EMU ESI4000 Sampler/How Does It Compare?

  • Thread starter Thread starter da4000kid
  • Start date Start date
D

da4000kid

Guest
Wassup peeps? I have the chance to snatch a EMU ESI4000 for $200. Does anyone have any experience on this unit? I'm not a Kanye West type of producer, so I'm not really constantly mangling samples. I just need a thorough sampler that has great sound and your basic editing... well maybe time comp/expansion also, etc. Does it have a large, hot existing sample library? I checked some ESI4000 reviews, but didn't get much info. Holla & thanx!
 
I purchased the ESI-4000 second-hand a few years ago and I've been very happy with it. I use it as a budget virtual sound module. Basically, for $60 you can buy 9 sample cd's from E-mu which are full of all the raw instruments from their famous modules (planet phatt, orbit, vintage keys, etc...) I've been told that the samples aren't as good as the sounds on the actual modules but for the price, you can't beat it. I haven't messed around with the effects or modulations. I basically use it with raw samples. It's SCSI-based, so you can hook up a zip, jaz, hd, or cd-rom if you want. Mine came with an internal floppy I never touched. I have an external zip and cd drive connected to it for loading and saving banks.
 
No, it's not the turbo version, but if the unit turned out to be a winner, I planned on buying the Turbo upgrade(s). I already own a MPC3000, but I'm a melodic producer and some samples you need to spread across an entire keyboard and take advantage of the extras, such as the pitchbend lever or the modulation lever...etc. Thus the ESI4000 comes into play. At least I hope?!
 
Might be woth eyeballing the E range and the Ultras, they are so cheap now and far more powerful and versatile than the Esi range. The other advantage is that Esi uses Esi os so cannot load any other banks than those that are generic to that os , but the E4 (eg) is Eos based and can load different formats as it's Eos based and if, at aletr date, you get an Emu sound module with flash ram, you can burn the sounds off your E4 into the sound module as banks and presets, so you end up with a sound module with your own sounds in it...cool.Plus there are countless libraries for the E ranges so you never need to runm out of sounds.
Oh, and if you ever get the Emulator X then you can load the E4 banks into it but they do not have support for Esi formats.... yet.
 
Last edited:
I second what Samplecraze said about the E4 series

I recently got a second hand E5000 Ultra loaded with options (128MB RAM, 30GB Hard Disk, Effects card, external CD-ROM drive) - it's rock solid and it works great to complement my MPC1000

Those run for about $400 second hand... Super cheap. AKAI S6000 "loadedd" with options can also be found sometimes at this price, also a great option (look for the USB option)

There's also the X... But what I wanted was something I could use with my computer off - I also use Kontakt and Creamware SCOPE samplers when I use the PC

-mano
 
WATCH EBAY EVERY DAY

Don't mean to yell but you can get some excellent dealS. I saw a fully loaded emu e5000 go for only 150, no lie. You gotta watch e-bay like a hawk and have serious patienCE. If you can wait a month or two and not buy impulsively (which i know is very hard i do it sometimes) then you not only have a kick ass machine for cheap, but you will feel very good about the whole experience!!!! =)
 
da4000kid said:
I already own a MPC3000, but I'm a melodic producer and some samples you need to spread across an entire keyboard and take advantage of the extras, such as the pitchbend lever or the modulation lever...etc.
Click to expand...
or ya could trade yer MPC3K for da 4K, 'coz it's got a full 64 voice 24bit sampler inside, sh*tloads of memory (comes with 272MB, up to 512MB), and ya can load AKAI, EMU and ROLAND sound libraries. Plus ya get AKSYS.
 
Thanx people... I appreciate ALL of the info! I love this thing called production! Holla.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top