........................................................................214

SMPTE OVERVIEW......................................................................................................... 215

SMPTE PROTOCOL........................................................................................................ 215

APPENDICES.........................................................................................217
APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY OF TERMS .......................................................................... 218

APPENDIX B: EMULATOR II FUNCTIONS, DEFAULT SETTINGS, and CONTROL

RANGES .......................................................................................................................... 220

APPENDIX C: EMULATOR II ERROR MESSAGES........................................................ 224

Emulator II Credits.......................................................................................................... 226

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 10

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 11

INTRODUCTION

WHAT’S AN EMULATOR II?

The Emulator II is a responsive, surprisingly easy-to-use musical instrument with staggering

creative possibilities. It’s also a sound effects designer’s dream come true, a composer’s
personal orchestra, a recording studio’s chance to have hundreds of acoustic and electronic
instruments “on call” at any time, a university’s research tool...but most of all, it provides the
means for some truly special musical experiences. To give you a better idea of its capabilities,
here are just some of the Emulator II’s highlights.

* * * * *

Rather than synthesizing sounds, the Emulator II digitally records (“samples”) real-world sounds
into its memory. If you want the Emulator II to sound like a piano, sample a piano; if you want it
to sound like a barking dog, sample a dog.

These sounds may then be modified with the Emulator II’s analog synthesizer processors
and/or state-of-the-art digital processors. The analog-type processors include:

Lowpass voltage-controlled filter (VCF) with ADSR envelope generator

Voltage-controlled amplifier (VCA) with ADSR envelope generator

LFO with adjustable rate, delay, and speed variation

Two programmable modulation wheels for real-time control over pitch, filter cutoff, ADSR
attack rate, level, LFO modulation, etc.

Two programmable footswitches for real-time control over sustain, release, sustenuto,
“patch” change, and Sequencer

Velocity-sensitive keyboard, where keyboard dynamics can control any or all of the
following: VCA level, VCA attack, VCF cutoff, VCF attack, and VCF Q.

The keyboard can play up to eight notes simultaneously. Like standard analog synthesizers,
there is a complete set of modifiers for each note; so, when we refer to the “filter” or we are
really talking about eight filters and VCA’s.

Digital processing techniques include:

Truncation (shortening the beginning and/or end of the sample)

Looping the sample (or any portion thereof)

Digitally combining (mixing) two samples

Sound reversal (“backwards tape” effects)

Splicing two samples together (imagine a soprano voice changing into a guitar note...)

Advanced split capabilities -- assign a different sample to each note of the keyboard, or
split in more conventional ways (i.e. cellos in lower octaves, violins in upper octaves).

Easy doubling, plus velocity-controlled crossfading and switching between doubled
samples

Individual tuning and attenuation for each sample

Ultra-flexible, programmable arpeggiation

Eight channel sequencer with (among other features) auto correct, track bounce, cuing,
punch-in/punch out, and the ability to drive eight MIDI instruments. It also responds to
dynamics and remembers modulation wheel settings.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 12

INTRODUCTION
Sounds are stored on commonly available double-sided, double-density (DS/DD) 5.25” floppy
disks (as used with many personal computers). Thanks to sophisticated disk management
techniques, it’s easy to save, organize, retrieve, rename, and catalog various sounds. In fact, if
the Emulator II was just a computer it would be pretty impressive: There’s almost four times
more RAM (memory) than a basic IBM PC, and the two disk drives store as much data as
fourteen Commodore-64s!

For outside-world interfacing, the built-in eight-track sequencer (and the arpeggiator) can sync
up to a 24, 48, or 96 pulses-per-quarter note click track, SMPTE time code, or MIDI; there’s also
a complete complement of MIDI functions, as well as an RS-422 port for control via external
computer.

Despite all this flexibility the Emulator II is nonetheless not that hard to learn...as you will see
during the course of this manual.

WELCOME TO THE EII+ and EII+HD

If you have purchase the enhanced version of the Emulator II, it has all the features of the
original with new expanded capabilities as well. Throughout this manual, you’ll find references to
the Emulator II. Just ignore the name difference. All instructions for the operation of the
Emulator II are compatible with those for the Emulator II+ and Emulator II+HD, except for the
Double Memory and Hard Disk sections described later in this manual. Please refer to specific
sections for the instructions on procedures that you are not familiar with.

If you have just purchased an Emulator II+ or Emulator II+HD, please refer to the Double
Memory Section in this manual for operating instructions.

If you have just purchased an Emulator II+HD please refer to the Hard Disk Supplement in this
manual for operating instructions and other pertinent advice.

MANUAL RESTORATION NOTES

This manual is a collation of all the known User Instructions for the EII, EII+ and EII+HD. It
includes information on all operating systems release up until the final OS 3.1 and OS 3.1 HD
versions of late 1987. It is based around the Owners Manual for OS 2.3 - the last full manual
released by E-mu Systems in 1985. All original errors have been corrected, except for the
sampling rate, which is incorrectly stated as 27,500 Hz rather than the actual sample rate of
27,777Hz.

The manual was restored in June 2002 by the Emulator Archive - www.emulatorarchive.com.
We have tried to keep as much of the original style as possible, but we have made it easier to
use and included all the supplements as sections. This manual is not for resale or reproduction
and it is FREE.

Rob Keeble
Sussex, UK
June 2002

Thanks to Craig Anderton for writing a great manual.

Thanks to E-mu Systems for the best sampler in the universe.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 13

INTRODUCTION

SEND IN YOUR WARRANTY CARD NOW!

It is vital that you send in your warranty card so that we can notify you of enhancements, new
features, and (nobody’s perfect) software bugs & cures. Sending in the warranty card also
entitles you to a free one-year subscription to “The Emu-Letter”, a bi-monthly company bulletin
carried in Electronic Musician (formerly Polyphony) magazine. You also become a part of the
Emulator II Users Group, your passport to the near- legendary annual parties where (among
other things) Emulator II owners swap disks, gossip, and tips.

But none of these wonderful things will happen to you unless you send in your warranty card.
Don’t miss out: Send it in now!

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 14

INTRODUCTION
INSTANT GRATIFICATION!
If you just can’t wait another second before hearing the Emulator II, we understand. Follow the
directions below EXACTLY as given and get ready to hear some great sounds. (Incidentally, in
case you make a mistake or run into problems, don’t worry. This process is described in greater
detail in Guided Tour #1.)

1. Making sure that the Emulator II is unplugged; patch the rear panel MIX OUT jack to the
input of a high quality amplification system.

2. Turn the front panel MIX OUT volume control (located near the Emulator II logo) fully
counter-clockwise.

3. Check that the rear panel voltage selector is set for the correct voltage in your part of the
world.

4. Plug the Emulator II line cord into an AC outlet.

5. If you are not familiar with how to handle computer disks, you will have to delay your Instant
Gratification somewhat. Please turn to the GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS section and read the
part labeled GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 5 on proper disk handling. If you know how to treat
disks with the proper loving care, then proceed.

6. Check that there are no disks currently in the disk drive(s). If there are, or if the disk drives
contain cardboard packing materials, turn the drive latches to their counter-clockwise
positions (see Fig. GENINS-3 in the GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS section), remove the disks
or packing materials, and put them in a safe place.

7. Turn on power. All LED’s will flash for a moment, except for the disk drive LED’s which will
continue to flash. The display will say Insert Diskette.

8. Select one of the factory disks supplied with the Emulator II, and insert it label side ~ with
the label going in last into the top disk drive (or the only disk drive with a single-drive
Emulator). Fig. GENINS-4 in the GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS section shows how to insert a
disk. When the disk is seated in the drive, turn the disk drive latch clockwise until it is
pointing straight down. The drive LED will turn on steadily, and the display will start
communicating with you.

9. When the drive LED turns off, turn up the MIX OUT control and start playing the keyboard.
All right!! The display will show you the number (P followed by two digits) and name of the
sound you are playing. These sounds are called Presets, for reasons that will become clear
later.

10. Use the calculator-type keypad underneath the display to call up different Presets. Press a
two-digit number; start with 01 and play the keyboard for a while, then press 02 and play,
03, 04, etc. At some point you will run out of factory Presets, and the display will say NOT
FOUND.

If you want, vary the modulation wheels towards the left hand side of the keyboard. They
perform different functions with different Presets.

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INTRODUCTION
11. To try out Presets from other factory disks, open the latch, remove the existing disk, and
insert another factory disk. Close the latch. Now, find the portion of the front panel labeled
“DISK” (towards the lower-right hand corner). Press its switch, and its LED will light up. Now
press 1 on the keypad. The disk drive will start making noises, and you will be on your way
to loading another bunch of sounds into the Emulator II. When the drive LED goes out,
press the DISK switch once more, then start playing the keyboard and selecting more
Presets.

* * * * *

By now you should be pretty impressed, but there’s much more to come...so keep reading, and
you’ll find out all about it.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 16

INTRODUCTION

HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL

The Emulator II is not an instrument that can be mastered in a few days. Therefore, this manual
is organized so that you can take “guided tours” of different sections of the Emulator II and learn
at your own pace.

The manual comprises five major parts:

1. Definitions This section explains how the Emulator II organizes sounds. It’s not exactly
easy reading, but pay close attention - it lays vital groundwork for the rest of the manual.

2. Guided Tours This part describes several “guided tours” you can take through the
Emulator manual’s Reference Section to help learn the instrument’s operation. Each tour
gives any necessary background information, and then directs you to particular parts of
the Reference Section where concepts are further developed. By following these tours in
the order presented, subjects are introduced logically and build on previously introduced
material.

3. Reference Section This is the heart of the manual, and describes every function
available on the Emulator II.

4. Advanced Applications (the Art of Sampling, MIDI and SMPTE supplements)

This includes information on how to get the most out of the Emulator II.

5. Appendix If you’re not sure what a VCF is, or what Q really means, relax...the answers
are here. Whenever you see a technical word or abbreviation that you don’t know, check
this section for the definition.

Caution: Much of the manual presents material as a series of steps. Always read to the end of
each numbered step before pushing any buttons! Sometimes a step presents several
alternatives, and tells you which one to choose at the end.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 17

INTRODUCTION

DEFINITIONS: HOW THE EMULATOR II ORGANIZES SOUND

Forget everything you’ve ever learned about voices, presets, and channels: The Emulator II
does things differently from traditional keyboard instruments.

Sampling Basics
The Emulator II is conceptually like a tape recorder in that it records sound. However, the
recording process is very different since the Emulator II is recording into computer memory.

Computers can accept information only in the form of numbers, so the Emulator converts audio
signals into numbers. It does this by examining (sampling) the incoming signal level 27,500
times a second, and sequentially recording these different levels in computer memory.
Figure 1 shows a one-second percussive sound being sampled. The magnified view shows
how the samples define the instantaneous level of the signal. Once stored in the Emulator II’s
memory bank, these samples may be played back (in the proper sequence, of course) to
reconstruct the original signal. If a two second sound was being sampled, it would require
2x 27,500 or 55,000 samples. Shorter sounds require fewer samples.

Figure 1

Just like tape, a sound can be manipulated once it has been recorded. Playing back, the
samples in the reverse order from which they were stored plays the sound backwards. Playing
back the samples at a faster rate than the rate at which they were stored raises pitch; playing
back at a slower rate lowers pitch (like a tape recorder’s variable speed control).

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INTRODUCTION

The Emulator II “Map”

Sure, you’re anxious to start coaxing wonderful sounds from the instrument -- but like ground
school for pilots, the following is a necessary part of learning how to play the Emulator II. It is
important to understand how the Emulator II organizes sounds in order to make best use of the
instrument in the shortest possible time. Also, many terms will be introduced now that will show
up later in the manual.

You can think of the Emulator II as resembling a collection of modules, linked by various
pathways (see the Map in Figure 2). These paths indicate how information flows within the
Emulator II; let’s take a closer look at what makes up this information, and how it is transferred
from one section of the instrument to another.

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INTRODUCTION

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 20

INTRODUCTION

The Bank
The Bank contains all of the Emulator II’s memory (where, among other things, the sounds are
recorded), plus a high-performance Central Computer. The Bank is the central storehouse for all
of the Emulator II’s data. Although the memory is volatile, meaning that the data disappears
when you turn off power, the Bank data can be saved permanently on disk to keep a record of
your work. (This process is somewhat like saving the data in a regular polyphonic synthesizer to
cassette, but using disks results in far more efficient operation.)

Also note that because the memory is volatile, when you first turn on the Emulator II there’s
nothing in the Bank. Before you can make any sounds, data must be loaded into the Bank from
disk or by sampling sounds.

Since we now have a place to store information temporarily (the Bank), and a way to store
information permanently (saving to disk), let’s take a look at the different kinds of information
being stored.

The Voice
Sampling a sound using the instrument’s “Recording Studio” capabilities (upper left-hand block)
creates what the Emulator II calls a Voice, the “raw material” with which the instrument works.
(Voices can also be loaded in the Bank from disks, as described later.) This Voice could be a
sampled drum sound, violin note, jet plane, zither, oboe, steam press, or whatever. And if
having the entire world, as a potential sound source isn’t enough for you, the Emulator II can
also process Voices in a wide variety of ways (as we’ll discuss in “Voice Processing”).

The Bank can store up to 99 Voices, each with its own two-digit Voice number and name (i.e.
V21 Grand Piano). The total available sampling time is 17.6 seconds (484,000 samples); the
Bank Voices can divide up the 17.6 seconds any way you like (i.e. ten 1.76 second samples,
eighty-eight 200 millisecond samples, one 17.6 second sample, etc.).

A Voice can be assigned to a single note on the keyboard, but may be transposed
polyphonically to cover up to a two-octave range. The process of assigning, and optionally
transposing, Voices to specific ranges of the keyboard is called making a Preset. Note: It is
often necessary to use multiple Voices to make up a Preset, since wide-range transposition
alters the Voice’s timbre. Therefore, using multiple samples and transposing each over a small
range usually gives the most realistic sound.

The Preset
Making a Preset is a three-step process:

1. Give the Preset a number (i.e. P03) and name. The Bank can hold up to 99 Presets.

2. Assign the desired Bank Voices to different ranges of the keyboard (for example, with
five Voices you could assign each Voice to cover one octave of the keyboard.) This is
represented in Figure 2 by the path connecting the Voice Locations to the Preset
Creation/Voice Assignment Area. Note that the same Voice can be assigned to more
than one range of the keyboard in a given Preset, and also, Voices can be combined in
more than one way to make more than one Preset.

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3. Choose from a number of options that further define the Preset, such as assigning
Voices to partially or fully overlap other Voices (thus producing doubling effects),
assigning dynamic control to individual Voices in a Preset, erasing Presets you don’t
like, cataloguing Presets, cataloguing the Bank Voices to see what’s available for
making up a Preset, adding arpeggiation, setting up MIDI parameters, etc.

Note that a Preset does not store the actual sounds that make up the Voices in the Preset;
rather, it stores data about the Voices (which ones to use, where they are assigned on the
keyboard, whether they should respond to keyboard dynamics, and the like). Because of this,
Presets do not take up as much Bank memory as Voices since data takes up less memory
space than sounds. (For an analogy, think of the cassette interface in a digital drum machine. In
just a few seconds, the cassette can record all of the patch data for the entire machine; it would
take far longer to record the actual sounds of all the drum machine patterns and sequences.)

OK...that’s the story on creating Voices and assigned them to the keyboard to make up a Preset
or Presets. Now let’s take a look at processing Voices.

Voice Processing
Once a Voice is loaded in the Bank and assigned to a Preset, it can be sent to the Analog and
Digital Processing modules. However, since (as mentioned earlier) a Preset typically contains
several Voices, we need to specify which Voice, or Voices, we want to process. This is called
selecting the Current Voice, another three-step process:

1. Call up a Preset that contains the Voice(s) to be processed.

2. Choose the Voice to be processed, or select several Voices and group them together so
that they are all processed simultaneously (this group of Voices is still referred to as the
“Current Voice”).

3. Send the Current Voice through the Analog and Digital Processing modules, whereupon
they return back to the Bank in their modified form. All Presets containing these Voices
will reflect the changes caused by processing.

The Current Preset

As you found out in the “Instant Gratification” section, as soon as a Performance disk is loaded
a Preset will be ready to go. This is the Current Preset. If you select another Preset, or create a
Preset, this becomes the Current Preset.

When you sample a sound to create a Voice, the Voice is automatically assigned to the two
lowest octaves (unless you specify otherwise) of the Current Preset. If the Bank was not empty
and you had a Preset selected, the sample will replace whatever sample was already in the
lowest two octaves of this Current Preset. (However, you do not over-write the Voice itself,
which stays safely tucked away in the Bank; you are simply over-writing the Voice assignment in
that particular Preset.)

If the Bank was empty prior to sampling (it’s generally best to clear the memory before
sampling; among other advantages, this allows for the maximum possible sampling time), the
Bank will automatically create a “NULL PRESET” into which it will assign the Voices that you
sample. Each successive Voice you sample will be assigned to the lowest two octaves of the

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keyboard (unless you specify otherwise), and over-write the previous Voice assignment
(although as mentioned in the end of the last paragraph, the sampled Voices themselves remain
in memory).

The Disk Archives

So far, we’ve loaded a bunch of Voices into the Bank, created some Presets containing those
Voices, and done some Voice processing. However, remember that the Bank only retains this
information for as long as the Emulator II is plugged in and turned on. Of course, we don’t
expect you to leave the thing on all the time, which brings us to the subject of saving data on
disks.

There are two types of Emulator II disks, Performance disks and Library disks.

Commanding the Central Computer to “Save Bank” causes it to shuttle all the Bank data
(Voices, Presets, and Sequencer Sequences) on to a Performance disk. This disk permanently
stores data so that even after turning off the Emulator II. The disk will contain a record of your
work.

IF YOU DO NOT SAVE A BANK TO DISK, ALL BANK DATA WILL BE LOST WHEN YOU
TURN OFF THE EMULATOR II. Do not wait until the end of a session to save -- save your work
periodically in case of power failure or some other unforeseen circumstance which might erase
the Bank’s memory.

Since the Performance disk contains a record of the Bank data, loading the disk back into the
Bank transfers all the Voice, Preset, and Sequencer data into the Bank (this will replace the
existing Bank data, if any). Therefore, you can work a Bank of sounds out at leisure, and save
the results of your work on disk; when you go to a gig, simply take the Performance disk with
you and load all your hard work from disk into the Emulator II in a few seconds.

Library disks record and play back Voices only (unprocessed or processed), and contain no
Preset information. They are useful when building up a library of raw sounds. For example, you
might want to sample an instrument, but are unclear about what kind of Presets you want to
make up from these sampled Voices. Simply save the individual Voices to the Library disk, and
then load them into the Bank at a later date when you want to create some Presets. And, if
while creating the Preset you process the Voices too heavily and wish that you had the originals
back, no problem...they are still preserved on the Library disk.

Think of the Performance disk as something you take with you on gigs, and of the Library disk
as a means of storing a collection of raw sounds which can be used later on to make up
Performance disks. Note: With either disk type, if you pull a Voice or Preset from a disk, alter it,
and then save it to that same disk without changing its identifying number, the disk will erase the
original version and replace it with the processed version.

Incidentally, the process of having new data erase and replace old data is called over-writing.

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The Keyboard
Note the two paths coming from the keyboard in Figure 2; the LFO, VCA, VCF, and ADSR
Analog Signal Processors are tied to keyboard dynamics (for example, playing harder can alter
the loudness, attack time, filter cutoff, etc.), as are some Preset assignment characteristics (i.e.
playing louder assigns a different Voice to a particular key).

The Output Channels

The Central Computer assigns keyboard keys to the output channels. When you play a key, that
key’s sound is assigned to Output Channel 1. If you hold this key and play another key, the new
key’s sound will be assigned to Output Channel 2. The Emulator II includes eight channels, so
you can play up to eight sounds simultaneously. Each channel has its own output jack, and
there is also a master output jack, which mixes the eight channels together. Individual Voices
can also be restricted to particular channels, which will be covered in detail later when we
discuss the Emulator II’s sequencer.

Re-cap
One more time: A Voice is a sampled sound. It is temporarily stored in the Emulator II’s Bank
and may be permanently stored on a Library disk. While a sampled Voice must be assigned to a
Preset prior to processing, a sampled Voice may nonetheless be processed immediately after
sampling since the Emulator automatically assigns the sampled Voice to a Preset it creates,
called the Null Preset.

To create a new Preset, make sure you have all the Voices required for the Preset in the Bank,
number and name a Preset, then assign combinations of Voices from the Bank to specific
sections of the keyboard. By specifying one or more of these Voices as the Current Voice, the
Current Voice may then be processed by the Emulator II’s analog and digital signal processors.

Since loading in a Performance disk fills the Bank with Voices and Presets, you can group these
Voices into new Presets, process the Voices, or alter the existing Presets.

Always Remember to Save Your Work

Once a Bank contains the desired Presets and Voices, it must be saved to a Performance disk.
Specific Voices can be saved to a Performance disk as part of a Bank, or saved individually to a
Library disk.

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OTHER DEFINITIONS

Booting the Emulator II is not a repair technique; rather, it is a computer term that means
“putting a disk in the disk drive after you first turn it on, and having the computer read software
necessary for its operation from that disk”. (It’s easy to see why this was shortened to “booting”.)
To boot, insert a Performance or Library disk in the drive before, or just after, you turn on the
Emulator II. Closing the disk drive latch tells the Emulator to start reading the software. Once
booted, the instrument is ready to go. (Note: Booting from a Performance disk takes longer than
booting from a Library disk since after booting, the Emulator II loads the Performance disk Bank
data.)

A Default setting is what we’ve judged to be a useful initial setting, and remains in effect until
you change it. For example, the mic preamp in the sampling section defaults to zero gain when
you first turn on the Emulator II. Had it defaulted to the maximum gain position, this might have
blasted your ears off if you accidentally put in a line level signal, so we figured zero gain was
better.

The display’s cursor, a small line, will flash when it wants data from you about the number or
letter under which it is located. Entering a new value over-write the old one, whereupon the
cursor moves on to the next number or letter (if applicable).

Note: If the Emulator II is expecting a two or three-digit number, you must enter all the required
digits even if some of these are zeroes (called “leading zeroes”). For example, if the Emulator II
is expecting a three-digit number and you want to enter 8, you would enter 008. If it were
expecting a single-digit number, entering 8 would be sufficient.

Saving is the important process of saving your work to disk. Despite what computer
manufacturers would like you to believe, computers are not infallible and besides, the world
sometimes plays cruel tricks (like a power surge in the middle of a sampling session). To help
defy Murphy’s Law (“if anything can go wrong, it will”), whenever you have done enough work
on a Voice or Bank that you would hate to lose it, save it on at least one disk. Should you
improve the Voice or Bank later, you can always replace the original with the revised version --
and if something goes wrong, the original will still be available to save you the hassle of starting
from scratch.

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THE GUIDED TOURS

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HOW TO USE THE GUIDED TOURS

Occasionally during a tour you will be told to refer to something like PRESET DEFINITION 11,
DISK 8, SAMPLE 2, or some other name. This means that you will find more information in the
specified section of the manual’s Reference Section. For example, PRESET DEFINITION 11
indicates that the information is in the Preset Definition chapter under section 11; DISK 2
indicates that the information is in the Disk chapter under section 2. Note that these chapters
are arranged in the same order as you encounter the Emulator II front panel “modules” if you
move from left to right along the top row of modules, then move from right to left along the lower
row of modules.

Figures are referred to by a shorthand name for the chapter and a number. For example, Fig.
GENINS-3 would be the third figure in the GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS chapter.

GETTING READY FOR THE GUIDED TOURS

Have you sent in your warranty card yet? Listen, we’re not kidding! Send it in!!

Okay. Now you can proceed.

1. Set up the Emulator II as described earlier under Instant Gratification. After completing
step 6, return to this section.

Remember - at this point playing the keyboard will not produce sound. In order to hear
anything, you must “load” a sound into the Emulator II from disk (which we’ll describe
shortly).

2. Make sure you have about a half-dozen 5.25” blank disks (double-sided/double-density,
48 TPI) on hand, plus a paper and pencil for taking notes.

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GUIDED TOUR #1: MEET THE EMULATOR

This tour covers how to:

Care for diskettes

Load a Bank from a Performance disk when first turning on power

Select different Presets from the Bank

Load additional Performance disks

Tune the Emulator II to other instruments

Transpose the keyboard

...and also discusses the Emulator II’s “modular” design philosophy.

DISK HANDLING
Disks are delicate and store valuable data. Before proceeding, carefully read GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 5 (“Disk Handling”) for important information on how to care for your disks.

LOADING A PERFORMANCE DISK

1. Turn on the Emulator II, then insert the Grand Piano disk in Drive 1 according to the
instructions given in the next to last section of GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 5 (“Disk
Handling”).

2. After about 20 seconds of loading time, the display will show the Current Preset number
and name (the cursor will flash underneath the first digit). Start playing the keyboard and
turn up the MIX OUT control for a comfortable listening level.

SELECTING DIFFERENT PRESETS

1. The Bank you just loaded contains several Presets. To call up a new Current Preset, use
the keypad underneath the display. Note that “leading zeroes” must be entered for
Preset numbers (i.e. type 0 and 2, not just 2, to call up Preset 02). Now type 0 then 2 on
the keypad; these will replace the numbers indicated by the flashing cursor.

2. The display says P02 Piano #2. Play the keyboard...hey, it sounds just like a piano!

3. Now call up more Presets (refer to GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 1, “Selecting the Current
Preset”), steps 1 and 2). If you make a mistake and enter a number for which there is no
Preset, the display will list the entered Preset number and say NOT FOUND; try calling
up the desired Preset again. To find out what Presets are available on the disk, refer to
PRESET DEFINITION 19, “Catalog Presets”.

When you’re ready to check out some more sounds, proceed.

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THE EMULATOR II’s “MODULAR” PHILOSOPHY

The Emulator II front panel is divided into modules. Each module will be discussed in detail later
on; the following is intended mostly as background information. Each module affects a certain
area of the Emulator II’s operation. Refer to the map (Fig. INTRO-2) to see how some of these
modules fit into the Emulator II’s overall structure.

Master Control. This includes controls that affect the entire keyboard (such as Tune, Volume,
and Transpose), a ten-digit calculator-like keypad with numbers printed above the keys, the
display, and four sliders, which set variable parameters (described later). Note that keypad
switch 7 doubles as a NO button and keypad switch 9 doubles as a YES button (sometimes the
Emulator II will ask you yes-no questions, and this is how to communicate with it).

Sequencer. This module is an eight-track solid state recorder with sophisticated features such
as SMPTE and MIDI control, punch-in and erase, track bounce, cue, and auto correct.

Filter. You can dynamically change the timbre of any Voice or group of Voices (in other words,
the Current Voice) via lowpass filtering. The filter features variable cutoff, variable Q, variable
envelope amount (normal or inverted), variable keyboard tracking, LFO modulation, and
includes its own ADSR envelope generator.

VCA/LFO. You may change the attack/decay/sustain/release characteristics of the Current

Voice by modulating the VCA with its associated ADSR envelope generator. This module also
sets most LFO parameters.

Voice Definition. With this powerful module, you may edit a Voice’s length, loop (e.g. infinitely
sustain) any portion of the Voice (with several different looping options), have the Emulator II
automatically find the best loop points (“AutoLoop”), adjust the relative mix of various Voices,
save Voices to disk, and perform other Voice-related operations. This module also sets
independent keyboard touch sensitivity for each of several filter and VCA destinations
(dynamics, cutoff frequency, Q, attack time) and programs the mix (audio balance) for each
individual Voice in the Preset.

After modifying Voices, don’t forget chat the only way to keep these modifications is to save
them to disk. Otherwise, any changes will be lost as soon as power to the Emulator II is
interrupted.

Preset Definition Does all the “housekeeping” for the Emulator II: You may name Voices or
Presets, erase them, copy them, assign Voices to different places on the keyboard, “catalog”
the names of Voices and Presets stored in the Bank, etc. Other Preset Definition functions
include MIDI and arpeggiator selection as well as three keyboard-related special effects
(velocity switch, velocity crossfade, and positional crossfade).

Sample. This “recording studio” module records sounds from the outside world into the Bank.
Features include adjustable preamp gain, variable threshold setting, and adjustable sample
length.

Disk. The DISK module archival data traffic between the Emulator II and its disks. Sounds may
be stored on disk, read back from disk, catalogued, and more.

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Special. This module mostly contains test routines. However, because of its computer-based
nature, the Emulator II can be updated easily. This module will also access any new functions
dreamed up by the wizards at E-mu. Calling up its Catalog will tell you what special functions
are present.

Real-Time Control. This assigns different destinations (pitch, filter cutoff, VCA attack, etc.) to
your choice of the two modulation wheels (located at the left of the keyboard), foot pedal, three
MIDI control channels, and dual programmable footswitches.

Enter. Just as you can activate a module to tell the Emulator II something you want to do, the
Emulator II can activate this module when it wants to signal ~ to do something. It communicates
in one of two ways: by flashing the ENTER light, or turning it on steadily. The significance of the
two states will be explained later.

ACTIVATING and DE-ACTIVATING MODULES, SELECTING FUNCTIONS

Here’s important background information on how to access the various module functions. In the
next section of this tour, we’ll relate this information to a practical example.

Activating: Each module, except for Master Control and Sequencer, includes a switch and
accompanying LED. Pushing this switch “activates” the module, as indicated by the LED lighting
up. (Note: There must be a disk in the drive when you activate any module; the disk drive may
run for a second or two before the module LED lights up.) The display’s top line will give a
Module Identifier (such as “VCA/LFO”, “Disk”, “VoiceDef”, or the like), followed by the range of
possible numbers you may enter to call up various module functions (see below).

Selecting functions: Each module includes a printed list of functions on the front panel; these
functions are available when the module is active. Selecting a module function requires keying
in its associated number with the keypad. We will shortly give an example of how this all works.

De-activating: When you’re finished with the module either press its button again to de-
activate, or simply activate a new module.

Hint: Any time you make a mistake, get confused, or otherwise get “lost in the module” and
need to bail out, simply de-activate the module. Then, re-activate and try again.

LOADING OTHER PERFORMANCE DISKS

So far, so good...now it’s time to move on from the piano. The following instructions are for a
dual-drive Emulator II; see the end of this section for single-drive Emulator II instructions.

1. Select the Performance disk of your choice and insert it into the disk drive of your
choice.

2. If the Performance disk was inserted in Drive 1, refer to DISK 1. (“Get Bank Disk 1”). If
the Performance disk was inserted in Drive 2, refer to DISK 2 (“Get Bank Disk 2”)
instead. After following the directions in the indicated section, return to this section.

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Note: You can have different Performance disks in both drives, and load a Bank from either disk
(but not both simultaneously) by using the appropriate command (GET BANK DISK 1 or GET
BANK DISK 2). Loading in a new Bank will erase any currently loaded Bank.

Loading instructions for single-drive Emulator II:

1. Remove the old Performance disk from Drive 1, then insert and latch the new
Performance disk into Drive 1.

2. Refer to DISK 1 (“Get Bank Disk 1”), follow the instructions, and then return to this
section.

TUNING THE EMULATOR II TO OTHER INSTRUMENTS

Refer to MASTER CONTROL - TUNE. This function demonstrates how the Emulator II uses the
slide controls to set parameters. In this case, only one of the four sliders is used. However,
when setting such parameters as ADSR values for the filter or VCA, all four sliders are used.

TRANSPOSING THE KEYBOARD

Refer to MASTER CONTROL - TRANSPOSE.

FORMATTING DISKS
Format an equal number of Performance and Library disks (at least two of each) according to
the instructions given in DISK 8, “Formatting a Performance or Library Disk”. These will come in
handy during future guided tours.

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GUIDED TOUR #2: SPECIFYING THE “CURRENT VOICE”

BACKGROUND
The Emulator II has three main Voice processing modules:

1. Filter varies a Voice’s harmonic content via a four pole, low pass filter and associated
ADSR envelope generator.

2. VCA/LFO varies the Voice’s LFO parameters as well as the amplitude attack, decay,
sustain, and release characteristics.

3. Voice Definition provides sophisticated digital processing and also sets the keyboard
dynamics.

Each Voice stored in a Bank can have its own individual Filter, VCA/LFO, and Voice Definition
settings. Therefore, we need a way to specify the Current Voice, which is the individual Voice
(or collection of individual Voices) to be processed.

The concept of the Current Voice is important. To process one Voice out of a Preset, assign the
Current Voice to be that one Voice, and process it. To process more than one Voice at a time,
specify a group of Voices to be the Current Voice and process all Voices simultaneously.’

This section covers how to identify which keyboard keys belong to which Voice, and how to
specify which Voice or Voices make up the Current Voice. For a short form version of this tour,
see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2 (“Assigning the Current Voice”).

To begin, if the Grand Piano Performance disk described in Guided Tour #1 has not been
loaded, load it from Drive 1 and select Preset 01. Also, read ENTER (the last chapter in the
Reference Section) on the function of the ENTER button, as it will be used during this and most
subsequent tours.

IDENTIFYING WHICH KEYBOARD KEYS BELONG TO WHICH VOICE

Once the Emulator II Bank has sounds in it, activate the Filter, VCA/LFO, or Voice Definition
module; its LED will light. If a Voice has not been previously selected, the display will say:

No Current Voice
Play a Key

If so, move on to step 2. If a Current Voice has been previously assigned, the display’s
top line will give the Module Identifier. The bottom line will give the Voice number (V
followed by two digits), and the Voice name (such as PIANO A.2). If this is the

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THE GUIDED TOURS
case, before proceeding, to step 2 initiate the CHANGE CURRENT VOICE function by
keying in 00 if the Voice Definition module is active, or 0 if the Filter or VCA/LFO module
is active.

Note: We hereby formally apologize that the Voice Definition CHANGE CURRENT
VOICE function (00) is not printed on the front panel label. This is because we had the
labels printed up before the function was implemented, and since we have over 1,000
pricey custom labels sitting in the warehouse and we aren’t about to throw them
out...well, you get the picture.

1. Play a key. The display’s top line will now give the Voice number and name of the Voice
assigned to that key; the bottom line will most likely say “Play a Key”. The ENTER LED
will be flashing.

Example: Play a note in the lowest octave, and the display identifies the Voice...

V01 Piano A1*

Play a Key

* or possibly A2

If the bottom line reads “Again2nd Voice” instead of “Play a Key”, it means that another
Voice overlaps (“doubles”) this key. Press the same key again; the display’s top line will
show the overlapping Voice, and the bottom line will say Again=2nd Voice.

2. Play different keys, one at a time, over the full range of the keyboard. The display will
give the Voice number and name to which each key belongs, and (if appropriate)
indicate when it is being doubled by another Voice. Take a minute or two and note
where the various Voices begin and end, and which Voices are at which locations on the
keyboard.

Hint: Most Emulator II owners list the pitch of the originally sampled note with a Voice
name. In the previous example, Voice 01 was a piano note originally sampled at pitch of
A, lowest octave (A1). Octaves are referenced so that the left-most octave spans C1-B1,
the next octave to the right C2-B2, and so on until the right-most octave spans C5-C6.
(Note: Early Grand Piano disks have the octave numbers offset by one. These disks are
identical to newer versions in all other respects.)

3. When the display shows the Voice (or one of the Voices) to be processed, press
ENTER. For now, choose any Voice and press ENTER; this Voice has now been
assigned as the Current Voice.

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4. The display now asks:

V01 Piano A1*

Addl Voices? Y/N

* or Voice to be modified

There are two possible choices. To make this single Voice the Current Voice, press NO
to tell the Emulator II you want no additional Voices; when you select a processing
module, it will process only this Voice. To specify additional Voices as part of the Current
Voice, press YES. For now, press YES to see how this process works.

