anyone use the emu ESI - 4000

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chronos
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I had an ESI 32 and and ESI 4000. Both are garbage. Sell yours while you can.
 
no joke, this esi sucks. I borrowed it from a friend and it can't even import .wav files. I was thinking about an Akas S3000.

what would be a good sampler under 1000?


Chronos
 
You can get a used Akai S5000 on ebay for under $700 USD. better yet, just get a softsampler like Kontact from Native Instruments.
 
Can Kontact be used in Protools? If not is there a soft sampler that does? I might have to go for the S5000.

Thanks,
Chronos
 
I'm pretty sure it could be used for pro tools, but I don't know for sure. If you get the akai, make sure it comes with the ak.sys option. It will let you hook your sampler to your computer via USB and allow you to control it from there. Also look at the new Akai Z4 abd Z8 samplers. They're about $1200 and they come stock with ak.sys
 
are you kidding me? the esi rocks.

it's pretty cheap, it imports akai S1000 format samples (pretty much every sample CD can be found in this format), and with the esi win software, you can import and export files to and from your PC (yes, .wav files) via SCSI (the Akai S3000 doesn't load .wav files either, you load them in through SCSI on that too).

and if you add the turbo card, you've got all those effects on there plus digital ins/outs

not to mention the processing it's got... compression, lowpass/highpass filters, VCO, LFO, all that stuff

and you can put in up to 128MB of memory into it.

well, enough of my "advertisement" hehe (sorry about the long post)
I think it's the best value out there, about $400 on ebay, $500 or so with the turbo option
IMO I think it's an excellent sampler :)

and as for sample disks... anything that's good on akai S1000 format can be loaded on the esi
 
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what kind of scsi cd-rom do you have connected to the esi?
where and how much?

thanks,
Chronos
 
You might just want to get a scsi card for your computer so you can directly import the soundfiles you modify into your sampler. The problem is you have to get the right SCSI card. EMU is really picky, and most cards won't work. Also I believe the card you need will be different if you own a mac or a pc. If you own a mac, e-mail me your address and I'll send you my old SCSI card for free. I have 3 SCSI cards lying in my studio collecting dust. I have Adaptec 2960, and a 21960 or something ridiculous like that and a crappy generic one.

Drew
 
my esi-2000 rocks! it has it's drawbacks (not quite enuff midi control/ no sysex at all) but it sounds great, i've loaded it with 128mb ram, and the filters are divine. i stopped using my Roland XP80 as anything other than a MIDI keyboard a few months ago because i loved the sampler so much.

as to a SCSI card, an adaptec (i think) 2906 or something should work, or any adaptec card. i'm using a tekram dc-315U card and it works perfectly...
 
Fumbling on Ecstacy , you can't use the Mac's built in SCSI with the ESI series???? :(
 
I didn't say built in SCSI. I installed a SCSI card on my G4 and I used it that way.
 
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