E-Mu Emulator IIIX User Manual

■ FI 401 Rev. D

E-mu Systems, Inc. 1600 Green Hills Road P.O. Box 660015 Scotts Valley, California 95067-0015 (408) 438-1921

Important Notice: In order to obtain warranty service on your Emulator III, the serial number sticker on the back panel must be intact, and you must have a sales receipt or other proof of purchase. If there is no serial number sticker on your Emulator III, please contact E-mu Systems at once.

WARNING: READ THIS FIRST!

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

Use in countries other than the U.S.A. may require the use of a different line cord or attachment plug, or both. To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, refer servicing to qualified service personnel. To reduce risk of fire or electric shock do not expose this product to rain or moisture.

GROUNDING INSTRUCTIONS

This product must be grounded. If it should malfunction or break down, grounding provides a path of least resistance for electric current, reducing the risk of electric shock. This product is equipped with a cord having an equipment-grounding conductor and a grounding plug. The plug must be plugged into an appropriate outlet properly installed and grounded in accordance with all local codes and ordinances.

DANGER

Improper connection of equipment grounding conductor can result in the risk of electric shock. Check with a qualified electrician or service personnel if you are in doubt as to whether the product is properly grounded. Do not modify the plug provided with this product. If it will not fit the outlet, have a proper outlet installed by a qualified technician.

CAUTION

If the 6100, EIIIxp is rack mounted, a standard 19 inch open frame rack must be used.

USER-MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS

1. The EIIIxp should be kept clean and dust free. Periodically wipe the unit with a clean, lint free cloth. Do not use solvents or cleaners.

2. There are no user lubrication or adjustment requirements.

3. Refer all other servicing to qualified service personnel.

■ This symbol is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance.

INSTRUCTIONS PERTAINING TO A RISK OF FIRE, ELECTRIC SHOCK, OR INJURY TO PERSONS

WARNING; When using electric products, basic precautions should always be followed, including the following:

1. Read all instructions before using the EIIIxp.

2. To reduce the risk of injury, close supervision is necessary when the EIIIxp is used near children.

3. Do not use the EIIIxp near water — for example near a bathtub, washbowl, kitchen sink, in a wet basement, on a wet bar, or near or in a swimming pool.

4. The EIIIxp should be situated so that its location or position does not interfere with its proper ventilation.

5. The EIIIxp should be located away from heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, fireplaces, stoves, or ovens.

6. The EIIIxp should only be connected to a power supply of the type described in the operating instructions and as marked on the product.

7. Care should be taken so that objects do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the enclosure of the EIIIxp through openings.

■ This symbol is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage within the product's enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.

8. This EIIIxp may be equipped with a polarized line plug (one blade wider that the other). This is a safety feature. If you are unable to insert this plug into the outlet, do not defeat the safety purpose of the plug. Contact an electrician to replace your obsolete outlet.

9. The power supply cord of the EIIIxp should be unplugged from the outlet when left unused for a long period of time.

10. This product, in combination with an amplifier and headphones and speakers, may be capable of producing sound levels that could cause permanent hearing loss. Do not operate for a long period of time at a high volume level or at a level that is uncomfortable. If you experience any hearing loss or ringing in the ears, consult an audiologist.

11. The product should be serviced by qualified service personnel when: A. The power supply cord has been damaged; or B. Objects have fallen, or liquid has been spilled into the product; or C. The product has been exposed to rain; or D. The product has been dropped or the enclosure damaged; or E. The EIIIxp does not operate normally or exhibits a marked change in performance.

12. All servicing should be referred to qualified service personnel.

SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS

RADIO and TELEVISION INTERFERENCE

The equipment described in this manual generates and uses radio-frequency energy. If it is not installed and used properly-- that is, in strict accordance with our instructions - it may cause interference with radio and television reception.

This equipment has been tested and complies with the limits for a Class A computing device in accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 of the FCC rules. These rules are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference in a residential installation. However, there is no guarantee that the interference will not occur in a particular installation, especially if a “rabbit ear” TV antenna is used.

If the EIIIxp does cause interference to radio or television reception, you can try to correct the interference by using one or more of the following measures:

■ Turn the television or radio antenna until the interference stops.

■ Move the EIIIxp to one side or the other of the television or radio.

■ Move the EIIIxp farther away from the television or radio.

■ Plug the EIIIxp into an outlet on a different circuit than the television or radio.

■ Consider installing a rooftop antenna with a coaxial lead-in between the antenna

and television set.

CONTENTS

1-GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Introduction 1-3 Initial SCSI Setup 1-5 Connection Instructions 1-8 Sampling Basics 1-12 Definitions 1-14 Additional Definitions 1-18

2-CONTROLS

3-GUIDED TOURS

EIIIX Modules 3-2 1 - Meet the EIIIxp 3-4 2 - Specifying the Current 3-7

Sample and Current Zone

3 - Dynamic Processing 3-9

of a Zone

4 - Realtime Control 3-17

Programming 5 - Basic Sampling 3-20 6 - Digital Processing 3-24 7 - Managing the Bank 3-31

8 - On Your Own 3-32

■ MODULES

4-MASTER/GLOBALS

1. Master Tune 4-2

2. Rename Bank 4-3

3. Erase Bank 4-4

4. Dynamic Allocation 4-5

5. Save as EIII Bank 4-6

6. Memory Available 4-7

7. Disk Utilities 4-8

8. Special 4-21

9. MIDI 4-30

0. Import Options 4-37

5-SAMPLE MANAGEMENT

0. Select Sample 5-2

1. Load Sample 5-3

2. Rename Sample 5-5

3. Erase Sample 5-6

4. Copy Sample 5-7

5. Setup 5-8

6. Place Sample 5-10

7. Arm Sampling 5-12

8. Force Sampling 5-13

9. MIDI Sample Dump 5-14

6-PRESET MANAGEMENT

1. Load Preset 6-2

2. Rename Preset 6-4

3. Erase Preset 6-5

4. Copy Preset 6-6

5. Create Preset 6-7

6. Preset Size 6-8

7. Stack Mode 6-9

8. Velocity Switch Level 6-10

9. Merge Presets 6-11

7-DIGITAL PROCESSING

About Looping 7-2

0. Select Sample 7-7

1. Setup 7-8

2. Loop 7-10

3. Truncation 7-13

4. Copy Section 7-14

5. Cut Section 7-16

6. Paste Section 7-18

7. Taper 7-22

8. Digital Tools 7-24

9. Undo 7-39

8-PRESET DEFINITION

1. Load Zone 8-2

2. Edit Assignment 8-6

3. Erase Zone 8-9

4. Copy Zone 8-11

5. Crossfade/Switch 8-14

6. MIDI 8-18

7. Arpeggiator 8-23

8. Pitch Bend Range 8-26

9. Portamento/Attack 8-27

0. Realtime Controls 8-28

9-DYNAMIC PROCESSING

Background 9-2

0. Select Zone 9-4

1. Setup 9-6

2. VCA 9-8

3. VCF 9-10

4. LFO 9-13

5. Auxiliary Envelope 9-15

6. Velocity To 9-17

7. Keyboard Mode 9-20

8. Realtime Control Enable 9-22

9. Output Channels 9-23

■ SUPPLEMENT

10-USING SCSI

SCSI Basics 10-3 Termination 10-5 Multiple Hosts 10-8 Connection Examples 10-10

11-APPENDIX

Keyboard Character Chart 11-2 EIIIX Menu Map 11-3 MIDI Key Chart 11-4 MIDI Implementation Chart 11-5 Specifications 11-6 Error Codes 11-7 Troubleshooting 11-9

1-GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

INTRODUCTION 1-3 INITIAL SCSI SETUP 1-5

CONNECTION 1-8 INSTRUCTIONS

SAMPLING BASICS 1-12 DEFINITIONS 1-14

ADDITIONAL 1-18 DEFINITIONS

This is the reference manual for the Emulator Three X Digital Sound Production System. It contains detailed information on all aspects of the EIIIX's operation.

If you are totally unfamiliar with samplers and synthesizers in general, you may need more information than this manual provides. We suggest that you read some of the many books and magazines on the subject of music synthesis in order to learn the basics while you are learning about the Emulator IIIX. This will help you to get the most out of this extremely powerful instrument.

The functions of the Emulator IIIX are detailed in this manual by their module. Screen displays and step-by-step instructions are described for all aspects of use and operation. ■ Sidebars are used to highlight important points or to give useful operational tips which might not be readily apparent.

We encourage you to take a moment now to read the E-mu Systems warranty and to fill out and send in your warranty registration card. By doing so, you are assured of receiving news of all updates and manual revisions.

INTRODUCTION

What's an EIIIX?

The EIIIX is the latest in the long line of E-mu sampling products, beginning with the Emulator I and evolving into the EII and EIII. In developing the EIIIX, we have retained the logical and easy-to-use user interface of the EIII and enhanced it with our all-digital, stateof-the-art G-chip and H-chip hardware. The G-chip allows noisefree sample transposition over a ±5 octave range. The H-chips retain the warm character of analog filters while keeping the signal entirely in the digital domain.

The EIIIX can be used as an EIII expander unit or as a stand-alone sample playback system. In addition, the EIIIX is fully compatible with the original EIII and has full access to the huge library of sounds available from E-mu and other sources.

Some of the major enhancements from the original EIII are as follows:

■ 32 megabytes of sample RAM (non-proprietary, user installable)

■ 32 audio channels (16 stereo)

■ 8 polyphonic, balanced audio outputs

■ Up to 999 samples per bank

■ Up to 256 presets per bank

■ All digital signal path for lower noise and improved reliability

■ Digital I/O (S/PDIF, AES/EBU)

■ Improved user interface simplifies multi-timbral operation

One difference from the original EIII is in the deliberate omission of analog sample inputs. We have discovered that most people do not sample their own sounds and we feel that you should not have to pay for a expensive feature that you may not use. Furthermore, the widespread use of portable DAT recorders incorporating digital I/ O makes built-in A/D converters redundant. Any audio gear incorporating an A/D converter and digital I/O can function as a sampling “front end” for the EIIIX.