5. The display asks:

V01 Piano A1*

Entire Kybd? Y/N

* or Voice to be modified

To assign all Voices on the keyboard as the Current Voice, press YES; when you select
a processing module, it will affect all Voices on the keyboard simultaneously. To assign
additional Voices (but not the entire keyboard) as the Current Voice, press NO. For now,
press NO.

6. The display asks:

V01 Piano A1*

Play Addl Voice

* Voice numbers you just assigned

As you play additional Voices, a new Voice number and name will appear on the
display’s top line, while the bottom line says Play a Key. Play various keys; when the
display shows a Voice you want to modify, press ENTER to make it part of the Current
Voice. Before proceeding to the next step, choose a Voice and press ENTER.

7. The display now updates the Current Voice listing (top line) by displaying both of the
Voice numbers chosen for processing, while the bottom line says Play Addl Voice.
Continue playing additional Voices and pressing ENTER until you have assigned all of
the Voices that make up the Current Voice (for now, assign one more Voice). To finish
the Current Voice assignment, press ENTER once more.

Note: If you assign more than five Voices as the Current Voice, the display will list the
first five Voices assigned. An additional + symbol indicates there are more Voices
assigned than the display can list.

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8. If all is well, the display should look something like:

Module Identifier
XX*

* Voice numbers you just assigned

9. The assigned Current Voice will remain as is until you change the Current Voice
assignment, change Presets, or load another Bank. If you switch between modules, the
Current Voice remains as assigned.

To change the Current Voice, initiate the CHANGE CURRENT VOICE function by keying in
00 for the Voice Definition module (see VOICE DEFINITION 00) or 0 for the Filter or
VCA/LFO module (see FILTER 0 or VCA/LFO 0 respectively), then return to step 2.

Now that you know what a Current Voice is all about and how to specify it, we’ve reached
the end of this tour (although you may need to come back from time to time to refresh your
memory). In the next tour, we’ll see how to modify Voices with the VCF and VCA/LFO.

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GUIDED TOUR #3: THE FILTER and VCA/LFO MODULE

BACKGROUND
The filter module contains eight 24dB/octave low pass filters (one per channel) that vary a
sound’s high frequency content.

The VCA/LFO module contains eight VCA’s that control a sound’s amplitude envelope, and
eight LFO’s that provide modulation to the filters or VCA’s.

We suggest loading in the synthesizer disk and selecting Preset 01 (arpeggiated bass/synth) to
most clearly hear the filter and VCA/LFO effects, however, any other sustaining sound (strings,
piano, etc.) is acceptable. We will cover the filter module first, and then proceed to the VCA/LFO
module.

SPECIFYING THE CURRENT VOICE

1. Activate the Filter module (if it is not already) by pushing its button.

2. Assign the Current Voice according to the instructions given in GENERAL

INSTRUCTIONS2 (“Assigning the Current Voice”); the filter will affect this Voice or these
Voices. If you loaded the synthesizer disk, you may process the entire synthesizer by
specifying Vl6, V17, V18, and V19 as the Current Voice.

To specify a different Current Voice, refer to FILTER 0.

FILTER FUNCTION 1: CHANGING CUTOFF FREQUENCY, Q, and ENVELOPE

1. After specifying the Current Voice, the display will give the Module Identifier in the top
line and list the assigned Voices in the bottom line.

2. Now follow the instructions in FILTER 1 (“Frequency, Q, Envelope Amount”). When it

describes how sliders A, B, and C affect the sound, vary these sliders while playing the
keyboard to hear the results.

Important note: Any slider setting change will not affect the note(s) being held down
(except with the Master Tune function); you must hit a new note or re-trigger the same
one to hear any effect.

Since we do not yet want to exit this function, after reading step 1 in FILTER I return to
this section starting with step 3.

3. After playing with the three sliders, before proceeding to the next section set Freq to
000, Q to 50, and Env to +40. Then exit the function by pressing ENTER (as described
in GENERAL

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FILTER FUNCTION 2: LFO AMOUNT AND KEYBOARD TRACKING

1. Follow the instructions in FILTER 2. When it describes how sliders A and B affect the
sound, vary these sliders while playing the keyboard to hear the results.

As mentioned previously, slider-setting changes will not affect the note(s) being held
down; you must hit a new note to hear any effect.

Since we do not yet want to exit this function, after reading step 1 in FILTER 2 return to
this section starting with step 2.

2. After playing with the two sliders, before proceeding to the next section set LFO Amt to
00 and KBD Amt to 1.00, then exit the function by pressing ENTER (as described in
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3, “Exiting a Function”).

FILTER FUNCTION 3: ADSR SETTINGS

1. Follow the instructions in FILTER 3; when it describes how sliders A, B, C, and D affect
the sound; vary these sliders while playing the keyboard to hear the results. Remember,
slider setting changes will not affect the note(s) being held down so you must hit a new
note to hear any effect. (Since you’ve probably figured this out after all our repeated
warnings, from now on we’ll give you a break and not mention the bit about having to hit
new notes anymore.)

Since we do not yet want to exit this function, after reading step 1 in FILTER 3 return to
this section starting with step 2.

2. After playing with the four sliders, before proceeding to the next section set Atk = 01,
Dec 01, Sus = 32, and Rel = 32. This opens up the filter all the way, and makes it easier
to observe the effects of changing the VCA settings. Exit the function by pressing
ENTER to return to the Module Identifier, or even more conveniently, go directly to the
VCA/LFO module by activating it (as described in GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3,
“Exiting the Function”).

Since you have no doubt figured out how to Exit a Function by now, we’ll stop putting in
all these references to GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3.

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VCA/LFO FUNCTION 1: ADSR SETTINGS

1. Assuming that you have the same Current Voice as specified during the previous part of
the tour, the display’s top line will give the Module Identifier and the bottom line will list
the Voices that make up the Current Voice.

2. Follow the instructions in VCA/LFO 1; when it describes how sliders A, B, C, and D

affect the sound, vary these sliders while playing the keyboard to hear the results.

Since we do not yet want to exit this function, after reading step 1 in VCA/LFO 2 return
to this section starting with step 3.

3. After playing with the four sliders, before proceeding to the next section set Atk = 01,
Dec = 01, Sus = 30, and Rel = 30 and press ENTER to exit the function. Entering these
values lets the VCA stay open long enough to easily observe the effects of changing the
LFO settings.

VCA/LFO FUNCTION 2: LFO SETTINGS

1. Follow the instructions in VCA/LFO 2, but before playing with any of the sliders, move
Slider D up to maximum. This gives maximum VCA modulation, thus making it easier to
hear the effects of varying sliders A-C. As you vary these three sliders, play the
keyboard to hear the results, and then experiment with slider D. The Emulator II’s sine
wave LFO is typically used to add vibrato.

Since we do not yet want to exit this function, after reading step 1 in section VCA/LFO 2
return to this section starting with step 2.

2. After playing with the four sliders, this might be a good time to experiment some more
with the Filter and VCA/LFO module settings. Or, de-activate VCA/LFO, load in a new
disk, and then experiment with the Filter and VCA/LFO controls. Whatever, have a good
time and when you want to find out how to use the keyboard dynamics and get into real-
time modulation control, proceed to the next tour.

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GUIDED TOUR #4: REAL TIME CONTROL and VIBRATO DEPTH

BACKGROUND
Ever wanted to add vibrato to a grand piano? Or bend its pitch? The Real Time Control module
can do this, and lots more. Incidentally, for future reference GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 6
(“Selecting Real Time Control Functions”) contains a short form version of the material
presented in the first part of this tour.

Note: The Emulator II offers two vibrato functions: Pre-programmed (which adds a constant,
selectable amount of vibrato), and Real-time (where the player adds in vibrato by using one of
the modulation wheels). These two are mutually exclusive; if you specify real-time vibrato, the
pre-programmed vibrato will become inactive and vice-versa.

To make “live” playing as simple as possible, the display works somewhat differently for this
module. Load in the disk of your choice (preferably with fairly long and sustained sounds), then
activate the Real Time Control module. The display shows eight pairs of numbers:

1:0 2:0 3:0 4:0

5:0 6:0 7:0 8:0

The first number of each pair stands for one of the eight possible control sources (the left-hand
column of functions printed in the module), namely:

1. Left modulation wheel (center detent, spring return type)

2. Right modulation wheel (continuously variable type)
3. Control voltage pedal (plugs into rear panel PEDAL A/D jack; also accepts any 0 to +10V
control voltage source)
4. MIDI control channel A
5. MIDI control channel B
6. MIDI control channel C
7. Footswitch 1 (plugs into rear panel FOOT SW1 jack)
8. Footswitch 2 (plugs into rear panel FOOT SW2 jack)

The second number of the pair represents a control destination (the right-hand column of
functions printed in the module) that you assign to a control source.

Each of the destinations printed in the upper right-hand column (0 - 7) can be controlled by
control source 1, 2, or 3 or via data sent through any of the three MIDI control channels. Each
destination can be controlled by only a single source; assigning a destination to another source
de-assigns it from the previous source to which it was assigned.

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MIDI Controls 4,5 and 6 are described more fully in PRESET DEFINITION 30, “MIDI Setup”,
and in the Advanced Applications section of this manual.

Each of the destinations printed in the lower right-hand column (0 - 5) can be controlled by
sources 7 and 8. Each destination can be controlled only by a single source.

You’ll be happy to know that Realtime control settings are memorized for each Preset. Thus, if
desired each Preset can react to the real time controls and MIDI control channels in different
ways.

Note: Real-time functions usually control all Voices on the keyboard. However, when making up
a Preset, it is possible to exempt individual Voices from real-time control. This is described fully
in VOICE DEFINITION 29 (“Control Enable”).

SELECTING A CONTROL SOURCE and CONTROL DESTINATION

1. With the Real Time Control module activated, select a control source (wheel, pedal, or
footswitch) by keying in its associated number. For now, enter 1 for Left wheel; the
cursor will flash underneath the number to the right of the chosen control source
number, thus indicating that the Emulator II is ready for you to key in the control source’s
destination.

2. Enter the desired destination number. For now, enter 1 so that the previously chosen
Left wheel controls pitch. The flashing cursor will disappear and you will now be able to
select another control source if desired. (If a control source has been previously
assigned, the old assignment will be replaced with the new one.)

3. Experiment with using the Left Wheel to bend pitch, and then proceed.

REAL TIME FUNCTIONS

To learn about the real time functions, refer to the REAL TIME CONTROL section in the
Reference Section. Practice assigning various destinations to the two wheels and to the
footpedal (sources 1, 2, and 3 respectively).

Note: When assigning the footpedal, make sure it’s plugged in to prevent unpredictable results.

Before experimenting with the footswitches (sources 7 and 8), we need to understand the
difference between looped and unlooped sounds. Looping is described more fully in VOICE
DEFINITION 12 and VOICE DEFINITION 13, but basically, a looped sound is one where a
portion of the sound is put into an “infinite repeat” loop for as long as you hold down the key.
This is similar to the infinite repeat function on digital delay lines. Looping allows for sustaining a
normally non-sustaining sound for as long as you like. An unlooped sound is not artificially
sustained, and therefore lasts its normal length.

Keeping this in mind, refer to REAL TIME (FOOTSWITCH DESTINATION) O through REAL
TIME (FOOTSWITCH DESTINATION) 5 and assign various functions to the footswitches. Note

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that some sounds lend themselves to these functions better than other sounds, so feel free to
experiment with loading different disks to experience the full range of real time control options.

PROGRAMMING VIBRATO DEPTH

While real time control is invaluable for such applications as adding expressiveness to solo
lines, for those times when you want to add a pre-programmed (constant amount) of vibrato (i.e.
adding vibrato to something like a string section, preferably using vibrato delay and variation
effects described later in this manual), refer to VOICE DEFINITION 23 (“Vibrato Depth”).

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GUIDED TOUR #5: THE DYNAMIC KEYBOARD

BACKGROUND
The Emulator II not only delivers polyphonic dynamics, but for maximum expressiveness also
allows for dynamic control over several other parameters.

The following steps set up the synthesizer sound so that any changes in dynamics are very
noticeable.

1. Load the bass/synthesizer Factory Disk into the Emulator II (see section DISK 1 and
DISK 2, “Get Bank from Disk”), and specify Preset 01 (arpeggiated bass/synth).

2. Activate the filter module, and specify Voices V16, V17, V18, and V19 (the synthesizer
Voices) as the Current Voice; then call up FILTER 1 and set Freql2O, Q30, and Env
+00.

3. Activate the VCA/LFO module and select VCA/LFO 1. Set AtkOl, DecOl, Sus=32, and
Rel15.

ASSIGNING KEYBOARD VELOCITY TO DYNAMICS

1. Activate the Voice Definition module. Voices V16 - V19 should make up the Current
Voice; if not, key in 00 to change the Voice assignment and assign these Voices (see
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2, “Assigning the Current Voice”).

2. Follow the instructions in VOICE DEFINITION 21 and play the keyboard. Note how
varying Slider A varies the overall dynamics, while varying Slider B controls how the
attack time is affected by how you play the keyboard.

3. Since we do not yet want to exit this function, after reading step 1 in VOICE DEFINITION
21 proceed to VOICE DEFINITION 22 on assigning keyboard velocity to filter
parameters.

4. ‘When you reach step 2 in VOICE DEFINITION 22, congratulations! By this point in the
Guided Tours, you have learned the rudiments of loading and modifying sounds.
Proceed to the next section -- the one you’ve been waiting for -- on how to sample.

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GUIDED TOUR #6: BASIC SAMPLING

Sampling does not just involve sticking a microphone in front of something; sampling is an art.
As a result, we’ve devoted a whole section to the art of sampling in the Advanced Applications
section of this manual. Meanwhile, this Guided Tour gives you the basics, and also lays the
groundwork for guided tours of the Voice Definition and Preset Definition modules.

SETUP
1. Plug a microphone into the rear panel SAMPLE IN jack (an instrument can also be used,
but a mic is easier to work with for now).

2. Format a Performance or Library disk (see DISK 8, “Format Disk”), then insert and latch
it into Drive 1. The maximum available sampling time (with nothing stored in memory) is
17.6 seconds; sampling reduces this memory until all 17.6 seconds are used up. To free
up as much sampling space as possible, clear out the existing memory just before
sampling (to clear memory, refer to PRESET DEFINITION 16, “Erase Bank”, then
return). The 17.6 seconds can be divided any way you want -- one long sample, or
several shorter samples. To monitor how much memory is left, refer to PRESET
DEFINITION 20 (“Memory Remaining”).

3. Now it’s time to start the sampling process. Begin by setting levels as described in
SAMPLE 1 (“VU Mode”) and SAMPLE 3 (“Gain Set”), then set the threshold as
described in SAMPLE 4 (“Threshold Set”).

4. The Emulator II default assignment places the original sampled sound on key C2, and
transposes it across the range from C1 to C3. Leave this as is for now (to change this
default assignment, see SAMPLE 2, “Define Voice”).

5. Once the levels, threshold, and assignment are set, begin sampling (see SAMPLE 7,
“Arm Sampling”). Either sample the entire 17.6 seconds, or press 0 to stop sampling. Do
not deactivate the module after the sample is complete.

6. Play the keyboard in the assigned range to hear the results of your sampling.

7. Now experiment with more sampling: Try setting a particular sample length (SAMPLE 5),
using forced sampling instead of threshold-sensitive sampling (SAMPLE 9), assigning
the sampled sound to other portions of the keyboard (SAMPLE 2), and also, practice
terminating the sampling process (SAMPLE 0). As long as you do not de-activate the
module, new samples will replace previous samples.

8. To save a Voice in memory and move on to sampling another Voice, de-activate the
Sample module. The previously sampled Voice, identified with the Voice number
assigned during SAMPLE 2 (“Define Voice”), will be saved in memory. Upon activating
the sample module, either the top line of the display will give a number for the new Voice
to be sampled, or the bottom line will say NEED MORE ROOM. The latter doesn’t mean
that the Emulator II is getting claustrophobic, but rather, that you’ve used up all the
memory on previous samples. To continue experimenting, first save anything you need
to save on disk (see DISK 7, “Save Bank” and VOICE DEFINITION 30, “Save Voice to

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Disk”), and then create additional room by erasing all memory (see PRESET
DEFINITION 16, “Erase Bank”).

9. Remember, this Guided Tour is intended simply as an overview to give you a “feel” for
the sampling process. Later on, we will learn how to organize these Voices in a
musically useful way.

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GUIDED TOUR #7: DIGITALLY PROCESSING SAMPLES

Digital processing allows for radically altering Voices stored in the Bank. In this Guided Tour,
we’ll learn -- among other topics -- how to truncate, loop, reverse, splice, and mix samples. First,
though, we need to take a couple of samples with which we can practice.

1. If the Emulator II has been turned off, insert a formatted Performance or Library disk in
Drive 1 and boot the instrument. After booting, or if the instrument was already on, check
that there is nothing in memory you want to save. If there is, save it. If not, clear the
Bank memory by activating the Preset Definition module then pressing 16, YES, and
YES. Finally, deactivate the module.

2. Make a sample of yourself speaking some words by doing the following:

a. Plug a microphone into the SAMPLE INPUT jack.

b. Activate the sample module and turn up the sample module CAIN control.
c. Talk into the mic. If the display’s VU meter reads a low signal level, press 3 to
increase the gain. Move Slider A until the display shows an input gain of 40
dB, then press ENTER.
d. While continuing to talk into the mic, adjust GAIN for the strongest possible
VU meter signal short of overload.
e. Press 4 and use Slider A to set a threshold above the background noise
present at the mic. Then press ENTER.
f. Press 5 and use Slider A to select about a 3 second sampling time.
g. Press 7 to arm sampling, and begin talking. If the sample is not good or you
want to try again, press 7 and take another sample.
h. Play C2. You should hear your sample. Now play in the range of C1 through
C3 to hear the transposed sample.
i. If you’re not satisfied with the sample, erase it with PRESET DEFINITION 13
and try again. Once you’re satisfied with the sample, de-activate the sample
module. The sample you just recorded is Voice V01.

3. We will need a second sample of you talking, so...

j. Activate the sample module. Talk into the microphone to check for level; the
level should already be correctly set from the last sample. Note that the
sample module will remember the +40 dB preamp gain setting until you
change it or turn off the Emulator. If the level is not correct, repeat steps C
and D above.
k. Press 4 and use Slider A to set a threshold above the background noise
present at the mic. Then press ENTER.
l. Press 5 and use Slider A to select about a 3 second sampling time.
m. We want to assign this new sample to a different range of the keyboard, so
press 2.
n. Press C4 (this becomes the original pitch), then C3 (this sets the lowest
transposition from the original pitch), then C5 (this sets the highest
transposition from the original pitch).

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o. The display now identifies this Voice as NEW VOICE V02. If you want to call
it by a different number, you could do so by pressing the appropriate numbers
of the keypad; but for now, V02 is just fine. Press ENTER.
p. Press 7 to arm sampling, and begin talking. If the sample is not good or you
want to try again, press 7 and take another sample.
q. Play C4. You should hear your sample. Now play in the range of C3 through
C5 to hear the transposed sample. Note: The new sample’s lowest key, C3,
is the same as V01’s highest key. When sampling, if a new sample is
assigned to the same key range as an older sample, the new sample will
override the old sample.
r. If you’re not satisfied with the sample, erase it with PRESET DEFINITION 13
and try again. Once you’re satisfied with the sample, de-activate the sample
module. You now have two samples, V01 and V02.

PLAYING A VOICE BACKWARDS

1. You can play samples backwards as well as forwards. Activate the Voice Definition
module and refer to VOICE DEFINITION 27.

TRUNCATING A VOICE

1. Activate the Voice Definition module. Assign the first sample as the Current Voice by
playing a key in the range of C1 - B2, then pressing ENTER (for more details, see
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2, “Assigning the Current Voice”). Truncating involves
cutting off the beginning or end of a sample; proceed to VOICE DEFINITION 11 and
adjust the sliders to hear how truncation works.

2. Practice truncating by isolating individual words from the sample. This will give you a feel
for the truncation process. This may seem difficult at first, but with practice, truncation
becomes second nature.

3. When you reach step 6 in VOICE DEFINITION 11, press YES to cancel the truncation
so that the full sample is available for subsequent experiments in this tour.

4. If desired, change the Current Voice to V02 and experiment with truncating this sample
as well as V01. Again, upon reaching step 6 in VOICE DEFINITION 11, press YES to
cancel the truncation so that the full sample is available for subsequent experiments in
this tour.

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LOOPING A VOICE
1. Activate the Voice Definition module if it is not already, and assign V01 as the Current
Voice.

2. Refer to VOICE DEFINITION 12 to graphically see how looping affects a sample.

Experiment with looping different parts of the sample; try looping individual words or
sentence fragments.

Please remember that looping is a very complex process that requires a great deal of
practice for proficiency. The only way to fully understand looping is to practice with a
variety of signals. The purpose of this Guided Tour is to acquaint you with the concept of
looping, but there is much more to the subject than simply fooling around with looping
words from a spoken sample. For more information, refer to the Advanced Applications
section of this manual.

3. After establishing a loop, refer to VOICE DEFINITION 13 for how to change the loop to a
backwards/forwards loop.

4. After establishing a looped Voice, activate the VCA/LFO module, and press 1 to adjust
the ADSR parameters. Set attack and decay to 01, sustain to 32, and release for a long
release time (i.e. 26) in accordance with VCA/LFO 1.

Next, play the Voice until you start hearing the looped section. Release your finger from
the key; note how the Voice continues to loop. This is because the Emulator II defaults
to “loop in release” mode, where the loop continues to play -- even after you lift your
finger off the key -- for as long as the VCA release lasts. To selectively activate or de-
activate this mode, refer to VOICE DEFINITION 26.

SPLICING VOICES
Splicing marks an end point in one sample and a start point in a second sample; the first sample
end and second sample start are then joined together. See VOICE DEFINITION 14 to
graphically see how this process works, then follow the instructions given to splice the two
samples together. When you reach step 9, read all the way through but make sure you press
NO in order to keep the original samples intact for subsequent exercises. (Of course, you could
always press YES and re-record two samples for the next part.)

COMBING VOICES
Combining mixes two samples together digitally into a single sample whose length equals that
of the longer sample. Assuming you still have two samples on the keyboard, follow the
instructions in VOICE DEFINITION 14 and combine them. If not, clear the Bank memory and
record two samples as instructed at the beginning of this section.

SAVING VOICES
Maybe you haven’t created a masterpiece of a Voice, but maybe you have. If you’d like to save
the Voice, take a formatted Library disk and put it in Drive 1 (if you have a dual-drive Emulator II
and already have a disk in Drive 1, feel free to put the formatted Library disk in Drive 2). Then
follow the instructions in VOICE DEFINITION 30 to save the Voice to disk.

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GUIDED TOUR #8: OTHER VOICE DEFINITION FUNCTIONS

We will now cover the remaining Voice Definition functions. Begin by selecting the Bass + Synth
disk, inserting it in Drive 1, activating the Disk module, and pressing 1 to load the disk into the
Bank. Select Preset 01 if it is not already.

CHECKING SOUND LENGTH

1. To familiarize yourself with this process, assign a Current Voice and follow the steps
under VOICE DEFINITION 15.

SOLO MODE
1. Activate the Voice Definition module, and assign all synth Voices (V16, Vl7, V18, and
V19 -- the top split of the keyboard) as the Current Voice.

2. Follow the steps under VOICE DEFINITION 25.

3. Before proceeding, cancel Solo Mode by activating the Voice Definition module, keying
in 25, pressing NO, and then ENTER.

VOICE ATTENTUATION AND TUNING

The Current Voice can be made softer than the other Voices on the keyboard, and its tuning can
also be changed with respect to the other Voices.

1. Follow the steps given in VOICE DEFINITION 24. Play the synthesizer part of the
keyboard as you vary Slider A; note how the amplitude of the Current Voice changes
with respect to the other Voices. Then vary Slider B and note how the tuning changes.

2. Return to 00 attenuation and 00 cents tuning variation before proceeding.

CONTROL ENABLE
Control enable exempts particular Voices from Real Time control.

Example: To bend pitch in. the upper register of the keyboard but not the lower register, exempt
the lower register Voices from the pitch bend function.

1. Activate the Voice Definition module and follow the steps in VOICE DEFINITION 29.
Practice enabling and disabling various real time control functions for different Voices.

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GUIDED TOUR #9: MANAGING THE BANK

These are Preset Definition functions that don’t necessarily do glamorous things, but are very
useful. This Guided Tour acquaints you with these utilitarian functions.

Begin by loading a Performance disk (see DISK 1 or DISK 2).

WHAT’S IN THE BANK?

1. Refer to PRESET DEFINITION 19, which tells how to catalog the various Presets in the
Bank.

2. Next, refer to PRESET DEFINITION 17, which tells how to catalog the various Voices in
the Bank.

3. To find out if there is any space left in memory for doing more experiments, refer to
PRESET DEFINITION 20.

COPYING AND ERASING WITHIN THE BANK

1. Now’s the time to learn how to copy and rename Voices. Refer to PRESET DEFINITION
12’, and select the highest-numbered Voice on the disk with Slider A. Copy it into the
next highest Voice number, and give it a name. If there’s “Not Enough Memory”, try
another Voice or boot up a different disk.

2. Next, eliminate the copy you just made of the Bank Voice in step 1 by referring to
PRESET DEFINITION 13 (“Erase Voice”).

3. Copy and rename a Preset by referring to PRESET DEFINITION 31. If there’s “Not
Enough Memory”, try copying a different Preset or boot up a different disk.

4. Eliminate the copy you just made of the Preset by referring to PRESET DEFINITION 15
(“Erase Preset”).

5. While we’re at it, let’s cover replication. Replicate a Preset by referring to PRESET
DEFINITION 22, and then catalog the Voices (PRESET DEFINITION 17). Note how a
new set of Voices has been created through replication, as indicated by an * after the
Voice name.

Clear memory (PRESET DEFINITION 16), before embarking on the next Guided Tour.

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GUIDED TOUR #10: CREATING PRESETS and LIBRARY DISKS

In the following tour, we’ll make up a Preset from Voices. We recommend that you sample four
or five Voices, use these to create a Preset, then save them to disk. Alternately, you can load a
Performance disk and use those Voices to create Presets; however, you will not be able to
check out the Library disk functions presented in this tour.

Incidentally, the process of sampling and creating a good Preset is a lengthy one. It can take
hours to end up with a great Preset, and a couple more hours to “tweak” it up and create
additional Presets. For the sake of getting through these exercises in a reasonable amount of
time, make simple vocal samples using a microphone and create simple Presets.

1. If you have not already, clear the Bank (PRESET DEFINITION 16). Then, sample five or
six different Voices into the Bank. Refer to the previous Guided Tour on sampling, and
the SAMPLE MODULE Reference section for details. If you’ve already created a Library
disk of Voices, you may load some of these into the Bank instead -- see PRESET
DEFINITION 11.

2. Create a Preset (PRESET DEFINITION 21), renaming if desired, then assign the Bank
Voices to the Preset (PRESET DEFINITION 22). Make sure to overlap some of the
Voices so that you can check out the Velocity Crossfade (PRESET DEFINITION 26),
Velocity Switch (PRESET DEFINITION 25), and Positional Crossfade (PRESET
DEFINITION 27) functions.

3. Now experiment with other Preset Definitions. Edit a Voice assignment (PRESET
DEFINITION 23), de-assign a Voice (PRESET DEFINITION 24), and put a Voice in
Nontranspose mode (PRESET DEFINITION 28).

4. Save one of the Voices to a Library disk by specifying a current Voice and then referring
to VOICE DEFINITION 30. Save the remaining Voices in a similar manner.

5. Still looking for more fun? Call up the arpeggiator (PRESET DEFINITION 29). That
should keep you occupied for a while.

6. For information on how to transfer Voices from various Performance and Library disks to
a single Performance disk, thus creating a multi-instrument Performance disk, refer to
Part 4 in the section on Advanced Applications.

This has been a very fast, and somewhat superficial, tour of the world of Library disks and
Presets. For tips and techniques on how to make best use of the Emulator II’s resources when
creating Presets, Banks, Performance disks, and Library disks, refer to he Advanced
Applications section of this manual.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 50

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
1 - SELECTING THE CURRENT PRESET

2 - ASSIGNING THE CURRENT VOICE

3 - EXITING A FUNCTION

4 - LIBRARY DISKS

5 - DISK HANDLING

6 - REALTIME FUNCTIONS

7 - CATALOGUING

8 - KEYBOARD NUMBERING PROTOCOL

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 51

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1 - SELECTING THE CURRENT PRESET

This function chooses one of the available Bank Presets.

1. With no modules active, the display will show the Current Preset name and number. The
blinking cursor will appear under the first digit of the Preset number.

2. To change the Current Preset, enter a two-digit number with the keypad. If you enter a
number for which there is no Preset, the display lower line will give the illegal Preset
number and say NOT FOUND. Try again.

3. To determine the Current Preset at any time, de-activate any active modules. The
Current Preset name and number will show in the display.

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GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

2 - ASSIGNING THE CURRENT VOICE

The processing modules (Filter, VCA/LFO, and Voice Definition) can process each Voice
in a Preset, as well as groups of Voices in the Preset, individually. Therefore, it is
necessary to specify the Voice, or group of Voices, to be processed. This Voice or group
of Voices is called the Current Voice.

1. To assign the Current Voice, one of the processing modules must be active and the
bottom display line must say Play a Key. If the display says something else, before
proceeding to step 2 initiate the CHANGE CURRENT VOICE function by keying in 00 if
the Voice Definition module is active (remember, this function is not printed on the front
panel label), or 0 if the Filter or VCA/LFO module is active (refer to sections VOICE
DEFINITION 00, FILTER 0, or VCA/LFO 0 respectively).

2. Play a key. The display’s top line will now give the Voice number and name to which that
key belongs; the bottom line will most likely say, “Play a Key”.

If the bottom line reads “Again2nd Voice” instead of “Play a Key”, it means that another
Voice overlaps (“doubles”) this key. Press the same key again; the display’s top line will
show the overlapping Voice, and the bottom line will say “Again2nd Voice”.

3. As you play different keys, one at a time, the display will give the Voice number and
name to which each key belongs, and (if appropriate) indicate when it is being doubled
by another Voice.

4. When the display shows the Voice (or one of the Voices) to be processed, press
ENTER.

5. The display now asks:

V01 Bass E1
Addl Voices? Y/N

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 53

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

There are two choices. To select this one Voice as the Current Voice, press NO to tell
the Emulator II you want no additional Voices; the display will return to the Module
Identifier and the Current Voice assignment process is complete. When you select a
processing module, it will process only this Voice.

To specify additional Voices as part of the Current Voice1, press YES. The display then
asks:

V01 Bass E1
Entire Kybd? Y/N

6. Again, there are two choices. To specify all Voices on the keyboard as the Current
Voice, press YES; the display will return to the Module Identifier and the Current Voice
assignment process is complete. When you select a processing module, it will affect all
Voices on the keyboard simultaneously. To specify additional Voices (but not the entire
keyboard) as the Current Voice, press NO.

7. The display now asks:

V01 Bass E1
Play Addl Voice

As you play additional Voices, a new Voice number and name will appear on the
display’s top line, while the bottom line says Play a Key. Play various keys; when the
display shows a Voice you want to assign to the Current Voice, press ENTER. The
display will update the Current Voice listing (top line) by displaying both of the assigned
Voice numbers, while the bottom line says Play Addl Voice. Continue playing additional
Voices and pressing ENTER until you have assigned all desired Voices to the Current
Voice. To finish the Current Voice assignment process, press ENTER once more.

Note: If you specify a Current Voice with more than five Voices, the display will list the
first five Voices assigned. An additional + symbol indicates there are more Voices
assigned than the display can list.

8. The specified Current Voice will remain as is until you either change the Voice
assignment (see FILTER 0, VCA/LFO 0, and VOICE DEFINITION 00), change Presets,
or load another Bank. If you switch between modules, the Current Voice remains as
assigned.

1
VOICE DEFINITION 11 and 12 (Truncate and Loop) can process only one Voice at a time. When the Current Voice
consists of more than one Voice, these functions will process only the first Voice listed in the display.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 54

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

3 - EXITING A FUNCTION

After modifying a Current Voice or Preset by adjusting any of its parameters, you have
three options on how to proceed.

1. Press ENTER. You will remain in the currently selected module, ready to select another
function. The display top line will show the Module Identifier.

2. De-activate the module (Emulator II returns to Current Preset).

3. Activate another function within the module or activate another module.

Remember: A modified Voice or Preset is saved in the Bank, which loses its memory when
the power goes off. To permanently save modified individual Voices and complete Banks,
save to Library and Performance disks respectively.

4 - LIBRARY DISK VOICE NUMBERING PROTOCOL

Voices are stored in the Bank under Voice numbers, which range from V01 to V99. When
a Voice is saved to a Library disk, the Voice number designation is replaced with a File
number designation, and the Voice is stored on the disk under the lowest available File
number.

The reason for changing from a Voice to File number is that many times, different Voices from
different Banks will have the same Voice number (for example, with one Bank Voice 10 might
be a piano sound; in another Bank, Voice 10 could be a snare drum). Saving these like-
numbered Voices to disk would cause problems (i.e. should a like-numbered Voice over-write
an existing Voice, change its Voice number, or what?); also, loading Voices from a Library disk
would also be more complicated (if you had two Voices on disk named V01and tried to load V01
into the Bank, which would be the proper one to load?).

Using File numbers solves these problems. When loading Voices from a Library disk (PRESET
DEFINITION 11, “Get Voice”)), specify the File number of the Voice to be loaded, then assign
the Bank Voice number into which you want to load the Voice. Once in the Bank, the Voice is
referred to only by its Voice number.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 55

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

5 - DISK HANDLING

Disks represent the sum total of your experience with the Emulator II, and should be
handled with care.

Common Courtesy for Disks

Disks should never be:

Bent or sat on

Exposed to strong magnetic fields (TV’s, speakers, etc.)

Subjected to temperature extremes

Left out in the sun

Touched where any of the inner plastic disc is exposed

Used for coasters or Frisbees.

Disks should always be:

Stored vertically in their protective jackets

Kept away from dust, dirt, and smoke

Treated carefully and gently.

Disk Type
The Emulator II requires double-sided, double-density, 48 tracks- per-inch (TPI) 5.25” floppy
disks.

The Disk Drive

Before transporting the Emulator II (even if it’s only across the room), always insert and latch
either the original packing material (see SETUP in the Introduction) or a “scrap” disk into each
drive. This protects the drive from vibration. Do not use a good disk, as it could become
damaged during transit.

When active, the Drive’s LED will light. Do not try to operate the Emulator II controls when the
LED is on. The mechanism will occasionally make whirring and “clunking” sounds; these are
normal.

Labeling Disks
Write on the adhesive label before attaching it to the disk. Writing on a label attached to a disk
can damage it; but if you’re the gambling type, at least use a felt-tip pen and apply very little
pressure.

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GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Write-Protecting Disks
Write-protecting a disk turns off the disk drive’s ability to record on to the disk, thus preventing
accidental erasure. To write-protect a disk, fold a small adhesive tab (usually supplied with the
disk) over both sides of the disk so that the write-protect notch (see Fig. GENINS-1 is
completely covered (see Fig. GENINS-2). As long as the notch is covered, you will not be able
to accidentally record over the disk.

If you try to write on a disk and cannot, check whether it is write-protected before proceeding.

Fig. GENINS-1

Fig. GENINS-2

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 57

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
Single-drive vs. Dual-drive Emulator Il’s
A dual-drive Emulator II offers more convenience than a single-drive Emulator II, particularly for
copying disks. In this manual, we will assume a dual-drive Emulator II (with the top drive = Drive
1 and the lower drive = Drive 2) except where noted.

Inserting the Disk in the Drive

Referring to Fig. GENINS-3, first make sure that the latch is in the open position. Next, insert an
Emulator II disk label side up with the labelled side going in last (see Fig. GENINS-4). Gently
push the disk all the way in until it can go no further, then turn the latch clockwise 90 degrees
until it clicks into place (straight down position).

