Emu EMAX 1
Category: Products / samplers / e-mu samplers
Added: 09-Nov-01 | Author: admin
New price: discontinued | S/H price: £1000-£1300 GBP
Company Link: E-MU
Emu EMAX 1
E-mu were really the first company to offer commercially affordable sampling with the early Emulator keyboards.
The Emax, was introduced with a price of about 2.8K Sterling... nearly 3000 pounds! and was at the time considered a big time luxury item, offering as it did, high quality E-mu sampling, and access to the superb E-mu sample library.
The Emax for me is preferable to the S900, and whilst the Casio FZ-1, and Roland S series do have a synthesis section, I think the Emax is better... definately a better library than the FZ, Better sample organisation than the Rolands, and in terms of the synthesis & sound quality/output converter quality it even beats the S1000 imo which while clean and clear sounds somewhat clinical to my ears. Even if you have a sampler, or you're not on a budget, I would still recommend an Emax just for it's sheer creativity, library, & ease of use.
REALLY !....You got to here this thing. The Emax has a full compliment of filters etc, so you can treat raw samples and turn them into weird synth sounds. Only expensive newer samplers offer anything like these facilities, and still with the Emax you get the excellent Emax library.
The sounds from the Emax library, are nearly all ported down from their higher spec/sample rate machine, the E3 , ( something of a legend in it's own lunchtime). GREAT SOUNDS is the only way to describe them. Brilliant warm filtered pads is the Emax's thing, as well as a great ethnic stuff and some nice analogue waves you can filter to bits.
Often the pads have a few surprises, with secondary samples fading in later in the envelope. The Emax can do this because, although technically it is only 8 note poly, those 8 notes can each contain a primary and secondary sample, which can be velocity switched/faded, scale switched/faded, and enveloped, as well as having seperate mapping & analog processing. Combine this with all the midi/filter/Q and other functions, and you get some total sounds, as well as the ability to velocity fade drum samples, while still maintaining 8 note poly. It really is a sampler AND great sample synth all in one at such a cheap price.
Although being only 1 meg, Emax supports about 5 different sample rates, so you can get quite a bit of time. For example, I have one disk, called the "Bliss Disk", that has 99 preset sound banks on it !! , and they are all different.
The Emax also has the most comprehensive arpeggiator I've ever seen on a keyboard of this age, the combinations are enormous, and you can clock it to midi... It is seriously awesome.
The Emax also excels at string sounds. They are so round, fat and upfront, and again combine this with the analogue processing section and you get some wicked pads with names like "1000 mm Lens". Emax will also create pads from things like heavily detuned cymbel samples etc....In fact I hear loads of ambient & other dance tracks featuring Emax sounds...When you play those sounds to people at the studio, they go..."Oh yeah, that's that sound from..."
I use the Emax for all it's sounds and also to provide kiks and snares, and here's an idea of how good and up-front it's sound is.
I got a deal offer from Profile Records, and the management company, demanded a 24 track 2" mix (God knows why?). Anyhow I got in the studio complex, y'know , big place/top gear/name clients etc, and me and the engineer were getting all the sounds up on the board. When we started on the drums I had a 909 kik & snare comin off the Emax, (which is a 12 bit sampler). So I says , "Hey, why don't we use the S1000 for the drum sounds", cos I knew the S1000 was 16 bit and although at that time I'd never really heard one side by side with the Emax to compare, I just assumed it would sound more punchy and upfront .
So we wired in the S1000 and stuck in the studios 909 samples, then we ran the sequencer and compared the Emax and the S1000 sound. We both listened for a minute, looked at each other, and the engineer raised his eyebrows an said...."lets stick with the Emax ".......There was no more punch from the Akai, an the Emax was a bit warmer.
Well that's about it. Just to say that there were a few different models made. There was the Emax HD which has a 40 mb hard drive in it, and the Emax SE, which had an extra synthesis section (not sure what it does), and apparently goes up to 2 meg....(we explored this myth i think in the chat forum, we thought it was a myth?).