You should plan on purchasing a mass storage device for use with the EIIIX, if you don't already own one. When dealing with large banks of up to 32 MB, a floppy disk drive simply doesn't cut it even for back-up. An optical or hard disk is an absolute must!

The EIIIX is an extremely powerful and reliable, fourth generation instrument. We at E-mu Systems sincerely hope it will help you realize and further your musical dreams.

INITIAL SCSI SETUP

In order to move sounds in and out of the EIIIX you need a mass storage device such as a hard disk or optical disk. The EIIIX can load and save sounds using the floppy disk drive, but this is really a terrible waste of your time. Plan on getting a mass storage device as soon as possible. If your EIIIX has a built-in hard disk drive, you can skip this section and go directly to the connection instructions. This initial setup section contains step-by-step instructions on how to connect the EIIIX to the following SCSI setups:

■ Connecting the EIIIX to a pre-formatted and loaded hard disk.

■ Connecting the EIIIX to an un-formatted hard (or optical) disk.

Connecting EIIIX to a Pre-formatted Hard Disk

(Your EIIIX dealer has pre-formatted a hard disk drive for you and loaded it with sounds.)

1. Position the SCSI device and the EIIIX in a stable location.

Hard disk drives are particularly susceptible to shock and vibration. Make sure that you position your hard disk where it won't be bumped or moved while in use.

2. Connect the SCSI device to your EIIIX. Connect the EIIIX to your SCSI system using a quality SCSI cable. There are two type of SCSI cables in regular use: 50-pin Centronics type and the 25-pin DB connector type. The EIIIX uses the Centronics type connector. If your external SCSI device uses the DB connector you can use an adaptor cable to eliminate the mismatch.

3. Turn on the external SCSI device.

4. Wait about five seconds, then apply power to the EIIIX. The

EIIIX should power up normally.

5. Check the SCSI connection. Press LOAD BANK. Use the data slider to scroll through the available presets and press ENTER to load the desired preset.

6. Connect the EIIIX to your audio mixer and MIDI setup.

■ If you are unfamiliar with connecting a SCSI systems or need additional information, please refer to the section “USING SCSI”.

▼ Turn all devices OFF whenever you change the SCSI cable. Devices left on when the cable is unplugged, may not respond properly until powered off and on.

Connecting EIIIX to an Unformatted Hard Disk

1. Position the SCSI device and the EIIIX in a stable location.

Hard disk drives are particularly susceptible to shock and vibration. Make sure that you position your hard disk where it won't be bumped or moved while in use.

2. Connect the SCSI device to your EIIIX. Connect the EIIIX to your SCSI system using a quality SCSI cable. There are two type of SCSI cables in regular use, 50-pin Centronics type and the 25-pin DB connector type. The EIIIX uses the Centronics type connector. If your external SCSI device uses the DB connector you can use an adaptor cable to eliminate the mismatch.

3. Set the SCSI ID of your external SCSI device to any number other then 5. (5 is the default ID of the EIIIX). Consult the operation

manual of your SCSI device for this procedure.

4. Turn on the external SCSI device.

■ Always use 50-pin

Centronics-type cables with

the EIIIX. These cables

have much better electrical

characteristics and have

fewer problems.

▼ Turn all devices OFF when-

ever you change the SCSI

cable. Devices left on when

the cable is unplugged, may

not respond properly until

powered off and on.

5. Insert the software floppy disk supplied with your EIIIX into the floppy disk drive. Insert the disk, metal end first with the label side

up.

6. Apply power to the EIIIX. The EIIIX should power up normally. It will wait a few seconds, then begin loading the floppy disk software. Remove the floppy disk when the EIII has finished loading and put it aside in a safe place.

7. Make sure your hard disk really is unformatted. Formatting a hard disk erases all the data on it. Press the Load button. If the display reads, “No Valid Drives” the drive isn't formatted. Continue on to step eight.

8. Format the hard disk. Press the Master/Global button, then 77 on the numeric keypad. The display should read, “FORMAT DISK”. Use the data slider to select your hard disk, then press ENTER. The display asks, “Are You Sure?” Press the Inc/Yes button to confirm. Formatting takes a few minutes. Time to take a break.

9. Copy the floppy disk software onto the hard disk. Use the Copy Software function (Master/Globals, 7, 4). The display shows:

COPY SOFTWARE from D0 Floppy Drive

Select a Drive

Press ENTER. The display now asks you to insert the software disk. Insert the software disk supplied with your EIIIX. Press ENTER. The display now shows:

COPY SOFTWARE from D0 Floppy Drive

Erases Bank! OK? Y/N

Press the Inc/Yes button. (Don't worry. Since you haven't loaded anything into the bank yet, there is nothing to be erased.) The software

will be loaded from the floppy disk into the EIIIX's memory. The display now shows:

COPY SOFTWARE into D0 Floppy Drive D1 Hard Disk Name Select a Drive

Your hard disk should be listed on line 3 of the display. If it is not, use the data slider to select it. Press ENTER.

10. Reboot the System. Remove the floppy disk from the drive if you haven't already. Turn off the EIIIX and the hard disk, then turn both units back on. The EIIIX should now boot from your hard disk.

■ If you are unfamiliar with connecting a SCSI systems or need additional information, please refer to the section “USING SCSI”.

■ The EIIIX software should not be copied to more than one disk drive. The EIIIX will always boot from the drive with the lowest ID number. Use the Erase Software function (MASTER, Disk Utilities, 9) to remove the software from a disk drive.

▼ Turn all devices OFF whenever you change the SCSI cable. Devices left on when the cable is unplugged, may not respond properly until powered off and on.

Put your software floppy disk in a safe place in case anything ever goes wrong.

(You should make another copy of the software floppy disk as a backup. Simply use the same formatting and software copying procedure you just performed except that you choose floppy disk instead of the hard disk when asked.)

CONNECTION INSTRUCTIONS

■ The submix outputs use a “plug sensing” scheme which re-routes the signal to the main outputs if a plug is not inserted.

Connecting to a Mixer

■ Main Outputs: The Emulator IIIX has provisions for a variety of output connection schemes. The most common hookup will probably be using the main stereo outputs. The outputs of the EIIIX are all balanced, but they can be used as unbalanced outputs by grounding the negative pin. Output level is +4 dBm (approximately 12 volts p-p). Output impedance is 10Ω. The EIIIX will also drive stereo headphones, which can be plugged directly into the headphone output on the front panel.

■ Submix Outputs: In addition to the main stereo outputs, the EIIIX has three additional pairs of submix outputs that can be used when individual processing on specific instruments is desired. These outputs are all +4 dBm and are balanced. Output impedance is 10Ω. Any combination of channels can be programmed to appear at any of the submix output pairs (1, 2 or 3). Any keyboard zone (key range) can be assigned to any submix pair using the Output Channel function in the Dynamic Processing module. MIDI channels can be assigned to submix outputs using the Multimode Mix function in the Master/Globals module.

This diagram shows how the EIIIX output jacks are wired. The submix outputs function as unbalanced outputs when a standard mono plug is

Stereo Headphone Output

The headphone output is located on the left side of the front panel and is capable of driving all types of stereo headphones. The output level is controlled by the master volume slider.

MIDI Connection

The Emulator IIIX provides a MIDI IN, a MIDI OUT and a MIDI THRU port.

■ The MIDI IN port on the EIIIX connects to the MIDI OUT port of an external MIDI controller which could be a keyboard, a sequencer, MIDI drum kit or whatever. Note that the EIIIX can only respond to information that your controller transmits. If your MIDI keyboard does not have velocity and pressure sensitivity, the EIIIX will not respond to velocity and pressure.

■ MIDI OUT can be connected to another MIDI instrument or computer. The MIDI OUT jack is used to transmit preset change information, MIDI sample dump information (transfers sample data) or for MIDI Overflow mode, which allows a second EIIIX to be connected to the MIDI OUT to double the number of channels. See Preset Definition, 6, MIDI for more details.

■ MIDI THRU simply re-transmits any information received at the MIDI IN port. Use cords that have been designed specifically for MIDI. While regular 5 pin DIN cords may work, they are not shielded correctly for MIDI use and may cause ground loops between equipment.

Digital I/O

The digital input and output jacks allow you to transfer audio back and forth with other digital devices equipped with either AES/EBU or S/PDIF digital I/O. The digital input allows you to sample directly from a DAT recorder or other digital device. The digital output reflects the data at the main outputs of the EIIIX. See the Sample Management module and Main output Format (located under Special in the Master/Globals menu) for more information.

SCSI

The SCSI connectors are high-speed parallel interfaces which are normally used to interface the EIIIX with external mass storage devices such as hard disks or magneto-optical discs. A SCSI port can also be used to link the EIIIX with an external computer for extremely fast file transfers.

For more information on SCSI installation, see the section, “Using SCSI”. You may also want to refer to the operation manual that accompanies your external SCSI device.

110V / 220V Operation

The Emulator IIIX may be used in either 110 volt or 220 volt environments at either 50 Hz or 60 Hz. No change of voltage settings is required. The EIIIX automatically switches itself for 100 or 220

Volt operation.

AC Power Connection and Fuse

The AC power connector is where the Emulator IIIX gets its power. The fuse receptacle is located directly over the power receptacle. Before changing or checking a fuse, UNPLUG the power cord. To remove the fuse holder, squeeze the two tabs located on either side of the fuse holder together. The fuse holder will now pop out with its two fuses. The Emulator IIIX uses two 2-amp, 250 volt fast-blo mini-fuses. The EIIIX should not normally blow fuses. If a fuse that has been replaced blows again, do not attempt another replacement. Have the unit serviced!