Fig. GENINS-3

Fig. GENINS-4

Always have a Disk in the Top Drive!

Because Emulator II disks contain Operating System software that is occasionally referenced by
the computer, there must always be either a Performance disk or Library disk in the top drive.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 58

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

6 - SELECTING REAL TIME CONTROL FUNCTIONS

Real time functions are designed for fast, easy selection while playing live. Each Preset
can have its own unique set of pre-programmed real time functions.

1. Activate the Real Time Control module.

2. The display shows each control source as a pair of numbers. The first digit of each pair
represents the control source, the second digit the control source’s destination. Select
the control source to which you want to assign a destination by keying in the appropriate
control source number:

1: Left modulation wheel (center detent, spring return type)

2: Right modulation wheel (continuously variable type)
3: Control voltage pedal (plugs into rear panel PEDAL A/D jack;
also accepts any 0 to +10V control voltage source)
4: MIDI control channel A
5: MIDI control channel B
6: MIDI control channel C
7: Footswitch 1 (plugs into rear panel FOOT SW1 jack)
8: Footswitch 2 (plugs into rear panel FOOT SW2 jack)

3. Each of destinations 0 - 7 printed in the upper right-hand column of the module can be
controlled by control source 1, 2, or 3. Each destination can be controlled by only a
single source.

4. In addition to being controlled via the Emulator II’s controllers, these destinations can
also be controlled via MIDI. First, up to three destinations are assigned to the three MIDI
control sources (4, 5, and 6). Second, these MIDI control sources are given controller
numbers (see PRESET DEFINITION 30). These numbers match up with the numbers of
the controllers “transmitting” data from a MIDI unit into the Emulator II. For more
information, see the MIDI supplement.

5. Each of destinations 0 - 5 printed in the lower right-hand column of the module can be
controlled by sources 7 and 8. Each destination can be controlled only by a single
source.

6. The cursor will flash under the second number of the pair, indicating that you may now
select one of the destinations printed on the right-hand side of the module (and listed in
the REAL TIME CONTROL section of this manual). There are eight destinations (0-7)
available for the first six control sources, and six additional destinations (0 - 5) available
for control sources 7 and 8 (footswitches). Sources cannot share destinations.

Note: Real-time functions usually control all Voices on the keyboard. However, when making up
a Preset, it is possible to exempt Voices from real-time control. This is described fully in VOICE
DEFINITION 29 (“Control Enable”).

Note: For some Presets on factory disks, default destinations will already have been selected.
For other Presets, all control sources will be turned OFF (0).

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GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

7 - CATALOGUING

Several commands allow you to catalog the Voices, Presets, and Sequences in a Bank.
For example, when erasing a Voice, you can catalog the Voices to make sure you are
erasing the right one.

In each case, cataloguing occurs by moving Slider A. The slider motion corresponds to moving
a list of Voices, Presets, or Sequences underneath the display window (see Fig. GENINS-5). In
other words, moving the slider up will cause progressively higher Voice or Preset numbers to be
visible in the display, while moving the slider downwards will cause progressively lower Voice or
Preset numbers to be visible in the display.

Note: Some functions ask you to enter a particular Voice, Preset, or Sequence number either
via the keypad or by cataloguing. When cataloguing, to enter a Voice, Preset, or Sequence,
simply press ENTER whenever the desired Voice, Preset, or Sequence appears.

P01 Trumpet
P02 Grand Piano
P03 E-bow Guitar
P04 Drill Press
P05 Door Closing
P06 Heavy
HeavyMetal
Metal LCD “Window”
P07 Bass
Bass
P08 Quake Bass
P09 Piano 2
P10 Piano 3
P11 Piano 4
P12 Xylophone
P13 Harpistude
Slider

Fig. GENINS-5

Moving the slider up moves the list of Voices

or Presets up underneath the LCD “window”.

Note: Some functions ask you to enter a particular Voice, Preset or Sequence number either via
the keypad or by cataloguing. When cataloguing, to enter a Voice, Preset or Sequence, simply
ENTER whenever the desired Voice, Preset or Sequence appears.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 60

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

8 - KEYBOARD NUMBERING PROTOCOL

Several functions reference particular keyboard keys. E-mu numbers the keyboard keys
as follows.

The left-most (lowest) C is C1. The next highest note is C#1, then D1, D#1, E1, etc. through to
B1. After B1, the next higher C is C2. Notes proceed upwards from C2 (C#2, D2, D#2, E2, etc.)
until the next higher C, which is C3. Notes count upwards in a similar fashion until reaching the
very highest C, which is C6.

In summary:

The lowest octave spans the range C1 - B1.

The next octave higher spans the range of C2 - B2.
The next octave higher spans the range of C3 - B3.
The next octave higher spans the range of C4 - B4.
The next octave higher spans the range of C5 - B5.
The very highest note is C6.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 61

MASTER CONTROL MODULE

MASTER CONTROL MODULE

DYNAMIC ALLOCATION

TUNE

TRANSPOSE

DOUBLE MEMORY

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 62

MASTER CONTROL MODULE

DYNAMIC ALLOCATION

This function bypasses existing Voice to Output Channel assignments, and makes all
Voices available at all Channels (as if all Voices were assigned to Channels 1 – 8, refer to
PRESET DEFINITION 22, “Assign Voice”).

Application: Audition all Voice sounds without having to listen to specific Channels.

1. Press DYNAMIC ALLOCATION to override Voice Output Channel assignments; press

again to de-activate.

TUNE

This function enables tuning the Emulator II to other instruments.

1. Press TUNE. The display says:

TUNING YXX CENTS

USE SLIDER

. ..where XX is a two-digit number and Y indicates plus or minus.

2. As you play the keyboard, vary slider A to change tuning. The display will indicate
whether you are sharp (+) or flat (-) compared to the normal keyboard pitch, and by how
many cents (up to +48 cents, -50 cents). Note that the tunings of individual Voices can
also be varied (see VOICE DEFINITION 24).

3. Press TUNE again to store the new tuning and de-activate the tune function.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 63

MASTER CONTROL MODULE

TRANSPOSE

This function transposes the keyboard in half-step intervals up to ± one octave.

Applications: Use one key’s fingerings in a different key. Modulate to a different key without
having to use different fingerings.

1. Press and hold TRANSPOSE; its LED will light. The display says:

TRANSPOSED C2
PLAY A KEY

2. The display shows the amount of transposition referenced to C2 (see GENERAL

INSTRUCTIONS 8), the second C from the left-hand side of the keyboard. Therefore, if
the display says C2 there is no transposition.

3. To transpose: Continue to hold TRANSPOSE and press a key between C1 and C3. The
display shows which keyboard key you have selected for the transposition ratio
(compared to C2).

4. To retain the transposition: Release TRANSPOSE (its LED stays lit to remind you the
Emulator II is transposed).

5. To cancel the transposition: Press and hold TRANSPOSE, press C2, and then release
TRANSPOSE (its LED should now be off).

Note: When transposing, remember that a Voice cannot be transposed more than
±1 octave. Therefore, if you transpose the keyboard in such a way that the highest note of
the highest Voice is lower than the highest note of the keyboard (or the lowest note of the
lowest Voice is higher than the lowest note of the keyboard), transposition will not occur
beyond this limit. Under these conditions, rather than leaving blank keys the Emulator II fills
the beyond-transposition-limit keys with notes from the closest available octave.

We know this sounds pretty complicated - and the following example sounds pretty
complicated, too - but once you actually try transposing the Emulator II keyboard it should all
make sense.

Example: Suppose a Voice is assigned with its lowest note as C4, its original note as C5,
and its highest note as C6. If you transpose up a fifth (G2), the note that was formerly G5
will end up at C5, and the highest note (formerly C6) will end up at F5. The Voice cannot
“manufacture” new notes higher than the highest note (formerly C6, now F5), so the Voice
will not be transposed between F5 and C6. Instead, the Emulator II fills up these keys with
notes from the nearest available octave. In this case, G5 has the same pitch as G4, A5 has
the same pitch as A4, and so on.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 64

MASTER CONTROL MODULE

DOUBLE MEMORY
The Emulator II+ is available in three models: a single-disk drive version, a dual disk drive
version, and a hard disk version. Each model is equipped with a feature we call “Double
Memory”. This function allows you to load and access two floppy disk sound banks in the
machine’s memory, by switching from one bank to the other. The overall operation and
performance of the instrument is otherwise not affected.

To use, turn on the Emulator II+ with a floppy disk in the disk drive (the top one, if you have a
dual drive model.) We’ll use disk #4 “Grand Piano” as an example. Wait for the Emulator II+ to
finish booting. You have now loaded the Grand Piano into Sound Bank A.

Press Preset 00 on the keypad to switch banks. Because there is nothing loaded into the
second bank, the display should read:

P01 NULL PRESET

Swapped>Bank B

Now load another floppy into Bank B, for example disk #5, “Marcato Strings”, by pressing Disk
Module 1 (or 2 if you have a dual drive model, and have the disk in the second drive.)

Press 00 again to return to Sound Bank A. The display should read:

P01 Piano #1
Swapped>Bank A

Press 00 to access Bank B again. The display should read:

P01 Marcato Strg

Swapped>Bank B

Both banks are now loaded with sounds, and available for use.

Note: Double Memory is not contiguous - either bank can be saved to disk, but not both
simultaneously.

You’ll need to save each bank to a separate floppy disk. (Whenever you press Disk 7 you will
save to disk the bank currently active.)

1. Insert a blank formatted floppy disk (see Guided Tour #1 for formatting instructions) in
the disk drive and secure the latch.

2. Press Disk 7

3. Press Disk 1 for single-drive EII+ owners, or Disk 1 or 2 for dual-drive owners.
(Depending on the location of the floppy disk being saved to.)

4. When the first sound bank has been saved, swap banks (Preset 00) and repeat the
procedure described above.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 65

MASTER CONTROL MODULE
DOUBLE MEMORY HARD DISK SAVES
Hard disk EII+ owners have the option of also saving each Double Memory sound bank to hard
disk for quick access. Follow the procedure for saving to the floppy disk drive:

1. Select the Bank to be saved,

2. Press Disk 7

3. Press Disk 02 - 47 (available hard disk banks in EII+ memory)

4. Swap Double Memory sound banks (Preset 00), and repeat the hard disk save
procedure.

Please see the Hard Disk Supplement for details on saving sounds to hard disk.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 66

FILTER MODULE

FILTER MODULE
0 - CHANGE CURRENT VOICE

1 - FREQUENCY, Q, ENVELOPE AMOUNT

2 - LFO AMOUNT, KEYBOARD AMOUNT

3 - ADSR SETTINGS

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 67

FILTER MODULE

0 - CHANGE CURRENT VOICE

This function lets you change the Current Voice assignment.

1. To change the Current Voice, with the module active, key in 0.

2. The display’s top line lists which Voices make up the current Voice. If more than five
Voices have been assigned, the display shows the first five assigned Voices and a +
symbol. The bottom line invites you to Play a Key.

3. Follow the Voice assignment process described in GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2.

1 - FREQUENCY, Q, ENVELOPE AMOUNT

This function determines the filters initial cutoff frequency and Q (sharpness), as well as
the extent to which the associated ADSR envelope affects the filter cutoff frequency.

Application: Change the timbral quality of a sound.

1. With the module active, Current Voice assigned (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2),
and the ENTER LED either lit steadily or off, key in 1. The display says:

Freq Q Env
XXX XX XXX

...where X is a numeral.

Freq, controlled by Slider A, ranges from 000 to 120. Higher values correspond to higher
filter cutoff frequencies. Its maximum sweep range is most obvious with Env set to +00.

Q, controlled by Slider B, ranges from 00 to 99. Higher values correspond to increased

resonance, which gives a sharper, more whistling sound.

Env, controlled by Slider C, ranges from -50 (maximum inverted envelope) to +00 (no
envelope) to +50 (maximum positive envelope). It is usually necessary to raise the filter
cutoff value when using inverted envelopes.

2. To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a Function”).

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 68

FILTER MODULE

2 - LFO AMOUNT, KEYBOARD AMOUNT

This function determines the extent to which the LFO modulates the filter cutoff
frequency, and also sets keyboard tracking between 0.00 (minimum) and 1.87
(maximum).

Application (Keyboard Tracking): With no tracking, a sound will become progressively less
bright as you play higher on the keyboard. This is useful with some bass sounds, where you
don’t want the high notes to sound too trebly. With normal tracking (keyboard amount 1.00), the
timbre of a sound remains constant as you play up the keyboard. This is generally used to give
the most realistic synthesizer and instrument sounds. With overtracking (keyboard amount
greater than 1.00), the overall timbre becomes brighter as you play higher up on the keyboard.
This is useful for playing upper keyboard register leads that really “cut” while also playing a
more sedate, muted line in the lower registers.

1. With the module active, Current Voice assigned (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2),
and the ENTER LED either lit steadily or off, key in 2. The display says:

LFO Amt KBD Amt

XX X.XX

...where x is a numeral.

LFO Amt, controlled by Slider A, determines the extent to which the LFO modulates the
filter cutoff frequency. Range is from 00 to 15, with higher values giving more
modulation.

Note: LFO rate, delay, and variation are set from the VCA/LFO module (see
VCA/LFO 2).

KBD Amt, controlled by Slider B, sets the filter tracking from 0.00 (no tracking) to 1.87
(overtracking). With 0.00 tracking, the filter cutoff will not be affected by the keyboard
pitch. With 1.00 tracking, the filter cutoff will precisely track the keyboard pitch. With 1.87
tracking, the filter cutoff will change at almost twice as fast a rate as keyboard pitch
changes.

2. To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a Function”).

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 69

FILTER MODULE

3 - ADSR SETTINGS

This function sets the attack, decay, sustain, and release characteristics of the filter
ADSR envelope generator.

Application: Change the filter cutoff frequency dynamically with respect to time.

1. With the module active, Current Voice assigned (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2),
and the ENTER LED either lit steadily or off, key in 3. The display says:

Atk Dec Sus Rel

XX XX XX XX

...where X is a numeral.

Hint: Filter and VCA settings interact. For example, if the VCA is set for an extremely
short decay, then you won’t hear the effects of setting a long filter attack or decay.

Atk, controlled by Slider A, varies the filter envelope attack time from 01 to 32 (higher
values increase the attack time).

Dec, controlled by Slider B, varies the filter envelope initial decay time from 01 to 32
(higher values increase the initial decay time). 32 gives “infinite decay” (envelope stays
at maximum amplitude for as long as you hold down keys).

Sus, controlled by Slider C, varies the filter envelope sustain level from 01 to 32 (higher
values give higher sustain levels).

Rel, controlled by Slider D, varies the filter envelope release time from 01 to 32 (higher
values increase the release time). A setting of 32 inhibits the release phase of the
envelope, thus keeping the filter open at the previously selected Sustain level. This is
useful if you want to trigger a long sound by simply tapping a key.

Note: If the VCA and filter release are both at 32 (also see VCA/LFO 1), a key will
sustain at the sustain level even after you take your fingers off the keys. This is like the
HOLD function found on standard synthesizers. The sound will continue to sustain
unless you play more notes than there are available channels, in which case previously
assigned channels will be assigned to newly played notes.

2. To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a Function”).

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 70

LFO/VCA MODULE

LFO/VCA MODULE
0 – CHANGE CURRENT VOICE

1 – ADSR SETTINGS

2 – LFO PARAMETERS AND VCA AMOUNT

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 71

LFO/VCA MODULE

0 - CHANGE CURRENT VOICE

This function lets you change the Current Voice assignment.

1. To specify the Current Voice, with the module active key in 0.

2. The display’s top line lists which Voices make up the current Voice. If more than five
Voices have been assigned, the display shows the first five assigned Voices and a +
symbol. The bottom line invites you to Play a Key.

3. Follow the Voice assignment process described in GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2.

1 - ADSR SETTINGS

This function sets the attack, decay, sustain, and release characteristics of the VCA’s
ADSR envelope generator.

Application: Change a Voice’s dynamics with respect to time.

1. With the module active, Current Voice assigned (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2),
and the ENTER LED either lit steadily or off, key in 1. The display says:

Atk Dec Sus Rel

XX XX XX XX

...where X is a numeral.

Hint: Filter and VCA settings interact. For example, if the VCA is set for an extremely
short decay, then you won’t hear the effects of setting a long filter decay.

Atk, controlled by Slider A, varies the VCA envelope attack time from 01 to 32 (higher
values increase the attack time).

Dec, controlled by Slider B, varies the VCA envelope initial decay time from 01 to 32
(higher values increase the initial decay time). 32 gives “infinite decay” (envelope stays
at maximum amplitude for as long as you hold down keys).

Sus, controlled by Slider C, varies the VCA envelope sustain level from 01 to 32 (higher
values give higher sustain levels).

Rel, controlled by Slider D, varies the VCA envelope release time from 01 to 32 (higher
values increase the release time). A setting of 32 inhibits the release phase of the
envelope, thus keeping the VCA open at the previously selected Sustain level.

Note: If the filter and VCA release are both at 32 (also see FILTER 3), a key will sustain
at the sustain level even after you take your fingers off the keys. This is like the HOLD

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 72

LFO/VCA MODULE
function found on standard synthesizers. The sound will continue to sustain unless you
play more notes that there are available channels, in which case previously assigned
channels will be assigned to newly played notes.

2. To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a Function”).

2 - LFO PARAMETERS AND VCA AMOUNT

This function sets three LFO parameters (initial rate, delay before onset of LFO
modulation, and LFO variation), and also determines the extent to which the LFO
modulates the VCA.

Application: After pressing a key(s), LFO delay (function 2B) delays the onset of vibrato by an
adjustable amount. This simulates an effect often used by string players, where the vibrato is
brought in only after the initial note pitch has been clearly established.

Application: LFO variation (function 2C) adds a randomised quality to ensemble sounds by
providing slightly different vibrato rates for each key being held down. This can make orchestral
Voices sound truly polyphonic.

Application: LFO modulating VCA (function 2D) provides tremolo effects, as used for years in
guitar amplifiers.

1. With the module active, Current Voice assigned (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2),
and the ENTER LED either lit steadily or off, key in 2. The display says:

Rate Del Var VCA

XX XX XX XX

...where x is a numeral.

Slider A controls the LFO Rate from 01 to 99 (higher values give a faster modulation
rate).

Slider B controls LFO Delay (the amount of time between hitting a key and the onset of
modulation). Range is from 00 to 99, with 99 giving an approximate 2 second delay.

Slider C controls LFO Variation. In addition to having true, one-LFO-per-Voice

polyphonic modulation, the Emulator II also has a great new feature called variation.
With 00 variation, each key will have the same vibrato rate. Increasing variation (to a
maximum of 15) alters the LFO rate every time you hit a key; the higher the number, the
greater the variation in LFO frequency. For effects such as ensemble playing, the
variation feature is invaluable as it creates the illusion of multiple players, each having
their own vibrato rate.

Slider D determines the extent to which the LFO modulates the VCA level.

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VOICE DEFINITION MODULE

00 - CHANGE CURRENT VOICE

11 - TRUNCATE START AND END OF SAMPLE

12 - SET LOOP START AND LOOP LENGTH POINTS

13 - FORWARD/REVERSE LOOP

14 - SPLICE

15 - SOUND LENGTH

21 - VELOCITY ASSIGNMENT TO LEVEL AND ATTACK

22 - VELOCITY ASSIGNMENT TO FILTER

23 - VIBRATO DEPTH

24 - VOICE ATTENTUATE/TUNE

25 - SOLO MODE

26 - LOOP IN RELEASE

27 - BACKWARDS MODE

28 - COMBINE VOICES

29 - CONTROL ENABLE

30 - SAVE VOICE TO DISK

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00 - CHANGE CURRENT VOICE

This function lets you change the Current Voice assignment. A special prize will be
awarded to any Emulator II owner who finds this function printed on the front panel label.

1. To change the Current Voice, with the module active, key in 00.

2. The display’s top line lists which Voices make up the current Voice. If more than five
Voices have been assigned, the display shows the first five assigned Voices and a +
symbol. The bottom line invites you to Play a Key.

3. Follow the Voice assignment process described in GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2.

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11 - TRUNCATE START and END of SAMPLE

Truncation shortens a Voice’s length by trimming off parts of the beginning and/or end.

Applications: Cut off unneeded portions of a Voice to conserve memory. Change instrument
characteristics (i.e. remove the attack from a plucked string note). Cut off long decay (i.e.
simulate noise-gated reverb effect on drums). Use to isolate a particular section of a sample.

1. With the module active, assign the Current Voice (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2).
Note: Truncation works on only one Voice at a time. If the Current Voice contains more
than one Voice, the first Voice listed in the display will be truncated.

2. After assigning the Current Voice (the ENTER LED will be off), key in 11. The display
says:

Trun Start 000000

Trun End 000000

...and the ENTER light will flash.

Hint: It is good practice to move sliders A and B all the way down, and sliders C and D
all the way up, before truncating. This puts them in their “no truncation” positions.

3. The six digits in the upper display line indicate, in samples, how much is being cut off the
start of the Voice. Slider A gives coarse control over the start truncation, Slider B fine
control. Moving the sliders upwards increases the amount of truncation. Example:
Adjusting these sliders so that the bottom line indicates Trun Start 027500 cuts one
second off the beginning of the sample (see Fig. VDEF-1).

Percussive
Sound
Envelope Start = 27,500

1 2 3 4
Time in Seconds

Fig. VDEF- 1

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Note that samples are truncated in groups rather than one sample at a time, even with
the fine truncation slider. Also note that activating Slider B may alter Slider A’s initial
setting; readjust Slider A to compensate. Go back and forth between these two controls
until you find the ideal start truncation point.

4. The six digits in the lower display line indicate, in samples, how much is being cut off the
end of the sample. Slider C gives coarse control over end truncation, Slider D fine
control. Moving the sliders downwards increases the amount of truncation.

Example: Adjusting these sliders so that the top line indicates Trun End 027500 cuts
one second off the end of the sample (see Fig. VDEF-2).

Percussive
Sound
Envelope End = 27,500

1 2 3 4
Time in Seconds

Fig. VDEF- 2

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As with start truncation, samples are truncated in groups rather than one at a
time, even with the fine truncation slider. Also, activating Slider D may alter Slider
C’s initial setting; readjust Slider D to compensate. Go back and forth between
these two controls until you find the ideal end truncation point.

5. After setting the desired truncation points, press ENTER. The display asks:

Cancel
Truncation? Y/N

Now’s your chance to bail out, if need be, and start over again. Press YES to
cancel truncation and return to the Module Identifier. Otherwise, press NO and
proceed.

6. The display now asks:

Make Truncation
Permanent? Y/N

To permanently erase the truncated sections, press YES. To retain the truncated
information in memory (so that you can truncate the sample again later in a
different way), press NO. Either response will return you to the Module Identifier.

Note: If you want to erase the truncated sections to conserve Bank memory, yet
keep a copy the untruncated Voice, save it to a Library disk (see VOICE
DEFINITION 30).

7. If you try to truncate a sample which has already been truncated, but for which
the truncation has not been made permanent, display will first ask:

Cancel
Truncation? Y/N

If you press YES, the Emulator II assumes you didn’t really want to truncate the
sample and returns to the Module Identifier. If you press NO, the display will read
the current truncation settings. You may continue to play with truncation, or exit
to another function as described in GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a
Function”).

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Loop Start
Percussive
Sound
Envelope Loop Length

1 2 3 4
Time in Seconds

Fig. VDEF- 3

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12 - SET LOOP START and LOOP LENGTH POINTS

“Looping” lets you mark off a section (called a loop) of a Voice with a Start point
and loop Length (see Fig. VDEF-3). When you press a key, the Voice plays
normally until it reaches the end of the loop. It then jumps back to the Start point
and re-plays through the loop. Upon reaching the loop end, it again re-plays the
loop. This looping process continues for as long as the key is pressed. Fig. VDEF-
4 indicates a typical looping action. (Note: VOICE DEFINITION 26 lets the loop
continue even after you remove your fingers from the keys to accommodate
sounds with long release times. VOICE DEFINITION 13 provides an alternate
looping action where the loop plays both backwards and forwards. Refer to these
sections for specifics.)

etc.

… then replays the marked loop

for as long as the key is held
down

Length

Start

1 2 3 4
Fig. VDEF- 4

Applications: Looping provides “infinite sustain” effects, extends short samples, and if
the loop is rhythmically related to a composition, produces interesting rhythmic effects.

1. With the module active, assign the Current Voice (see GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 2).

Note: Looping works on only one Voice at a time. If you specify more than one
Voice as the Current Voice, the first Voice listed in the display will be looped.

2. After assigning the Current Voice (the ENTER LED will be off), key in 12. The
display says:

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S000004 LXXXXX
AutoLp:Press Yes

...and the ENTER light flashes. S is the Start point of the loop, and L is the loop
Length in samples. Initially, S is set to the beginning of the Voice (approximately
000000) and L equals the length of the sample.

3. Remember -- L sets the Length, not the end point, of the loop. Example:
Consider the loop in Fig. VDEF- 5. When S moves, the loop end point (as
determined by the loop Length) moves in tandem with S.

S2
As S1 moves to S2 the loop
S1 length follows along to create a
L2 new end point
L1

1 2 3 4
Fig. VDEF– 5

Hint: If the loop Length is at maximum (as occurs when you first call up a Voice
for looping), you cannot set a new S point since that would force the loop to “run
out of sample” (see Fig. VDEF- 6). Shorten the Length before moving the S
point.

Same as Fig VDEF- 5, except

S that START has moved far
enough to place the end point
beyond the end of the sample.
L1

1 2 3 4
Fig. VDEF– 6

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Hint: It is good practice to move sliders A through D all the way down before
looping. This sets the Start point to the beginning of the sample and the loop
Length to 000000. With a loop Length of 000000, there is nothing to loop;
therefore, when you press a key, the sample will stop playing as soon as it
encounters the loop. This makes it easier to set the loop Start point.

4. The six digits following the S indicate, in samples, where the loop starts. Slider A
gives coarse control over the Start point; Slider B gives fine control. Moving the
sliders upwards moves the Start point closer to the end of the sample.

Example: Adjusting these sliders so that the top line reads S027500 means that
the Start point is located one second into the sample (see Fig. VDEF- 7).

Loop Start = 27,500

Loop Length = 27,500

1 2 3 4
Time in Seconds
Fig. VDEF- 7

Note: The Start time is adjusted in groups of samples rather than one sample at
a time, even with fine control Slider B. Also note that activating Slider B may alter
Slider A’s initial setting; re-adjust Slider A to compensate. Go back and forth
between these two controls until you find the desired Start point.

5. The six digits following the L indicate, in samples, the loop Length. Slider C gives
coarse control over the loop Length, Slider D fine control. Moving the sliders
upwards increases the loop Length.

Example: Adjusting these sliders so that the top line reads L027500 means that
the loop is one second long (see Fig. VDEF- 7).

Note: The Length is adjusted in groups of samples rather than one sample at a
time, even with the fine control slider D. Also note that activating Slider D may
alter Slider C’s initial setting; re-adjust Slider C to compensate. Go back and forth
between these two sliders until you find the desired Length point.

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Before proceeding, study the following background information about
Autolooping.

About Autolooping
Looping performs an electronic “cut and paste” (splice) which sometimes
produces annoying glitches. Here’s why.

Refer to Fig. VDEF- 8, which shows the waveform where a sample is to be

looped. As the signal loops, note the discontinuity at the “splice point”. This can
produce an annoying ticking or popping sound.

Fortunately, the Emulator II is a smart instrument and can help find the optimum
splice point for you. Set the S and L points as best you can with the sliders, then
press YES to invoke Autoloop. The computer will look for nearby points that can
be spliced together with minimum discontinuity. Example: If you invoke Autoloop
for the sample given in Fig. VDEF- 9, the computer will find a good splice point in
the vicinity of the S and L points you programmed (see Fig. VDEF-10). The
display will update to reflect the computer-chosen S and L points.

How well does Autolooping work? Incredibly well, once you get the hang of it
(getting the most out of this function does require practice). Autoloop can save
you much time when doing looped samples, and is remarkably effective with
short, sustained samples.

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Fig. VDEF- 8

Fig. VDEF- 9

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Fig. VDEF-10

6. After finding good loop S and L points, see if Autoloop can produce an even
better loop. Press YES at any point during the looping process to invoke
Autoloop.

Note: The Emulator II is very intelligent, but not quite as hip as a human. So,
sometimes it will choose the correct splice point from a technical standpoint, not
a musical one. Therefore, if you find a good splice point, write down the S and L
numbers before invoking Autoloop. That way, if by some chance Autolooping
produces an inferior splice point, you can regain your original setting (or close to
it) by moving the sliders.

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7. To try for another splice point, move the sliders and press YES again for
Autoloop. Continue moving the sliders in small increments and pressing YES
until you end up with a glitch-free loop.

Note: Sometimes it will be impossible for you or the computer to find a perfect
splice point. When you first try looping, you will probably think this is a common
occurrence. However, you’ll generally find that Autoloop, combined with practice
and experimentation, can usually produce smooth, glitch-free loops.

8. After establishing the desired loop points, press ENTER The display asks:

Remove Loop?
Press Y/N

9. To remove the loop and return to the Module Identifier, press YES. If you don’t
want to remove the loop, press NO; the display then asks:

Trunc After Loop

Press Y/N

10. This gives the option of discarding all of the Voice data after the loop end point.
Pressing YES will help conserve memory; however, if you might want to use the
same sample later with a different loop point, either save it to a Library disk
(VOICE DEFINITION 30) before pressing YES, or press NO to keep the entire
sample intact. Pressing NO returns you to the Module Identifier.

11. If you press YES in step 8, the display asks:

Set Lp in Rls?
Press Y/N

12. This lets you select the Loop in Release function. Press NO, and when you lift
your fingers off the keys the Voice will play through to the end of the loop and
then stop. Press YES, and the loop will continue playing after you release the
key(s) if any release time has been programmed. For more information on Loop
in Release, see VOICE DEFINITION 26. Pressing either NO or YES returns you
to the Module Identifier.

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13 - FORWARD/REVERSE LOOP

See VOICE DEFINITION 12 for a description of standard looping. With

forward/reverse looping, upon reaching the end of the loop the loop plays
“backwards” to the loop Start point, then forwards to the end of the loop, then
backwards to the loop Start point, etc. See Fig. VDEF-11.
etc.

… then replays the

marked loop for as long
as the key is held down
First the note
plays to the end
of the loop

Length

Start

1 2 3 4

Fig. VDEF-11

Application: Some sustained sounds (string section, fuzz guitar, and long samples)
loop more smoothly with this looping mode. Experiment when looping to determine if this
mode gives better results.

1. With the module active, assign the Current Voice (see GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 2). Unlike truncation and normal looping, when specifying
forward/reverse looping the Current Voice can consist of more than one Voice.

After assigning the Current Voice (the ENTER LED will be off), key in 13. The
display gives the default setting (forward/reverse loop off):

**Mode: no
Press Y/N

...and the ENTER light will flash. To select the forward/reverse loop, press YES.
To cancel a previously initiated forward/reverse loop, press NO. Either answer
returns you to the Module Identifier.

Note: When in Forward/Reverse mode, the loop Length display for the loop
function (the second set of numbers in VOICE DEFINITION 12’s display)

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VOICE DEFINITION MODULE
changes to show the loop End point. This is more appropriate since the loop
begins its repeat from the End point. Because of the display change, while in
VOICE DEFINITION 12 you can easily tell whether the loop is forward/reverse or
normal --just check whether the second set of digits begins with E or L.

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14 - SPLICE

Splicing marks an End point in one sample and a Start point in a second sample,
then joins the end of the first sample to the start of the second sample. Portions of
the samples not used in the spliced version are discarded, and any loops are
ignored. Fig. VDEF-12 summarizes how splicing works.

Applications: Splice an unusual attack to one sample, or unusual decay on to another.

Do multiple short splices on multiple samples, one splice at a time, to create complex
“tape collage” effects.

End of 1st Voice Start of 2nd Voice

Voice 1: Percussive Voice 2: Bowed

Splice Point

New Voice

Fig. VDEF-12

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1. With the module active, assign the Current Voice (see GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 2). This Voice provides the first part of the spliced sound.

2. After assigning the Current Voice (the ENTER LED will be off), key in 14. The
display asks:

Splice with V__

Use Slider A

...and the ENTER light will flash. Either use the keypad to specify the Voice
number that will provide the second half of the splice, or move Slider A to catalog
(see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7) the Voices available for splicing. When the
display shows the Voice to be spliced on to the initially selected Voice, press
ENTER.

3. The display now says:

EXXXXXX S000000
AutoSp: Press Yes

...where XXXXXX is the initial End point of the first Voice and 000000 is the initial
Start point of the second Voice.

Hint: It is good practice to move sliders A through D all the way up before
splicing. This turns off the second Voice (by setting its Start point at the end of
the Voice), thus making it easier to concentrate on setting the proper End point in
the first Voice.

4. The six digits following the E indicate, in samples, the first Voice’s End point.
Slider A gives coarse control over the End point; Slider B gives fines control.
Moving the sliders downwards shifts the End point closer to the beginning of the
sample. Example: Adjusting these sliders for a reading of E027500 means that
the end point is located one second into the sample.

Note: The End point is adjusted in groups of samples rather than one sample at
a time, even with the fine control Slider B. Also note that activating Slider B may
alter Slider A’s initial setting; re-adjust Slider A to compensate. Go back and forth
between these two controls until you find the desired End point.

5. The six digits following the S indicate, in samples, the second Voice’s Start point.
Slider C gives coarse control over the Start point; Slider D gives fine control.
Moving the sliders downwards shifts the Start point closer to the beginning of the
Voice. Example: Adjusting these sliders so that the top line reads SO27500
means that the Start point is one second into the second Voice.

Note: The Start point is adjusted in groups of samples rather than one sample at
a time, even with the fine control Slider D. Also note that activating Slider D may
alter Slider C’s initial setting; re-adjust Slider C to compensate. Go back and forth
between these two controls until you find the desired End point.

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Before proceeding, study the following background information On Autosplicing.

About Autosplicing
Splicing two Voices together can sometimes produce an annoying glitch at the
splice point. Consider Fig. VDEF-13, which shows two samples being spliced
together; note the discontinuity at the “splice point”. This can produce an
annoying ticking or popping sound.

As with Autolooping, the Emulator II can help you find the optimum splice point.
Set the splice points as best you can with the sliders, then press YES to invoke
Autosplice. The computer will look for places within the Voices that can be
spliced together with minimum discontinuity. Example: If you call up Autosplice
for the sample given in Fig. VDEF-14, the computer will find a good splice point
in the vicinity of the E and S points you chose (see Fig. VDEF-15). The display
will update to reflect the computer-chosen E and S points.

Manually chosen splice

Fig. VDEF-13

Manually chosen E and S points

Fig. VDEF-14

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6. After finding good E and S points, see if Autosplice can produce an even better
splice. Press YES at any point during the splicing process to invoke Autosplice.

Note: Sometimes the Emulator II will choose the correct splice point from a
technical standpoint, not a musical one. Therefore, if you find a good splice point,
write down the E and S numbers before invoking Autosplice. That way, if by
some chance Autosplicing produces an inferior splice point, you can regain your
original setting (or close to it) by moving the sliders.

6. To try for another splice point, move the sliders and press YES again for
Autosplice. Continue moving the sliders in small increments and pressing YES
until you end up with a glitch-free splice.

Note: Sometimes it will be impossible for you or the computer to find a perfect
splice point. However, you will generally find that Autosplice, combined with
practice and experimentation, will produce smooth, glitch-free splices.

7. After establishing the desired splice points, press ENTER. The display asks:

Make Permanent?
(Kills Origs) Y/N

To permanently join the two samples together, press YES. This replaces each
Voice with the spliced Voice and returns you to the Module Identifier. Example: If
you spliced V01 and V02 together, both V01 and V02 will now contain the spliced
version.