However, since I wrote that page, stuff like Akai S2000's with up to 32mb of simm ram & libraries a-plenty, are hovering around the 450 (UK) level secondhand at the lowest....... it's impossible to rate these older lo-memory units when within the last year we've seen big,newer samplers drop to the same price !(?).....
For straight sampling & production, you'd be nutz to not go for a larger memory unit.... but the emax has a serious sound that is upfront and warm..... and most of it's sounds are excellent..... it was a top-end item on release costing nearly 3k !!!... and it shows..... but bare in mind the above .....if it's cheap and you can't go higher to an s2000,esi etc.... look at these, look also if you want a unique machine & sound......
It's hard to know what will happen to machines like the emax, s900, s330 etc... will owners hang on to them, or will they hit bargain bin prices ?..... still, the emax is the rolls-royce of the older 1mb 8 note samplers... enjoy...
Product Videos
Me checking my E-mu EMAX (DM keyboard)
Check how the emax can panning the two samples from a single voice. This is my new E-mu EMAX. Just c...
Product Manuals or Files
no user manual
Product Resources
Audio demo?
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Category: Products / samplers / e-mu samplers
User Comments
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: pjotr
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 04-Apr-99
what format is the Emax 1 disk drive? 3.5" or 5.1/4" diskettes ?
Product rating out of 5:  |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: kilo
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 22-Apr-99
3.5 dd disks
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: Berserker
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 26-Apr-99
Hi, absollutlyf..ing great site !!!! And the Emax SE HD is a really cool sampling device, despite having not too much memory, but its filters makes any sample a great hybrid synth, it's also a good controller, my dad brought it to me as a birthday present because of my 16th birthday that will be on July and I'm still astonished of the incredible sound that it has !!!!!!!!!!!! GREAT SAMPLER FOR HIP HOP AND TECHNO !!!!!!!! CHEERS !!!!!!
Product rating out of 5:  |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: Berserker
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity:
Date: 27-Apr-99
ARRFGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! BLOODY ERROR!!!!!!!! THIS SAMPLER WORTHS 5 MARKS, NOT 4 !!!!!!!!! CHEERSSSSSSS !!!!!
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: Johan Martinsson
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 08-Aug-99
How do you use the 9 pin "Computer Interface" on the Emax SE?
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Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: panic
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity:
Date: 10-Aug-99
how can i obtain/gain access to the lauded emax sample library mentioned above. just got one and already love it.
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: Ricardo N.
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 10-Aug-99
Is it possible to boot an original Emax with a formatted Emax SE OS floppy ??
P.S.
COOL SITE !!!!!!
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: b. nutt
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 07-Sep-99
Hi. Im looking to buy my first sampler and i need some info. At first i was leaning more towards an Akai of sorts but now i hear tell about this Emax.Im so confused on what to do. PLEASE!!! E-mail me!!!
Product rating out of 5:  |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: b. nutt
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 07-Sep-99
Oh, I forgot to add above that i would like to know about the Casio FZ-1. Thank You!!! (Awsome site!)
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: Sean Vindahl
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://members.xoom.com/eturnia/
Activity: Professional
Date: 21-Dec-99
I got both emax's (I & II) at my studio!
and I love them!
especially the emax 1's analoge filters!
(btw. if one can't make great samples with max. 1 MB! then they shouldn't buy a sampler! I think that's the art of sampling! I would rather keep my emax's
over a big Akai sampler!)
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: Emuarc
Email: Email supplied but hidden
hhtp://www.emuarc.com
Activity: Professional
Date: 28-Oct-00
The Emax is an excellent low cost sampler, with a warm sound, it basically an Emulator II reborn. It has 512Kbytes of memory not 1MB. We can still supply Emax sample diskettes (physically or for download).
emuarc
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Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: frank
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 29-Dec-03
i have samples emax 1 . but my emu e4x wil not read them. what program can read the samples .so i can use them
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: ollie
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 06-Jan-04
Hello. I am selling an Emax II on ebay.co.uk. It has no reserve and is currently under £40.