SAMPLING BASICS

DIGITAL SAMPLING. The signal level is repeatedly measured at a high rate and the measurements stored

in digital memory. On playback, the measurements are converted back into voltages to reconstruct the

original waveform.

Throughout this manual we will use the terms and concepts described and defined below. Read through this section carefully, even if you don’t retain it all. You can refer back periodically as you read through the manual until you understand the basics and definitions.

The Emulator IIIX is conceptually like a tape recorder. However, the recording process is very different since the EIIIX digitally records into its computer memory. Sounds for the EIIIX can be loaded via removable-media hard disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM using the SCSI interface; or through the AES/EBU Digital interface; or through MIDI using MIDI Sample Dump.

Computers can accept information only in the form of numbers, so first the EIIIX accepts audio signals coded into binary numbers. Samplers work by examining (sampling) the incoming signal level at a very high rate (44,100 times a second for compact discs), and sequentially records these different levels in memory. Once stored, these samples may be played back (in the proper sequence, of course) to reconstruct the original signal. For instance, if a twosecond sound was being sampled at 44.1 kHz, it would require (2 X 44,100) or 88,200 samples to be recorded. As you might imagine, shorter sounds require fewer samples.

A sound can be manipulated once it has been recorded. Playing back the samples in 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 the pitch. Playing back at a slower rate lowers the pitch, much like a tape recorder’s variable speed control.

How the Emulator IIIX Organizes Sounds

Sure, you’re anxious to start coaxing wonderful sounds from the instrument—but the following is a necessary part of learning how to play the Emulator IIIX. It is important to understand how the EIIIX organizes sounds in order to make best use of the instrument in the shortest possible time. Many terms will be introduced now that show up later in the manual.

You can think of the EIIIX as resembling a collection of soundorganizing modules, all contained within an EIIIX bank. Pathways indicate how information flows within the EIIIX. 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. We’ll start with individual samples, then work our way through the system.

The Sample

Loading in any sound in mono or stereo creates a sample, the raw material with which the EIIIX works. The total available sampling time can be divided up any way you like—one long sample, lots of short samples, a few medium samples, or any combination thereof.

The term sample commonly means two different things:

1) A digital recording of a complete sound, or

2) each snapshot of the sound that makes up the complete sample. Confusing? You bet! In this manual, we’ll assume sample means the complete recorded sound unless indicated otherwise.

■ Since wide-range transposi-

tion alters the sample’s timbre,

it is often necessary to use

multiple samples and trans-

pose each one over a small

range to give the most realistic

sound. This is particularly true

with acoustic instruments.

DEFINITIONS

You can modify a raw sample in several ways:

■ Transposition: A sample can be transposed up or down in pitch to cover a particular range of the keyboard. By doing this, it is not necessary to record a sample for every key.

■ Digital Processing: Digital processing consists of Looping a sample (allowing even short samples to play indefinitely).

■ Dynamic Processing: Just as synthesizers include signal proces- sors (filter, voltage-controlled amplifier, envelope generators, LFO, and so on) to modify the sounds produced by the synth’s oscillators, the Emulator IIIX includes similar modules for modifying raw samples or combinations of samples.

The Preset

As mentioned above, a sample can be assigned to a single note on the keyboard, or transposed polyphonically to cover a wider keyboard range. A preset is one entire keyboard setup. The process of assigning, and optionally transposing, samples to specific ranges of the keyboard is called making a preset. Making a preset is a threestep process:

1. Create the preset and give it a number and name. The bank can hold up to 256 Presets (000-255).

2. Place samples to different keyboard ranges. For example, with five samples you could assign each sample to cover one octave of the keyboard. A sample can be assigned more than once within a given preset, and assigned to more than one preset.

3. Choose from a number of the available options that further define the preset. Some examples are: assigning samples to par-

tially or fully overlap other samples, thus producing doubling effects, or assigning dynamic control to individual samples in a preset. You can modify zone parameters, add arpeggiation, and set up MIDI and dynamic processing parameters.

The Zone

A particular range of the keyboard is called a zone. This can include one or more samples. The zone’s boundaries need not be the same as the boundaries of the samples contained in the zone. Zones free you from having to think about where the actual samples are assigned. You just select a range of keyboard (a zone) and go!

As an example, suppose you wanted to set the velocity response for the entire keyboard. You would first select the zone range by playing the lowest and highest keys when prompted by the EIIIX. Next you would set the velocity response (in the Dynamic Processing module). Done.

Now, suppose you wanted just the lower half of the keyboard to pan from left to right as you play up the keyboard. You would simply select a zone for the lower half of the keyboard, then change the pan settings as desired.

When you copy a zone, the appropriate samples will be picked up along with the Dynamic Processing parameters.

The Bank

The memory bank contains samples, zones and presets. Everything. Consider the bank as the central storehouse for all of the

Emulator IIIX’s data. Although the memory is volatile, meaning that the data disappears when you turn off power, all bank data can be saved permanently to the hard disk drive or other media to keep a record of your work.

The Internal Drive

A disk drive is a mass-storage memory device that stores banks. The Emulator IIIX has a built-in floppy disk drive which is used mainly for operating system software. (The operating system of a computer are the instructions that tell the computer what to do.) However, other types of drives, as described below, can connect to the EIIIX to provide sound storage.

■ Floppy Disk Drive (Drive 0): The floppy disk drive accommo- dates 3.5", double-sided, double-density (DSDD) floppy disks. The floppy drive on the EIIIX is used mainly as a convenient way to periodically update the operating system software although it can be used to load and save sounds. Because of the larger bank size of the EIIIX, the floppy disk is not practical for backing-up sound data.

When the E-mu wizards come up with exciting new enhancements, the new software is usually distributed on floppy disk. As described later in the manual, this software can be copied on to a hard disk and made a permanent part of the EIIIX.

External Drives

The EIIIX includes a SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) connector on the rear panel. This interface is commonly used in the computer industry, so many devices made to work with computers—particularly mass storage devices—will also work with the EIIIX. Here are some of the types of mass storage devices that can plug into the EIIIX’s SCSI connector.

■ Hard Disk Drive: A hard disk provides the advantages of much higher memory capacity and far faster access time. Transferring data to and from the EIIIX is quite straightforward. However, you cannot remove a hard disk and replace it with another one—the disk is a permanent part of the drive. There are three main cautions involved with hard disks:

■ Hard disks are sensitive to extreme mechanical shocks. If

your hard disk falls off a keyboard stand, chances are the hard disk will be damaged.

■ Make sure power is not interrupted when you write data to

the hard disk.

■ Hard disks have reached a very high level of reliability.

However, they can fail from time to time (as can any part of a computer), so any data should be backed up periodically and regularly on some other medium.

■ Removable-media Hard Disk Drives: These are similar to normal hard disk drives except that the disk itself can be removed and replaced with another disk. Disk densities can range from 44 Mbytes to well over 100 Mbytes per platter. Removable-media hard disk drives allow you to build a sound library of unlimited size and are quite handy for transferring sounds between machines.

■ CD-ROM Drive: A CD-ROM is a playback-only (data cannot be written to it) mass storage memory device whose capacity is approximately 660 Megabytes. Quality CD-ROM libraries are available from several companies. (Northstar, Optical Media International, E-mu Systems, Inc.) These can be loaded into the bank as easily as you would load from a hard disk.

■ Magneto-Optical Drive: Basically a read/writable CD, these high speed, high density storage devices are currently the hottest thing around for storing large amounts of sound data. Typically a magneto-optical drive can upwards of 300 Mb per side and the removable cartridges can be used over and over. Disk access time is comparable to a normal hard disk, and is sometimes even faster! Advantages: High-speed, high-density, reliable, removable. Disadvantage: High cost (although prices are dropping fast).

ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS

The Primary and Secondary Sample

An Emulator IIIX key provides for two channels. These contain the primary and secondary samples. For example, the primary sample might be a guitar note and the secondary sample a detuned version of the same guitar note. When played together, you hear chorusing. Also, a preset contains information about how the keyboard dynamics affect the primary and secondary samples. As an example, the primary sample could be that of a drum hit played softly, and the secondary of a drum hit played loudly. Thus, playing the keyboard softly would play the primary sample, and playing the keyboard more forcefully would play the secondary sample.

The Current Preset

When you load a bank, a preset will be ready to play and the display will show the preset number. This is the current preset. If you select another preset, or create a preset, that will become the current preset.

The Current Sample

When loading an individual sample, you will need to specify the sample number and name into which the sound should be recorded. This is called the current sample.

■ If a module is already active,

and you are finished with one

submodule, you do not need to

re-activate the module—just

key in the new submodule

number.

Modules

A module controls a particular set of functions in the Emulator IIIX. There are six main modules : Master/Globals, Preset Management,

Preset Definition, Sample Management, Digital Processing, and Dynamic Processing.

■ Activating a Module and the Module Identifier: To work with a module, you must first activate it. Press the button associated with the desired module. The display will then show the Module Identifier and invite you to select a submodule.

■ Submodule: Each module contains several numbered submodules that set controls for additional functions. There are two ways to select a submodule within the module. You can move the data slider until the display shows the desired submodule, then press ENTER. As you work with the EIIIX, though, you will start to memorize the submodule numbers and will probably find it faster to simply key in the appropriate submodule number using the numeric keypad. When using the keypad, it is not necessary to press ENTER. Pressing either the module button or the Escape button will cancel the operation.

Saving

The bank only retains data for as long as the Emulator IIIX 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.