If you do not want to eliminate the originals, or otherwise change your mind about
the splice, press NO to return to the Module Identifier.

8. To continue splicing other Voices on to the Voice you just spliced, you must first
erase one of the spliced versions of the Voice. (In the example given in step 8,
you would erase either V01 or V02 and continue splicing on to the remaining
Voice.)

Hint: Before doing a splice, copy the Voices to be spliced to new Voice numbers
(see PRESET DEFINITION 12). Thus, if you make the splice permanent but
don’t like the results, you can always retrieve the original Voices.

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15 - SOUND LENGTH

This function lets you know the length of the specified Voice.

Applications: Check Voice length to make sure it will fit in the space remaining on a
Library disk. Compare different Voice lengths when sampling.

1. With the module active, assign one Voice as the Current Voice.

2. Key in 15. The display’s lower line indicates the length of the specified Voice in
bytes (samples). If more than one Voice is assigned to the Current Voice, the
display will show the length of the first Voice assigned.

Autosplice chosen loop points

Fig. VDEF-15

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21 - VELOCITY ASSIGNMENT TO LEVEL and ATTACK

This function ties overall dynamics (level) and/or VCA attack time to how
forcefully you play the keyboard.

Application: Sample sounds from an instrument (i.e. older synthesizers) without

dynamics, and assign dynamics.

Application: Keyboard-controlled VCA attack is excellent for string and horn sounds,
where bowing or blowing softly produces a slower attack than rapid bowing or blowing,
which produces a much faster attack.

Application: Since each Voice in a Preset can have its own keyboard dynamics
settings, lower register bass sounds can have minimum dynamics to provide a constant
bottom, while upper register lead sounds can be played more dynamically.

1. With the module active, Current Voice assigned (see GENERAL

INSTRUCTIONS 2), and the ENTER LED either lit steadily or off, key in 21. The
display says:

Vel-Lvl Vel-Atk
XX XX

...where XX is a two digit number between 00 and 15. Slider A determines the
extent to which keyboard velocity controls dynamics. When set to 00, the overall
level is at maximum (loudest possible dynamics) no matter how forcefully or
softly you play the keyboard. Progressively higher values give a progressively
wider dynamic range by making soft sounds softer (see Fig. VDEF-16). Example:
When set to 05, softly played notes sound somewhat quieter than forcefully
played notes; when set to 15, softly played notes sound drastically quieter than
forcefully played notes.

Slider B determines the extent to which keyboard velocity controls attack time.
When set to 00, no matter how hard or soft you play the attack time will remain
as set by VCA/LFO parameter 1A. Increasing the value causes the attack time to
increase as you play more softly. A setting of 15 gives the greatest variation in
attack times between hard and soft playing.

2. To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a

Function”).

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VOICE DEFINITION MODULE

Keyboard
Dynamic
Range is a
function of
slider
setting

Slider Setting

Fig. VDEF-16

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VOICE DEFINITION MODULE

22 - VELOCITY ASSIGNMENT TO FILTER

This function ties the filter cutoff frequency and/or filter ADSR attack and/or filter
Q to how forcefully you play the keyboard.

Application: Acoustic instruments often sound brighter when played forcefully. The
Emulator II can simulate this effect by tying filter cutoff to keyboard dynamics.

Application: Tying keyboard dynamics to filter ADSR attack is very useful with string
parts when you want legato sections to sound more timbrally muted than percussive
sections.

Application: Increasing Q with increasing velocity thins out a sound, yet also increases
its sharpness. This can work well with percussive Voices when you want a more intense,
but not necessarily louder, sound.

1. With the module active, Current Voice assigned (GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 2),
and the ENTER LED either lit steadily or off, key in 22. The display says:

Vel-Freq Atk Q
00 00 +00

Slider A determines the extent to which keyboard velocity controls filter cutoff
frequency. When set to 00, the filter cutoff frequency remains constant no matter
how forcefully or softly you play the keyboard. Progressively higher values give a
wider cutoff frequency range by lowering the cutoff frequency for softer playing
(see Fig. VDEF-17). Example: When set to 05, softly played notes have a
somewhat lower cutoff frequency than ‘forcefully played notes; when set to 15,
softly played notes have a drastically lower cutoff frequency.

Slider B determines the extent to which keyboard velocity controls filter attack
time. When set to 00, no matter how hard or soft you play the filter attack time
will remain as set by Filter parameter 3A. Increasing the value causes the filter
attack time to increase as you play more softly. A setting of 15 gives the greatest
variation in attack times between hard and soft playing.

Slider C determines the extent to which keyboard velocity controls filter Q. When
set to 00, no matter how hard or soft you play the Q stays constant. With positive
values (up to +15), playing more forcefully increases the Q. With, negative values
(down to -15), playing more forcefully decreases Q. Note that overall volume
levels can change with changes in Q; this is normal.

Note: The above settings all interact with the Filter module controls. You will
probably need to “tweak” the Filter module settings for optimum results.

2. To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a

Function”).

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VOICE DEFINITION MODULE

The extent to which filter cutoff changes

according to keyboard dynamics as a
function of slider setting.

Fig. VDEF-17

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VOICE DEFINITION MODULE
23 - VIBRATO DEPTH

This function determines the extent to which the LFO (vibrato) signal modulates
the Current Voice pitch.

1. With the module active, Current Voice assigned (see GENERAL

INSTRUCTIONS 2), and the ENTER LED either lit steadily or off, key in 23. The
display says:

Vibrato Depth 00

Slider A determines the extent to which the LFO modulates the Current Voice
pitch, with higher values (up to 15) giving greater vibrato depth. Vibrato rate,
delay, and variation are set in the VCA/LFO module (see VCA/LFO 2).

Note: This control interacts with the Real Time Control module vibrato control
(see REAL TIME 4). Selecting Real Time vibrato disables this function, and vice-
versa.

2. To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a

Function”).

24 - VOICE ATTENUATE/TUNE

This function attenuates selected Voices assigned to a Preset, thus attaining a

proper balance between all Voices; the tuning of each Voice can also be trimmed
± approximately one half-step.

1. With the module active, Current Voice assigned (see GENERAL

INSTRUCTIONS 2), and the ENTER LED either lit steadily or off, key in 24. The
display says:

Atten Pitch
-XXdB YXXCents

...where Y indicates + or -, and XX is a value between 00 and approximately 48.

2. Adjust Slider A to attenuate the Current Voice relative to the other Voices.

3. Adjust Slider B to change the pitch of the Current Voice relative to the other
Voices.

4. To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a

Function”).

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25 - SOLO MODE

This function provides the playing action of a monophonic synthesizer with single
triggering and last-note priority. With single triggering, you must lift your finger
off a key to initiate a new envelope.

Application: Produce more realistic effects when working with monophonic instrument
sounds (i.e. solo trumpet, flute, sax, etc.) since this mode does not allow you to play a
chord. Simulate the keying action of monophonic synthesizers.

1. With the module active, assign the Current Voice (see GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 2). Next, key in 25. The display says:

Solo Mode: no
Press Y/N

This confirms that the default setting is NO. To activate solo mode, press YES.

2. To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a

Function”).

26 - LOOP IN RELEASE

With a looped Voice, after releasing a key the Voice will play to the end of the
loop, play through any sound (if not already truncated) past the loop end point,
and stop. This can create a problem with long release times since the signal will
cut off abruptly after the loop ends; and if you specified a long release, you clearly
wanted the sound to fade away slowly and gently. This function provides a “Loop
in Release” mode, where the loop continues to play -- even after you lift your
finger off the key -- for as long as the VCA release lasts.

1. With the module active, assign the Current Voice (see GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 2). Next, key in 26. The display says:

Lp in Rls:yes
Press Y/N

This confirms that the default setting is. YES. To de-activate Loop in Release for
the Current Voice, press NO. After making your choice, exit to another function
as described in GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a Function”).

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VOICE DEFINITION MODULE

27 - BACKWARDS MODE

This function reads the Voice out of memory in the reverse order from which it
was stored. .derots saw ti hcihw morf redro esrever eht ni yromem fo tuo ecioV
eht sdaer noitcnuf sihT

Applications: Backwards tape effects simulation. Reverse attack and decay

characteristics of Voices.

1. With the module active, assign the Current Voice (see GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 2).

2. After assigning the Current Voice (the ENTER LED will be off), key in 27. The
display says:

Backwards: no
Press Y/N

...and the ENTER light will flash. This confirms that the default setting is NO. To
initiate Backwards mode, press YES then ENTER To cancel a previously initiated
backwards mode, press NO then ENTER Either answer will return you to the
Module Identifier.

Note: When backwards mode encounters a loop, it will play backwards to the
loop Start point, then jump to the loop end point and play through to the Start
again. With VOICE DEFINITION 13 (forward/reverse loop), the sample will play
backwards to the Start point, then forwards to the loop end, then backwards to
the Start point, etc. (see Fig. VDEF-18).

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VOICE DEFINITION MODULE

How a loop plays in backwards

mode

Length

Start

1 2 3 4

Fig. VDEF-18

Hint: If backwards mode doesn’t appear to work, make sure that the sample
doesn’t have a loop towards the end of its decay. Consider Fig. VDEF-19.
Playing this sample backwards will give a low-level, continuously repeating
sound that is probably not what you had in mind. To play a Voice backwards from
end to beginning, remove any loops.

This loop adds sustain

Loop Start to the voice but
produces a low level
output when played
backwards

Loop Length

Fig. VDEF-19

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VOICE DEFINITION MODULE
28 - COMBINE VOICES

Combining Voices mixes one sample with another, thus producing a more
complex Voice. The combined Voice ignores any looping, tuning, or level changes
programmed in the individual Voices; it works solely on the original digital Voice
information. To loop the combined Voice, it is necessary to treat it as a single
Voice and set loop points as described in VOICE DEFINITION 12.

Applications: Mix octave higher Voices in with a guitar’s original Voices to create a 12-
string guitar effect. Mix synthesized drum sounds in with acoustic drum sounds. Mix
synthesized strings in with real strings to add “body”. Combine two Voices into one Voice
to conserve memory.

1. With the module active, specify one Voice as the Current Voice. After combining,
the Current Voice will contain the mix of the two combined Voices.

2. After assigning the Current Voice (the ENTER LED will be off), key in 28. The
display says:

Combine With V__

Use Slider A

...and the ENTER light will flash. Either enter the Voice number to be combined
with the Current Voice via the keypad, or move Slider A to catalog (see
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7) the Voices available for combining. When the
display shows the desired Voice, press ENTER

3. The display now says:

OK To Replace
Orig Voice? Y/N

If it’s not OK, press NO to return to the Module Identifier. Copy the Current Voice
to another number (see PRESET DEFINITION 12) if you don’t want to lose it
during the combining process. If it is OK, press YES. The display says:

This Will Take

A While

...and it’s not kidding; combining does take some time so don’t think anything is
wrong with ‘the instrument. The display will then return to the Module Identifier.

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29 - CONTROL ENABLE

This unique function allows you to exempt specific Voices from certain Real Time
control functions.

Application: Exempt bass notes with long release times from pitch bending by disabling
pitch bend for the bass Voices. You may then bend pitch in the upper range without
affecting the bass notes.

1. With the module active, Current Voice assigned (see GENERAL

INSTRUCTIONS 2), and the ENTER LED either lit steadily or off, key in 29. The
display says:

Control Enable
Use Slider A

2. Adjust Slider A. Moving the slider from the bottom of its travel to the top scans
the various real time control destinations in the following order: Pitch, LFO to
Pitch, LFO to Filter, LFO to VCA, Filter cutoff frequency, Level, and Attack.

3. The default setting for all destinations is YES. To exempt the Current Voice from
a particular control destination, press NO. Example: To exempt the Current Voice
from being pitch-bent, press NO when the display shows Pitch.

4. After disabling the unwanted control destinations from a Voice, exit to another
function as described in GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a Function”).

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30 - SAVE VOICE TO DISK

This function lets you save an individual Voice to a Library disk.

1. Check that there is sufficient space on the Library disk to hold the Voice by
inserting a formatted Library disk in one of the Emulator II drives, then referring to
DISK 3.

2. After invoking DISK 3, the display will show the remaining amount of Library disk
space in Bytes (samples). Note this reading. If the space remaining is expressed
in Banks, then you have inserted a Performance disk instead of a Library disk.
Insert a Library disk and repeat step 1.

3. Activate the Voice Definition module and assign the Voice you want to save as
the Current Voice. Refer to VOICE DEFINITION 15 to check the length of the
Current Voice. You can save the Voice as long as the SndLength number in the
display is less than the space remaining on the Library disk and greater than
5500.

CAUTION, WARNING, CAREFUL, CUIDADO, LOOK OUT, BEWARE:

ATTEMPTING TO SAVE A VOICE WHICH IS SHORTER THAN 5500
SAMPLES TO A LIBRARY DISK WILL CAUSE A CATASTROPHIC DISK
ERROL YOU WILL LOSE ALL VOICES STORED ON THE LIBRARY DISK,
AND THE DISK WILL NEED TO BE RE-FORMATTED.

Sorry about that, but it’s due to the way that disks store data and there’s
nothing we can do about it right now.

4. Key in 30 to save. The display asks:

Save Voice to
Disk? Y/N

Pressing NO returns you to the Module Identifier. Press YES to save the Voice to
disk. The lower display line will say “Just a Moment...”. After saving, you will
return to the Module Identifier.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

11 - GET VOICE

12 - COPY/NAME VOICE

13 - ERASE VOICE

14 - ERASE SEQUENCE

15 - ERASE PRESET

16 - ERASE BANK

17 - CATALOG VOICES

18 - CATALOG SEQUENCES

19 - CATALOG PRESETS

20 - MEMORY REMAINING

21 - CREATE PRESET

22 - ASSIGN VOICE

23 - EDIT ASSIGNMENT

24 - DE-ASSIGN VOICE

25 - VELOCITY CROSS SWITCH

26 - VELOCITY CROSSFADE

27 - POSITIONAL CROSSFADE

28 - NONTRANSPOSE

29 - ARPEGGIATOR

30 - MIDI SETUP

31 - COPY/RENAME PRESET

32 - REPLICATE PRESET

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE
11 - GET VOICE

This fetches the specified Voice from a Library disk and loads it into the Bank.

Application: Before creating Presets, you must load the Voices that make up the Preset(s) into
the Bank.

1. With the module active, key in 11. The display says:

Get Voice __
(01 – 99)/Slider A

..and the ENTER light will be flashing. Either use the keypad to specify the Voice File to
be loaded, or move Slider A to catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7) the Voice
Files available for loading. When the display shows the desired Voice, press ENTER.

2. The display now says:

FXX (Voice Name)

Into Voice VV

...where XX is the two-digit Voice file number (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 4 on

Library disk Voice numbering protocol), and VV is the lowest-numbered Voice number
available in the Bank. The display will always default to the lowest available Bank Voice
number. To assign this number to the Voice, press ENTER. To assign a different Voice
number, use the keypad and then press ENTER.

3. The disk drive will whirr for a bit and load the Voice file into the Bank. After loading, the
Module Identifier appears.

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12 - COPY/NAME VOICE

This function copies a Voice, assigns a new Voice number, and allows for renaming the
Voice. The original Voice remains intact.

Applications: To make a “back-up” copy of a Voice in the Bank before permanently altering it.
To create a modified version of an existing Voice without altering the original. To rename an
existing Voice by copying it to itself.

1. With the module active, key in 12. The display says:

Copy Voice __
(01 - 99)/Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be flashing. Either use the keypad to specify the Voice
number to be copied, or move Slider A to catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7)
the Bank Voices. When the display shows the Voice to be copied, press ENTER.

2. The display now says:

Copy Voice XX
Into Voice __

...where XX is the Voice number you chose in step 1. Use the keypad to enter the copy’s
Voice number. The display will confirm your choice and the ENTER LED will start
flashing. Press ENTER to copy the Voice.

3. The display now asks:

V01*
Rename? Y/N

* or Voice to be renamed

...unless there isn’t enough memory left for the additional Voice, in which case the
display will say “Not Enough Memory”. If you don’t want to rename, press NO. To
rename, press YES (you can rename a currently existing Preset by copying it to itself).
Slider B positions the cursor under the letter you want to change, while Slider A chooses
between lower case letters, capital letters, numerals 0 - 9, #, and space (top slider
position). Continue positioning the cursor and entering letters until the name is complete.
To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a Function”).

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

13 - ERASE VOICE

This command erases a specified Voice from the Bank. Caution: Once erased, a Voice
will be gone from any Preset in which it appears.

Application: Erase an improperly sampled or unneeded Voice, or free up more memory.

1. With the module active, key in 13. The display says:

Erase Voice
(01 – 99)/Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be flashing. Either use the keypad to specify the Voice
number to be erased, or move Slider A to catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7)
the Bank Voices. When the display shows the Voice number to be erased, press
ENTER.

2. The Emulator II wants to make sure you think twice before blanking out parts of its
memory, so it asks:

Erase Voice VXX

You Sure? Y/N

...where VXX is the previously selected Voice number. If you have any doubts about the
wisdom of erasing the Voice, press NO. Otherwise, press YES to erase the Voice.
Pressing either YES or NO returns you to the Module Identifier.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

14 - ERASE SEQUENCE

This command erases a specified Sequence from the Bank.

Application: Erase an unneeded Sequence, or free up more memory space.

1. With the module active, key in 14. The display says:

Erase Seque
(01- 99 )/Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be flashing. Either use the keypad to specify the Sequence
number to be erased, or move Slider A to catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7,
“Cataloguing”) the Bank Sequences. When the display shows the Sequence number to
be erased, press ENTER.

2. The Emulator II wants to make sure you really do want to erase the Sequence, so it
asks:

EraseSequenceXX
You Sure? Y/N

...where XX is the previously selected Sequence number. If you have any doubts about
the wisdom of erasing the Sequence, press NO. Otherwise, press YES to erase the
Sequence. Pressing either YES or NO returns you to the Module Identifier.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

15 - ERASE PRESET

This command erases a specified Preset from the Bank.

1. With the module active, key in 15. The display says:

Erase Preset
(01 - 99)/Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be flashing. Either use the keypad to specify the Preset to be
erased, or move Slider A to catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7) the Bank
Presets. When the display shows the Preset to be erased, press ENTER.

2. The display now asks you an important question:

Erase Voices Too?

Press Y/N

If you don’t want to erase the Voices but only the particular Preset containing those
Voices, proceed to step 3. If you do want to erase the Voices that make up the Preset,
press YES. Since this is a somewhat drastic move (if these Voices appear in other
Presets, the Voices will be erased from those Presets as well as the Current Preset), the
display will ask...

Erase Preset XX
& Vcs - Sure? Y/N

...where XX is the Preset number you entered. Pressing NO gives you a chance to cover
yourself if you really wanted to keep the Voices after all. To erase the Voices, press
YES. Either answer returns you to the Module Identifier.

3. If you don’t want to erase the Voices but only the Preset containing those Voices, press
NO in step 2. The display asks if you’re sure about all this:

Erase Preset XX
You Sure? Y/N

...where XX is the previously specified Preset number. This is your last chance to
reconsider. Pressing NO returns you to the Module Identifier; pressing YES erases the
Preset from the Bank and returns you to the Module Identifier.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

16 - ERASE BANK

This procedure clears out the Emulator II’s memory Bank.

Application: Allows for fresh start when creating new Banks and Presets from Library disks, or
when sampling.

1. With the module active, key in 16. The display says:

Erase ALLMemory
Press Yes or No

and its LED will be lit steadily.

2. Pressing NO returns you to the Module Identifier. If you press YES, the display says:

Erase ALLMemory
You SURE? Y/N

...and the module LED will still be lit. If you’re sure there’s nothing in the Bank you need
to save, press YES. The memory will be cleared and the display will return to the Module
Identifier.

17 - CATALOG VOICES

This command lists the Voice number and name of every Bank Voice.

1. With the module active, key in 17. The display says:

To Catalog
Use Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be lit.

2. Move Slider A; the display will catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7) all Bank
Voices. After cataloguing, to exit to another function see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3
(“Exiting a Function”).

Note: Voices followed by an * and a number were created with the Replicate Preset
function; see PRESET DEFINITION 32 for details.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

18 - CATALOG SEQUENCES

This command lists the Sequence number and name of every Sequence in the Bank.

1. With the module active, key in 18. The display says:

To Catalog
Use Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be lit.

2. Move Slider A; the display will catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7,

“Cataloguing”) all Bank Sequences. After cataloguing, to exit to another function see
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a Function”).

19 - CATALOG PRESETS

This command lists the Preset number and name of every Bank Preset.

1. With the module active, key in 19. The display says:

To Catalog
Use Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be lit.

2. Move Slider A; the display will catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7) all Bank
Presets. To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3 (“Exiting a
Function”).

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

20 - MEMORY REMAINING

How close are you to filling up the Bank with Voices and Presets? This command lets
you put a dipstick into the memory and find out.

Application: When sampling, to check whether there is sufficient memory to hold a sample of a
particular length (also see SAMPLE 5). To check there is enough available memory before
copying or replicating Presets. To check if there is enough memory before copying Voices.

1. With the module active, key in 20. The display says:

PresetDef (11 - 32)

MemAvail XXXXXX

...where XXXXXX is a six-digit number that indicates remaining Bank memory (in bytes).
A totally clear Bank starts off with 484,559 bytes available.

2. After checking the memory, to exit to another function see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3
(“Exiting a Function”).

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

21 - CREATE PRESET

You must first number and name a Preset, as provided by this function, before assigning
Voices to it.

1. With the module active, key in 21. The display says:

Create & Select

New Preset __

Specify the Preset number with the keypad. The ENTER LED will flash. If the display
confirms your choice, press ENTER.

2. If the selected Preset number already exists, the display will say “Selected Preset Exists”
and asks you to try again.

Enter a number that is not already assigned to a Preset. (Or, exit this function, erase the
Preset as per PRESET DEFINITION 15, and return to this function starting with step 1.)
The display will now say:

Create & Select

Just a Moment

and a new Preset is born.

3. The display then shows:

PXX NULLPRESET
Rename? Y/N

...where XX is the Preset number you specified, and NULL PRESET is the default Preset
name. If you don’t want to rename, press NO. To rename, press YES. Slider B positions
the cursor under the letter you want to change, while Slider A chooses between lower
case letters, capital letters, numerals 0 - 9, IF, and space (top slider position). Position
the cursor and enter letters until the name is complete. To exit to another function, see
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

22 - ASSIGN VOICE

This function assigns a selected Voice to a specific keyboard range within the Current
Preset.

1. With no module active, select the Preset number to which you want to assign the Voice.
Caution: Always check that you have selected the proper Current Preset before
assigning Voices.

2. Activate the Preset Definition module and key in 22. The display says:

Assign Voice
(01 – 99)/Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be flashing. Either use the keypad to specify the Voice
number to be assigned, or move Slider A to catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7)
the available Bank Voices. When the display shows the Voice to be assigned, press
ENTER. (If you enter a number for which there is no Voice, the lower display line will say
that the Voice is “Nonexistent”.)

3. The display now says:

Orig Lo Hi Cnls
1-8

...and the ENTER light will be flashing. You may now assign the Voice to the desired
keyboard range by playing notes on the keyboard. Generally, the Orig note will be the
key representing the ORIGinal pitch at which Voice was recorded; if the original Voice
was recorded at pitch E2 (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 8, “Keyboard Numbering
Protocol”), play keyboard key E2. However, note that you are not limited to assigning the
Voice to the key representing the original pitch at which it was recorded -- you may
assign it anywhere on the keyboard if desired.

4. The display will show, under Orig, the note you just played. If this is the desired note,
press ENTER.

5. Now play the LOwest desired transposition of the Voice. The Emulator II will not
recognize transpositions lower than one octave below the Orig pitch, and will say “Illegal
Asgnment” for LO transpositions that are higher than the HI pitch.

The display will show, under Lo, the note you just played. If this is the desired note,
press ENTER. 6.

6. Now assign the Output Channel, or group of Channels, over which the Voice will appear.
There are eight available Channels. If you assign the Voice to a single Channel, then the
Voice will play monophonically and its single note output will appear at the specified
Channel. If you specify more than one Channel, the Voice can produce as many notes
as there are Channels specified; the output will appear over these multiple Channels.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

Specify the Channel, or group of Channels, by entering a pair of numbers where

indicated by the cursor. When the display confirms your choice, press ENTER.

Examples:

Cnls 3 - 3 The Voice plays monophonically, with the single note output
appearing at Channel 3.
Cnls 1 - 8 The Voice can play up to eight notes, which appear on
Channels 1 - 8. They will share these Channels with any other
Voices assigned to the same Channels.
Cnls 2 - 3 The Voice can play up to two notes, which appear on
Channels 2 and 3.
Cnls 4 - 8 The Voice can play up to five notes, which appear on
Channels 4 - 8.

Hint: Generally, you will specify Channels 1 - 8 for all Voices unless you want to restrict
specific Voices to certain Channels (i.e. for stereo applications, or to send different
instrument sounds through different signal processors).

7. Repeat steps 2 through 6 to assign additional Voices to the Preset. You may overlap up
to two Voices (called “layering” or “doubling”) on the keyboard.

Example: Suppose you assign a bass Voice to the lower two octaves, then want to
create a more powerful bass effect in the very lowest octave. Assign an additional,
overlapping Voice (such as a pipe organ bass pedal) to the lowest octave.

Note: If you attempt to layer more than two Voices, the lower display line will say “Illegal
Asgnment”.

Note: Re-assigning a Voice does not de-assign its previous assignment. If you assign a
Voice incorrectly, de-assign it (PRESET DEFINITION 24) before re-assigning the Voice.

8. After assigning all Voices, de-activate the module and play the keyboard to check that all
assignments ended up as planned. If not, refer to PRESET DEFINITION 23 and
PRESET DEFINITION 24.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

23 - EDIT ASSIGNMENT

This function lets you examine and/or change the Orig, Lo, Hi, and output Channel
parameters of a previously assigned Preset Voice.

1. With the module active, key in 23. The display says:

Edit Assignment
Play a Key

...and the ENTER light will be flashing. Play the keyboard until you locate the Voice you
wish to edit, and then press ENTER.

2. The display now reads:

Orig Lo Hi Cnls

4. The lower line will show the previously selected parameters and the ENTER light will be
flashing. To edit the ORIGinal pitch, play the new original pitch on the keyboard and
press ENTER. To retain the existing original pitch, simply press ENTER.

3. To edit the LO transposition, play the new LO transposition on the keyboard and press
ENTER. To retain the existing LO transposition, simply press ENTER. The Emulator II
will not recognize transpositions lower than one octave below the Orig pitch, and will say
“Illegal Asgnment” for LO transpositions that are higher than the Orig pitch.

4. To edit the HI transposition, play the new HI transposition on the keyboard and press
ENTER. To retain the existing HI transposition, simply press ENTER. The Emulator II
will not recognize transpositions higher than one octave above the Orig pitch, and will
say “Illegal Asgnment” for HI transpositions that are lower than the Orig pitch.

5. To edit the Output Channel(s) over which the Voice will appear, enter a pair of numbers
where indicated by the cursor. When the display confirms your choice, press ENTER. To
retain the existing Output Channel assignment, simply press ENTER. For more
information about Output Channels, see PRESET DEFINITION 22.

6. Repeat steps (1) through (5) to edit additional Voices if desired. You may layer up to two
Voices; if you attempt to layer more than two Voices, the lower display line will say
“Illegal Asgnment”.

7. After editing all desired Voices, de-activate the module and play the keyboard to check
that all assignments have been edited as planned. If you need to delete a Voice rather
than simply edit it, or need to delete a Voice in order to prevent an illegal assignment,
refer to PRESET DEFINITION 24.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE
24 - DE-ASSIGN VOICE

This function de-assigns (deletes) a specific Voice from a Preset.

1. With the module active, key in 24.

2. The display says:

De-Assign Voice
Play a Key

...and the ENTER light will be lit. Play the keyboard until you locate the Voice to be de-
assigned; the ENTER light will be flashing. After locating the Voice, press ENTER.

3. The Voice will be removed from the Preset (but not from the Bank). The display will say:

De-Assign Voice
Play a Key

...and the ENTER light will be lit. To de-assign another Voice, repeat step 2. After de-
assigning all desired Voices, to exit to another function see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
3.

Note that de-assigning a Voice does not erase it; the Voice remains in the Bank and may
be assigned to other Presets.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

25 - VELOCITY SWITCH

Where two Voices overlap, Velocity Switch lets you select one or the other Voice by how
hard you strike keys in the overlap range. Hitting the key(s) softly selects one Voice;
hitting hard selects the other Voice (see Fig. PDEF-1).

Application: Change a note’s timbre by hitting it harder; for example, overlap a normal bass
and slap bass Voice. Use Velocity Switch so that the slap bass is selected when you play the
keyboard forcefully.

Application: When programming sound effects for film work, you can double the number of
sound effects available in a certain keyboard range, and select the desired effect by how hard
you hit a key.

1. With the module active, key in 25. The display says:

VelSW:Play a Key
“No” Erases All

...and the ENTER light’ will be lit. To erase all previous Velocity Switch assignments for
the Current Preset, press NO. If you do not want to assign new Velocity Switch
parameters, exit to another function as described in GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3
(“Exiting a Function”).

2. To create a Velocity Switch, play a key that the two Voices have in common. (If the key
does not have overlapping Voices, the display will say “Key Must Have 2 Voices
Assigned”.) The display’s top line will show the name of the first Voice assigned to the
key, and the lower line will ask “On Hard? Yes/No”.

3. If you want this Voice on when you play the keyboard hard, press YES. If you want this
Voice on when you play the keyboard soft, press NO. After selecting, you will return to
the Module Identifier. Play the keyboard to confirm Velocity Switch works as planned.

Hint: Keyboard dynamics are retained for the two Voices. For the most obvious Velocity
Switch effect, use Voices with minimum dynamics (VOICE DEFINITION 21A = 00).
Assigning a Voice with maximum dynamics to the “play soft” switch function means that
you may never hear the sound, since playing softly produces little or no sound and
playing hard switches to the other Voice.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

26 - VELOCITY CROSSFADE

Where two Voices overlap, Velocity Crossfade lets you control a crossfade between them
by how hard you strike keys in the overlap range. One Voice will become louder as you
play harder and softer as you play softer, while the other Voice will become louder as
you play softer and softer as you play harder (see Fig.
PDEF-2).

Application: Fade between cellos and violins, depending on how hard you play a key. Have a
fuzz guitar sound assigned so that playing softly plays the fundamental, and playing harder
brings in a feedback note an octave above the fundamental.

Application: Overlap the same Voice over a range of the keyboard, but assign one Voice to
Channels 1 - 4 and the other Voice to Channels 5 - 8. Pan Channels 1 - 4 left and 5 - 8 right; the
stereo placement (panning) will depend on how hard you play the keyboard.

1. With the module active, key in 26. The display says:

VelXF:Play a Key
“No” Erases All

...and the ENTER light will be lit. To erase all previous Velocity Crossfade assignments
for this Preset, press NO. If you do not want to assign new Velocity Crossfade
parameters, exit to another function as described in GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3.

2. To create a Velocity Crossfade, play a key that the two Voices have in common. (If the
key does not have overlapping Voices, display will say “Key Must Have 2 Voices
Assigned”.) The display’s top line will show the name of the first Voice assigned to the
key, and the lower line will ask “On Hard? Yes/No”.

3. If you want this Voice to play louder as you hit the keyboard harder, press YES. If you
want this Voice to play more softly as you hit the keyboard harder, press NO. After
selecting, you will return to the Module Identifier. Play the keyboard to confirm Velocity
Crossfade works as planned.

Hint: Keyboard dynamics are retained for the two Voices. For optimum Velocity
Crossfade effects, use Voices with minimum dynamics (VOICE DEFINITION 21A = 00).
Assigning a Voice with maximum dynamics to the “play soft” crossfade function means
that you may never hear the sound, since playing softly produces little or no sound and
playing hard crossfades over to the other Voice.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

27 - POSITIONAL CROSSFADE

Where two Voices overlap, Positional Crossfade alters the level balance (mix) between
the two Voices depending on where you play within the overlap range. Rather than spend
a lot of time explaining this in words, please refer to Fig. PDEF-3.

Application: Transposing a sampled sound lower usually produces a more muffled sound than
the original sample, and transposing upwards usually produces a thinner, brighter sound.
Overlapping Voices and using Positional Crossfade can balance out the Voice timbres; as one
Voice becomes progressively brighter, it can be fading out as the overly muffled part of the next
Voice fades in. Combining the overly thin and overly muffled Voices in the correct proportion
can produce an overall timbre that ends up sounding just right.

1. With the module active, key in 27. The display says:

PosXF:Play a Key
“No” Erases All

...and the ENTER light will be lit. To erase all previous Positional Crossfade
assignments, press NO. If you do not want to assign new Positional Crossfade
parameters, exit to another function as described in GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3.

To create a Positional Crossfade, play one of the keys that’s overlapped by the two
Voices. (If the key does not have overlapping Voices, display will say “Key Must Have 2
Voices Assigned”.) The display’s top line will show the name of the first Voice assigned
to the key, and the lower line will ask “At Top? Yes/No”.

2. If you want this Voice to fade in as you play higher on the keyboard, press YES. If you
want this Voice to fade out as you play higher on the keyboard, press NO. After
selecting, you will return to the Module Identifier. Play the keyboard to confirm Velocity
Crossfade works as planned.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

28 - NONTRANSPOSE

Nontranspose lets a Voice play throughout its assigned keyboard range but at its original
pitch only -- there will be no transposition.

Application: To determine the original note at which a Voice was recorded. Or, if you’re playing
drum parts on the keyboard, you might want to assign the bass drum to the entire left-most
octave of the keyboard so that it makes an easy target compared to hitting one key. In this case,
put the bass drum into Nontranspose mode so that no matter where you hit, the sound is
consistent. Or, if you have an environmental ocean sound layered beyond a melodic line, but
don’t want the ocean to transpose as you play the melody, Nontranspose the ocean sound.

One more application...assign a non-transposed sound and play several keys at almost the
same time; you’ll hear some pretty neat phasing/flanging effects.

1. With the module active, key in 28. The display says:

NonTransp. Mode
Play a Key

...and the ENTER light will be lit. Play a key from the Voice you want nontransposed.
When the display shows the desired Voice, press ENTER.

2. The display now says:

(Selected Voice)
Nontransp: NO

...which shows that the default mode is NO. To put the Voice in Nontranspose mode,
press YES. To cancel an existing Nontranspose assignment, press NO. After choosing,
exit to another function as described in GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 123

PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

29 - ARPEGGIATOR

You’re going to love this arpeggiator: It does a lot and it’s easy to set up. Best of all,
arpeggiation settings are stored with the Preset so that different Presets can have totally
different arpeggiation characteristics. Also, arpeggiation can be assigned to any range of
the keyboard or the entire keyboard.

1. With all modules de-activated, select the Current Preset. This Preset will contain the
arpeggiation information.

2. With the Preset Definition module active, key in 29. The display says:

Arpeg Setup Menu

Use Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be lit. Move Slider A to identify the various Arpeggiator
options. At the bottom of the slider travel, the display says:

Arpeg Mode: off

Use Slider D

Use Slider D to select between the various arpeggiator modes:

off = default setting; no arpeggiation

up = held notes arpeggiate continuously from lowest to highest pitch
down = held notes arpeggiate continuously from highest to lowest pitch
u/d = held notes first arpeggiate from lowest to highest pitch, then from
highest to lowest, then repeat this cycle
rand = held notes arpeggiate continuously in a RANDom fashion
prog = held notes arpeggiate continuously in the order in which the keys
were pressed.