The link to bid is:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2371011981&category=1289
Good luck for those interested!
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: machine
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 02-Apr-06
Hello
Im thinking about buying an emax 1 sampler but there is one thing i'd like to know first.
is the floppy the only way you can stream samples to the emax with, so I have to use the discs ? Is there any other way, like an audio-In channel or something.
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: a
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://www.emulatorarchive.com/samplers/emaxoverview/emaxeditors/emaxe...
Activity: Professional
Date: 03-Apr-06
it's got an rs computer port also - see the link for more info
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Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: Emaxemax
Email: Email supplied but hidden
na
Activity: part-timer
Date: 13-Mar-08
Hi
Im trying to get hold of the OS on floppy disk for the Emax SE HD! Can anyone help!
thanks!
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: admin
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://www.emulatorarchive.com/archives/samplers/emaxoverview/emaxos/e...
Activity: Professional
Date: 13-Mar-08
check that link for emax OS downloads - there's also a pdf telling how to use the disk images
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Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: Theo Hilton
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 16-Apr-14
Emu Emax SE user here. I had them all. No others come even close to the same ball park in which the Emax 1 plays. The SE version has some advanced manipulation option over samples. Extremely characterful sound! If you have ever a chance to look in to the inside of this device you start to understand where this voluminous sound is actually coming from. Such devices as simply no longer produced. It was very expensive back in 1986 and few would actually be able to afford it ourdays in case of a identical re-production.
And yes, sampling on low frequency will add some marvellous artefacts to the sound that are hard to describe. Pure magic.
Indeed it pisses all over S900/950. It's like comparing a Fiat with a Ferrari. I know because I had them all...
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Last added comment
Product: Emu - EMAX 1
Name: AL
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 27-Jan-21
It's interesting looking back at this site again. I must've read this article as
a youngster back in the 90s (different page design then) and I was desperate
for a sampler to run alongside my mc303. I took the above advice and I
found an emax being sold locally in Glasgow for about 200 and bought it
from these older raver guys who had a studio on the southside. It came with
loads of rave/hardcore disks, most of which worked. It's quite big and
heavy, constructed with thick plastic and feels solid. I remember my parents
wondering what on earth I was doing with this stuff.
At the time I didn't really gel with the emax, at least I used it more like a
synth than a sampler, and I probably would've been better with an akai s900
for what I originally had in mind (detroit / d&b etc). The sequencer is
rubbish, but I didnt use that. However, I persevered with the flaky buttons
and data slider, temperamental disc drive and ran it in multi mode
sequenced by the mc303. It turned out that the low res grainy sounds I was
working with were right in line with the fuzzy berlin chain reaction sounds I
was well into and ultimately I used it on a few records. Proof that though
many sing the praises of the glistening Emu library sounds, this machine
can be very gritty and up there with studio 440, sp1200, prophet 2000. I've
gathered loads of other samplers in the meantime including the SP1200, but
I never got rid of the Emax. Emu and Ensoniq gear does tend to really
thump for low end basses and drums, whereas I've always approached akai
for more detailed sounds.
I'm very much of the school that you don't need a load of memory for a
creative sampler and with the new usb drives, when I get round to changing
out the floppy drive, that'll be a gamechanger as its the floppy errors that
often prevent me from using it. There's a video of Chromeo in their studio
with an EII and a laptop connected by usb with all their libraries. I suspect
they are using the Emxp software and Emuser hardware and that might be a
good project too. Ultimately you should sample into this and avoid presets
though, its in the sampling, the convertors, the interface that you get the
magic. Hope this is of help to anyone reading.
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'Emu EMAX 1'
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