Pressing the SAVE button on the Control Panel shuttles all the bank data (samples and presets) to the drive of your choice . A hard disk permanently stores data so that even after turning off the Emulator IIIX, the disk will contain a record of your work.

IF YOU DO NOT SAVE A BANK, ALL BANK DATA WILL BE LOST WHEN YOU TURN OFF THE MACHINE.

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 that might erase the bank’s memory. Hard disks are not infallible. All hard disk banks should be backed up periodically to another hard disk or other media. Should you improve the preset, sample, or sequence 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 ordeal of starting from scratch.

Whenever you have done enough work that you would hate to lose it, back it up!

Since the disk contains a record of the bank data, loading the disk back into the bank transfers all the sample and preset data into the bank. This will replace the existing bank data, if any.

Booting

Booting is a computer term that means “having the computer read the software necessary for its operation from the disk.” (It’s easy to see why this was shortened to booting.) The EIIIX automatically boots itself from a hard disk when you turn it on. Once booted, the instrument is ready to go. If the hard disk is damaged for some reason, the EIIIX can be booted from a suitable floppy disk.

Default

A default setting is what we’ve judged to be a useful initial setting, and remains in effect until you change it. For example, if you create a new preset, the arpeggiator will default to Off. Had it defaulted to the on position, all new presets would be arpeggiated.

■ If you want to maintain compatability with the original EIII, use function Master, 5 “Save as EIII Bank”. This will allow the EIII to load your EIIIX bank.

The Cursor

The cursor is that small flashing line on the display. It sits under the number or letter that will be altered if you enter data. Entering a new value will overwrite the number or letter above the cursor, whereupon the cursor will move on to the next number or letter (if applicable). If the EIIIX is expecting a two or three-digit number, in most cases you must enter all the required digits even if some of these are zeroes (called leading zeroes). For example, if the EIIIX is expecting a three-digit number and you want to enter 8, you would enter 008. If it is expecting a single-digit number, entering 8 would be sufficient.

Data Slider & Increment/Decrement Buttons

In virtually all instances where the data slider selects options, the Increment (Inc/Yes) and Decrement (Dec/No) switches duplicate the slider. Press Inc/Yes to increase a value, or Dec/No to decrease.

Selecting

When the instructions say to select an option, you can use whatever method is most comfortable for you: the data slider, the Increment/ Decrement buttons, the numeric keypad (if applicable) and, when naming, the keyboard keys. Some functions do not implement all these options; you can’t go wrong by trying, though. If a function doesn’t respond to the numeric keypad, for instance, then pressing the keypad will have no effect. Use the data slider or the Inc/Dec buttons instead.

The Big Re-Cap

■ A sample is a raw sound that is loaded into the bank.

■ To create a new preset, make sure you have all the samples

required for the preset in the bank, number and name a preset, then assign combinations of samples from the bank to specific sections of the keyboard. By specifying one or more of these samples (or portions thereof) as a zone, the zone may then be processed by the EIIIX’s dynamic signal processors.

■ After arranging a bank, it can be saved to one or more drives.

■ Since loading from a hard disk fills the bank with samples and

presets, you can group these samples into new presets, process the samples contained in particular zones, or alter existing presets.

2-CONTROLS

MASTER VOLUME 2-2 DATA SLIDER 2-2 INC/DEC BUTTONS 2-2 TEN KEY PAD 2-2 ESCAPE 2-3 ENTER 2-3 AUDITION 2-4 CURSOR/PAGE 2-3 PRESET SELECTION 2-4 SAVE BANK 2-5 LOAD BANK 2-6 DRIVE SELECT 2-7 MULTIMODE 2-8 TRANSPOSE 2-9

MASTER VOLUME

The Master Volume Slider controls the volume of every audio output on the EIIIX including the submix and headphone outputs. The master volume slider is a digital control. For maximum dynamic range it should be kept near the maximum position.

DATA SLIDER

Using the Data Slider is the most common way to change parameter values on the EIIIX. Moving the slider changes either the data over the flashing cursor or scrolls through options in the display.

INCREMENT/DECREMENT BUTTONS

On all EIIIX menus where the data slider selects options, the Increment (Inc/Yes) and Decrement (Dec/No) Buttons duplicate the slider function. The increment/decrement should be used when a finer degree of control is required. They can also be used for selecting Yes or No.

TEN KEY PAD

The Ten Key Pad is used to enter data in precise amounts. For instance, if you wanted to jump to preset 10, enter 10 on the ten key pad and the new preset number will be instantly selected, eliminating the process of finding the number with the data slider and then pressing ENTER.

The Escape button lets you back out of the module by one menu each time the button is pressed. It can also be used anytime you do not want to execute a particular function (bail out). In the Sample Management module, pressing the Escape button terminates the sampling process.

A flashing ENTER LED means that the EIIIX wants you to do something, indicating either that data needs to be entered, or that pressing the ENTER button will activate an operation. If the EN- TER LED is lit steadily, pressing ENTER is optional. Doing so will exit you from the function and return you to the Module Identifier. You also have the option of going directly to another function within the module.

The Audition Button allows you to play notes on the EIIIX directly from the front panel without a MIDI keyboard being connected. The note that will be played is selected from the Audition Key function, located under Special in the Master/Globals module.

ESCAPE

ENTER

AUDITION

The Cursor is a small flashing line that appears in the display window under the data that is currently being edited. The Cursor/ Page Buttons are used to move the cursor around in the display. The buttons are marked with arrows to indicate the direction of movement. Some of the functions on the Emulator IIIX have more options than will fit on a single page of the display. In this case the < and > arrows become the Page selects, allowing you to move through the various pages of the display.

CURSOR/PAGE

CURSOR/

PAGE

The Cursor/Page keys perform the following functions:

1.Moving the cursor. To move the flashing cursor line in a particular direction in order to select a different function, simply press the corresponding cursor key.

■ Selecting Presets using the

left and right cursor keys only

works when the EIIIX is NOT in

Multimode.

PRESET

SELECTION

2.Selecting the display page. In many submodules, a single

screen of the LCD cannot display all the available parameters. Arrows (<- ->) in the display indicate that there are additional screens which may be viewed by pressing the corresponding cursor button.

3.Selecting presets. When no modules are selected, and the cursor is placed under the preset number, presets may be incremented or decremented by pressing the left and right cursor buttons. This method is useful for live performance - arrange your presets in the desired order, and step through them as needed.

4.Adding or deleting a space when naming. A quick and easy way to add or delete a space when naming samples or presets is to use the left and right cursor keys. The up key adds a space and the down key deletes a space.

Selecting the Current Preset

With no modules active, the display will show the Current Preset name and number on line 1 of the display. The blinking cursor will appear under the preset number’s first digit. There are five ways to

change the Current Preset:

1. Enter a three-digit number with the keypad. If you enter a number for which there is no Preset, the lower display line will show the illegal Preset number and say Empty Preset. Try again.

2. Move the data slider or the increment buttons. The top display line will continue to show the Current Preset, but the lower line will scroll through the available Presets as you move the data slider. When the lower line shows the Preset that you want as the Current Preset, press ENTER.

3. Increment or decrement the Current Preset (as displayed in the top line) with the left and right cursor buttons. This method

is useful for live performance—arrange your Presets in the desired order, and step through them as needed.

4. Use a footswitch to advance through the presets.

5. Use a MIDI program change command. Receive Preset Change

must be enabled (Preset Definition, 6, MIDI). To see the Current Preset number at any time, de-activate any active

modules and look at the display.

A bank consists of presets and samples. The Save function saves this data from the Emulator IIIX's memory bank to the floppy disk, hard disk or other external SCSI device.

1. Press Save.

2. If necessary, select the drive top which the bank will be saved. The EIIIX will default to the current drive. If you want to

choose a different drive, place the cursor under the drive number in line two, select the appropriate drive and press ENTER.

SAVE BANK into D1 Internal HD

Select a Drive

3. Select the bank number to which the bank will be saved, then press ENTER. Empty banks are indicated as such, along with their

bank number on line three. Or, you can overwrite an existing bank.

SAVE BANK

■ If you want to maintain compatibility with the original EIII, use function Master, 5 “Save as EIII Bank”. This will allow the EIII to load your EIIIX bank.

SAVE BANK into D1 Internal HD B00 Stereo Grand X Select a Bank

EIIIX banks always have an “X” at the end of the bank name to differentiate it from an EIII bank.

4. After pressing ENTER the bank will be saved. The display will say: Saving Bank. The display will revert to the preset selection screen.

▼ You cannot load and save floppy disk files from the original EIII.

LOAD BANK

A bank consists of presets and samples. The Load function loads this data into the Emulator IIIX's memory bank from the floppy disk, hard disk or other external SCSI device.

1. Press Load.

2. If necessary, select the drive containing the bank to be loaded. The EIIIX will default to the current drive. If you want to

choose a different drive, place the cursor under the drive number in line two, select the appropriate drive and press ENTER.

LOAD BANK from D1 Internal HD

Select a Drive

■ EIIIX banks will not load

into the original EIII. If you

want to maintain compatibil-

ity with the EIII, use function

Master, 5 “Save as EIII

Bank”. This will allow the EIII

to load your EIIIX bank.

▼ You cannot load and save

floppy disk files from the

original EIII.

3. Select the bank number that contains the bank to be loaded, then press ENTER. The display will say: Loading Bank. After a

few seconds, the bank will be loaded. The display will revert to the preset selection screen.

SAVE BANK from D1 Internal HD B00 Stereo Grand X Select a Bank

EIIIX banks always have an “X” at the end of the bank name to differentiate it from an EIII bank.

The Drive Select Button selects which storage device will be used when loading or saving. The Emulator IIIX may have an internal hard disk and/or several external SCSI devices connected. Drive Select allows you to select which storage device will be used.