3. After selecting the mode, move Slider A upwards until the display says:

Extension: norm
Use Slider D

Use Slider D to select between three possible extensions:

norm = default setting arpegiation occurs only to the notes being held
1oct = arpeggiation responds as if you are holding down another set of
notes one octave above the notes being held
2oct = arpeggiation responds as if you are holding down two more sets of
notes one octave above, and two octaves above, the notes being
held.

4. After selecting the extension, move Slider A upwards until the display says:

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 124

PRESET DEFINITION MODULE
Range: C1 to C1
Play a Key

This is the default setting and indicates that arpeggiation will only play in the range C1 to
C1(one note). Press the key corresponding to the lowest note in the range you want
arpeggiated (after which the cursor will move to the second note in the display), then
play the key corresponding to the highest note in the range you want arpeggiated. The
display will confirm your choice. If you make a mistake, the cursor will jump back
underneath the lowest note, and you can start the assignment process over again.

Note: The Emulator II will not let you choose a lower note higher than the currently
selected upper note.

5. After selecting the range, move Slider A upwards until the display says:

Note Value: 1/16

Use Slider D

Use Slider D to select between the following arpeggiation note values: 1/4, 1/4 triplet,
1/8, 1/8 triplet, 1/16 (default setting), 1/16 triplet, 1/32, and 1/32 triplet.

6. After selecting the note value, move Slider A upwards until the display says:

Tempo: 120
Use Slider D

Use Slider D to select a tempo in the range of 40 to 240 beats per minute. Note that
tempo moves in 1 BPM increments from 40 to 120 BPM, 2 BPM increments from 120 to
162 BPM, and 3 BPM increments from 162 to 240 BPM. If you have selected an
External Clock (see SEQUENCER EXT CLK), the arpeggiator will follow this clock rather
than the internal clock.

7. You have now completed arpeggiator set-up. To exit to another function, see GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 3.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 125

PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

30 - MIDI SETUP

MIDI is a way of exchanging musical information between various electronic music

instruments. If you are not familiar with MIDI, read the “MIDI Supplement” section before
continuing.

Please remember that MIDI was devised with analog synthesizers in mind, and that the
Emulator II voice is not like a standard analog synthesizer voice. A Preset is actually
much closer to what the MIDI specification had in mind for an individually addressable
channel, so the Emulator II stores MIDI parameters with each Preset. Different Presets
can be set to send or receive on different MIDI channels.

1. With all modules de-activated, select the Current Preset. This Preset will contain the
default MIDI parameters (see Appendix B), which you may now proceed to change for
your particular application. Note that different Presets can have different MIDI
parameters.

2. With the Preset Definition module active, key in 30. The display says:

MIDI Setup Menu

Use Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be lit. Move Slider A to identify the various MIDI options. At
the bottom of the slider travel, the display says:

Basic Channel: 01
Press (01 – 16)

This is the default channel over which this particular Emulator II Preset will send and
receive MIDI information. To change channels, press the appropriate keypad buttons.

3. Moving Slider A upwards gives this display next:

MIDI Mode: Omni

Use Slider D

Slider D selects how the Emulator II responds to MIDI information:

off = Ignores all MIDI information

Omni = Accepts MIDI information coming in on any channel
Poly = Accepts MIDI information only on the basic channel (specified
above).

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

4. Moving Slider A upwards gives this display:

Preset ch OK: yes

Press Y/N

MIDI also carries patch change information from one synthesizer to another. Press YES
if you want the Emulator II to respond to this information (or to change presets in other
synthesizers from the Emulator II), and NO if you want to select Presets on the Emulator
independently of other MIDI instruments.

Note: There is no consistency between manufacturers regarding what patch will occur
on “slave” synthesizers when a particular patch is selected on the “master” synthesizer.

5. Moving Slider A upwards gives the following display:

Local Cntl: yes

Press Y/N

With Local Control at the default setting of YES, the Emulator II keyboard controls the
Emulator II and MIDI carries information on which keys are being played. Press NO to
“disconnect” the Emulator II from its keyboard, but still have MIDI carry information on
which keys are being played.

6. Moving Slider A upwards gives the next option:

Transmit Reset
Press Yes

MIDI has a command that resets all MIDI instruments to their power-on (default) setting.
Pressing YES sends this reset command out to other MIDI instruments.

Note: The Emulator II cannot receive reset commands since in its power-on condition,
the bank is empty and a disk needs to be booted. Therefore, if reset it would not be able
to make any sound until a disk was booted.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 127

PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

7. Moving Slider A upwards gives the following display:

Lt Wheel > #XX

Use Slider D

You may now assign a controller number to the Left Wheel. Moving Slider D presents
the following options:

off = no controller number assigned

00 through 31 = assigns the controller number shown in the display
pwh = assigns the Left Wheel to the standardized controller
number for pitch bend
chp = assigns the Left Wheel to the standardized modulation
controller

When the display shows the desired controller assignment, press ENTER.

8. Moving Slider A upwards presents the following display:

Rt Wheel > #XX

Use Slider D

You may now assign a controller number to the Right Wheel in exactly the same manner
as you assigned a controller number to the Left Wheel in step 6. When the display
shows the desired controller assignment, press ENTER.

9. Moving Slider A upwards brings us to the next display:

Pedal > #XX

Use Slider D

You may now assign a controller number to the Pedal in exactly the same manner as
you assigned a controller number to the Left Wheel in step 6. When the display shows
the desired controller assignment, press ENTER.

10. Continuing to move Slider A upwards gives the following display:

MIDI A > #XX

Use Slider D

Three real time parameters (pitch, filter cutoff, LFO pitch modulation, etc.) can be
assigned to MIDI control source A, B, and C (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 6,
“Selecting Real Time Control Functions). You may then assign each MIDI control source
to be controlled via a specific MIDI controller on another synthesizer.

Example: Suppose a second MIDI unit’s vibrato controller is assigned MIDI control
number 01, and that MIDI control source A on the Emulator II is assigned to control the
filter cutoff frequency. Selecting 01 for MIDI control source A would control the Emulator
II’s filter cutoff frequency via the second MIDI unit’s vibrato information.

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PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

This step of the set-up procedure lets you assign a number to the MIDI control source
that matches up with the number of the controller “transmitting” data from a MIDI unit
into the Emulator II. (For more information on controller numbers, see the MIDI
supplement.) Moving Slider D presents the following options:

off = no controller number assigned

00 through 31 = assigns the controller number shown in the display
pwh = assigns MIDI control source A the standardized controller
number for pitch bend
chp = assigns MIDI control source A the standardized controller
number for overall volume (channel pressure)

When the display shows the desired controller assignment, press ENTER.

11. Continuing to move Slider A upwards gives the following display:

MIDI B > #XX

Use Slider D

Assign a controller number to control source B in exactly the same manner as you
assigned a controller number to control source A in step 9. When the display shows the
desired controller assignment, press ENTER.

12. Continuing to move Slider A upwards gives the following display:

MIDI C > #XX

Use Slider D

Assign a controller number to control source C in exactly the same manner as you
assigned a controller number to control source A in step 9. When the display shows the
desired controller assignment, press ENTER.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 129

PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

31 - COPY/RENAME PRESET

This function copies a Preset to another Preset number. Since the second Preset is an
exact duplicate of the original Preset, changing a Voice parameter in the copied Preset
will change that Voice in the original, and vice-versa. To copy a Preset and renumber the
Voices at the sane tide, thus allowing for independent Voice modification, see PRESET
DEFINITION 32.

Application: To create a modified version of an existing Preset (assuming that these

modifications do not require changing the Voice parameters); for example, to store different
arpeggiator settings with the same Preset. To rename an existing Preset by copying it to itself.
To create a Preset which requires a similar, but not identical, Voice assignment to an existing
Preset.

1. With the module active, key in 31. The display says:

Copy Preset
(01 – 99)/Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be flashing. Either use the keypad to specify the Preset
number to be copied, or move Slider A to catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7)
the Bank Presets. When the display shows the desired Preset, press ENTER.

2. The display now says:

Copy Preset XX
Into Preset YY

...where XX is the Preset number you chose in step 1. Use the keypad to enter the
copy’s Preset number - YY. After entering, the display will confirm your choice and the
ENTER LED will flash. Press ENTER to copy the Preset.

3. The display now asks:

PYY
Rename? Y/N

…where YY is the Preset number you are copying into. If you don’t want to rename,
press NO. To rename, press YES.

Slider B positions the cursor under the letter you want to change, while Slider A chooses
between lower case letters, capital letters, numerals 0 - 9, #, and space (top slider
position). Continue positioning the cursor and entering letters until the name is complete.
To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 3.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 130

PRESET DEFINITION MODULE

32 - REPLICATE PRESET

This function copies a Preset to another Preset number and copies and renumbers all the
Preset’s Voices as well. Therefore, the copied Presets Voices may be altered without
affecting the Voices in the original Preset. To copy a Preset without copying and
renumbering the Voices, see PRESET DEFINITION 31.

Note: When cataloguing Bank Voices (see PRESET DEFINITION 17), Voices marked with an *
and a number indicate Voices which were copied and renumbered via replication.

Application: To “back-up” a Bank Preset before permanently altering the original’s Voices. To
create a modified version of an existing Preset with different Voice parameters.

1. With no module active, select the Current Preset that you want to replicate.

2. With the Preset Definition module active, key in 32. The display says:

Replicate and
Select Preset

Use the keypad to specify the new Preset number; the ENTER LED will flash. If you
select an existing Preset, the display will notify you that “Selected Preset Exists”, and will
ask you to try again. When the display confirms the new Preset number, press ENTER
to replicate the Preset.

3. The display now says:

This Will Take

A While

.but it doesn’t really take all that long.

4. The display then asks:

PYY
Rename? Y/N

Where YY is the Preset number being replicated into. If you don’t want to rename, press
NO. To rename, press YES. Slider B positions the cursor under the letter you want to
change, while Slider A chooses between lower case letters, capital letters, numerals 0 -
9, #, and space (top slider position). Continue positioning the cursor and entering letters
until the name is complete. To exit to another function, see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
3.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 131

SAMPLE MODULE

SAMPLE MODULE
1 - VU MODE

2 - DEFINE VOICE

3 - GAIN SET

4 - THRESHOLD SET

5 - SAMPLE LENGTH

7 - ARM SAMPLING

9 - FORCE SAMPLING

0 - STOP SAMPLING

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 132

SAMPLE MODULE

1 - VU MODE

This function sets the proper level for sounds being recorded into the Emulator II.

1. Activating the SAMPLE module automatically puts the Emulator II in VU mode

(SAMPLE 1). (If you select another SAMPLE function at some point, entering the
data for that function usually returns you automatically to VU mode.) The display
shows:

Voice V01 +00dB

||||

There may or may not be some moving vertical bars in the display’s lower line.

2. Play the sound to be sampled, which can be monitored from the Emulator II MIX
OUT jack. Note the moving bar display in the lower line; louder signals will kick
the bars further over to the right. If the meter hardly moves at all, you need more
preamp gain (see SAMPLE 3). The Emulator II’s VU meter is a “peak hold” type
that briefly “holds” the highest level attained.

3. If the meter bar hits the extreme right hand side, the Emulator II is being
overloaded. Adjust the SAMPLE GAIN control so that peaks are below this
overload point. Generally, you will want to sample at the highest possible level
short of overload.

2 - DEFINE VOICE

The Emulator II default assignment places the sampled sound on C2 (the sample’s
original pitch), transposes the sound one octave down (to Cl, the lower ~ and
transposes the sound one octave up (to C3, the high ~ This is assigned to the
Current Preset (as shown when no module is activated). DEFINE VOICE can
assign the sampled sound to a different range of the Emulator II keyboard, and
also numbers the Voice from 00 to 99.

1. With the SAMPLE module active, key in 2. The display says:

Place Orig Pitch

Onto Keyboard

2. Play the key where you want to place the original sampled sound. The display
now says:

Place Lower Key

Onto Keyboard

3. Play the lowest desired note of the range (cannot exceed one octave below the
original pitch). The display now says:

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 133

SAMPLE MODULE
Place High key
Onto Keyboard

4. Play the highest desired note of the range (cannot exceed one octave above the
original pitch). The display says:

NEW VOICE VXX

PRES (01 – 99)

...where XX represents the Voice number. The Emulator II will automatically

assign the lowest available Voice number (as shown in the display) for the new
Voice you are about to sample. If this number suits you, press ENTER. If you
have a particular numbering system (say, percussive Voices from 20 - 29,
industrial noises from 30 - 39, sampled animals from 40 - 49, etc.), enter a two-
digit number using the keypad and then press ENTER. In either case, after
pressing ENTER you will return to VU mode.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 134

SAMPLE MODULE

3 - GAIN SET

The Emulator II has a built-in mic preamp with three gain ranges (00 dR, +20 dB,
and +40 dB). This function chooses the desired amount of gain.

1. With the module active, key in 3. The display says:

INPUT GAIN+00dB
USE SLIDER A

2. Vary Slider A to choose between 00, +20, and +40 dB gain as shown in the
display. After making your selection, press ENTER to return to VU mode.

4 - THRESHOLD SET

There are two ways to initiate sampling: Threshold-sensitive sampling and forced
sampling (SAMPLE 9). With threshold- sensitive sampling, once sampling is
“armed” sampling begins whenever the signal to be sampled exceeds the
programmable threshold level. This function sets the threshold level.

1. With the module active, key in 4. The display shows the standard bar graph
display on the bottom line, and a single bar on the top line indicates the threshold
level. Upon selecting SAMPLE 4, the threshold is at its lowest possible value.

2. To set the threshold level, vary Slider A. Generally, you will set threshold just
above the residual noise of the sound to be sampled (the display’s lower line will
show this noise, if any, as erratically moving bars towards the left of the line).
Therefore, any noise will not initiate sampling, but a signal that exceeds the
threshold will.

Hint: Set the lowest possible threshold. If the beginning of a sound is cut off,
the threshold is too high. If there’s a delay before the beginning of a sound, the
threshold is too low and was probably triggered by some noise prior to the actual
signal.

Note: Once sampling has begun, the Emulator II will continue sampling even if
the signal falls below the threshold level. To stop sampling, refer to SAMPLE 0.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 135

SAMPLE MODULE

5 - SAMPLE LENGTH

Once sampling is initiated, the Emulator II will normally sample until it runs out of
memory or is stopped (see SAMPLE 0, the “stop sampling” function). However,
this function let’s you program a particular sample time; after this time has
elapsed, the Emulator II will stop sampling.

1. With the module active, key in 5. The display says:

Length XX.X secs

Use Slider A

...where XX.X is the time in seconds. If the Bank is empty, this will be 17.6
seconds; if you have already done some sampling, this will be 17.6 seconds
minus the existing sample lengths.

2. Vary Slider A to change the sample length in 200 millisecond increments. When
the display shows the desired time, simply initiate the next function (it is not
necessary to press ENTER). The sample length will remain as set until changed,
or until you pick a different Voice number.

7 - ARM SAMPLING

Upon initiating this function, the Emulator II will begin sampling as soon as the
sound to be sampled exceeds the threshold set with SAMPLE 4, or when sampling
is forced (see SAMPLE 9).

1. With the module active, key in 7. The display’s top line says “Sample Armed”,
while the bottom line shows the moving-bar VU meter (see SAMPLE 1).

2. As soon as the sound to be sampled exceeds the threshold, the Sample module
LED will begin blinking. After reaching the end of the sample length (if set with
SAMPLE 5), being stopped manually (see SAMPLE 0), or when the Emulator II
runs out of memory, the Sample LED will stop blinking and one of two messages
will, appear in the display’s top line. “Sample Overload” indicates that the sound
being sampled exceeded the Emulator II’s headroom (however, this sound is
nonetheless available for use if desired). “Sample is good” indicates that no
overload occurred.

3. If you are not satisfied with the sample, try again by repeating steps 1-3 before
de-activating the module. If you are satisfied with the sample, de-activate the
module. The Emulator II will store the sample as a New Voice, and number it as
assigned during “Define Voice” (SAMPLE 2). To keep the sample as a “safety”
and record another take, activate the SAMPLE module and pick a new Voice
number.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 136

SAMPLE MODULE

9 - FORCE SAMPLING

Force sampling lets you initiate sampling manually as an alternative to threshold-

sensitive sampling. This is useful for situations where the signal to be sampled is
more or less continuous (continuous signals greatly complicate the threshold-
setting process described in SAMPLE 4).

1. With the module active and levels properly set, as soon as you are ready to
sample key in 9. Sampling will begin immediately, and the Sample module LED
will blink.

2. After reaching the end of the sample length (if set with SAMPLE 5), being
stopped manually (see SAMPLE 0), or when the Emulator II runs out of memory,
the Sample LED will stop blinking and one of two messages will appear in the
display’s top line. “Sample Overload” indicates that the sound being sampled
exceeded the Emulator II’s headroom (however, this sound is nonetheless
available for use if desired). “Sample is good” indicates that no overload
occurred.

3. If you are satisfied with the sample, de-activate the module. The Emulator II will
store the sample as a New Voice, with the number assigned previously in
SAMPLE 2. If you are not satisfied with the sample, try again by repeating steps
1 - 3.

0 - STOP SAMPLING

You may terminate the sampling process at any time by keying in 0. After
termination, the Sample module LED will stop blinking and one of two messages
will appear in the display’s top line. “Sample Overload” indicates that the sound
being sampled exceeded the Emulator II’s headroom (however, this sound is
nonetheless available for use if desired). “Sample is good” indicates that no
overload occurred.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 137

DISK MODULE

DISK MODULE
1 - GET BANK DISK 1

2 - GET BANK DISK 2

3 - SPACE REMAINING

3 - DISK IDENTITY

4 - COPY DISK

5 - CATALOG VOICE

6 - ERASE VOICE

7 - SAVE BANK

8 - FORMATTING A DISK

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 138

DISK MODULE

1 - GET BANK DISK 1

A Performance disk stores one Bank of Presets (plus the Voices that make up the
Presets). Loading the Bank into the machine lets you play with the Presets and
Voices that make up the Bank.

When the machine is first turned on, simply inserting and latching a Performance
disk into Drive 1 will initiate loading a Bank. At all other times use this function to
load a new Bank into memory from a Performance disk inserted in Drive 1.

1. Remove any existing disk from Drive 1, then insert and latch the Performance
disk containing the Bank to be loaded in Drive 1.

2. With the disk module active, key in 1 to GET BANK DISK 1. The drive clicks, its
LED lights, and the display tells you that...

This Will Take

A While

After loading, the display then shows the Current Preset. (1st Preset to appear
upon loading)

P03*

* or 1st Preset to appear upon loading

Note: If you try to get a Bank from a Library disk, which of course doesn’t store
data in a Bank, the display will read:

Insert Perf Disk

And Press Enter

Insert a Performance disk, press ENTER, and continue.

3. To choose a different Preset, enter its number with the keypad (see GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 1, “Selecting the Current Preset”).

4. To choose which Current Preset will be active when you load a Bank, select the
desired Preset just before saving the Bank to disk (see DISK 7, “Save Bank”).
The Emulator II will default to that Preset whenever you load the Bank.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 139

DISK MODULE

2 - GET BANK DISK 2

A Performance disk stores one Bank of Presets (plus the Voices that make up the
Presets). Loading the Bank into the machine lets you play with the Presets and
Voices that make up the Bank.

When the machine is first turned on, simply inserting and latching a Performance
disk into Drive 2 will initiate loading a Bank. At all other times use this function to
load a new Bank into memory from a Performance disk inserted in Drive 2.

1. Remove any existing disk from Drive 2, then insert and latch the Performance
disk containing the Bank to be loaded in Drive 2.

2. With the disk module active, key in 2 to GET BANK DISK 2. The drive clicks, its
LED lights, and the display tells you that...

This Will Take

A While

After loading (about 20 seconds), the display then shows the Current Preset.

P03*

* or 1st Preset to appear upon loading

Note: If you try to get a Bank from a Library disk, which of. course doesn’t store
data in a Bank, the display will read:

Insert Perf Disk

And Press Enter

Insert a Performance disk, press ENTER, and continue.

3. To choose a different Preset, enter its number with the keypad (see GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 1, “Selecting the Current Preset”).

4. To choose which Current Preset will be active when you load a Bank, select the
desired Preset just before saving the Bank to disk (see DISK 7, “Save Bank”).
The Emulator II will default to that Preset whenever you load the Bank.

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3 - SPACE REMAINING

The Emulator II can store about 500,000 “bytes” (a byte is a unit of computer
memory) on each double-sided, double-density floppy disk. The “Space
Remaining” function helps you avoid situations where you try to record more into
the disk’s memory than it can hold (this won’t cause any damage, but it can be
frustrating to run out of space in the middle of a hot sampling session).

The amount of available space is determined by how many Voices, Presets, and
Sequences are on the disk. The more Voices, Presets, or Sequences, the less
memory will be available.

1. Insert and latch the disk to be checked into either drive, or check two disks by
inserting and latching a disk into each drive.

2. With the Disk module active, key in 3 to check SPACE REMAINING. For
example, with a formatted but blank Performance disk inserted in Drive 1, the
display will read:

Dsk1: 1 Bank

If there is already a Bank on the Performance disk, it will read:

Dsk1: 0 Banks

3. With Library disks, “SPACE REMAINING” tells how many bytes of memory
remain; therefore, you can determine whether there is enough space to store a
particular sound on disk.

Example: If a Voice is 123,000 Bytes long (see VOICE DEFINITION 15), and a
Library disk has 150,000 bytes remaining, you will be able to store the Voice on
the Library disk. Had the Library disk only 120,000 bytes remaining, you would
not be able to store the Voice.

Selecting 3 (SPACE REMAINING) with the Disk module activated and a Library
disk in Drive 1 produces the following display:

Dsk1: XXXXXXBytes

...where XXXXXX stands for an up to six-digit number. With a formatted disk that
contains no voices this will be 494592 bytes. As you record voices on the disk,
this number will decrease.

Note: Inserting a disk into Drive 2 will produce a similar message except it will
begin with Dsk2:

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3 - DISK IDENTITY

If you forgot to label a disk, you might not know whether it is a Performance or
Library disk. The SPACE REMAINING function can also identify the type of disk.

1. Insert and latch the disk to be checked into either drive, or check two disks by
inserting and latching a disk into each drive.

2. With the disk module active, key in 3 to check identity. The display’s top line
checks the disk in Drive 1, the display’s bottom line the disk in Drive 2.

If the last word in a display line is “Bank” or “Banks”, the associated disk is a
Performance disk.

If the last word in a display line is “Bytes”, the associated disk is a Library disk.

If the disk has not been formatted, the display will ignore the disk and continue
asking you to key in a Disk function number.

4 - COPY DISK

As you build up a collection of disks, remember that they are not indestructible.
Therefore, E-mu recommends copying (“backing up”) any disk, Performance or
Library that contains material you don’t want to lose. Preferably, keep copies at a
separate location for maximum safety.

The following applies only to dual-drive Emulator Il’s. To backup a disk with a
single-drive Emulator II, insert the disk to be copied, activate the Disk module, key
in 4, and follow instructions given in the display.

1. Insert and latch the disk to be copied (“source” disk) in Drive 1.

2. Insert and latch the formatted disk being copied to (“destination” disk) in Drive 2.

3. With the Disk module active, key in 4 to COPY DISK. From now on, simply follow
the display, which first asks:

This WILL Erase

Memory OK? Y/N

Copying will erase whatever is in the Emulator II’s in memory. If that’s not okay,
press NO, save what’s in memory on to another disk (DISK 7), then try copying
again. Otherwise, press YES and the display will read:

Src Disk in Drv1

Dst Disk in Drv2

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4. Confirm that the source disk (the one to be copied) is in Drive 1 and the
destination disk (the one being copied to) in Drive 2, then press the flashing
ENTER button. The display tells you that:

This Will Take

A While

After completing the copy, the display returns to the Module Identifier. Move on to
the next disk operation, or de-activate the module.

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5 - CATALOG VOICE

This function lists the Voices and associated file numbers (see GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 4, “Library Disk Voice Numbering Protocol”) on a Library disk.

1. Insert and latch a Library disk in either drive. If you accidentally insert a
Performance disk, the display will say:

Insert Libr Disk

And Press Enter

If this happens, insert and latch a Library disk then press ENTER.

2. With the Disk module active, key in 5 to CATALOG VOICE. The display says:

To Catalog
use Slider A

3. Move Slider A to the bottom of its travel (closest to the keyboard); the display will
show two voice file numbers (such as F01, F02, F03, etc. up to F099; see
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 4) and their names. For example, a typical
display might initially look like this:

F01 Bass F#1

F02 Bass F#2

Moving the slider will catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7) the other voice
numbers/names present on the Library disk.

6 - ERASE VOICE

This function erases a voice from a Library disk.

1. Insert and latch a Library disk in either drive.

2. With the Disk module active, key in 6 to ERASE VOICE. If both drives contain a
Library disk, the display asks:

Which Drive?
Press 1 or 2

Press 1 or 2 to select the drive containing the voice to be erased. After doing this,
or if there is only one Library disk inserted and latched, the display says:

Erase Voice
(01 – 99)/Slider A

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3. Either use the keypad to specify the Voice number to be erased, or move Slider
A to catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7) the Library disk Voices. When
the display shows the Voice number to be erased, press ENTER.

4. The display gives you a last chance to re-consider:

Erase Voice XX
Erase? (Yes/No)

If you change your mind about erasing the voice, press NO and deactivate the
disk module. If you really and truly want to erase the voice, press YES.

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7 - SAVE BANK

After you’ve developed a great Bank, this function saves it to a Performance disk.
Remember -- Save whenever you have something you don’t want to accidentally
lose.

1. Insert and latch a previously formatted Performance disk in either drive. If the
disk already contains a Bank, saving a new Bank will erase the old Bank.

2. With the Disk module active, key in 7 to SAVE BANK. The display asks:

Which Drive?
Press 1or 2

3. Tell it which drive to save to by pressing 1 or 2 then proceed to step 4. With

single-drive Emulator us, press YES to continue the saving process.

4. Regardless of whether you have a single- or dual-drive Emulator II, the display
will now tell you that:

This Will Take

A While

5. After saving the Bank, the display returns to the Module Identifier. Either enter a
new number to do more disk tricks, or de-activate the Disk module.

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8 - FORMATTING A PERFORMANCE OR LIBRARY DISKETTE

Before a new disk can record (store) any data, it first must be told how to record
this data (called formatting the disk). Run the following formatting procedure on
any new disk, or on “recycled” disks previously used with other systems (such as
home computers) since these will not be formatted correctly for the Emulator II.
Formatting not only formats the disk, but also writes the Emulator II’s operating
software (the software that tells the system how to operate).

Note: Formatting a disk that already contains data will “bulk erase” any data on the disk
being formatted. Always check that disks are either blank, or contain nothing you want to
save, before formatting. A disk need only be formatted once unless you want to use the
“bulk erase” aspect of formatting.

We recommend using 5.25” double-sided, double-density floppy disks. Avoid bargain

disks; stick to name brands such as Maxell and Dysan. Buying in quantity can save you
lots of money, so get together with other Emulator II owners and do group disk
purchases for substantial discounts.

1. Insert and latch a previously formatted Library or Performance disk in Drive 1.

2. Insert and latch the disk to be formatted in Drive 2.

3. With the Disk module active, key in 8 to FORMAT DISK. The display asks:

Which Disk Type?

1=Perf 2=library

Key in 1 and the disk in Drive 2 will be formatted as a Performance Disk; key in 2
for a Library Disk.

OK to Erase Mem?
(it’s faster) Y/N

If you press YES, anything you had in the Emulator II’s memory will be erased.
This leaves more memory for formatting, which speeds up the process. However,
if you have a great Bank but forgot to format a disk, all is not lost; you can save
what’s in memory by pressing NO (however, formatting will take quite a bit
longer). After formatting the disk save the Bank to memory (DISK 7).

Whichever you press, eventually the display asks:

Format Perf Disk

In Drive 2 (Y/N)
Or
Format Libr Disk
In Drive 2 (Y/N)

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...depending on whether you are formatting a Performance (Pert) or Library (Libr)
disk. This is your last chance to stop the formatting process; remember,
formatting erases EVERYTHING on a disk, so think twice before pressing YES.
(If you press NO, the display returns to the Module Identifier.) After pressing
YES, the display says:

Formatting in
Progress . . .

Formatting takes just enough time that you can get a drink of water or do a
couple of sit-ups. After formatting is complete, the display asks:

Format Another
Disk? Yes/No
To format another disk, remove the newly formatted disk from Drive 2, insert and
latch the next disk to be formatted in Drive 2, and then press YES. Otherwise,
press NO, at which point the display returns to the Module Identifier.

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HARD DISK SUPPLEMENT

HARD DISK SUPPLEMENT

BACKGROUND: WHY HARD DISK

THE HARD DISK PERSONALITY

POWER-ON WITH HARD DISK MODEL

HARD DISK SECTION NOTES

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BACKGROUND : WHY HARD DISKS

The standard Emulator II comes with two floppy disk drives for saving and loading Bank
information. Replacing the second floppy drive with a Hard Disk drive offers two big advantages:

Greater storage. The Hard Disk holds 46 Banks, the floppy 1 Bank.

Faster access time. A Bank can be saved from the Emulator II to the Hard Disk in 4
seconds (as opposed to 1 minute for saving to a floppy), or loaded from the Hard Disk to
the Emulator II in 2 seconds (as opposed to approximately 30 seconds for loading from a
floppy).

What this means is that you can have a large library of banks stored in the Hard Disk, and that
any of these Banks can be loaded into the Emulator II almost instantaneously.

That’s the good news, but there is a catch: Hard disks are fragile. Dropping an Emulator II with
the power on will probably destroy the Hard Disk. Furthermore, in tests conducted at the factory,
hard disk failures would occur if the Emulator II was dropped from heights of as little as 8 inches
even with power off.

CAUTION: Hard Disk owners are boldly going where few have gone before. Hard disks in
general inhabit safe, predictable computer installations where they lead a climate-controlled life
free of the perils of a rock and roll band on the road. Although some portable computers do
include hard disks, these are usually treated with kid gloves compared to music gear.

E-mu’s durability tests for Hard Disk equipped Emulator II’s have been positive, and so we are
making the Hard Disk available as an option. Studio musicians will appreciate having 46 Banks
“on-call” at all times, and touring performers will enjoy not having to deal with the 30 second
Bank load time for floppies.

Please note, however, that we are offering the hard disk for experimental usage only and cannot
be responsible for any losses or damages, including consequential losses or damages, due to
Hard Disk failures.

THE HARD DISK PERSONALITY

In most cases, you can treat the Hard Disk just like a super-floppy; transferring data to and from
the Emulator II is straightforward.

However, over time the Hard Disk can develop errors (particularly if system abuse occurs). This
is analogous to what happens if you play a record over and over and over again, and eventually,
a pop or scratch develops. In fact, just like records that come with a scratch or two, many brand
new Hard Disks already have errors when they’re shipped. This usually makes people cringe -
what, buy a product with known defects?!? But consider that a typical Hard Disk holds
20,000,000 bytes of data. If a few bytes are missing here and there, no big deal you still have
plenty of bytes left over. All you need to do is instruct the computer not to write data over the
bad bytes, and all is well.

Any new hard disk will come with an error log that contains a list of all known errors; this
information, along with operating system software necessary to format the Hard Disk, is stored

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HARD DISK SUPPLEMENT
in the Emulator II’s Hard Disk software diskette (supplied with the Hard Disk upgrade). Should
additional errors occur over time, the disk’s error log can be updated to include these new
errors, and the computer instructed not to write over the bad bytes.

Like a floppy disk, the Hard Disk must be formatted initially to accept data. However, a hard disk
must also be formatted if the hard disk “crashes” (which can occur if, say, power is interrupted in
the middle of a write-to-hard-disk operation).

This supplement will cover hard disk basics, and then discuss the Hard Disk functions that are
accessed via the Disk module. These functions cover almost all of your day-to-day use of the
Hard Disk. The final part will describe Hard Disk functions accessed via the Special module,
which are much less commonly used. These will be discussed in reverse numerical order
(SPECIAL 22, SPECIAL 21, etc.) since for some reason, this seems to present everything in the
most logical order.

POWER-ON WITH HARD DISK MODEL

The floppy disk is Drive 1, the Hard Disk Drive 2. When you first turn on power, the Emulator II
will test the floppy drive. If there is no floppy disk in Drive 1, the Emulator II will boot (load its
operating system software) from the Hard Disk. This is the preferred mode of operation, as
referring to the Hard Disk for the operating system software greatly speeds up overall Emulator
II operation (i.e. there is virtually no delay when switching from module to module within the
Emulator II).

The Hard Disk takes a while to “warm up” whenever it is turned on. Upon turn - on, the Hard
Disk’s green “activity” LED will light, indicating that the Hard Disk is testing itself. After about 30
seconds, the red “ready” light will come on, indicating that all systems are go.

If there is a floppy disk in Drive 1, the Emulator II will boot from the floppy. This allows you to
easily boot the machine if the Hard Disk is malfunctioning for any reason.

Example:
Suppose power is interrupted to the Emulator II Hard Disk, and the system “crashes.” You could
re-boot from the Hard Disk software floppy, thus loading software with which you can re format
the Hard Disk.

HARD DISK SECTION NOTES

All disk module functions (except GET BANK DISK 2 and SAVE BANK (TO DISK) relate
exclusively to the floppy disk. The Hard Disk may be ignored if desired, in which case the
Emulator II operates just like an Emulator II with a single floppy disk drive.

Note: The Hard Disk can neither read not write Library disk data, so all Library functions must
be handled through floppies.

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DISK 2 - GETTING A BANK FROM HARD DISK

This function loads Banks from the Hard Disk into the Emulator II.

1. GET BANK DISK 1 reads a Bank from the floppy drive. To get a Bank from the Hard
Disk, enter the Disk module and key in 2 (GET BANK DISK 2).
The display says:

Get HD Bank #
(02 - 47)/Slider A

Move Slider A to catalog the Hard Disk Banks. When the display shows the Bank to be
loaded, press ENTER. Alternately, enter a two-digit Bank number from 02 to 47 (leading
zeroes must be entered) from the keypad. There is no need to press ENTER if you enter
the Bank number directly.

2. After completing step 1, the display will say:

Loading Bank
Get nn (name of preset)

...where nn is the Bank number. Loading is complete in about 2 seconds.

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DISK 7 - SAVING A BANK TO HARD DISK

This function saves a Bank from the Emulator II onto the Hard Disk.

1. While in the Disk module, key in 7 with the keypad. The display then asks whether you
want to save to floppy or Hard Disk:

Save Bank
(01) or (02 - 47)

Pressing 01 saves the Bank to floppy disk, as described under Disk 7 in the Reference
Section of the Emulator II Owner’s Manual. Pressing 02 to 47 saves the Bank to the
Hard Disk under the designated Bank number. In this case, the display will say:

Fnn Name Of Preset

Overwrite? Y/N

...where nn is the selected Bank number. “NameOfPreset” will be the Bank’s default
Preset if a Bank has already been written to the Hard Disk in this location, or a Null
Preset if the Bank is empty.

Note: Error conditions can occur if you attempt to load a Bank from a location where no
bank is saved. See “Important Note” under SPECIAL 22 for more information.

2. If you do not want to overwrite the existing Bank, press NO to stop the writing process
and return to the Disk module menu. Press YES to overwrite the old Bank with the new
Bank; the display says:

Writing Bank

The Hard Disk verifies the write operation, and then returns to the Disk module menu
when all is complete. This entire operation takes about 4 seconds. If there is an error, an
error message will appear in the display. We will describe how to deal with errors later
on.

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DISK 8 - FORMATTING FLOPPIES IN A HARD DISK SYSTEM

As with a dual floppy Emulator II, selecting DISK 8 (the formatting function) formats the floppy
disk. However, you may load formatting software from either the Hard Disk or the floppy.