1. Press Drive Select. The display shows:

DRIVE SELECT D1 Sony SMO-C501

Select a Drive

2. Use the Data Slider or 10 Key Pad to select the desired drive, then press ENTER. Any subsequent Load or Save operations will

now use the selected drive.

DRIVE SELECT

MULTIMODE

The Multimode Button puts the Emulator IIIX into Multimode, where it can receive on up to 16 MIDI channels at once. Multimode is used for multi-timbral sequencing and when using a keyboard that can transmit on more than one MIDI channel at a time. The Multimode screen is where you assign presets to MIDI channels for multi-timbral sequencing. You can also set the volume and stereo pan position for each channel's preset.

1. Press Multimode. The display shows:

MIDI CHANNEL: 01 Volume: 127 Pan ∆ +00 000 Synth Flute

2. Use the cursor buttons to select one of the following parameters to edit. The volume, pan and preset can be programmed for

each of the 16 MIDI channels. Use the data slider or inc/dec buttons to change the MIDI channel, Volume or Pan setting. If you do not

want the EIIIX to respond to certain MIDI channels, set the preset for those channels to “Unassigned” which is located just below

preset 000.

▼ Pan∆ adds to the pan set-

tings made in the dynamic

processing module. Setting

the Dynamic Processing Pan

to 00 allows the Pan∆ param-

eter to have total control of

stereo positioning.

MIDI CHANNEL: 02 Volume: 116 Pan ∆ -01 Unassigned

3. After assigning the Preset, Volume and Pan setting for each MIDI channel, press ENTER. The display will revert to the preset

selection screen.

This function transposes the entire EIIIX in half-step intervals up to ± one octave. When in multimode, all channels will be transposed. When the EIIIX is in Transpose mode, the Transpose LED will be lit steadily. A new transposition can be selected at any time, regardless of whether or not the Transpose LED is lit.

Some applications are:

■ Use one key's fingerings in a different key. Modulate to a different key without having to use different fingerings.

■ Use transpose to easily reach hidden zones that lie beyond the ends of the physical keyboard.

1. Press and hold Transpose. Its LED flashes, and the display shows:

TRANSPOSE

Play a Key

2. While holding Transpose, select the desired transposition interval. All transpositions are referenced to C2, the second C from

the left hand side of the keyboard.

Some examples are:

■ To transpose down one octave, press C1.

■ To transpose up one octave, press C3.

■ To transpose up a fourth, press F2.

Note that pressing keys C#3-C4, C#4-C5, or C#5-C6 will, in each case, produce the same effect as pressing keys C#2-C3.

3. While holding Transpose, check the display to confirm the transposition interval. Upward transpositions are indicated with

a + symbol, downward transpositions with a - symbol. For example, if the EIIIX is transposed up a fifth, the display will show:

TRANSPOSE +G

Play a Key

4. Release Transpose to retain the transposition. The Transpose LED stays lit to remind you that the EIIIX is transposed.

5. To cancel the transposition, press and hold Transpose and press C2. Display line three will go blank. Release Transpose and

the LED should now be off.

3-GUIDED TOURS

EIIIX Modules 3-2 Guided Tour No. 1: 3-4

Meet the Emulator IIIX

Guided Tour No. 2: 3-7

Specifying the Current Sample and Current Zone

Guided Tour No. 3: 1-9

Dynamic Processing of a Zone

Guided Tour No. 4: 3-17

Realtime Control Programming

Guided Tour No. 5: 3-20

Basic Sampling

Guided Tour No. 6: 3-24

Digital Processing

Guided Tour No. 7: 3-31

Managing the Bank

Guided Tour No. 8: 3-32

On Your Own

THE EIIIX MODULAR SYSTEM

Each module of the Emulator IIIX affects a certain area of the Emulator IIIX’s operation. You first select a module, then choose which parameter with the module you wish to adjust.

Each module will be discussed in detail later on; the following is intended mostly as background information.

■ Function Buttons: These are the buttons that get you going. Load Bank and Enter load disk data into the EIIIX, Save Bank lets you save your work to disk, and Transpose, as you probably suspect, transposes the keyboard.

■ Master/Globals: This module contains functions that affect the overall keyboard or bank: Master Tune, Memory Available, Erase Bank, Rename Bank Save as EIII Bank, various disk utilities, global MIDI settings and the Special commands.

■ Sample Management: This module allows you to input sounds from the digital I/O port or through MIDI into the bank.

■ Digital Processing: With this module, you may edit the loop (i.e. infinitely sustain) any portion of the sample.

■ Preset Management: This module handles the preset “house- keeping duties”, including load presets or entire banks from disk, create, copy, rename, or erase presets and check on how much memory space a preset uses up.

■ Preset Definition: This module lets you change parameters within a given preset. You can set up the arpeggiator or MIDI options, assign pitch bend and modulation wheels to control various parameters in realtime, copy or erase zones, edit the sample assignment, and set some keyboard parameters (dynamics and crossfade between overlapping samples).

■ Dynamic Processing: This module sets parameters that are familiar to those who have worked with analog synthesizers. You can set the dynamics by adjusting the VCA envelope, control timbre using the VCF (filter) and its associated AHDSR envelope generator, modulate the signal with the LFO, tie the keyboard velocity to various parameters, set the tuning, attenuation, and delay for each zone, and more.

Activating a Module, Selecting Functions, and De-activating a Module

Here is important background information on how to access the various module functions. As the Guided Tours progress, this information will relate to practical examples.

■ Activating: Each module has an associated switch. Most of these are in the right-most section indicated by the blue bars next to the buttons. Pushing the associated switch activates the module, and is indicated by an LED next to the switch. Upon activation, the top line of the display will show the Module Identifier (such as Master/ Globals, Preset Management, etc.). In some cases, upon activation the display will ask you to specify the current zone or current sample (as described in the next guided tour).

■ Selecting Functions: Each module includes a printed list of func- tions on the front panel. These functions are available when the module is active. To select a module function, key in its associated number with the keypad.

■De-activating: When you’re finished with the module, either press its button again to de-activate, or activate a new module. Pressing the Escape button will move you back out of the module by one menu.

■ Remember: if you want to save modified presets, save the altered bank to disk. Otherwise, any changes will be lost as soon as power to the Emulator IIIX is interrupted.

■ Any time you make a mistake, get confused or otherwise "lost in the module" and want to bail out, you can deactivate, then reactivate the module and try again. The Escape button works in a similar manner.

Guided Tour No. 1: MEET THE EIIIX

Welcome to the Guided Tours! If you have just met the Emulator IIIX for the first time, we suggest that you follow these tours until you complete the Guided Tours section. This will get you up and running on the EIIIX in the fastest possible time. Also, you’ll learn some tricks in this section that will come in handy as you play some more with the Emulator IIIX. This tour covers how to:

■ Load a Bank from the Hard Disk

■ Select Different Presets within the Bank

■ Load and Save to Floppy Disks

■ Tune the EIIIX to Other Instruments

■ Transpose the Keyboard

Loading a Bank From the Hard Disk

Press the Load button. The display says: Load Bank, and shows the name and number of the current bank. Use the data slider to scroll through the available hard disk banks. Stop when you find the bank you want, then press ENTER.

An alternate method of loading a hard disk bank is to press Load, then type in the number of the bank using the numeric keypad. The display will show the current preset number and name. The cursor will flash underneath the first digit. Start playing the keyboard and adjust the master volume slider for a comfortable listening level.

Selecting Different Presets

The bank you just loaded contains several presets. To call up a new current preset, use the up/down cursor buttons to position the cursor under the preset number, then use the keypad underneath the display. Note that leading zeroes must be entered for preset numbers (i.e. type 0, 0 and 2, not just 2, to call up preset 002). Now type 0, 0 then 2 on the keypad; these will replace the numbers indicated by the flashing cursor.

Now call up more presets. If you enter a number for which there is no preset, the display will list the entered preset number and say “Empty Preset”. Try again.

To scroll through the presets available in the bank, move the data slider. The various preset names will scroll on the lower display line. When this line shows the desired preset, press ENTER to make that the current preset. This is an alternative preset selection method.

Yet another method is to use the left and right cursor buttons to increment or decrement through the presets. This method allows you to arrange your presets in the proper order, then access them sequentially with a single press of a button.

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

Saving Data to a Hard Disk

The hard disk drive is used to make permanent backups of your work. The capacity of the floppy drive is too small to make efficient back-ups, therefore only the hard disk (or its equivalent) can be used for sound storage.

■ To Save a Bank to Disk:

1. Press the Save button. Position the cursor under the drive number in line two. Select the disk drive using the data slider. Press

ENTER.

2. Use the Data Slider to select an Empty Bank. Empty banks are

indicated as such, along with their bank number on line three. Saving to a non-empty bank erases the bank that was previously saved there.

3. Press ENTER to save the Bank. The display will revert to the preset selection screen.

Tuning the EIIIX to Other Instruments

Refer to the Master/Globals module, 1. Master Tune. This function demonstrates how the Emulator IIIX uses the data slider to adjust a parameter. Play the keyboard while adjusting the data slider to change the overall tuning.

Transposing the Keyboard

Refer to the function button Transpose. While holding the transpose button, play a key on the keyboard in the lower two octaves. The second C from the bottom (C2) corresponds to normal or no transposition. All transpositions are based from this C2 key. For example, pressing the G key above C2 will transpose the keyboard up a perfect fifth. If the keyboard has been transposed, the transpose LED will stay lit. Press and hold the transpose button while pressing C2 to return to normal transposition.

Guided Tour No. 2: SPECIFYING THE

CURRENT SAMPLE and THE CURRENT ZONE

The Emulator IIIX has two modules dedicated exclusively to processing samples within a preset: Digital Processing and Sample Management. Each sample stored in a bank can be processed by the Digital Processing module independently. Therefore, we need a way to specify the current sample, which is the individual sample to be processed.

The concept of the current sample is important. To process one sample out of a preset, assign the current sample to be that one sample, and process it.

Zones are sections of the keyboard which can be selected to apply Dynamic Processing parameters or to be copied, erased or loaded from another preset. A copied zone contains samples as well as analog parameters. A zone can be one key or the entire keyboard range.

■ To Identify Which Keyboard Keys Belong to Which Sample:

1. Activate the Preset Definition module.

2. Select 2. Edit Assignment.

EDIT ASSIGNMENT P00 pri D2 p01 Sample Name No Secondary Sample

3. Play a key on the keyboard. Line two shows the preset number and the last key pressed. Line three shows the primary sample assigned to the key, and line four shows the secondary sample, if any, assigned to the key. As you run your fingers up and down the keyboard, the primary and or secondary sample numbers will change indicating the keyboard range of those samples. Moving the data slider will also show you the sample boundaries.

4. Choose a sample and press ENTER. The display now shows the range of the current zone on the upper line of the display. Don’t play any keys but press ENTER again. Now the display shows something like this, where XX is the name of the key (such as D2).

EDIT ASSIGNMENT Zone: XX to XX

Select High Key

Specifying the Zone of the Dynamic Processing Module

Now that we know how many samples there are in the preset, and the range covered by each sample, let’s specify a range of keys to be altered by the Dynamic Processing Module, starting with the lowest key.

1. Activate the Dynamic Processing module.

2. Select 0. Select Zone.

3. Specify the range of the zone. The display instructs you to

“Select Low Key”. Press the lowest key on the keyboard, then press the ENTER button (whose LED is now flashing). The display then instructs you to “Select High Key”. Press a key on the keyboard near the top of the keyboard, then press ENTER. The display now shows the current zone and prompts you to “Select a Submodule”.

At this point, you can begin modifying the sounds in the bank with the Dynamic Processing module. The assigned current zone will remain as is until you either change the current zone assignment, change presets, or load another bank. If you switch between modules, the current zone remains as assigned (unless you select the Digital Processing Module, which will be a subject of a later tour).

Before proceeding, look over Dynamic Processing, 0. Select Zone to help reinforce what you’ve learned. Now that you know what a zone is and how to specify it, we’ve reached the end of this tour. Feel free to come back any time to refresh your memory. In the next tour, we’ll see how to modify samples with the Dynamic Processing section.

Guided Tour No. 3: DYNAMIC PROCESSING

OF A ZONE

The Dynamic Processing module consists of several interesting sound processing functions. Let’s start with the Filter and VCA sections, as they are among the most important.

The VCA function contains 32 Voltage Controlled Amplifiers that control the amplitude envelope of a sound. The filter function contains 32 Voltage Controlled Filters that control the timbre of a sound. (Note: The voltage controlled filters and amplifiers are actually

implemented digitally. The names VCF and VCA are kept for EIII compatibility.)

Working with the Filter

You could activate the Filter Setup function directly by keying in 3. However, let’s investigate another way to select the filter function. Move the data slider to catalog the various Dynamic Processing functions. When the display shows function 3. VCF, press ENTER.

■ To Change the Filter Cutoff Frequency:

1. Activate the Dynamic Processing module, 3. VCF. The display should look something like this:

VCF Cutoff: 74040 Hz

Q: 0%

Play with the up and down cursor buttons. Note how you can move the cursor under the various parameters to be adjusted. For now, move the cursor under the Cutoff frequency on line three.

2. Select the filter cutoff frequency. To do this, vary the data slider. Note how the numbers to the right of cutoff change. Lower numbers mean a lower filter cutoff frequency (less high frequencies). Higher numbers mean a higher filter cutoff frequency (more high frequencies). Observe how only the notes within the current zone are affected by the slider setting.

■ You must re-trigger a note to hear any changes. Holding down a note and playing the slider will not change the sound; you must play the note after changing the slider to hear the results. This is true when making any changes to the sound, not just while you’re in the filter function or the Dynamic Processing Module.

Now might be a good time to mention that although we are changing the sounds in the bank, the sounds on the disk remain unchanged. This is because we haven’t saved the bank to disk. You can fool around with the bank sounds as much as you want without having to worry about altering the original sounds on the disk.

■ To Change Filter Q:

VCF Cutoff: 22049 Hz

Q: 0%

1. Move the cursor to the Q% on line four. Vary the slider to change the sharpness of the sound. Higher numbers give a sharper sound. Again, this affects only the range of notes covered by the current zone. Set the Q at about 60 and proceed.

2. Move the cursor back to Cutoff on line three. Vary the data slider. Note how this produces a sort of wa-wa effect. Remember, you have to re-trigger the key to hear the results of changing the Q. Set Cutoff to 200 Hz and Q to about 50. The range of notes covered by the current zone should sound muted.

■ To Change the Filter Cutoff Envelope:

1. Select page two by pressing the right cursor arrow.

VCF Tracking: +1.00

Envelope Amt: 0%

Investigate the effects of envelope control over the filtered sound by moving the cursor to the Envelope Amount. Use the slider to set a value of +40%. This allows the envelope to control the filter cutoff frequency.

2. Select page three by pressing the right cursor.

VCF Attack: 0.20s Hold: 0.00s Decay: 0.00s Sustain:99% Rel:0.40s

Move the cursor under the Attack time on line one and vary the slider. With larger values, it will take more attack time for the filter frequency to go from lowest to highest cutoff frequency. Vary the various envelope parameters, and observe the effect these changes have on the sound.

To check out inverted envelopes, set the envelope parameters as follows:

VCF Attack: 0.20s Hold: 0.00s Decay: 0.00s Sustain:99% Rel:0.40s

Play and hold a chord. This is a non-inverting envelope in the sense that the envelope increases the filter cutoff frequency above the initial cutoff. To select an inverting envelope where the cutoff decreases below the initial cutoff, press the left cursor arrow.

VCF Tracking: +1.00

Envelope Amt: 0%

3. Move the cursor to Envelope Amount and select -40% to invert the envelope. The envelope effect is not all that noticeable when you

play a chord. This is because the envelope forces the cutoff frequency

in a negative direction. Since the cutoff frequency is already fairly low, it can’t go that much lower. Now go back to the cutoff frequency and increase it. The effect will be far more noticeable since there will be more range available for the negative going envelope excursion.

If you feel like experimenting, play with the Tracking control to affect the way the filter frequency tracks the keyboard pitch.

Before proceeding with the tour, set Cutoff Frequency to 22049, Q to 00, Envelope Amount to +00, and Tracking to 1.00. Set the envelope Attack to 0.00s, Hold to 0.00s, Decay to 0.00s, Sustain to 100%, and Release to 0.49s. After entering these values, press ENTER to return to the Module Identifier.

Fun With Voltage Controlled Amplifiers

In preparation for the following experiments, let’s change the Current Zone to include the entire keyboard.

1. Select Submodule 0. Select Zone. Move the data slider to the bottom of its travel and press ENTER. Now move the data slider to the top of its travel and press ENTER again. You have now specified the entire keyboard as the current zone.

2. Select the 2. VCA function. The display shows:

VCA Level: 100% Pan: + 0% L | R

3. Select the next page of the VCA controls with the right cursor.

VCA Attack: 0.20s Hold: 0.00s Decay: 0.30s Sustain:50% Rel:0.60s

Move the cursor under the various envelope parameters and observe how different settings affect the sound. Before moving on, make sure you have a sound that is fairly sustained with little or no envelope attack time.

Other Dynamic Processing Options

1. Select 1. Setup. Note how the tuning, delay, and chorus controls

affect the sound.

2. Add some Low Frequency Oscillator effects. Select the 4. LFO function. The display shows:

LFO Rate: 4.25Hz Shape: triangle Delay: 0.00s

If the LFO rate is different, change the rate so that it is about 4.25 Hz.

3. Use the right cursor/page button to move to the next page of the LFO controls. The display will show something like this:

LFO Variation: 0% LFO->Pitch: 0% LFO->Cutoff 0%

Position the cursor under each display option. Vary the data slider and observe how this affects the sound. Adding LFO to Cutoff might not sound all that noticeable. If you want a more obvious effect, bounce back to function 3. VCF and set the Cutoff to about 200 Hz and Q to about 50. This should make the LFOs effect more noticeable.

4. Select page three of the LFO controls. The display will show: If the LFO settings aren’t to your liking, use the left cursor/page button to change the LFO rate, delay, and variation.

LFO LFO->Pitch: 0%

LFO->Cutoff 0%

The Auxiliary Envelope

1. Select 5. Auxiliary Envelope. The display shows the first page:

Move the cursor under Destination on line two, and use the data

AUXILIARY ENVELOPE Dest: off

Envelope Amt: 0%

slider to scroll through the auxiliary envelope destinations. Select Pitch as the destination, then set the Envelope Amount to -50%.

2. Select the next page using the right cursor. Set the parameters so that the display looks like this:

AUX Attack: 0.00s Hold: 0.00s Decay: 0.40s Sustain:99% Rel:1.65s

Now play the keyboard. Notes will bend up, since we are using an inverted envelope, to pitch and then hold there. This is an effect common in many natural sounds.

Vary the various envelope parameters, and observe the effect these changes have on the sound.

Understanding Velocity

By now you probably have a pretty messy sound as a result of all these exercises. Let’s start with a clean slate.

1. Press the Load Bank button, then ENTER to re-load the bank.

2. When the bank is loaded, activate the Dynamic Processing module.

3. Specify a zone. Let’s make the entire keyboard the current zone.

Since the default zone is the entire keyboard we don’t have to do anything!