1. After selecting Disk 8 and specifying whether you want to format a Library or
Performance disk, the display asks:

Use Floppy Software

& Erase Mem? Y/N

The usual answer is NO, since you want to use the Hard Disk -- not the floppy software
when formatting the floppy. This makes the floppy compatible with the Hard Disk.

Note: If you originally booted from the floppy disk instead of the Hard Disk, a NO
response will copy the original floppy operating software to the new floppy.

2. To format a disk that is compatible with non-Hard Disk machines, answer YES.

Note: The floppy in Drive 1 should contain the desired operating system software for the
disk that you are about to format.

Example: If you are formatting a disk that will be played back on a non-Hard Disk drive
Emulator II with Revision 2.3 software, make sure the operating system on the floppy in
Drive 1 is standard (non-Hard Disk) Rev. 2.3 software.

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HARD DISK SPECIAL FUNCTIONS

If the operating system currently in memory is Hard Disk compatible (which it will be if you
booted from the Hard Disk, or from a floppy with Hard Disk operating system software), the
Special module will contain a number of functions that relate specifically to the Hard Disk. This
section describes the various functions.

SPECIAL 22 - FORMATTING

Just as a floppy disk must be formatted in order to receive Emulator II data, so must the Hard
Disk. Formatting, which erases any existing Hard Disk data, occurs for one of two reasons:

The Hard Disk has not been used previously and must be prepared for operation.
However, NEVER format a Hard Disk before first checking whether or not there are any
existing Banks on the Hard Disk that should be saved.

The Hard Disk has crashed for whatever reason, and is inoperable. Formatting will
re-initialise the Hard Disk and erase any existing Banks. Hard Disk crashes are not
frequent occurrences, which may lull you into a false sense of security. However,
Murphy’s Law dictates that a crash will occur at the worst possible moment and when
you least expect it, so ALWAYS maintain floppy disk backups of any Banks stored on
the Hard Disk.

1. Assuming that the machine has been booted from the Hard Disk (or if the Hard Disk is
inoperable, from a floppy containing the proper Hard Disk operating system software).
Enter the Special module and move Slider A until you hit the last listing. At the time of
this writing, the last line says “HD Lap 10 Rev 2.2,” which translates as follows:

HD = Hard Disk
Lap = Manufacturer code
10 = Hard Disk capacity in Megabytes
Rev 2.2 = Software revision.

In the future, other manufacturer codes, disk capacities, and software revisions may be
used instead of the examples given above. The point of checking this line is to make
sure that the Hard Disk software floppy has the same identifier written on its label.

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2. Enter 22 via the keypad. The display says:

Format Hard Disk

DESTROYS ALL!Y/N

DESTROYS ALL! Does not mean that Godzilla will appear outside your window, but
rather, that any data on the Hard Disk will be erased during the formatting process.
Press NO if you want to exit this function; to continue formatting, press YES. The display
asks you to:

Insert Error Log

&HD Sftwe Floppy

Insert the special Hard Disk software floppy (supplied with the Hard Disk upgrade) into
Drive 1, as this floppy contains the Hard Disk formatting software and also contains the
error log (which as you recall, contains information about which parts of the Hard Disk
should not be used for storing data). Note that this error log is also typed on a piece of
paper affixed to the disk.

3. After inserting and latching the floppy in Drive 1, press ENTER. The error log saved on
the floppy will load into memory, and the formatting process will begin. After formatting is
complete, the display asks:

Reload Backup
Floppies Y/N?

This routine makes it easy to transfer a bunch of Banks stored on floppy disk over to the
newly formatted Hard Disk. To load up the Hard Disk, press YES. The display says:

Insert Floppy Disk

02 and Press Enter

Insert the floppy containing the Bank that you want to appear on the Hard Disk as Bank
02, and then press ENTER. Since the display likes to keep you posted on what it’s up to,
the following message will appear:

Reading the Backup

Floppy

After the floppy data is loaded, the display then says:

Writing Backup
Data to HardDisk

When the operation is complete, you will be asked to insert floppy disk 03 (i.e. the floppy
containing the Bank which you want to appear on the Hard Disk as Bank 03). Repeat the
same ritual described above for loading floppy 02. The Emulator II will keep asking you
for disks until the Hard Disk is all filled up with Banks.

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HARD DISK SUPPLEMENT
4. If you answered NO at the beginning of step 3, the display tells you that the Emulator II
is...

Saving All Banks

As Null Presets

...which fills up the Hard Disk with null Presets. This operation takes about two minutes,
so you have enough time to dust off the Emulator II keyboard, tidy up the studio a bit, or
make a quick phone call.

Important Note: Errors

If you choose to load the Hard Disk from floppies, but exit the Disk module before all Presets
have been loaded, look out!!

Calling up non-existent Banks will cause crashes until data is loaded into those Banks. A simple
way to insure that this doesn’t happen is to first load the Hard Disk with null Presets, then load
Banks into the Hard Disk by 1) loading Banks into the Emulator II (from floppy disks) and 2)
saving Banks to the Hard Disk. Note that this is more time-consuming than the “Reload Backup
Floppies” routine described earlier.

If an error occurs during formatting, the display will slowly scroll out the message “D-I-S-K R-E-
A-D E-R-R-O-R.” This looks like one of those Time Square message boards and is rather
entertaining. The message will continue to be sent until the end of the formatting process even
after formatting has moved along to sections of the Hard Disk that do not contain errors.

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SPECIAL 21 - SHOW HARD DISK ERROR LOCATION

This function pinpoints where an error has occurred on the Hard Disk.

1. To locate where an error has occurred, after formatting is complete load each Bank from
the Hard Disk into the Emulator II memory. As soon as a problem occurs when loading a
Bank, select SPECIAL 21 (Show HDErrLoc) to pinpoint the source of the error. SPECIAL
21 must be initiated immediately after the problem occurs, or you will get an “Invalid
ErrData” message instead.

2. After keying in 22, the display will show three sets of numbers: A three-digit “cylinder”
number, followed by a one-digit “head” number, followed by a five-digit “byte” number.
These identify where the error is located on the Hard Disk. The ENTER light will be
flashing, and the display says:

Save to Hard Disk

Error List Y/N

We haven’t figured out why you would ever want to press NO, so press YES. This saves
the error data to the Hard Disk. You are then asked...

Log Error on
FloppyDisk? Y/N

At this point, your Hard Disk software floppy should still be in Drive 1. If the floppy has
been formatted with the Hard Disk software, it will contain an error log and pressing YES
will update this log with the new error. If the floppy is not formatted for this function, a log
will be created on the disk with just this one error.

3. After an error has been detected, the Hard Disk can still be used although you will not be
able to access the Bank containing the error. To access all Banks, you will need to re-
format the disk and re-load the Banks. After re-formatting, the bad section will be marked
as “off limits” and the Hard Disk will operate normally.

Note: People sometimes wonder if having an error in a Bank reduces the quality or
usefulness of the Bank. This is not a concern. Hard disks are engineered with a certain
amount of redundancy so that should an error occur, there will be additional memory
available to take its place.

After formatting the disk, you might want to send the Emulator II on an Error Scan hunt
to make sure all error logs are accurate; see next section.

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SPECIAL 20 - ERROR SCAN

This function causes the Hard Disk to go out and seek errors, and this information is
used for updating data logs.

1. Enter the Special module and key in 20. The display asks:

Use Floppy Disk

Error Log? Y/N

If you enter YES, the Emulator II assumes that all errors already listed on the floppy log
are indeed errors and checks the remaining areas of the Hard Disk. If you answer NO,
the Emulator II assumes that all errors already listed on the Hard Disk error log are
indeed errors and checks the remaining areas of the Hard Disk. YES is generally the
preferred response.

Whichever way you answer, the display then asks:

Error Scan Takes

8 mins OK? Y/N

If you decide you really don’t have eight minutes, press NO and exit the function.
Otherwise, press YES. The Hard Disk’s green light will indicate that the Hard Disk is
active and scanning for errors. Eight minutes is a goodly amount of time, so don’t spend
it staring at the Emulator II you’re better off writing a post card or two to some friends, or
catching up on phone answering machine messages.

After the scan is over, the Emulator II will not tell you whether it found any errors. Sorry
about that -- it seems that hard disks embarrass easily, and they hate to admit they’re
not perfect. However, they do keep track internally of any errors they have found, and
you can save this new error log on the Hard Disk when the display asks:

Write Err Log to

Hard Disk? (Y/N)

No one has ever answered NO to these questions, since it seems kind of silly to send
the disk on an error scan and then not have it make a note of any errors it finds. So,
press YES. This error information will be taken into account next time you format the
disk, and the Hard Disk will ignore those sections of the disk containing errors.

Whether you answer YES or NO, the display then asks:

Write Error Log

To Floppy? (Y/N)

If you select NO, the error scan operation is complete. If YES, the error log is written on
to the Hard Disk software floppy, which at this point should still be in Drive 1.

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HARD DISK SUPPLEMENT
SPECIAL 19 - ENTER ERROR LIST

This is not a common operation, except at the factory where an error log is created for
the first time. However, if a catastrophic disk crash occurs where the error log list has
been lost, this procedure is necessary for re-creating the error log.

Note: Hard disks come with an error log as provided by the manufacturer. This
information is supplied by E-mu with the hard disk (also see Hard Disk software label). This,
plus any additional errors that are discovered, consult the error log.

1. Enter the Disk module and enter 19. The display asks:

Use Floppy Disk

Error Log? (Y/N)

Normally the answer is NO, since you will probably be using the factory-supplied list of
Hard Disk errors. If you already have a floppy disk with operating software that contains
the error log, you would enter YES.

2. After entering NO, the display prompts you to enter the supplied data in the following
format:

# of Defects in
List? (00-99)

(00 - 99) - Enter the total number of defects listed. The display now says:

Dfcf nn Head#?
(0-3)

...where nn is a defect number; enter the head # data (0-3) from the defect list.

The display now asks...

Dfct nn Cyl#?
(0- three digit number)

Enter the cylinder number listed for that defect. The display now asks:

Dfct nn Byte-IX?
(00000-20K)bbbbb

Enter the byte number listed for that defect. Continue cycling through these messages
until the entire error list has been entered.

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HARD DISK SUPPLEMENT

3. After all errors have been noted, press ENTER. The display now says:

Write Error Log to

Hard Disk? (Y/N)

If you’re next operation is to format the Hard Disk, which happens 90% of the time, press
NO. If the Hard Disk is already formatted, press YES to update the existing error log. In
either case, you next have the option to write the error log to floppy disk when the
display says...

Write Err Log to

Floppy? (Y/N)

Make sure that your Hard Disk software floppy is in Drive 1, and then press YES. After
formatting the Hard Disk, this software can then be loaded into the Hard Disk to create
an up-to-date error log.

SPECIAL 18 - AUTO HARD DISK BACKUP

Enter the Special module and key in 18 to save everything on the Hard Disk to floppies.
All you have to do is get your floppies ready, read the display, and follow instructions.

(Someday, robots will do this type of thing...).

SPECIAL 17 - COPY HARD DISK SOFTWARE

This function is available primarily for updating the Hard Disk operating system as
updates become available.

1. Enter the Special module and key in 17 with the keypad. The display says:

Copy will Erase

Memory OK? Y/N

If you press YES and carry on with the software writing process.

BE VERY CAREFUL
Triple check that the software being loaded on to the Hard Disk is the proper Hard Disk
software. If you accidentally write non-Hard Disk software on to the Hard Disk, it will get
amnesia and not even remember that it’s a Hard Disk.

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REALTIME CONTROL MODULE

REALTIME CONTROL MODULE

Wheels
0 - OFF

1 - PITCH

2 - FILTER FC

3 - LEVEL

4 - LFO to PITCH

5 - LFO to FILTER Fc

6 - LFO to LEVEL

7 - ATTACK RATE

Footswitches
0 - OFF

1 - SEQUENCER CONTROL

2 - SUSTAIN

3 - RELEASE

4 - SUSTENTUTO

5 - ADVANCE PRESET

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REALTIME CONTROL MODULE

CONTROL 0 - Destination: OFF

1. To turn off (disable) the control source (selected as per GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 6),
key in 0.

CONTROL 1 - Destination: PITCH

1. To assign pitch bend to the control source (selected as per GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
6), key in 1.

Application: Generally, this destination is assigned to the left-hand wheel, which has a
center detent. When so assigned, the center position gives no pitch bend. Rotating the
wheel away from you bends pitch up, while rotating the wheel towards you bends pitch
down. Maximum pitch bend is ± 3 semitones.

CONTROL 2 - Destination: FILTER Fc

1. To assign filter cutoff frequency control to the control source (selected as per GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 6), key in 2.

Application: This destination is normally assigned to the right wheel or pedal to add
expressiveness to your playing.

Example: Brass sounds often increase in brightness towards the end of notes; simulate
this by using the wheel to increase the filter cutoff frequency towards the end of a note.
FILTER Fc can also be assigned to the footpedal for wa-wa effects; turn up the Q to
simulate the most commonly used wa-wa sound.

Note: This function interacts with the filter module frequency and envelope settings. If
the wheel does not seem to be working correctly, check these settings. Example: If the
filter cutoff is already at maximum, you will not be able to use the wheel to increase the
cutoff frequency.

For the Right wheel to cover the greatest possible filter sweep, select FILTER 1C and
set the envelope to +00. Next, assuming that the Right wheel is assigned to Filter Fc,
rotate it fully towards you and adjust filter Freq for the lowest desired filter cutoff
frequency. Rotating the Right wheel away from you will increase the filter cutoff.

With varying amounts of filter envelope selected (FILTER 1C), the FILTER Fc function
will still work but its effects will not be as obvious.

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REALTIME CONTROL MODULE

CONTROL 3 - Function: LEVEL

1. To assign overall level to the control source (selected as per GENERAL

INSTRUCTIONS 6), key in 3.

Application: Probably the most common use is to assign LEVEL to the footpedal, thus
giving footpedal-controlled volume. Or, assign this destination to the Right wheel when
you need a manual volume control (such as during fadeouts).

Assigning LEVEL to the Left wheel can also be useful. At center position, the volume
level is audible but can be increased by rotating the wheel away from you. Rotate the
wheel towards you to fade out the sound completely.

CONTROL 4 - Function: LFO to PITCH

1. This function controls the extent to which the LFO modulates pitch (VIBRATO DEPTH).
To assign this destination to the control source (selected as per GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 6), key in 4. (To change the LFO rate and LFO variation, refer to
sections VCA/LFO 2A and 2C.)

Application hint: This destination is most often assigned to the Right wheel; rotating the
wheel away from you increases the amount of vibrato. Assigning this destination to the
footpedal provides foot-controlled vibrato.

Note: This function is operative only if Voice Definition function 23A is set at 00.
Otherwise, Vibrato Depth in the Voice Definition module has priority over the wheel-
assigned LFO to PITCH.

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REALTIME CONTROL MODULE

CONTROL 5 - Function: LFO to FILTER Fc

1. This function controls the extent to which the LFO modulates the filter cutoff frequency.
To assign this destination to the control source (selected as per GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 6), key in 5. (To change the LFO rate and LFO variation, refer to
sections VCA/LFO 2A and 2C.)

Application: This destination is most often assigned to the Right wheel; rotating the
wheel away from you increases the amount of filter modulation (“filtrato”). Assigning this
destination to the footpedal provides foot-controlled filtrato. Slow filtrato is useful for
varying the timbre on long, sustaining sounds; fast filtrato gives a “bubbly” sound, which
can resemble that of mechanical rotating speaker systems.

Note: This function works only with Filter function 2A (LFO Amount) set at 00.
Otherwise, LFO Amount in the Filter module has priority over the wheel-assigned LFO to
FILTER Fc.

Also, LFO to FILTER Fc interacts with the filter module frequency and envelope settings.
If this function does not seem to work, check these settings.

Example: If the filter cutoff is already at maximum, you will not be able to modulate it to
any great degree.

CONTROL 6 - Function: LFO to LEVEL

1. This function controls the extent to which the LFO modulates the overall level (tremolo).
To assign this destination to the control source (selected as per GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 6), key in 6. (To change the LFO rate and LFO variation, refer to
sections VCA/LFO 2A and 2C.)

Application hint: When assigned to the Right wheel, rotating the wheel away from you
increases the amount of tremolo. Assigning this destination to the footpedal provides
foot-controlled tremolo. Tremolo is useful for “Bo Diddley” and surf music guitar sounds,
as well as for simulating some electric piano sounds.

Note: This function is operative only if VCA/LFO function 2D (LFO to VCA) is set at 00.
Otherwise, LFO to VCA in the VCA/LFO module has priority over the wheel-assigned
LFO to LEVEL.

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REALTIME CONTROL MODULE

CONTROL 7 - Function: ATTACK RATE

1. ATK RATE controls the VCA attack rate. To assign this destination to the control source
(selected as per GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 6), key in 7.

Application hint: When assigned to the Right wheel, rotating the wheel away from you
increases the attack time. This effect is useful when changing from legato to percussive
effects, especially with sustained sounds such as strings.

Note: With ATK RATE assigned to a wheel, VCA/LFO module function 1A (VCA attack)
and Filter module function 3A (filter attack) are disabled. Therefore, Filter and VCA
attack rates are determined solely by the wheel setting.

FOOTSWITCH 0 - Function: OFF

1. To turn off the footswitch (selected as per GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 6), key in 0.

FOOTSWITCH 1 - Function: SEQ CTRL

1. To start and stop the Sequencer via footswitch, after selecting the desired footswitch key
in 1.

FOOTSWITCH 2 - Function: SUSTAIN

1. For footswitch controlled sustain, after selecting the desired footswitch (as per
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 6) key in 2.

Note: If you play a looped sound while the footswitch is pressed, as soon as the looped
portion begins it will sustain (even after lifting your fingers off the keys) until the
footswitch is released. Holding down the footswitch continuously provides a hold function
for looped notes, where the last eight notes played will sustain for as long as the
footswitch is pressed.

If you play an unlooped sound while the footswitch is pressed, it will play through its
entire length (whether or not you are holding down a key), then stop.

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REALTIME CONTROL MODULE

FOOTSWITCH 3 - Function: RELEASE

1. For footswitch-controlled release, select the desired footswitch (as per GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 6) then key in 3. Any note played while the footswitch is pressed will
play through its entire length, whether or not you continue to hold down a key. Looped
sections are not repeated unless you hold down the key. Releasing the footswitch
cancels release.

Application: If you have a Voice with a short release but where there are sounds after
the end of the loop, playing the sound normally will play through to the end of the loop
and you will not hear the sounds that occur after the loop. However, if you press down
on the release footswitch during the loop and remove your finger from the key, the Voice
will play through to the end -- including the “after-loop” sounds.

FOOTSWITCH 4 - Function: SUSTENUTO

1. For footswitch-controlled sustenuto, select the desired footswitch (as per GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 6) then key in 4. Pressing the footswitch will sustain any keys being
held down at the moment the switch is pressed. Notes played after pressing the
footswitch will play normally. To cancel the sustaining notes, release the footswitch.

Application: Sustenuto can sustain a few notes while the rest of the keyboard plays
normally. For example, press the footswitch while holding a bass note for a pedal point
bass effect, then play notes normally on top of the sustaining bass sound.

FOOTSWITCH 5 - Function: ADVANCE PRESET

1. To advance via footswitch from one Preset to the next higher numbered Preset (i.e. from
Preset 01 to Preset 02), select the desired footswitch (as per GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS 6) then key in 5.

Press the footswitch momentarily to advance to the next Preset. Advancing past the
highest-numbered Preset resets the Emulator II to the lowest numbered Preset.

Note: If you advance to a Preset that does not have this destination assigned to one of
the footswitches, you will not be able to advance out of that Preset.

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ENTER MODULE

ENTER MODULE

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ENTER MODULE

ENTER DATA

ENTER is a module that the Emulator II, rather than you, activates. Just as you can
activate a module to tell the Emulator II something you want to do, The Emulator II
can activate this module to tell you something it wants you to do.

Sometimes the display will ask you for data (i.e. such as keying in a number to indicate a
parameter you want to change). If the ENTER LED is flashing, the Emulator II is in a
“holding pattern” where you must enter the desired data, or de-activate the module,
before the Emulator II can move on to other functions (however, you can still play the
keyboard). After keying in the data, press ENTER to send the data into the Emulator II’s
computer.

If the ENTER LED is lit steadily, you have the option of hitting ENTER or de-activating
the module, as described above; or, you can go directly to another function within the
module.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

SEQUENCER MODULE
BACKGROUND

EXT CLOCK

SETUP

EDIT

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SEQUENCER MODULE

BACKGROUND

The Emulator II eight-track Sequencer not only records up to eight tracks of Presets from
the Emulator II, but can sequence up to eight MIDI instruments via the MIDI OUT port.
Sequences are saved on a Performance disk as part of the Bank.

Each Sequencer track can polyphonically record the notes you play from any one Preset
in the Emulator II’s Bank. Although you cannot record two different Preset sounds on
one track, you can record different Presets on different tracks. Also, you can play as
many simultaneous notes as desired on a track, but will only hear as many notes as the
instrument is capable of playing (eight notes for the Emulator II).

Hint: If all the Presets in a Bank are variations on one instrument, you won’t be able to
sequence multi-instrumental compositions. There are two ways around this. One, make
up a Performance disk with some drum sounds, bass, a chordal instrument, etc. By
choosing sounds wisely and using loops, you can fit several different instrument sounds
on a single Performance disk. The other option is to drive other instruments via the MIDI
port. For example, if you drive a MIDI-based drum machine then it no longer becomes
necessary to have a drum Preset in the Bank. For more information on creating Presets
specifically for Sequencer applications, see Part 4 of the Advanced Applications section.

To sequence MIDI instruments, simply create a Preset, enter the desired MIDI
parameters (see PRESET DEFINITION 30, “MIDI Setup”), but don’t assign any sounds
to the Preset. Thus, as the Sequencer plays notes from this Preset, the note data will
come out the MIDI port but not trigger any sound from the Emulator II. Note that each
Preset can be assigned to its own MIDI channel; for more information on creating “MIDI
Presets”, refer to the MIDI/SMPTE supplement.

The Sequencer capacity depends on how many seconds of sampling time are left in the
Bank. Each available second (27,500 samples) stores approximately 4,500 notes -- so if
you have 10 seconds left, you’ve got a 45,000 note polyphonic sequencer!

WORKING WITH A SEQUENCE

Creating a completed Sequence involves five main steps. These are:

1. DEFINE the Sequence by creating, numbering and naming it, then specifying the
time signature and sequence length.

Note: When driving MIDI instruments, if you do not want the Emulator II to
double the MIDI instrument DEFINE a Sequence and assign MIDI Presets (as
mentioned above) that have no Voices assigned to them.

2. Determine the tempo (clock) reference for the Emulator II -- either the Emulator
II’s internal clock, an external click track, MIDI, or SMPTE time code.

3. SETUP a Sequence track by selecting the track on which you want to record,
specifying the tempo, choosing an auto correct setting to optionally round off any

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SEQUENCER MODULE
human timing errors, programming an optional countdown and metronome
(available at the MET OUT jack), and monitoring (cuing) the previously recorded
tracks you want to hear.

4. RECORD the Sequence, then PLAY it back and STOP it at any time (the “tape
recorder” controls). Or, SELECT a different Sequence for playback.

5. EDIT the recorded track in any of several ways: Erase the track, overdub a
section by punch-in and punch-out, bounce up to eight tracks down to one track,
store the real time control settings (you may assign as many control sources as
desired for each track, however, a control source cannot be assigned to more
than one track per Sequence), reassign a different Preset than the one with
which the track was originally recorded, or increase the sequence length by
appending any other Bank Sequence to the original Sequence (you may also
append a Sequence to itself). At the end of this background section, we will cover
the various Sequencer functions in the above order.

ACTIVATING AND DE-ACTIVATING THE MODULE

The Sequencer module does not have a single master switch for activation and de-
activation. Instead, the Sequencer comprises several sub-modules (EDIT, DEFINE,
CREATE, EXT CLK, etc.), each of which is activated by pressing its button. (Note: STOP
can be activated only if a Sequence is playing.)

To de-activate any sub-module (except for PLAY) either press its switch again, select
another sub-module within the Sequencer, or select another module elsewhere in the
Emulator.

There are two ways to de-activate PLAY. Press STOP once and the Sequence will play
through to the end and stop, or press STOP twice to immediately stop the Sequence.

THE “CURRENT SEQUENCE”

Just like the “Current Voice” and “Current Preset”, there is a “Current Sequence” which
remains the same throughout the recording process unless you create a new Sequence
or select a different Sequence by using the SELECT switch.

NOTES, PRESETS, TRACKS, and CHANNELS

The Emulator II can play up to eight notes at a time. You can distribute these notes in
any way you like among the various tracks -- one track playing eight notes
simultaneously, eight tracks each playing one note, and so on. If you try to sequence
more than eight notes at a time, the sequencer will function normally but the Emulator II
will not be able to play more than notes.

Output Channels assume far greater importance once you start using the Sequencer,
since you might want to have different instrument sounds available at individual outputs.

Example: Suppose you have a bass Preset assigned to one track, a piano Preset
assigned to another track, a string section Preset assigned to yet another track, and that
you want to feed these sounds into a mixer so that all sounds can be processed
independently. Here’s one way to do it.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

Since you expect to play only one bass note at a time, assign all the bass Preset Voices
to Output Channel 1 (see PRESET DEFINITION 23, “Edit Voice” or PRESET
DEFINITION 22, “Assign Voice”). Let’s also suppose that you don’t expect to play more
than three notes at a time with the strings; assign the string Preset Voices to Output
Channels 2, 3, and 4. This leaves four channels left over for the piano, which you assign
to Output Channels 5 through 8. As you play back the Sequence, the instrument sounds
will appear at their respective outputs as programmed when you assigned the Voices to
the Presets. These outputs can then be sent to a. mixer and processed independently.

SETUP PROTOCOL
Several of the Emulator II Sequencer functions (EXT CLK, Auto Correct, Metronome)
involve a “setup” routine where you choose from numerous options. One slider selects
the various steps of the setup routine, while another slider chooses options for each step
of the setup. For example, one setup might be to select the Emulator It timing reference
with Slider A, then choose between the various timing (synchronization) options with
Slider D.

Once the display shows the desired option, it is no longer necessary to move Slider D.
Move Slider A to enter the existing value and proceed to the next step in the setup
routine.

Note that your choices for setup remain as chosen unless you change them or turn off
the instrument. (Upon turning the instrument back on, all setup routines assume their
default values.) Also, note that the Emulator II will change some setups automatically --
for example, when you go into record mode on the Sequencer, the Emulator II will select
the lowest-numbered available track for a selected Sequence under either of two
conditions:

1) The instrument has just been turned on

or
2) You are activating the Sequencer module after having previously deactivated it.

However, as long as you stay in the Sequencer module, the instrument will select or
erase the track just selected or erased.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

SEQUENCER EXT CLOCK

The Emulator II can synchronize to one of several different tempo references:
Internal clock, external click track, MIDI timing messages, or SMPTE time code. It
can also generate (write) a click track or SMPTE time code signal on tape. Once
recorded, these signals can feed the Emulator II during overdubs to maintain
synchronization with the original tempo.

Note: You cannot activate EXT CLOCK unless there is a defined Sequence in the
Bank. For more information on defining a Sequence, see SEQUENCER DEFINE 1-3.

1. With the EXT CLOCK sub-module active, the display says:

External Clock
Move Slider A

Moving Slider A upwards from the bottom of its travel goes through the steps of
the external clock setup. Slider D chooses options for each step. Once the
display shows the desired option, move Slider A upwards to the next step in the
setup.

2. With Slider A at the bottom of its travel, the display shows the default clock
source (the Emulator II internal clock), and invites you to use Slider D:

Clk Source: Int

Use Slider D

To choose a click track plugged into the SMPTE IN Jack as a tempo reference,
move Slider D upward from the bottom of its travel until the display says:

Clk Source: Click

Use Slider D

To select MIDI System Real Time Messages (as sent to the MIDI IN jack) as the
tempo reference, move Slider D upward until the display says:

Clk Source: MIDI

Use Slider D

To select SMPTE (as sent to’ the SMPTE IN jack) as the tempo reference, move
Slider D upward until the display says:

Clk Source: SMPTE

Use Slider D

When the display shows the desired timing reference, proceed to the next setup
step.

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SEQUENCER MODULE
3. Move Slider A upwards to the next step in the Ext Clock setup routine, which
determines the click rate when reading a click track. Slider D chooses the
options. The display initially gives the default value:

Click Rate: 24pqn

Use Slider D

With this setting (24 pulses-per-quarter note), a quarter note occurs for every 24
clock pulses received at the SMPTE IN jack. The E-mu Drumulator, most Roland
equipment, PAIA Master Synchronizer, and most drum machines use this
standard. Move Slider D upwards from the bottom of its travel and the display
says:

Click Rate: 48pqn

Use Slider D

With this setting, a quarter note occurs for every 48 clock pulses received at the
SMPTE IN jack. The LinnDrum and some Korg equipment use this standard.
Move Slider D upwards and the display says:

Click Rate: 96pqn

Use Slider D

This is the standard used by Oberheim Electronics. When the display shows the
desired click rate, proceed to the next step in the setup.

4. Move Slider A upwards to the next step in the Ext Clock setup routine; the
display says:

Write Click Trk?

Press Yes

To generate a 24 pulses-per-quarter note click track signal at the MET OUT jack
suitable for recording on tape, press YES. Note that the tempo should be set as
desired before writing (see SEQUENCER SETUP 2, “Tempo”). After pressing
YES, the display says:

Writing…Press
Enter to Stop

Use this signal to set record levels before rolling tape. Set about a -3 VU record
level. After setting levels, press ENTER to stop writing. Roll the tape in record
mode, leave a few seconds of blank tape, then press YES to start recording the
click track on tape.

Always record more click track than you think you’ll need. You can erase it later if
you don’t use it, and if you ever need it you’ll be g-lad it’s there.

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SEQUENCER MODULE
When finished, press ENTER to stop writing. Note: Writing activity “locks up” the
Emulator II. In order to proceed with other functions, de-activate the module. To
continue the Slider A setup procedure, re-activate EXT CLK.

Hint: After recording a click track, play it back into the Emulator II via the SMPTE
IN jack and play a Sequence (see SEQUENCER PLAY) to make sure that the
click track was recorded at the right level and that there are no drop-outs or other
problems. With most -10 dBV standard gear, the click signal will need to be pre-
amplified in order to drive the Emulator II. Most +4 dBm standard gear delivers
sufficient output to drive the Emulator II. If the click track bleeds over into other
channels of the tape, try lowering the record level a bit and amplifying the signal
coming from the tape output.

Note: Remember that the MET OUT outputs a trigger that occurs at the
metronome rate; this trigger can be used for triggering synthesizer arpeggiators,
electronic drum pads, event generators, and so on. For more information, see
SEQUENCER SETUP 3 (“Auto Correct”).

5. Moving Slider A upwards gives the following display:

SMPTE Rate: 24fps

Use Slider D

This chooses the SMPTE frames-per-second rate. Slider D chooses between the
following options:

24 fps (frames per second) = The standard frame rate for film
25 fps = The standard frame rate for European television and video
30 fps = The standard frame rate for American television and video.

When the display shows the desired SMPTE frame rate, proceed to the next
setup step.

6. Move Slider A upwards to the next step in the Ext Clock setup routine. The
display says:

SMPTE dropfr: no
Press Y/N

You may read or write SMPTE code in either dropframe or non-dropframe

modes. Dropframe mode compensates for the time error in color television. To
set up for outputting dropframe code press YES. Then write SMPTE to tape as
usual. When you read a SMPTE track into the Emulator II the mode it was
originally recorded in is detected. The dropframe or non-dropframe mode is
automatically set.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

7. Move Slider A upwards to the next step in the Ext Clock setup routine. The
display says:

Write SMPTE Trk?

Press Yes

To generate a SMPTE time code signal at the SMPTE OUT jack suitable for
recording on tape, press YES; the Emulator II will output SMPTE time code from
the SMPTE output jack, starting at SMPTE start point 00:00:00:00 with a 30
frames-per-second rate (unless you specified a different frames-per-second rate
in step You may specify a different SMPTE start point (this must be done prior to
writing the track) as described in SEQUENCER SETUP 5, but no matter what the
SMPTE start point, it should start before the start point of your Sequence. For
example, if the SMPTE start point is 00:00:00:00, for best results the Sequence
should start at 00:00:01:00 or later.

Note that tempo is derived from the SMPTE track during playback, so it is not
necessary to set a specific tempo when generating or recording SMPTE. The
display now says:

Writing … Press
Enter to Stop

Use this signal to set record levels before rolling tape. Set about a -3 VU record
level. After setting levels, press ENTER to stop writing. Roll the tape in record
mode, leave a few seconds of blank tape, and then press YES to start recording
the time code on tape.

Always record more time code than you think you’ll need. You can erase it later if
you don’t use it, and if you ever need it you’ll be glad it’s there.

When finished, press ENTER to stop writing. Note: Writing activity “locks up” the
Emulator II. In order to proceed with other functions, de-activate the module. To
continue the Slider A setup procedure, re-activate EXT CLK.

Hint: After recording SMPTE time code, play it back into the Emulator II via the
SMPTE IN jack and play a Sequence (see SEQUENCER PLAY) to make sure
that the time code was recorded at the right level and that there are no drop-outs
or other problems. With most -10 dBV standard gear, the signal will need to be
pre-amplified in order to drive the Emulator II. Most +4 dBm standard gear
delivers sufficient output to drive the Emulator II. If the SMPTE time code track
bleeds over into other channels o the tape, try lowering the record level a bit and
amplifying the signal coming from the tape output.

8. This completes the External Clock setup procedure. To review all settings, move
Slider A. Settings will stay as programmed unless changed or the instrument is
turned off.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

DEFINE 1 - Function: CREATE SEQUENCE

This function lets you create, number, and name a Sequence. It is conceptually
similar to creating a Preset.

1. Activate the DEFINE sub-module. The display shows the Module Identifier:

Seq Define (1 – 3)

2. Press 1 on the keypad. The display says:

Create Seq#
Press (01 - 99)

Enter a two-digit Sequence number (include leading zeroes) and press ENTER
The display will ask:

Copy from Another

Sequence Y/N

Unless you entered the number of an existing Sequence. If so, proceed to step 3.

To start a Sequence from scratch, press NO. To build upon an existing

Sequence, press YES. If you press NO, proceed to step 3. If you press YES, the
display will ask:

From Seq#
(01 – 99)/Slider A

...and the ENTER light will be flashing. Either use the keypad to specify the
Sequence number, or move Slider A to catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
7, “Cataloguing”) the available Bank Sequences. When the display shows the
desired Sequence, press ENTER.

3. The display now asks:

SXX (name)
Rename? Y/N

...where XX is the two-digit Sequence number followed by the Sequence name. If

you don’t want to rename, press NO. To rename, press YES. Slider B positions
the cursor under the letter you want to change, while Slider A chooses between
lower case letters, capital letters, numerals 0 - 9, #, and space (top slider
position). Continue positioning the cursor and entering letters until the name is
complete, then press the flashing ENTER light.
Note: Specifying an existing Sequence number in step 2 gives you a chance to
rename the Sequence using this procedure.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

DEFINE 2 - Function: TIME SIGNATURE

This function sets the time signature for the Sequence.

1. With the DEFINE module active, key in 2. The display shows the default 4/4 time
signature:

Time Sign 04/04

Use Sliders A&B

...unless the Sequence has already been recorded, in which case the lower line
will say “Seq Is Not Empty”. The time signature is recorded as part of the
Sequence, and cannot be changed once a Sequence has been recorded.

2. Slider A varies the numerator of the time signature (the numbers of beats in a
measure) from 01 to 16. An additional * option is available at the bottom of Slider
A’s travel. This mode neither specifies a fixed time signature nor accents the
metronome on a specific beat, and is generally used in conjunction with * mode
in SEQUENCE DEFINE 3 (“Sequence Length”), which defines the Sequence
length in real-time. * mode is also useful if you are composing a piece of music
with multiple time signature changes.