4. Select 6. Velocity To. The display will look something like this:

VELOCITY TO Pitch: +0% VCA Level: +0% VCA Attack: +0%

Moving on to the next velocity page we see:

VELOCITY TO VCF Cutoff: +0% VCF Q: +0% VCF Attack: +0%

Moving on to the last velocity page we see:

VELOCITY TO Pan: +0% Sample Start: +0% Auxiliary Env: +0%

Move the slider to select different values, and note the effects. With positive velocity sent to the VCA, the EIIIX plays softer as you play softer. In other words, the EIIIX equates harder play with the nominal volume setting and goes down from there as you play softer.

Continue to move the cursor to the other available parameters and vary the slider. Notice that the filter cutoff frequency lowers as you play softer. The amount downward change is dependent on the value in the display.

Filter Q is affected differently than Level or Filter Cutoff. It raises from the initial setting as you play harder. Also, note that velocity can be set to affect Q inversely. In other words, if the filter is set to a high Q setting, playing harder on the keyboard will lower the Q.

Remember that the velocity-to-envelope Attack setting interacts with the initial envelope Attack settings. Call up the envelope Attack parameters for the filter and VCA and see how different values interact with different velocity values.

Guided Tour No. 4: REALTIME CONTROL

PROGRAMMING

Ever wanted to add vibrato to a grand piano? Or bend its pitch? The Realtime Control functions in the Preset Definition module can do this, and lots more.

Pitch-Bending

First, let’s check out pitch-bending. Pitch-bend can be enabled or disabled for any zone within a preset. Let’s have pitch bend affect only the lower half of the keyboard. Activate Dynamic Processing,

0. Select Zone. Specify the upper half of the keyboard as the current zone.

Next key in Dynamic Processing, 8. Realtime Control Enable. Use the cursor/page buttons to see a list of modulation destinations. Pitch will be set to On. Press Off, and like magic, you can now pitchbend only the lower half of the keyboard. If modulation does not seem to be affecting a zone, make sure that modulation is enabled.

Want to change the pitch bend range? Activate the Preset Definition module, 6. MIDI.

Modulation Wheel Destinations

The Emulator IIIX offers two modulation options: Pre-programmed, which adds a constant, selectable amount of modulation, and Realtime, where the player adds in modulation by using one of the wheels or other controller.

Each Emulator IIIX wheel can be assigned to a particular destination. For example, if the left wheel is assigned to pitch, then rotating the wheel bends pitch. If assigned to the filter, rotating the wheel varies the cutoff frequency.

Let’s set up for the next part of the tour. Choose preset 01 as the current preset if it is not already selected. Activate the Dynamic Processing module and assign the entire keyboard as the current zone if necessary. Select 8. Realtime Control Enable. Use the cursor/ page buttons to select On for all of the Enable options. This will make it easier to hear the results of the next series of experiments.

Now activate the Preset Definition module, 0. Realtime Controls. To make “live” playing as simple as possible, the display works somewhat differently for this module. The display shows:

REALTIME CONTROLS 1 Left Wheel 1 Pitch Select a Controller

Use the data slider to scroll through the available Realtime Control sources and their currently assigned destinations.

■ Emulator IIIX Control Sources 1: Left Wheel 2: Right Wheel 3: Pressure 4: Control Pedal (plugs into rear panel pedal jack) 5: MIDI Control A (can be assigned to any MIDI controller #) 6: MIDI Control B (can be assigned to any MIDI controller #) 7: Footswitch 1 (on your MIDI controller) 8: Footswitch 2 (on your MIDI controller)

■ Emulator IIIX Modulation Destinations 0: Off 5: LFO -> Cutoff 1: Pitch 6: LFO ->VCA 2: VCF Cutoff 7: Pan 3: VCA Level 8: Attack 4: LFO->Pitch 9: Crossfade

■ EIIIX Footswitch Destinations 0: Off 4: Arpeggiator Latch 1: Sustain 5: Preset Increment 2: Cross/Switch 6: Preset Decrement 3: Arpeggiator On/Off

Each of the modulation destinations (0-9) can be controlled by control source 1, 2, 3, or 4, or via data sent over MIDI. Each of the footswitch destinations (0-6) can be controlled by sources 7 and 8.

You’ll be happy to know that Realtime Control settings are memorized for each individual preset, so if desired, each preset can react to the Realtime controls and MIDI controllers in different ways.

Selecting a Control Source and Destination

1. Activate the Preset Definition module, 0. Realtime Controls.

2. Select the left wheel as a control source. Move the cursor down

to the next line. The display will direct you to “Select a Destination”. The left wheel should be assigned to 1: Pitch. Vary the wheel and check that the keyboard pitch is indeed affected. If sections of the keyboard are not affected, check that pitch control is enabled (Dynamic Processing, 8. Realtime Control Enable).

Now try assigning the left wheel to 2: VCF Cutoff. Rotating the wheel towards you should produce a more muted sound.

If you assign 3: VCA Level, the left wheel will affect overall volume.

If you feel adventurous, check out the other control destinations. Note that if you select a destination that is already specified for one of the other control sources, the old assignment will be de-selected and that control source will be turned off (0).

Think about it for a bit... the left wheel can control a destination, the right wheel can control a different one (as can the pedal), and there are MIDI control possibilities as well. These assignments can be different for each preset, and particular controller destinations can be disabled for different presets and samples. We’re talking versatile here, so if you feel like taking out the next couple of hours and checking out all the possibilities, by all means, do so!

Oh yes, and there are footswitches too. But before experimenting with the footswitches (sources 7 and 8), we need to understand the difference between looped and unlooped sounds. Basically, a sustain 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 you to sustain a normally non-sustaining sound for as long as you like. An unlooped sound is not artificially sustained, and therefore lasts its normal length.

■ One control source can control up to six destinations. This can be done by setting more than one source to the same controller number in the MIDI submodule (Preset Definition,

6). For example, by setting right

wheel and pressure to 01, (in the MIDI submodule) the mod. wheel on your controller will now control two sources in the realtime controls submodule.

Keeping this in mind, refer to the Preset Definition module, 0. Realtime Controls, footswitch destinations 0-6. Assign various functions to the footswitches. You will find that some sounds lend themselves to the sustain function better than other sounds, and we heartily encourage you to experiment.

Guided Tour No. 5: BASIC SAMPLING

Sampling involves more than just sticking a microphone in front of something—sampling is an art. This guided tour gives you the basics, and also lays the groundwork for the guided tour of the Digital Processing Module. In preparation for this guided tour, please read section 5, Sample Management module.

■ To connect the EIIIX to S/

PDIF format machines, an

adapter cable wired as shown

above shoud be used. Always

use video-grade cabling when

connecting digital I/O.

Sampling with a DAT Recorder

The EIIIX can sample from either analog or digital sources. Your EIIIX may or may or may not be equipped with the optional analog inputs. Without the analog inputs youwill need to have some sort of device with a digital audio output such as a DAT or stand-alone A/D converter unit. To sample from a DAT recorder, connect the digital output of the DAT to the digital input of the EIIIX. Either the AES/EBU or the consumer S/PDIF formats can be used. By putting the DAT recorder in record/pause mode you can sample directly into the EIIIX just as if it had analog sample inputs. Playing a DAT tape works the same way. For this tour, plug a microphone into the DAT recorder.

Sampling with the Optional Analog Inputs

If you wish to use the analog sampling inputs for this guided tour, simply connect a microphone directly to either the left or right analog input.

■ To connect a standard XLR

type microhone to the analog

input of the EIIIX, an adapter

cable wired as shown above

should be used.

1. Activate the Master/Globals module.

2. Select 3. Erase Bank. Answer Yes to the display's query. This

clears out the memory, which gives us maximum sampling time.

3. Activate the Sample Management Module, 5. Setup. The display shows:

SETUP Gain: -10dB Thresh: | L: on | R: on |

If you are sampling in mono, move the cursor to the input that you are not using and turn it off with the On/Off buttons. Otherwise, leave both channels on.

4. Use the right cursor/page button to view the next page of the Setup section.

SAMPLE SETUP Source: Digital44.1K Length: 5.5secs

200.8 secs Available

Check the available sampling time. This will vary depending on how much memory you have in your EIIIX.

5. Change the source using the data slider to match the type of input you are using. If you are using the analog sample inputs, set

the source to either Analog 29.4 kHz or Analog 44.1 kHz. If you are using the digital inputs, set the source to Digital 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz to match the sample rate of your input device. (If the digital sample is set incorrectly the sample will play back at the wrong pitch.)

6. Use the right cursor/page button to go back to the first page.

SETUP Gain: -10dB Thresh: | L: on | R: on |

With the connection peak into the microphone, you should see the VU meter move, indicating that the EIIIX is receiving signal.

If you are using the analog inputs, place the cursur on line one of the display and use the data slider to adjust the input gain. Speak into the microphone and observe the bar graph display. Adjust the gain so that the peak bar comes close to the extreme right side without actually reaching it. (The gain control has no effect on the digital input.)

If you are using a DAT recorder, make sure the DAT is in record/ pause mode. You should see the bar graph display move as you speak into the mic; if not, check your connections.

7. Go on to the third page of Sample Setup by pressing the right cursor button twice. The display shows:

SAMPLE SETUP(Auto) Truncate: off Normalize: off Placement: 12keys

Set the automatic parameters as shown. The auto-placement parameter determines where the samples we are going to take will be automatically placed. In this case, with auto-placement set at 12 keys, the first sample will be placed on the lowest octave (C1 to B1), the next sample on the next octave up (C2 to B2), and so on.

8. Go back to the first page and set the Threshold using the data slider. Set it up a few bars from the bottom so that the EIIIX does not

trigger on the ambient room noise. Press ENTER to return to the Module Identifier.