Whatever time signature mode you choose, be sure to plug the MET OUT jack
into an amplifier so that you can monitor the metronome as you set the measure
length.

Slider B provides three beat values for the denominator of the time signature: 04
(quarter note), 08 (eighth note), and 16 (sixteenth note).

3. When the display shows the desired time signature, press ENTER.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

DEFINE 3 - Function: SEQUENCE LENGTH

Not too surprisingly, this function sets the Sequence length.

1. With the DEFINE module active, key in 3. The display shows the default
Sequence length:

Length: 002 Meas

SlidrA(001-999)

...unless the Sequence has already been recorded, in which case the lower line
will say “Seq Is Not Empty”. The Sequence length is recorded as part of the
Sequence and cannot be changed once, a Sequence has been recorded.

2. With Slider A at the top of its travel, you may enter the Sequence length via the
keypad. Key in the desired three-digit number (leading zeroes must be included),
then press ENTER.

With Slider A at the bottom of its travel, you may enter the Sequence length in
real-time (* mode). Be sure to plug the MET OUT jack into an amplifier so that
you can monitor the metronome as you set the Sequence length. Press
RECORD to indicate the beginning of the Sequence, and STOP to set the end of
the Sequence.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

DEFINE 4 - SUPERMODE

This function allows the EII to receive MIDI Information over 8 different channels,
and sound them through 8 different presets simultaneously! To use Supermode,
you must first create a Supermode map which routes the MIDI channels to specific
presets.

To create the Supermode map:

1. Define a new sequence and record a short, blank sequence of any length (don’t
play any notes). Each track you record listens to it’s corresponding MIDI channel.
Track 1 listens to MIDI channel 1, track 2 listens to channel 2, track 3 to channel
3, and so on. Repeat the blank recording process on any track whose MIDI
channels you wish to use.

2. Activate the EDIT module and select 5 (REASSIGN PRESET). Assign each track
to the desired preset. You now have a Supermode map that you can copy to
other sequencer locations. By simply changing sequences, you can call up a new
map!

To use the Supermode map:

1. Check that the EII’s MlDl IN connects to the external sequencers MIDI OUT.

2. Make sure that the current preset is in OMNI mode (PRESET DEFINITION 30)
and turn it’s sequencer START/STOP setting to off.

3. Activate the DEFINE module and select 4. The display says:

Supermode: no
Press Y/N

Press ON to enable Supermode. The EII will now respond to multiple MIDI
channels and route them to the preset specified in the Supermode map.
Supermode is only active while the EII sequencer module is active.

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SEQUENCER MODULE
Notes on EII Supermode

Supermode is off when the EII Sequencer is running.

Realtime controller data is not received over Supermode.

Sending real-time controller data to the EII while in Supermode will slow the MIDI
response by clogging the MIDI input.

While in Supermode; Sustain information on any MIDI channel will affect the Current
Preset.

While in Supermode on Hard Disk units; MIDI Preset Change commands 53 - 99 on

any MIDI channel will cause a Hard Disk bank to be loaded unless Preset Change (in
the Current Preset MIDI menu) is set to OFF.

SUPERMODE MAP EXAMPLE

EII PRESETS 05 01 02 10 06 21 15 04
EII TRACKS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
MIDI CHANNELS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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SEQUENCER MODULE

SETUP 1 - Function: SELECT TRACK

Before recording or punching-in, use this function to specify the track on which
you want to record or punch.

1. With the SETUP sub-module active, key in 1. If you are calling up this function for
the first time, the display gives the default track record assignment:

Tracks: 1
Record ^

The caret in the bottom line indicates the track on which you will record.

If you have already recorded some tracks, their track numbers will appear in the
display. An asterisk will appear under the recorded tracks, which have been cued
(see SEQUENCER SETUP 4), and the caret will appear under the lowest-
numbered empty track. For example, suppose you had already recorded tracks
2, 3, 4, and 7, and that these were set up to be cued. The display would read:

Tracks: 1 2 3 4 7
Record ^ * * * *

2. To select a record track, simply key in its number with the keypad. If you choose
an already recorded track, you will overwrite what’s on that track. To continue
with the setup process, press ENTER to return to the Module Identifier, then
select the next function (SEQUENCER SETUP 2).

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SEQUENCER MODULE

SETUP 2 - Function: TEMPO

This function sets the Sequence tempo. Tempo may be changed at any time;
therefore, you can record a complex part at a slower tempo, and then bring the
speed up to normal during playback.

1. With the SETUP sub-module active, key in 2. If you are calling up this function for
the first time, the display shows the default tempo setting:

Tempo: 120BPM
Use Slider A

2. Choose a tempo in the range of 40 to 240 Beats Per Minute with Slider A. Note
that the tempo moves in 1 BPM increments from 40 to 120 8PM, 2 BPM
increments from 120 to 162 BPM, and 3 BPM increments from 162 to 240 BPM.
Tempo is recorded as part of the Sequence.

3. To continue with the setup process, select the next function (SEQUENCER
SETUP 3). To return to the Module Identifier, press ENTER.

SETUP 3 - Function: AUTO CORRECT

This command does not, as some people think, tune up your car. Instead, it does
something much more important: It optionally “rounds of f” the notes you play to
a specified rhythmic value, thus eliminating timing errors. It also lets you set the
metronome to one of six different rhythmic values.

1. With the SETUP sub-module active, key in 3. If you are calling up this function for
the first time, the display shows the default auto correct and metronome settings:

Auto Corr = HiRes

Metronome 1/4

2. Slider A selects one of the following auto correct values:

1/4 every note you play will be rounded off to the nearest quarter note
1/4 t every note you play will be rounded off to the nearest quarter note triplet
1/8 eighth note
1/8 t eighth note triplet
1/16 sixteenth note
1/16 t sixteenth note triplet
1/32 thirty-second note
1/32 t thirty-second note triplet
HiRes notes you play are all rounded off

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SEQUENCER MODULE
3. Slider B selects one of the following metronome values:

1/4 quarter note

1/4 t quarter note triplet
1/8 eighth note
1/8 t eighth note triplet
1/16 sixteenth note
1/16 t sixteenth note triplet
click A 24 pulses-per-quarter note click track is send from the MET OUT jack.

4. To continue with the setup process, select the next function (SEQUENCER
SETUP 4). To return to the Module Identifier, press ENTER.

SETUP 4 - Function: CUE

This function lets you cue (monitor) any or all of the tracks recorded in the
Sequencer.

1. With the SETUP sub-module active, key in 4. If you have not yet recorded any
tracks, the display says:

Tracks:
Cue On:

As you record tracks, the track number appears on the top line and an asterisk
appears below each recorded track on the bottom line. For example, if you have
recorded on tracks 3, 4, 5, and 8, the display shows:

Tracks: 3 4 5 8
Cue On: * * * *

2. To turn off a track, press the track number on the keypad; the asterisk will
disappear. To turn the track back on again, press the track number on the
keypad; the asterisk will reappear.

3. To continue with the setup process, press ENTER to return to the Module
Identifier, then select the next function (SEQUENCER SETUP 5).

Hint: When using the Sequencer for live performance, cue can be used to turn
“alternate” tracks on and off. For example, you could record two or three different
solos on different tracks, and cue up a different solo for each set so that fans who
see the band a lot won’t hear the same solo night after night.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

SETUP 5 - Function: SMPTE START

You can start a Sequence by pushing PLAY (see SEQUENCER PLAY), or have the
Sequence start automatically at a specific frame of the SMPTE time code. In this
case, you would select SMPTE time code as the External Clock, and press PLAY
(the PLAY LED will flash). As soon as the Emulator II receives the SNPTE time
code frame number specified in this step, the Sequence will start playing and the
PLAY LED will be lit continuously. You may also set a SMPTE start point when
recording SMPTE time code on tape.

The SMPTE START feature is invaluable for film work, as you can sequence
different sound effects and have them “drop in” at particular points in accordance
with the time code.

1. With the SETUP sub-module active, key in 5. The display says:

SMPTE Start
00:00:00:00

The four pairs of digits represent (in order) hours, minutes, seconds, and frames.
Use the keypad to enter the desired SMPTE start point; remember that the
number of frames cannot exceed the number specified for the SMPTE frames-
per-second rate specified during the EXT CLK setup routine. The SMPTE start
point is remembered as part of the Sequence.

2. To continue with the setup process, press ENTER to return to the Module
Identifier, and then select the next function (SEQUENCER SETUP 6).

SETUP 6 - COUNTDOWN

If you’d like a countdown before recording or playing back a Sequence, you’ve

come to the right place.

1. With the SETUP sub-module active, key in 6. The display says:

Countdown=0beats
Press (0 – 9)

The default setting is 0 beats; in other words, the Sequence starts recording or
playing back the instant you press PLAY. Use the keypad to program the number
of beats in the countdown. The countdown will remain until changed, and occur
every time you record or play back a Sequence. Note that “beat” refers to the
beat as defined in SEQUENCER DEFINE 2 (Time Signature), not necessarily the
metronome click.

2. To exit, press ENTER (returns to Module Identifier), deactivate the sub-module,

or activate another sub-module.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

RECORD, PLAY and STOP

You can think of these three switches as the “tape recorder controls” since they act very
similarly to the equivalent controls on a multi-track tape recorder.

Record
To record a Sequence, first press RECORD to put the Sequencer in “record ready”
mode. Then, press PLAY to begin recording. If you programmed a countdown
(SEQUENCER SETUP 6), the number of beats you programmed will elapse before
recording begins. Note that unlike a tape recorder, you do not need to hold down
RECORD as you press PLAY.

Two cautions: A Sequence must play through to the end for a track to be recorded; if you
stop a Sequence while it’s recording by pressing STOP, what you just played will not be
recorded. Also, note that upon pressing RECORD and PLAY any existing note data on
the track will be erased.

Playback
To play back a Sequence, press PLAY. If you programmed a countdown (SEQUENCER
SETUP 6), the number of beats you programmed will elapse before playback begins. If
you programmed an External Clock input (SEQUENCER EXT CLK), the Play LED will
flash until the External Clock signal appears.

There are two ways to stop a Sequence from playing. To stop playback at the end of the
Sequence, press STOP once. To stop playback immediately, press STOP twice.

Stop
In addition to performing the functions described above, pressing STOP also determines
the end of the Sequence under the circumstances described in SEQUENCER DEFINE 3
(Sequencer Length).

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SEQUENCER MODULE

SELECT SEQUENCE

This function lets you select any of the Bank Sequences for playback and/or
additional recording.

1. To select a Sequence, first press SELECT. The display shows the Current
Sequence number:

Select Seq# XX
SXX (name)

...where XX is the Current Sequence number. Either use the keypad to specify a
Sequence number, or move Slider A to catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
7, “Cataloguing”) the available Bank Sequences. When the display shows the
desired Sequence, press ENTER. This now becomes the Current Sequence.

2. Exit the function by pressing SELECT again, pressing ENTER, or calling up

another module.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

EDIT 1 - ERASE TRACK

This function erases any track from a Sequence.

1. With the EDIT sub-module active, key in 1. The display says:

Erase An Entire
Track Y/N

To erase an entire track, including any stored controls assigned to that track,
press YES and proceed to step 2. To erase just the stored controls but leave the
note information intact, press NO; the display says:

ErasControl
Use Slider A

Varying Slider A lists the various Real Time Control destinations, and shows to
which track each destination is assigned. To erase a stored control, press
ENTER when the display shows the stored control to be erased.

2. If you specified YES in step 1, the upper display line shows the tracks which
have been recorded, and the lower line asks which track you want to erase.
Example: If you’ve recorded on tracks 1 through 5, the display would look like
this:

Tracks:12345
Erase Track #

Specify the track to be erased with the keypad. When the display confirms your
choice and the ENTER LED flashes, press ENTER.

3. The display now says:

Erase Track #X
You Sure? Y/N

...where X is the track you just specified. Press YES to erase the track and return
to the Module Identifier; press NO to return to the Module Identifier without
erasing the track.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

EDIT 2 – PUNCH-IN

You can fix mistakes, or do spot overdubs, with the punch-in function.

1. First select the track (as described in SEQUENCER SETUP 1) on which you
want to record the punch-in. Note that when you record a track, the Sequencer
remembers the Current Preset assigned to that track; therefore, when punching
the Current Preset must match the Preset on the track being punched.

2. With the EDIT sub-module active, key in 2. The display, being its usual helpful
self, says:

Press Play: Rcrd

Punches In/Out

3. The RECORD LED will be flashing; start the Sequence by pressing PLAY. When
you want to punch-in, press RECORD and the Sequencer will go into record
mode. Note: You may punch-in before the clock source ‘starts if you want to be
able to overdub right at the beginning of a Sequence. You may also punch-in
during the countdown if desired.

Also note that while recording, if you punch in prior to a note’s release the note
will start and not turn off.

4. Press RECORD again to punch-out, however, you must let the Sequence play
through to the end for the changes to become part of the track. While the track is
playing, if you need to do another punch-in press RECORD and press RECORD
once more to punch-out.

5. If you’re not happy with the punch and want to start over, press STOP to punch-
out and immediately stop the Sequence. The punched part, as well as any old
data during the punched part, will be erased as soon as you press STOP.

Note: The Sequence makes only one pass during punch-in mode, so if you need
to punch something close to the beginning of the Sequence it helps to program a
countdown (see SEQUENCER SETUP 6).

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SEQUENCER MODULE

EDIT 3 – BOUNCE TRACKS

With this function, you may bounce tracks assigned to one Preset to any other
track assigned with the same Preset (including one of the tracks being bounced --
i.e., bounce tracks 1, 2, and 3 into 1). To bounce a track that has a different Preset
from the other tracks being bounced, reassign the track Preset so that it is the
same as the other tracks being bounced (see SEQUENCER EDIT 5, “Reassigning
Presets”).

1. We will use an example to demonstrate bouncing. Suppose you have recorded

tracks 1, 2, and 5 with Preset 01, tracks 3, 6, and 7 with Preset 02, and want to
bounce tracks 1 and 2 down to a single track. With the EDIT sub-module active,
key in 3. The display’s upper line shows which tracks have been recorded, the
lower line asks which tracks you want to put where:

Trk: 123 567

Put D___

2. Key in the number of the first track you want to bounce. The right-hand side of
the upper line will indicate its Preset number, and display aU other tracks
assigned to the same Preset. Using the above example, if you key in 1, the
display will show:

Trk: 12 5 =P01
Put D___

3. Key in the tracks you want to bounce, in this case, 1 and 2. The display says:

Trk:12 5 =P01
Put 12 D___

...and the ENTER light will be flashing. If the Put line shows the tracks you want
to bounce, press ENTER. If you try to enter a track that’s assigned to a different
Preset, the Emulator II will ignore the command.

4. Now enter the track to which you want to bounce. In this case, you could bounce
to track 1, track 2, or to open track 4. Key in the track to which you want to
bounce, and the ENTER light will flash. Press ENTER, and the Emulator II will
bounce the tracks for you.

5. You can bounce tracks as often as you like, but remember -- the Emulator II will
not play more than 8 notes at a time.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

EDIT 4 - STORE CONTROLS

This function lets you store control source changes along with a track. You may
store as many control source changes as desired with a track, however, the same
control source cannot be assigned to more than one track. For example, if you
store control source 1 (pitch bend) on one track you cannot store pitch bend
information on any other track. Please note that storing control settings uses up a
lot more memory than simply storing note information.

1. First select the Preset you want to record, and then use SETUP 1 (“Select
Track”) to select the track on which you want to record. The controller must be
enabled in the Current Preset or nothing will happen.

2. Before recording, activate the EDIT sub-module and key in 4. The display says:

RecTrk#X
Real Time (1 – 7)

...where X is the track to be recorded. Enter the number(s) corresponding to the

control source(s) you want to store, as listed in the Real Time Control module
(1=Pitch, 2 = Filt Fc, 3=Level, and so on). After the display confirms your choice,
press ENTER Note: If you select a control source which has already been
assigned to a different track, the display will say “AssignedToTrk#X” where X is
the track number to which the control source was previously assigned.

3. Press RECORD and then PLAY. As you record, the control source changes will
be stored along with the track.

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SEQUENCER MODULE

EDIT 5 – REASSIGN PRESET

You may re-assign a different Preset to a previously recorded track at any time
with this command.

1. With the EDIT module active, key in 5. The display says:

Track Presets
Use Sliders A&D

2. Slider A catalogs the tracks you have recorded. The top line of the display
shows the track number; the bottom line shows the Preset assigned to that track.

Slider D catalogs the available Bank Presets. When the display confirms your
choice of track and Preset, hit ENTER and the Preset will be re-assigned.

EDIT 6 – APPEND SEQUENCE

This function appends the Bank Sequence of your choice on to the end of the
Current Sequence. You may also append a Sequence to it self.

1. With the EDIT sub-module active, key in 6. The display says:

Append Seq#
(01 – 99)/Slider A

2. Either use the keypad to specify the Sequence number, or move Slider A to
catalog (see GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 7, “Cataloguing”) the available Bank
Sequences. When the display shows the Sequence you want to append, press
ENTER. The display now says:

Append Seq# XX
You Sure? Y/N

...where XX is the Sequence number you just specified. Press YES to append
the Sequence then return to the Module Identifier, or press NO to return to the
Module Identifier without appending the Sequence.

Note: Once a Sequence has been appended, it cannot be “unappended”.

Therefore, before appending we recommend making a copy of the Current
Sequence as a “back-up”.

Caution: When appending a Sequence, make sure that the controllers assigned
to the two Sequences match up.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 193

ADVANCED APPLICATIONS

ADVANCED APPLICATIONS
THE ART OF SAMPLING

TAKING THE BEST POSSIBLE SAMPLE

MANIPULATING THE SAMPLE

COMBING SAMPLES INTO PRESETS

CREATING MULTI-INSTRUMENT PRESETS

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ADVANCED APPLICATIONS

THE ART OF SAMPLING

Recording good samples is not always easy; creating a really super set of Presets requires
patience, practice, and skill. Sure, you can get musically useful results within a few days after
working with the Emulator II, but as you learn your craft the quality of your samples will improve
dramatically.

Sampling is a multi-stage process, so we will describe tips for each stage separately. These
stages are:

1. Taking the best possible sample.

2. Manipulating the sample within the Emulator II for maximum musicality (looping, splicing,
etc.).

3. Efficiently combining samples into Presets.

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ADVANCED APPLICATIONS

PART 1: TAKING THE BEST POSSIBLE SAMPLE

What comes out of the Emulator can only be as good as what you put in: Strive for
maximum fidelity when sampling. Here are some ways to increase sample quality.

GENERAL TIPS
Live sampling: Sample “live” whenever possible, rather than recording a sound on tape
then sampling from the tape.

Beware of overloads: The Emulator II is a digital recording device. Unlike analog

recording devices, distortion does not increase slowly past a certain level; rather, it
increases rapidly above the overload point, and produces a “non-musical”, splattering
type of distortion. Monitor your levels carefully.

Sampling direct vs. sampling via microphone: Whenever possible, sample electronic
instruments directly into the Emulator II. Avoid using a recording console, direct box, or
other device in between the instrument and Emulator II.

Maintain the instrument to be sampled: Tune your instrument and carefully check the
intonation; change strings (if applicable); and check that the instrument doesn’t have any
loose parts that rattle, squeak, or make other noises.

Sampling acoustic instruments: Choose the microphone and mic placement as

carefully as you would for any recording project. Musicians sometimes note how hard it
is to get a good “sound” in the studio, but that’s what sampling is all about...getting a
good sound, and once you’ve got that sound, keeping it.

Play naturally: Sometimes it’s a lot harder to play one note than several hundred.
Unless you’re trying for a special effect, play the sample as you would normally play the
instrument. It’s often a good idea to play several notes, and use truncation to zero in on
the best of the bunch.

Avoid ground loops: Ground loops occur when electricity can take two different paths
to ground. If there is a resistance difference between the two paths, this can generate a
signal (consisting mostly of digital “hash”) that can work its way into the recording chain.
With all the instruments patched in place and connected to each other, turn off the
Emulator II and insert a ground lift adapter between the Emulator II plug and the wall.
CAUTION: Removing the ground connection defeats the safety advantage of using a
three-wire plug. Make sure the Emulator fl chassis has some other path to ground
(usually via the audio input and output cables). Having two paths to ground can cause
ground loops, but having no paths to ground can cause a potential shock hazard if
there’s an equipment malfunction in the studio.

Using signal processing while recording: Just as with regular recording, there are no
absolutes about recording signals with or without signal processing. Some engineers
feel that tracks should always be recorded flat to allow for the maximum number of
options during mix down; others prefer to record with a bit of processing, especially if the
processor might be needed on another track when mixing.

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ADVANCED APPLICATIONS
Here are some thoughts about the use of various types of signal processors when
recording samples.

External Preamp: If you need to pre-amplify the signal being sampled, set the Sample
section GAIN SET to 00 dB and use an external, high-quality mic preamp to increase the
signal level going into the Emulator II. The Emulator II preamp noise level, while
acceptable, is sometimes not as quiet as an external mic preamp.

Limiting Dynamic Range: Limiting the signal being sampled can put a higher average
signal level into the Emulator II, thus improving the already excellent signal-to-noise
ratio. Also, the limit point can be set just under the Emulator II overload point, which
makes level setting less critical.

Equalization: If using EQ gives a better instrument sound, then use it. You want the
best possible sound going into the Emulator II, and if a little EQ is indicated, it’s best to
add it while recording rather than having to think about it during playback.

Flanging & chorusing: There will be no problem using time delay effects with unlooped
sounds, but looped sounds are another story. The worst case is that the time-delay
processing creates such a complex, non-repetitive signal that it becomes virtually
impossible to find a good splice point for the loop. The best case occurs if the effect is
used to give cyclical sweeps, since you can often loop one sweep of the LFO with good
results. Remember too that the Emulator II can add chorusing effects all by itself; simply
replicate a Preset, de-tune the Voices in the replicated Preset slightly, then overlap the
original and replicated Presets on the keyboard.

Compression: Compression can be helpful when looping sounds since it evens out
level changes, thus making it easier to find an equal-level splice point. If appropriate, use
the Emulator II’s VCA and ADSR to restore the original signal dynamics.

Audio “exciters”: To brighten up a sampled signal, use a device such as an Aphex

Aural Exciter or EXR Projector. Both of these devices add a high-end “sheen” without
adding the stridency encountered with excessive high-frequency equalization.

Using noise reduction: A number of single-ended noise reduction units (such as the
MicMix Dynafex or Rocktron Hush) are now available; these do not require that the noisy
signal have been previously encoded, as is the case with Dolby and dbx. If your source
signal is noisy, one of these devices can help to greatly clean up the overall sound
quality as you sample.

SAMPLING FROM TAPES

Maintaining sample quality via VCR recording: One excellent way to sample involves
using a VCR and digital audio adapter (such as the Sony PCM-F1) for recording different
sounds. Compared to using conventional reel-to-reel tape recorders, this approach
offers several advantages:

Digital-quality fidelity. A VCR/audio adapter combination adds virtually no

degradation to the signal being sampled. Signal-to-noise ratio, wow, flutter, and
dynamic range exceed that of all but the very finest analog recorders. These
tapes of source sounds can serve as “master” library disks.

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ADVANCED APPLICATIONS

Lower tape costs. VCR cartridge tape is very inexpensive; you can record hours
and hours of samples for only a few dollars.

Portability. Using a portable VCR and battery powered audio adapter makes for a
very compact and portable package.

Although splicing is not easy with VCR-based audio systems, you can generally do the
required signal splicing and manipulation within the Emulator II. A good alternative to the
VCR/adapter approach is to use a Sony Beta Hi-Fi recorder; the audio tracks are of
excellent quality.

Maintaining sample quality with reel-to-reel recording: Follow common-sense

recording practice, be extremely careful about mic placement, use noise reduction when
recording samples on to tape, limit the signal going on to tape rather than limiting the
signal coming off the tape into the Emulator II, and add aural enhancement if desired.

Using variable speed tape recording: Variable speed can help “time-compress”
samples. For example, suppose you have 1 second of Bank memory left and want to
sample a 2 second sound. Record the sound on tape, and play back the tape at twice-
normal speed into the Emulator II. This gives you a 1 second sample. Assign the original
pitch one octave above the sample’s pitch, the low note to the sample’s pitch, and the
high note to one octave above the sample’s pitch. The octave-lower version of the
sample will produce a 2 second sound at the desired pitch.

Variable speed can also help increase high frequency response. Record a sample on
tape then set the recorder to half speed and record the sound into the Emulator II.
Assign the original pitch to one octave below the sample’s pitch, the low note also one
octave below the sample’s pitch, and the high note at the sample’s pitch. This high note
will give the original sample sound with an extremely clean high end.

Creative use of multi-tracking: Try multi-tracking sounds on a conventional recorder,

then sampling the combination sound into the Emulator II. Recording a half-speed piano
note along with an electric bass and a little bit of analog synth in the background gives a
pretty outrageous bass sound...

PART 2: MANIPULATING THE SAMPLE

Transposition beyond two octaves: If you have a single sample, it is limited to

covering a maximum of two octaves. However, if you have a two-speed tape recorder
one sample can cover at least four octaves.

Record the original sample at C3 (low note C2, high note C4). Now record that sample
on to tape running at 15 IPS. Play back the tape at 7.5 IPS, and record that sample at
C2 (low note C1, high note B2). Next, record the original sample on to tape running at
7.5 IPS. Play back the tape at 15 IPS, and record that sample at C4 (low note C3, high
note C5).

You have now covered four octaves with the one original sample. Note that some of the
Voices overlap; this is an excellent application for Positi6nal Crossfade. If you want a full

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five octaves, record the “re-synthesized” sample from C5 on tape running at 7.5 IPS.
Play back the tape at 15 IPS, and record that sample at C6 (low note CS, high note C6).

Minimizing timbre differences between adjacent samples: There are several ways to
minimize timbre differences as you play across the keyboard.

Record lots of samples (“multi-sampling”). This only becomes practical with relatively
short samples.

Overlap samples and use positional crossfade. This can help even out the sound to
a great extent; refer to PRESET DEFINITION 27 (“Positional Crossfade”) for further
information.

Carefully adjust filter tracking. When recording the sample, add some extra
brightness via equalization. When adjusting the Voice filter parameters on playback,
set the filter tracking for about 0.50 and adjust the filter cutoff for the desired overall
timbre. This helps keep an even timbre across the entire Voice. After assigning the
Voices to a Preset, “tweak” the settings (if necessary) to insure consistent timbre
from sample to sample.

TIPS ON MANIPULATING SYNTHESIZER SAMPLES

Looping synthesizer oscillators: When sampling synthesizer sounds, it is not always
necessary to sample the entire sound. You may simply sample the synthesizer’s
oscillators, and use the Emulator II’s VCF, VCA, and LFO to alter the raw waveform. To
sample an oscillator, use as short a loop as possible (sometimes this can even be less
than 100 samples long), and a starting point as close to the beginning of the sound as
possible. Use AUTOLOOP often, since it can choose short sample splice points much
more easily than a human can.

Non-standard tunings: There is a renewed interest in non-standard tunings, such as just

intonation. It is possible to record a separate, short, just-intoned sample for each key; if
you keep the samples short enough, it is possible to cover at least two or three octaves
of notes. Or, record sounds in quarter-tone even-tempered intervals if that’s your thing,
or...

“SIGNAL PROCESSING” WITH THE EMULATOR II

Chorusing: The Emulator can give chorusing effects for a specific Preset. First,
replicate the Preset to be chorused. This creates a new set of Voices. Now, make these
replicated Voices the Current Voice, and detune all of them about -07 cents. Finally,
overlap the Voices from the original Preset with the Voices of the replicated Presets. The
slight detuning will give a chorusing effect without any of the noise or other signal
degradation sometimes associated with outboard signal processors.

Flanging: Follow the same procedure as above, but after making the replicated Voices
the Current Voice, do not detune the replicated Voices but instead add some slow-speed
vibrato with a fair amount of vibrato depth. The vibrato rate determines the rate of the
“flange”, while the vibrato depth sets the depth of the flange.

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Pitch transposer with regeneration: To make a Voice sound as if it is being pitch-
shifted downward and regenerated, hit three or four adjacent keys from the same
sample at the exact same time (try this with a sampled sentence for an obvious example
of how the effect works).

Time delay special effects: Set a Voice for non-transpose, then press several keys at
almost the same time -- you will hear all sorts of flanging, chorusing, and other delay
effects.

Echo: Loop a complete Voice so that it begins repeating as soon as it ends. Then, set
the VCA decay so that the repeated Voices get softer as you hold down the key. The
effect is very similar to echo, with the exception that different notes will have different
echo rates. Or, set a Voice for non-transpose, and hit a new key every time you want~ to
hear an echo.

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PART 3: EFFICIENTLY COMBINING SAMPLES INTO PRESETS

Part of creating a good Preset is to get into a “rhythm” where you’re punching up
parameters as if the whole process was second nature. The following example shows
the flow of a typical sampling session from start to finish.

I. The Situation
You have a portable, toy synthesizer that has about seven really great patches and no
keyboard dynamics. You’d like to take it on the road, but it’s real fragile; so, you decide
to sample the seven patches into the Emulator II, and add keyboard dynamics while
you’re at it. We’ll suppose that these neat sounds are called “Electric Piano”, “Trumpet”,
“Gong”, “Noise”, and “Synth 1 - 3”.

II. Getting ready

First, let’s do a little bit of planning. We’re trying to fit a fair amount of sounds into
memory, so we’ll minimize the number of Voices per sound. Here are some suggested
ways to divide up the keyboard for different numbers of Voices:

3 Voices
Low Orig Hi
C1 C2 A2 Lower Voice (Voice 1)
Bb2 F#3 D4 Middle Voice (Voice 2)
D#4 C5 C6 Higher Voice (Voice 3)

Because transposing changes the timbre of the sound, sometimes three Voices will not
realistically cover the keyboard. Often you can stretch the lowest Voice to cover two
octaves, and use three Voices for the upper three octaves.

4 Voices
Low Orig Hi
C1 C2 Bb2 Voice 1
B2 F#3 B3 Voice 2
C4 F#4 B4 Voice 3
C5 F#5 C6 Voice 4

For greater bass range fidelity, use octave by octave sampling.

5 Voices
Low Orig Hi
C1 F#1 B1 Voice 1
C2 F#2 B2 Voice 2
C3 F#3 B3 Voice 3
C4 F#4 B4 Voice 4
C5 F#5 C6 Voice 5

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For an example of how to use more than 5 Voices, load the piano disk, pick one of the
Presets, and call up Preset Definition 23 (Edit Voice) to see how the Voices are
assigned.

Hint: It is good practice to, if possible, sample an additional Voice or Voices an octave
above and/or below the intended sampling range. Then, it will be possible to do octave
layering, bass sounds, and other tricks later on if desired.

Now let’s assign potential Preset numbers, and assume that we will want about 10
Presets per sound.

Electric Piano: Presets 01 – 09

Trumpet: Presets 10 - 19
Gong: Presets 20 - 29
Noise: Presets 30 - 39
Synth 1: Presets 40 - 49
Synth 2: Presets 50 - 59
Synth 3: Presets 60 - 69

We will make the first Preset of each group as pure and unmodified a sound as possible.
We will then replicate some of the Presets, thereby creating Presets with different Voice
numbers. These can then be modified to produce variations on the first Preset. Note that
if we take five samples per Voice, we will still have 65 Voices left after taking our original
samples -- enough to replicate many five-Voice Presets.

III. Sampling the Voices

Hint: When sampling synthesized sounds, keep the synth filter wide open and use the
Emulator II filter instead for filter control. Open up the synth’s VCA’s since dynamics can
also be set with the Emulator II.

1. Start sampling by clearing the Bank. Upon clearing the Bank, the Emulator II
creates a Preset for you (P01) and names it NULL PRESET. During sampling, if
you assign Voices to the keyboard as they are being sampled (SAMPLE 2), they
will fill up this Null Preset. If you don’t want to bother with assigning Voices just
yet, you could also just sample Voices, one right after another, into the default
assignment (i.e. lowest two octaves). The newest sample will over-write the
previous sample, but the previous sample will still be stored in memory. After all
the sampling is done, the Voices can then be assigned to a Preset.

Assigning the Voices as you go along saves a step, but sampling Voices in quick
succession often gives a better “rhythm”. For now, we’ll go with the latter method.

2. Activate the sample module. After adjusting the gain, thresholds, and so on,
carefully consider your signal source. Suppose we’re sampling the electric piano
sound, and that this particular synth piano note has a complex percussive attack,
which becomes a sustained tone. A good plan might be to sample the complex
attack, then loop the sample as soon as the sustained tone begins. Looping the
sustained part of the tone shortens the sample, saves memory, and gives infinite
sustain if desired. Dynamics can be adjusted later with the Emulator II’s VCA’s.

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3. Now you get into the actual rhythm of sampling, which goes something like...

Arm sampling and play the first (lowest) note to be sampled. Shortly after
the note reaches the sustained section, stop sampling. Play the keyboard
to see if the Voice sounds okay. If the sample is good, de-activate
sampling; Voice V01 now contains the first sample.

Similarly sample the next Voice. This becomes V02 and replaces V01 on
the keyboard. After sampling, check that the Voice sounds okay then
proceed.

Record a total of six Voices as described above. These will cover an

octave more than the keyboard, but the extra Voice will come in handy if
we decide to double octave related Voices for a thicker sound. The lowest
Voice is 01, the highest 06.

4. Create a Preset to see what the Voices sound like together, and assign the
Voices to that Preset.

5. Loop the newly recorded Voices (specifying one Voice at a time as the Current
Voice) by setting the Loop Length to 000000 and adjusting Sliders A & B until the
sound goes just a little bit past where the complex attack cuts off. Now adjust
sliders C & D for a short sample length -- say, 100 samples. Sounds terrible
when it loops, eh? Press YES for Autoloop and it should sound better. If not, set
C & D for a somewhat longer length, and keep pressing YES to invoke Autoloop.
When the sample is looping properly, change the Current Voice and loop the
next Voice.

6. If all Voices to be looped are not assigned to a Preset, temporarily assign any
additional Voices to a temporary Preset and loop them. After all the Voices have
been looped, name them by copying them to themselves (PRESET DEFINITION
12), then save the raw, looped versions of each Voice to the Library disk so that
these sounds will be readily available when making up future Presets.

7. Modification time...since we want a percussive Voice rather than a sustained

one, we’ll activate VCA/LFO and add decay to all Voices in the Preset. Or how
about a Chorus sound? De-tune a replicated set of Voices (as described earlier
in this section), overlay them with the existing Voices, and voila -- instant
chorusing.

Part of the fun of the Emulator II is that you can really expand the boundaries of
your creativity. For instance, there’s no law that says you have to assign notes
like a normal keyboard; you could sample major chords into one octave, minor
chords into another octave, seventh chords into yet another octave, and so on.

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PART 4: CREATING MULTI-INSTRUMENT PRESETS

In many cases, you will want the Sequencer to sequence several instrument sounds
simultaneously. There are three ways to do this:

Create “MIDI Presets” (described in the MIDI/SMPTE supplement) that allow you to
sequence MIDI instruments from the Sequencer;

Create “Individual Instrument Presets”, each with an individual sound (i.e. bass,
keyboard, percussion, horns, etc.), then program each Preset as one track of the
Sequencer; or

Create “Multi-instrument” Presets, which contain several, instrument sounds,

assigned to different ranges of the keyboard, in one Preset.

You can also combine any or all of the above approaches.

Note: Even if you don’t use the Sequencer the latter two techniques are important if
you want to create Performance disks that include a collection of sounds from other
Performance, or Library, disks. Generally, factory Performance disks group instruments
by category - keyboard sounds, wind instruments, etc.; but you might want a
Performance disk that contains one particular keyboard sound, one or two horn Voices,
and other sounds from other disks. This section describes the procedure necessary to
create multi-instrument Performance disks.

Using the Sequencer to sequence multiple sounds involves several memory tradeoffs,
especially if you are working with Individual Instrument Presets or Multi-instrument
Presets. Voices, Presets, and Sequences all use up Bank memory, with Voices
generally having the most voracious appetite for space and Sequences coming in
second. If you use up all your memory while storing Voices, you won’t have any space
left over for creating Presets or Sequences.

Each of the three methods mentioned above has advantages and disadvantages. MIDI
Presets are very useful, but of course you need to have some MIDI gear available.
Individual Instrument Presets let you work out Sequences in a very straight-forward
manner where each Preset, representing one particular instrument, takes up one track of
the Sequencer Multi-instrument Presets let you sequence multiple Emulator II sounds in
a single track, thus freeing up other tracks for MIDI instruments. For example, suppose
you want to sequence seven MIDI instruments and also sequence three different
instrument sounds in the Emulator II. This would normally not be possible if each
instrument sound had its own Preset, since you would need 10 tracks. However, by
assigning the three instruments to a multi-instrument Preset, one Sequencer track can
sequence all three instruments, thus leaving seven tracks free for MIDI Presets. Another
advantage is that tracks that contain the same Preset can be bounced together;
therefore, before assigning the MIDI Presets to the Sequencer tracks, you could work
out a very complicated part on several tracks using the multi-instrumental Preset. These
tracks could then be bounced to a single track, freeing up the remaining tracks for MIDI
Presets.

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The first step towards creating either a bunch of Individual Instrument Presets or a Multi-
instrument Preset is to store the desired Voices in the Bank. If you have a good
collection of Library disks, clear the Bank then load the desired Voices from the various
disks into the Bank. You can also just sample the Voices you need directly into the Bank.
In many cases, however, you will want to use Voices from different Performance or
Library disks. Suppose you want a bass Voice from one disk, an electric piano Voice
from another disk, and the trumpet Voices from a third disk; here’s how you would
proceed.

1. Clear the Bank memory.

2. Load the Performance or Library disk containing the bass Voice. Select the
desired bass Voice as the Current Voice, and save it to a Library disk.

3. Clear the Bank memory again. Load the Performance or Library disk containing
the electric piano Voice, select this Voice as the Current Voice, and save it to the
same Library disk to which you saved the bass Voice.

4. Clear the Bank memory again. Load the Performance or Library disk containing
the trumpet Voices; assign one of the Voices you want to use as the Current
Voice, then save it to the same Library disk to which you saved the bass and
electric piano Voice. Similarly load any other Voices you want to use to the
Library disk.

5. You now have a Library disk containing all the Voices you want to use. Clear the
Bank, and then load each Voice into the Bank from the Library disk.

6. When creating Individual Instrument Presets, assign the desired Voices to the
desired Presets. When creating Multi-instrument Presets, you might typically
assign the bass Voice to the lower keyboard range, the electric piano to the
middle, and the horns to the upper keyboard range.

7. Check how much memory is left in the Bank. Remember that for every 27,500
remaining samples you can sequence approximately 4,500 notes. If your goal is
to program lots of Sequences using a relatively small number of Voices, then you
will want to make sure you allow sufficient memory space for the Sequences. If
on the other hand you want to program just a couple of Sequences but these
require several Presets containing lots of different Voices, you will use up most of
your memory in the process of storing Voices.

For example, at one point I wanted to create a disk of “practice sequences” over
which I could practice guitar and keyboard solos. Therefore, I needed enough
memory space for lots of Sequences, and just enough Voices to make up the
“band”. I made up one Preset with bass, synth, and horns assigned to different
areas of the keyboard, and another Preset with synth bass, synthesizer and
horns, again assigned to different parts of the keyboard. I would record each
instrument on its own track, and then bounce these into one track to create a
composite of the three different instruments. Another track was dedicated to
being a MIDI Preset for driving a Drumulator via its MIDI input, and another track
was dedicated to driving a small outboard MIDI keyboard for special effects.
Occasionally, I would record variations on one track in a separate Sequencer

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track, and use the Sequencer’s cue function to select the particular version to
which I wanted to listen. Also, sometimes I would record a lead synth or horn part
in another track for practicing “dual lead” parts; again, recording different solos in
different tracks, and selecting the tracks to be auditioned with the cue function,
saves you from having to listen to the same solo over and over again.

The Emulator II Sequencer is amazingly versatile; so make sure you experiment

with it in order to uncover its many talents.

We at E-mu are always interested in any tips, ideas, or suggestions you might
have about the Sequencer or any other aspect of the Emulator II. We invite your
comments, and hope that you have as much fun playing the Emulator II as we
did developing it.

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MIDI SUPPLEMENT

MIDI SUPPLEMENT
BASICS

TYPICAL MIDI APPLICATIONS

CREATING A MIDI PRESET

ABOUT MIDI CONTROLLERS

ABOUT OTHER MIDI SYNTHESIZERS

DEALING WITH MIDI

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BASICS: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT MIDI

MIDI is causing a certain amount of confusion among musicians. Fear not -- it’s not all that
difficult to understand, and the Emulator II makes it particularly easy to deal with MIDI.

For those of you who aren’t that familiar with MIDI, we’ll first answer some common questions.

What does the MIDI cable do?

An instrument already has an AC cord that carries electrical current, and an audio cord that
carries audio signals to an amplifier. Now you have a third connection: the MIDI cable. This
carries neither audio nor power, but transmits information about the status of the instrument to,
and receives “status reports” from, other MIDI instruments. This information is coded in a
computer language...a somewhat primitive language with few words and several dialects, but a
language nonetheless.

What does MIDI stand for?

MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. You already know what “musical
instrument” means, so that takes care of the first half of this phrase. Digital means that the
instrument’s information is conveyed in digital, or computer, language. Interface is the term for
the actual link between instruments, where data passes from one instrument to another. So
MIDI is a link between musical instruments that speaks data in computer language.

How can information control a synthesizer?

First we need to know a bit about computers, since MIDI instruments have microcomputer
souls...in fact, MIDI could not exist without microcomputers.

Computers are decision makers, and they base those decisions on the data they receive.
However, to be useable by a computer any data has to first be translated into a number-based
language that the computer can understand. Actually, when you press a keyboard key with a
computer-based instrument, you are not directly controlling the sound source. Instead, each
time you close a keyboard switch you’re sending a number to the computer, and this number
tells the computer what note you want it to play for you.

The computer’s “window on the world”, where it receives and transmits numerical data, is called
its data bus. The computer looks to see whether any information is on the data bus, and if so,
acts on this data. For example, if it sees a digital “word” that says “play F#” on the data bus, it
will do as the data commands and control a sound source so that it plays an F~. However, note
that the computer doesn’t care whether this word is placed on the data bus due to closing a
keyboard switch or striking a guitar string -- once MIDI translates a note into computer
language, the note becomes compatible with any device that speaks the same language. MIDI
provides access to the computer’s data bus and selects which device will be “on the bus” at any
particular moment, thus letting you determine the flow of information from one MIDI device to
another. This is why having a specification which manufacturers can follow is so important; it
insures that a variety of otherwise incompatible devices will be able to communicate with each
other over a common data bus.

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How does MIDI differentiate between different MIDI instruments?
MIDI provides 16 independent channels of information suitable for driving up to 16 polyphonic
synthesizers or other MIDI devices.
There are three modes that determine how each MIDI instrument responds to these channels.

In Omni mode, the Emulator II (or any other MIDI keyboard) listens to all channels at once. No
matter how many notes from how many sources make it through the MIDI bus into the
instrument, when in Omni mode it will attempt to play all of them.

In Poly mode, the instrument can “tune in” to one MIDI channel --just like you can tune in one
channel of your television. Having a bunch of instruments set to Poly mode lets you send
specific information to different instruments from the Emulator II’s Sequencer over different MIDI
channels.

Mono mode is considered a “multi-timbral” mode. In mono mode, each individual analog
synthesizer voice can be driven by one specific MIDI channel of information to play a certain
melodic line. Each voice can also have its own “patch” (program), so an analog synthesizer
capable of MIDI Mono mode can therefore produce multiple timbres simultaneously. Since the
Emulator II does not have an equivalent to the analog synthesizer voice, the Emulator II does
technically not support Mono mode. However, each Preset can be assigned to receive
information through a separate MIDI channel, which provides Mono-like operation but unlike
traditional MIDI Mono operation, each Preset can respond polyphonically. Of course, you still
cannot play more than eight notes on the Emulator II regardless of what MIDI mode you select.

16 channels, huh? Sounds like a lot of patch cords to me!

MIDI information is transmitted serially, meaning that all data is sent in sequence. As a result, a
single line can carry the MIDI information for all 16 channels, with each instrument monitoring all
the words that pass over the MIDI interface but responding only to the data on its particular
channel. Typically, MIDI instruments include a MIDI IN, MIDI OUT, and MIDI THRU jack. The
instrument receives data over the MIDI IN jack and transmits data over the MIDI OUT jack; the
MIDI THRU jack provides a replica of the signal at the MIDI IN jack. Therefore, if you want to
slave three keyboards to a master keyboard, you would patch the MIDI OUT from the master
keyboard to the MIDI IN of the first slave, patch MIDI THRU from the first slave to the MIDI IN of
the second slave, and connect MIDI THRU from the second slave to MIDI IN of the third slave.

What kind of words does the MIDI language include?

Spoken language is a collection of words that convey a particular set of meanings, hopefully
understood by all those who speak the language. As soon as we start talking about a musical
language, the first question is: What concepts do we want this language to define? Since
musical instruments will be doing the talking, the language should consist of musical terms --
pitch, tempo, and so
on. In fact, let’s set up a practical example and see what words our language would need.

Suppose we have two synthesizers, Synth A and Synth B, and want Synth B to precisely follow
along with what is being played on Synth A to create a “doubling” effect. To do this, our
“language” would have to convey several things.

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First, Synth A would have to tell Synth B whenever a key was hit (“hey Synth B, play F#!”). We’ll
call this the NOTE ON word.

This turns on the keys just fine, but now we need a way for Synth A to tell Synth B when a note
is over so it can turn the key back off again. We can call this the NOTE OFF word.

Now we have the notes under control, but what happens if we do some pitch bending on Synth
A? As it is, Synth B wouldn’t follow because it can only tell if a note has been turned on or off --
not if its pitch has been changed. So, we need a new word that indicates a pitch bend
CONTROL CHANCE.

Everything’s fine until we switch patches, at which point Synth A changes but Synth B doesn’t.
We clearly need another word to signal PROGRAM CHANGE so that if you call up a different
patch on Synth A, Synth B will call up a different patch as well (which you have hopefully
programmed to sound compatible with Synth A).

And the list of words goes on...what happens if both synthesizers can respond to dynamics?
You’ll also want to transmit that data from one synth to another. We also need some information
about the system tempo, as set by a drum machine or sequencer...

MIDI’s vocabulary encompasses all these considerations, as well as many others. For a more
detailed description of the complete MIDI vocabulary, refer to two articles in the August 1983
issue of Polyphony, “What MIDI Means to Musicians” by Jim Wright and “MIDI Hardware
Fundamentals” by Stanley Junglieb.

TYPICAL MIDI APPLICATIONS

1. Slave two keyboards together so that one doubles the other for lush-sounding string
effects, choirs, and so on. To do this with the Emulator II and another MIDI instrument,
connect the MIDI IN from each machine to the MIDI OUT of the other instrument. Select
Omni mode and the same basic channel for both instruments -- either keyboard should
be able to control the other instrument. If you program the other instrument to receive
“program change information”, changing Presets on the Emulator II should change
programs on the other MIDI synthesizer, and vice- versa.

2. Slave two keyboards together to create a composite sound. For example, you might like
the sound of the Emulator II violins fading in as the attack of a digital synth violin patch
fades out.

3. When composing, you can sequence parts via MIDI and experiment with changing
timbres. How would that harmony line sound as a piano instead of a guitar? Re-assign
Presets on an Emulator II Sequence and find out.

4. The dynamic control of drum machines. If you have a Drumulator with MIDI retrofit, you
can program it dynamically from the Emulator II keyboard via MIDI. Run a MIDI cable
from the Emulator II’s MIDI out to the Drumulators MIDI connector, then consult your
Drumulator addendum sheet for information on which Emulator II keys control which
drums.

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CREATING A “MIDI PRESET” WITH THE EMULATOR II
The Emulator II Sequencer is designed to drive MIDI instruments via the MIDI OUT connector.
In many cases, you will want to create a Preset that doesn’t play any notes on the Emulator II,
but only sends note data from the Sequencer out to other MIDI equipment.

To do this, make up a “MIDI Preset” by creating a Preset (PRESET DEFINITION 21) then going
through the MIDI set-up (PRESET DEFINITION 30). Do not assign any Voices to the Preset,
and make sure that the Local Control set-up option is set to “yes” (or you will not be able to write
notes into the Sequencer using the Emulator II keyboard).

Hint: If you create a number of MIDI Presets to drive different instruments over different
channels, we suggest including the channel number in the Preset name.

MIDI controllers cause a lot of confusion all by themselves, so hooking them up to other
instruments doesn’t make things any easier. Fortunately, though, the Emulator II is quite’
‘helpful in setting up the MIDI controllers functions.

A MIDI controller could be pitch bend, velocity, modulation, portamento, overall level, or
whatever. Each controller sends out data about its status (i.e. the position of a pot or switch)
over a particular controller “channel”, which has its own unique number. This channel is not to
be confused with the basic channel assigned to the instrument; the controller channel data is
transmitted as part of the basic channel information.

With MIDI, the only defined controllers are pitch bend and channel pressure (dynamics); it is up
to the manufacturers to decide which controllers will be accessible via MIDI, and what each
controller’s number will be.

While this lack of standardization often causes problems with MIDI set-ups, the Emulator II
takes care of those problems by letting you transmit the left wheel, right wheel, and pedal data
over a MIDI controller number from 00 to 31, or as the pitch wheel (pwh) or channel pressure
(chp) controller. These can be set up individually for each Preset. Note: The Emulator II does
not transmit or receive on MIDI controller channels 32-63; however, sustain pedal information is
transmitted over controller 64, the de facto industry standard number for sustain pedal data.

For example, suppose you’re driving Synth A, which expects to find vibrato data coming in over
the channel labelled “controller 01”. Let’s also suppose that the Emulator II’s right wheel has
vibrato as its destination in a particular Preset. By assigning the right wheel to controller 01
during the MIDI set-up (PRESET DEFINITION 30), turning up the Emulator II’s right wheel will
add vibrato to Synth A.

If Synth B expects to find vibrato data labelled as “controller 07”, no problem. During MIDI
set-up, program the Emulator II’s right wheel to controller 07. When Synth B looks for vibrato
information at controller 07, the Emulator II will be supplying it.

So much for transmitting data from the Emulator II. When it comes to receiving data from other
MIDI ‘instruments, up to three of the Emulator II’s Real Time Control destinations (Pitch, Filter
Fc, Level, LFO to Pitch, LFO to Filt Fc, LFO to Level, and Attack Rate) can be controlled
simultaneously via another MIDI instrument’s controllers. Here’s how the process works.

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MIDI SUPPLEMENT
1. The other MIDI synthesizer will typically include several controllers, each transmitting
data over its own controller “channel”. For example, Synth X might send out vibrato data
over controller 01 and overall level data over controller 07. Hopefully this kind of
information will be given in the manual.

2. Activate the Emulator II’s Real Time Control module. Decide the first Real Time Control
destination you want to control via MIDI, and assign it to MIDI Channel A by keying in 4
then specifying the destination to be controlled. To place a second Real Time Control
destination under MIDI, assign it to MIDI Channel B by keying in 5 then specifying the
destination. Similarly assign a third Real Time Control destination to MIDI Channel C.

For example, to have the Emulator II respond to MIDI Synth X mentioned above, we
might assign the Real Time vibrato destination (4) to MIDI Control Channel A, and the
Real Time level destination (3) to MIDI Control Channel B. Now all we need to do is
assign controller numbers to MIDI Control Channels A and B, so de-activate the Real
Time Control module and activate the Preset Definition module.

3. During MIDI set up (PRESET DEFINITION 30), you may assign a MIDI controller
number from 00 to 31 to MIDI Control Channels A, B, and C; these can also be
controlled via the pitch wheel (pwh) or channel pressure (chp) data coming from the
other synth. Again using Synth X as an example, we would assign controller 01 to MIDI
Control Channel A and controller 07 to MIDI Control Channel B. As Synth X sends out
vibrato information over controller 01, this will be received by the Emulator II and
assigned to MIDI Control Channel A, which was assigned to control the “LFO to Pitch”
Real Time Control destination. Meanwhile, as Synth X sends out level information over
controller 07, this will be received by the Emulator II and assigned to MIDI Control
Channel B, which was assigned to control the “Level” Real Time Control destination.

Of course, you don’t have to assign matching controller numbers if you don’t want to;
bending pitch on Synth X, for example, could instead add vibrato or change the Filter Fc
on the Emulator II. It is all a matter of assigning the Emulator II parameter you want
controlled to a MIDI Control Channel, then assigning the MIDI Control Channel to the
appropriate controller number for the other synthesizer.

FINDING OUT ABOUT OTHER SYNTHESIZER’S MIDI CAPABILITIES

It’s easy to find out the controller numbers for parameters on another synthesizer by patching
the Emulator II MIDI OUT connector to the other synth’s MIDI IN. During MIDI Set-up select the
“Rt Wheel” set-up step, use Slider D to select a controller number, vary the right wheel, and
note any changes. Select another controller number, vary the right wheel, and see what that
affects. Most synthesizers will only have a few controllers assigned; note which control numbers
affect which parameters, and write them down for future reference.

For a practical example of how to use this feature, suppose you want to use the Emulator II
footpedal to simultaneously fade out the Emulator II and a MIDI’ed synthesizer. During MIDI set-
up, select the “Pedal” set-up step, and use Slider D to’ change controller numbers until you find
the number that corresponds to overall level. Suppose the controller number is 05. If you assign
the Emulator II “Level” Real Time destination to the footpedal and also send the footpedal
information out over the MIDI controller 05, both instruments should fade in and out together.

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MIDI SUPPLEMENT
DEALING WITH “MIDIOSYNCRACIES”
There are certain compatibility problems between MIDI gear from different manufacturers;
however, many problems are created by operator error and/or a lack of understanding how MIDI
works. If you transmit information on one channel and have the “receiver” set up for a different
channel, forget it. MIDI is quite unforgiving that way...you can hit a bum note and not too many
people will notice, but send a computer a wrong number and it will most definitely notice.

MIDI is a lot of fun provided that you don’t get discouraged when things go wrong. Many times
there is a solution; sometimes there isn’t. In any event, MIDI as it is today is far better than no
MIDI at all. At the very least you can almost always slave two keyboards together, and drive
MIDI keyboards from a MIDI Sequencer. Truthfully, though, MIDI is still a new concept and
people are just getting it all sorted out. If you don’t understand it at first, don’t worry -- keep
experimenting and eventually everything will fall into place.

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SMPTE SUPPLEMENT

SMPTE SUPPLEMENT
OVERVIEW

PROTOCOL

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SMPTE SUPPLEMENT

SMPTE OVERVIEW
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers adopted SMPTE time code in order to
synchronize audio to video. Basically, SMPTE is a digital code that is recorded on audiotape or
videotape, or “burned into” film. This code outputs time information as hours, minutes, seconds,
and “frames” (1/30th of a second intervals). For synchronization, sophisticated machines “look”
at the SMPTE time code tracks on the audio and video machines to be synchronized, and
correct the speed of one unit vis-à-vis the other to maintain synchronization. These error
corrections are very subtle and are not noticeable.

The Emulator II uses SMPTE in conjunction with the Sequencer so that it may be started at a
specific frame of time code. Therefore, sound effects can be recorded into the Emulator II’s
Sequencer, and “dropped in” to a video or film production within one frame of time code.

SMPTE PROTOCOL
The Sequencer section mentions SMPTE basics; here is a more detailed overview.

Writing to tape: Recording SMPTE on tape is called “striping” the tape. First, choose the SMPTE
start point (which should be prior to the start of the Sequence) as described in SEQUENCER
SETUP 5, then select the frame rate in the EXT CLK sub-module.

Set the tape recorder in record ready mode, then prepare to write SMPTE by selecting the
“Write SMPTE Trk?” option while in the EXT CLK sub-module. Press YES to generate SMPTE,
and then check levels on the recorder Press ENTER to stop writing SMPTE. Start the tape
rolling in record mode, and press YES again. After striping the desired length of tape, press
ENTER. Hint: Always record more SMPTE time code than you think you’ll need. You can
always erase the excess, but it’s difficult to extend a SMPTE track if you decide to lengthen a
piece.

Reading from tape: Select “Clock Src=SMPTE” in the EXT CLK sub-module, and select the
frame rate of the SMPTE track recorded on tape. If you are working with a Sequence for the first
time, choose the SMPTE start point as described in SEQUENCER SETUP 5 (this start point will
be remembered when you come back to the Sequence in the future). When ready, make sure
the recorder is in playback mode, then roll tape.

Tape Chasing: If the SMPTE time being read from tape is earlier than the Sequence’s start
point; the PLAY light will blink until the tape catches up. Playback will then begin at the current
tempo. To change the tempo, use Slider A.

If the SMPTE time being read from tape is later than the Sequence’s start point, the Emulator II
will silently “fast-forward” through the Sequence to catch up with the tape. The point at which the
Sequence playback begins depends on the start point and tempo.

If the SMPTE time being read from tape is much later than the Sequence’s start point, the
Emulator II may need to silently “fast-forward” through the Sequence several times before it
catches up with the tape.

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SMPTE SUPPLEMENT
Although fast-forwarding is not instantaneous, if it seems inordinately long you probably have
the start point or the tape in the wrong place. Press STOP to stop the fast-forwarding process,
and then check the SMPTE start time.

Playing back and recording using SMPTE: During Sequence playback, you may stop, fast
forward, rewind, and restart the tape arid the Sequence will start playing again, chasing if
necessary. Recording and punch-in work similarly; if you are in record mode on the Emulator II
and start the tape in the middle of the Sequence, recording will begin at that point. However,
when “chasing” the Sequencer wilt not fast forward beyond one loop of the Sequence.

Finding and keeping sync: Synchronization is more easily achieved if the tape is rolling before
you press PLAY. This doesn’t matter in the case of playback, but the first loss of
synchronization will stop the recording process. If there is a dropout on tape of less than two
frames, the Emulator II will maintain sync although it will fall behind in time by one frame for
each frame dropped. Longer dropouts end the recording or playback process; if the display says
“Lost Synch”, press STOP to reset the system before trying to regain sync.

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 216

APPENDICES

APPENDICES
A: GLOSSARY

B: FUNCTIONS

C: ERROR MESSAGES

EMULATOR II CREDITS

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY OF TERMS

ADSR: Acronym for Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release, a particular type of envelope generator.

Analog synthesizer: A type of musical instrument that synthesizes sounds from component
parts rather than via sampling.

Arpeggiator: A circuit that plays notes sequentially for as long as they are held down.

Bounce: When recording or sequencing, to “bounce” tracks means to combine several tracks
together on a single track.

Cent: Unit of pitch equal to 1/100th of a semitone.

Channel, Output: The circuitry through which the Emulator II outputs individual notes.

Channel, MIDI: An “information pipeline” through which MIDI information is sent. MIDI provides
for 16 available channels, each of which can address one MIDI instrument.

Channel, MIDI Control: A MIDI Channel also contains information about which controllers are
being varied. Assigning an Emulator II real time control destination to MIDI Control Channel A,
B, or C lets another MIDI device’s controllers control the Emulator II real time control
destinations via the Control Channels.

Cutoff Frequency: The frequency above which a low pass filter will start attenuating signals
present at its input. Abbreviated Fc.

Data: Information a computer needs in order to make decisions or carry out a particular action.

dB/octave: The unit typically used to indicate the slope of a filter, or how fast the frequency
response rolls off past the cutoff frequency. Example: A 24 db/octave filter would attenuate an
input signal by 24 dB one octave above the cutoff frequency, by 48 dB two octaves above the
cutoff frequency, and so on.

Envelope Generator: A circuit, usually triggered by pressing a keyboard key that generates a
changing voltage with respect to time. This voltage typically controls a VCF or VCA. An ADSR
envelope has four adjustable parameters: attack (the time required to go from minimum to
maximum voltage), decay (the time required to go from maximum voltage to a specified sustain
level voltage); sustain (the level at which the voltage holds during a keyboard key depression),
and release (once a key has been released, the time required to go from the sustain voltage to
minimum voltage).

Fc: See Cutoff Frequency.

Filter: A circuit that restricts frequency response, thus altering a signal’s harmonic structure.

LFO: Low Frequency Oscillator. A circuit that is usually used to vary sound parameters at a
specific, low frequency rate. Example: Varying pitch cyclically creates vibrato.

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APPENDICES
Loading: To transfer data from one data storage medium to another (i.e. from disk to
semiconductor memory or vice-versa).

Low pass filter: A filter whose frequency response remains flat up to a certain frequency, then
rolls off (i.e. attenuates signals appearing at its input) above this point.

Memory: The part of a computer responsible for storing data.

MIDI: Acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a means of transmitting data to, and
receiving data from, a variety of musical instruments.

Modulation: The process of one control voltage source influencing a sound processor or other
control voltage source. Example: Modulating pitch cyclically produces vibrato. Modulating a filter
cyclically produces wa-wa effects.

Punch-in: When recording, punching in over-writes a previously recorded track starting at the
punch in point.

Punch-out: When recording, punching out stops the recording process initiated by a punch-in,
thus preserving the previously recorded track starting at the punch out point.

Q: The figure expressing a filter’s resonance; varying Q varies the “sharpness” of the filter
sound.

Sampling: The process of recording a sound into memory.

Signal Processing: The art of modifying an existing sound through the use of electronic
circuitry.

SMPTE: Acronym for Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers who adopted a
standard time code in order to synchronize video and audio.

Tremolo: A cyclic change in amplitude, usually in the range of 7 to 14 Hz.

VCA: Voltage Controlled Amplifier. A circuit whose gain is determined by a control voltage.

VCF: Voltage Controlled Filter. A filter whose cut-off frequency or resonant frequency is
determined by a control voltage.

Velocity-sensitive keyboard: A keyboard that sends out a control signal representing the
speed with which keys are pressed; this corresponds to the dynamics with which the player
plays the keyboard.

Vibrato: A cyclic change in pitch, usually in the range of 7 to 14 Hz.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX B: EMULATOR II FUNCTIONS, DEFAULT SETTINGS, and

CONTROL RANGES

When you first turn on the machine or clear the Bank, the Emulator II functions will assume the
following default settings shown under the Default column. Controls cover the range given in the
Range column.

An asterisk indicates that the concept of a default or range of values is not pertinent; for
example, there is no default setting for Erase a Preset, since you must first specify the Preset to
be erased. Also note that for some functions (i.e. truncate, splice, etc.) a Voice must be present
in the Bank.

Master Control Default Range

Dynamic Allocation OFF off-on
Tune+00 Cents -50 to +48 Cents
Transpose OFF Plus-or-minus 1 octave

Sequencer Default Range

External Clock
Clock Source Internal Int, Click, MIDI, SMPTE
Click Rate 24 pqn 24, 48, 96 pqn
Write Click Track 24 pqn 24 pqn
SMPTE Rate 30 fps 24, 25, 30 fps
Write SMPTE Track 30 fps 24, 25, 30 fps
Setup
I Select Track 1st empty trk I to 8
2 Tempo 120 BPM 40 to 240 BPM
3 Auto Corr Hi-Res 9 different options
3 Metronome 1/4 note 7 different options
4 Cue Recorded tracks “on” I to 8
5 SMPTE start 00:00:00:00 00:00:00:00 to 23:59:59:29
6 Countdown 0 beats 0 to 9 beats
Define
Create Sequence * *
2 Time Signature 04/04 Multiple options
3 Sequence Length 002 00 1-999 measures
Edit
Erase Track * *
2 Punch In * *
3 Bounce Tracks * *
4 Store Controls No controls stored
5 Reassign Preset * *
6 Append Sequence * *
Record OFF off-on
Play OFF off-on
Select * *
Stop OFF off-on

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APPENDICES

Filter Default Range

1A Frequency 120 000 to 120
1B Q00 00 to 99
1C Envelope Amount +00 -50 to +50
2A LFO Amount 00 00 to 15
2B Keyboard Tracking 1.00 .00 to 1.87
3A Attack 01 01 to 32
3B Decay 32 01 to 32
3C Sustain 01 01 to 32
3D Release 32 01 to 32
0 Change Curr Voice * *

VCA/LFO Default Range

1A Attack 01 01 to 32
1B Decay 32 01 to 32
1C Sustain 01 01 to 32
1D Release 16 01 to 32
2A LFO Rate 82 01 to 99
2B LFO Delay 00 00 to 99
2C LFO Variation 00 00 to IS
2D LFO → VCA 00 00 to IS
0 Change Curr. Voice * *

Voice Definition Default Range

11A, B Truncate Start 000000 Dependent on sample
11C, D Truncate End 000000 Dependent on sample
12A, B Loop Start 000004 Dependent on sample
12C, D Loop Length Sample length Dependent on sample
13 Loop NO yes-no
14A, B Splice Point I1 End of 1st Dependent on sample
14C, D Splice Point 2 000000 Dependent on sample
21A Vel VCA Level 00 00 to 15
21B Vel → VCA Attack 00 00 to 15
22A Vel → VCF Freq 00 00 to 15
22B Vel → VCF Attack 00 00 to 15
22C Vel → VCFQ +00 -15 to +15
23A Vibrato Depth 00 00 to 15
24A Voice Attenuation -00 dB -00 to -48 dB
24B Voice Tuning +00 Cents -50 to +48 Cents
25 Solo Mode NO yes-no
26 Loop in Release YES yes-no
27 Backwards Mode NO yes-no
28 Combine Voices * *
29 Control Enable
Pitch YES yes-no
LFO to Pitch YES yes-no
LFO to Filter YES yes-no
LFO to VCA YES yes-no
Filter YES yes-no

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APPENDICES
Level YES yes-no
Attack YES yes-no
30 Save Voice to Disk * *
00 Change Current Voice * *

Preset Definition Default Range

11 Get Voice * *
12 Copy/Name Voice * *
13 Erase Voice * *
14 Erase Sequence * *
15 Erase Preset * *
16 Erase Bank * *
17 Catalog Voices * *
18 Catalog Sequences * *
19 Catalog Presets * *
20 Memory Remaining 484599 000000 to 484599
21 Create Preset * *
22 Assign Voice * *
23 Edit Assignment * *
24 De-Assign Voice * *
25 Velocity Switch None assigned
26 Velocity Crossfade None assigned
27 Positional Xfade None assigned
28 Non-Transpose NO yes-no
29 Arpeggiator
Mode OFF 5 different options
Extension NORM 3 different options
Range C1 to CI C1 to C6
Note Value 1/16th note 8 different options
Tempo 120 BPM 40 to 240 BPM
30 MIDI
Basic Channel 01 01 to 16
MIDI Mode Omni off, omni, poly
Preset Change Okay
YES yes-no
Local Control YES yes-no
Transmit Reset * *
Left Wheel OFF off, 00 - 31, chp, pwh
Right Wheel OFF off, 00 - 31, chp, pwh
Pedal OFF off, 00 - 31, chp, pwh
MIDI A OFF off, 00 - 31, chp, pwh
MIDI B OFF off, 00 - 31, chp, pwh
MIDI C OFF off, 00 - 31, chp, pwh
31 Copy/Name Preset * *
32 Replicate Preset * *

Sample Default Range

1 VU Mode * *
2 Define Voice Orig C2, Lo C1, Hi C3 Any two octave range
3 Gain Set +00 dB
4 Threshold Set Minimum +00, +20, +40 dB

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APPENDICES
5 Sample Length Available Bank Up to overload point
Memory
7 Arm Sampling * *
9 Force Sampling * *
0 Stop Sampling * *

Disk Default Range

1 Get Bank Disk 1 * *
2 Get Bank Disk 2 * *
3 Space Remaining * *
4 Copy Disk * *
5 Catalog Voice * *
6 Erase Voice * *
7 Save Bank * *
8 Format Disk * *

Special *
11 Catalog Special Functions

Real Time Control Default Range

1 Left Wheel 1 0 to 7
2 Right Wheel 4 0 to 7
3 PedaI A/D 0 0 to 7
4 MIDI Control A 0 0 to 7
5 MIDI Control B 0 0 to 7
6 MIDI Control C 0 0 to 7
7 Foot Switch 1 2 0 to 5
8 Foot Switch 2 3 0 to 5

Enter Default Range

OFF Off, on, flashing

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX C: EMULATOR II ERROR MESSAGES

If you ask the Emulator II to do something it doesn’t want to do, it will give an error message in
the display. If you encounter one of the following, it will be for the reason given.

All Tracks Empty: This occurs if you refer to a Sequencer track but none has been recorded.

Assigned to Trk#: Occurs with the Sequencer if you try to store a control destination that has
already been assigned to a track (track # indicated in message).

Awaiting SMPTE: SMPTE time code has not yet been received by the Emulator II, or cannot be
read.

Exists Again: With Get Voice (PRESET DEFINITION II), you cannot over-write an existing
Voice.

Illegal Asgnment: When assigning Voices to a Preset, this message indicates the high key is
below the low key, or the low key is above the high key.

Insert Library Disk and Press Enter: You have asked for a Library disk function but have not
inserted a Library disk or have some other drive problem.

Insert Performance Disk and Press Enter: You have asked for a Performance disk function
but have not inserted a Performance disk or have some other drive problem.

Key Must Have 2 Voices Assigned: Occurs with Velocity Crossfade, Velocity Switch, and
Positional Crossfade if the key does not have two Voices assigned.

Need More Room: You have run out of sampling space.

No Current Voice: Occurs when entering the Voice Definition, Filter~ or VCA/LFO modules;
assign a Current Voice to the keyboard.

No Voices Available: All 99 Voices have been used up or you are looking for Voices where
none exist.

No Voice in Preset: If no voice has been assigned to the Preset, this message occurs when
you enter module requiring a Current Voice.

Not Enough Voices: Occurs if you try to replicate a Preset, but there are more Voices in the
Preset than there are available in the Bank.

Not Found: You have specified a non-existent Preset.

Presets Different: When punching with the Sequencer, the Current Preset must be the same
as the Preset assigned to the Current record track.

Preset Not Saved: Usually occurs when trying to save a Preset with insufficient Bank memory.

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APPENDICES
Sample Overload: The sample exceeded the Emulator II’s dynamic range.

Seq Is Not Empty: If you try to set the time signature or measure length of a previously
recorded Sequence, this will be the reply.

Snd For (Greater Than) 1 Voice: A sample cannot be spliced to another sample used in the
same Voice. Select two different Voices for splicing.

This Will Take a While: Don’t worry, you didn’t break the machine; it’s just taking its time to do
an operation.

VXX Is Not Empty: This happens if you try to define a Voice that already exists.

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APPENDICES

Emulator II Credits

Hardware Design
Dave Rossum
Tom Moxon
Dana Massie

Mechanical Design
Ken Provost

Technical Support
Terry Shultz
Wes Swift
Steve Davies
Brian Monahan
Jim Charleton

Software Design
Dave Rossum
Donna Murray
Tom Moxon
Alan Goldwater
Dana Massie

Sound Processing
Dana Massie
Kevin Monahan
Janis Chaffin

Manual
Craig Anderton

Functional Design
Marco Alpert
Dave Rossum
Scott Wedge
Tom Moxon
Kevin Monahan
Kevin Kent
Donna Murray

Project Management
Joe Scarantino
Jim Rose

© 1985, 1986, 1987 E-mu Systems, Inc. Page 226