9. Select 7. Arm Sampling. You’re ready to sample! Speak into the microphone. As soon as the level exceeds the threshold, the display will say “Sampling.” Chat away freely . If you run out of inspiration, press Escape to stop sampling.

More Sampling

Continue to experiment with sampling. Try setting a particular sample length, or using forced sampling instead of threshold-sensitive sampling, or assigning the sampled sound to other portions of the keyboard. Also, practice terminating the sampling process.

Let’s try another sample. Notice that the EIIIX, will overwrite the existing sample unless you exit an re-enter the sample module. The new sample is automatically assigned to the next higher octave. This assignment can always be modified in the Sample Management module, 6. Place Sample.

Saving the Sample

To save the sample as part of a preset, de-activate the Sample/ Management module. Since memory was cleared prior to sampling, the EIIIX created a preset (00) called “Untitled Preset.” This is the preset that holds your new sample. Had you sampled into a bank with existing presets, the sample would have been stored with the current preset.

Remember, this guided tour is intended simply as an overview to give you a feel for the sampling process. Good sampling requires skill, patience, and above all, practice!

Guided Tour No. 6: DIGITAL PROCESSING

Background and Setup

Digital processing allows you loop samples stored in the bank. In this guided tour we’ll learn how to do this. First, though, we need to create a couple of samples with which we can practice.

1. Clear the bank of memory. Use the Master/Globals module, 3. Erase Bank.

2. Make a sample of yourself speaking. Following the directions in Guided Tour No. 5, select a four second sample length (Sample Management module, 5. Setup). After setting the threshold and other parameters, arm sampling and start jabbering.

3. Take another four second sample. De-activate, then re-activate the module to sample. You will not have to do any setup — just hit

7. Arm Sampling, and talk away. You will then have two samples suitable for experimentation.

4. Assign your samples to a keyboard zone. Use 6. Place Sample.

Choosing the Current Sample

Activate the Digital Processing module. This module acts upon the current sample. To select another sample, press 0. Select Sample.

Truncating A Sample

Use the Digital Processing module, 3. Truncation, to truncate the ends off samples. Vary the data slider as you play a key in the range assigned to the current sample. Notice the start of the sample will disappear. Use this technique to get rid of silence at the start of a sample or for effects. Move the cursor using the up and down arrow keys to the End display. Use the data slider to truncate any undesired part off the end of the sample.

When you are satisfied with your truncating efforts, press ENTER. The EIII makes a backup of the sample on the hard disk, in case you decide that you don’t like the truncation after all.

If desired, change the current sample (Digital Processing, 0. Select Sample) and experiment with truncating the other sample you took.

Looping A Sample

If you haven’t yet done so, activate the Digital Processing Module and assign the current sample.

1. Select 2. Loop to graphically see how looping affects a sample. Since the loop function is on, if you play and hold a key in

the current sample, it will play indefinitely.

2. Try modifying the loop. Adjust the Start and Length values. Note that if the length equals the full length of the sample, you will not be able to set a new start point. Reduce the length, and you should be able to adjust the start point. For practice, try looping individual words or sentence fragments.

A Practice Sampling Session

Plug a microphone into the rear panel right Sample Input jack (or through a DAT into the digital I/O).

1. Erase all memory (Master/Globals, 3. Erase Bank).

2. Set the Sample Source for either Analog or Digital sampling (Sample Management, 5. Setup). “Source” is located on the second

page in the Setup submodule. If you are using the digital inputs, match the sample rate to that of your DAT recorder or the sample will play back at the wrong pitch.

3. Set the level (Sample Management, 5. Setup). Sing Ahhhh into the microphone. (This is an easy sound to loop.) The VU level should not quite reach the top of its range. Adjust the gain using the data slider, until a good level is attained.

4. Set the threshold (Sample Management, 5. Setup). This should be set about five or six bars from the left. When the input sound exceeds this level, recording will start.

5. Select 7. Arm Sampling, to arm the sampling process. OK, now get ready to sing Ahhhhh.

6. Sing Ahhhhh! When you are out of breath, press ENTER to stop sampling.

7. Play the keyboard in the assigned range to hear the results.

The sound should default to the lower keyboard range, C1-B1.

8. Truncate the silence off of the beginning and end of the sound. Activate the Digital Processing module. The EIIIX will

default to the only sample in the unit, which is the one you just made.

Now select 3, Truncation to enable the truncation function. Adjust the start and end points by moving the slider to remove any silence or unwanted portion of the sound. You must play the keyboard after you move the data slider in order to hear the results of the slider change. Press ENTER, then No to exit truncation.

9. Activate the Digital Processing module, 2. Loop. Now we are ready to loop the sound.

To loop, first move the data slider to make the loop length about half a second long. Next, move the start point into the sustained portion of the ahhh sound so that the ticking sound becomes softer. The idea is to loop the “hhh” portion of the “ahhh” but not the “a “ part. The loop length can be adjusted so that it matches the rhythm or wavering of the sound. When you get a fairly good loop press ENTER. The display says: “Auto Correlate? Y/N.” Press Yes. You now should have a fairly good loop. If not, adjust the start point and again Auto Correlate. It takes practice, but you’ll get it.

That’s it! Feel free to play around with other digital and dynamic processors such as the filter, chorus and LFO.

So basically, these are the steps you will go through every time you have a sampling session:

■ Take the sample

■ Truncate the sample

■ Loop the sample, if desired

■ Assign the sample to a keyboard position

■ Continue to refine and make presets

Of course, you will probably develop your own order and style of sampling techniques.

The purpose of this guided tour is to acquaint you with the concept of looping. There is much more to the subject than simply fooling around with looping words from a spoken sample. Please remember too that looping is a very complex process which requires a great deal of practice to achieve proficiency. The best way to fully understand looping is to experiment with a variety of signals.

Time To Save?

Maybe you haven’t created any masterpieces during these experiments...but maybe you have. If you want to save a preset to disk, by all means do so.

More Digital Magic

Let’s play The Backwards Talking Game! In preparation for this fun, erase all memory (Master/Globals, 3. Erase Bank), then take a sample of your voice speaking your own name.

1. Activate the Digital Processing Module.

2. Select 1. Playback Setup. The display shows:

PLAYBACK SETUP Loop Type: forward Loop in Release: on Reverse Playback:off

3. Move the cursor to Reverse Playback and select on. Now play the sample back. It is backwards! Now practice saying your name backwards until you feel that you have learned it well. Think you’ve got it, do you? OK, now sample yourself saying the reversed version

of your name, and then of course..... reverse that. We guarantee loads

of fun and maybe some surprising insights.

Cut and Paste

1. Erase all memory (Master/Globals, 3. Erase Bank).

2. Take yet another sample of your voice. Set the sample length to

about 1.2 seconds. This time say,“Cut and Paste”. Pronounce the words clearly and distinctly.

3. Activate the Digital Processing module, 5. Cut Section. We are going to rearrange this sample phrase to say: Paste and Cut. The display shows:

CUT secs samples Start: 0.00 00000 End: 1.00 44096 Size: 1.00 44096

■ Use the left and right cursor keys to adjust the cut and paste points once you get close. The left and right cursor keys will only select zero crossing points.

The original pitch of the sample will appear on key C4, the fourth C up from the bottom.

4. Move the cursor under End on line three. Adjust the data slider so that only the word “cut” is heard. Press ENTER. The display will inform you that the EIII is backing up the sample, and then will return you to the module identifier.

5. Select 6. Paste. The display shows:

PASTE secs samples Offest: 0.00 00000

Select Location

Adjust the offset past that “tt” sound of the word paste. Again use the left and right cursor keys once you get close. Press ENTER. The sample should now say,”and paste, cut”.

6. Go back to 5. Cut Section. Cut out the word “and” using the same procedure you used for “cut”.

7. Adjust the offset past the “tt” sound of the word paste. Back in 6. Paste Section, use the left and right cursor keys to adjust the offset once you get close. Press ENTER. The sample should now say,”paste and cut”, although it might sound a little strange. That’s the basic technique. Practice makes perfect.

Now that you have gotten a feel for cut and paste, make up your own experiments using the various other options such as mixing and crossfading.

DSP

Let’s try using a couple of DSP functions. In preparation, sample your voice saying “Ahhh” for one second. This time when you sample, set the Gain so that the signal only reaches about halfway up the VU meter at its peak. Also make sure that the sample time runs out before you finish singing so that the sample is cut off prematurely. We’re intentionally creating problems so that we can fix them using Taper and Gain Change.

First, let’s boost the gain to full level using one of the digital tools, Gain Change. The term for this operation is called normalization.

1. Activate the Digital Processing module.

2. Select 8, Digital Tools, 2-Change Gain. The display shows:

GAIN secs samples Start: 0.00 00000 End: 1.00 44096 Size: 1.00 44096

We want to normalize the entire sample (which is already selected), so just press ENTER. The display now shows:

GAIN CHANGE Amount: +00dB

+XXdb = Normalize

where XX is the amount of gain needed to achieve normalization or full level. Set the amount of gain so that it matches the normalization reading and press ENTER. The display shows:

FADE secs samples Start: 0.00 00000 End: 1.00 44096 Size: 1.00 44096

We don’t want a fade in this example, so simply press ENTER to affect the gain change. The sample should now be at a higher volume. Note that you can use the Digital Processing module, 9. Undo to cancel the effects of Gain Change. Use this feature to further experiment with different Gain Change settings.

3. Select 7, Taper. Now let’s taper the end of the sample so that it smoothly fades out instead of ending in a thump. The display shows:

TAPER secs samples Start: 0.00 00000 End: 1.00 44096 Size: 1.00 44096

Move the start point to about 0.70 seconds and press ENTER. The display changes to:

TAPER Start Amount: 0.00db End Amount: -96db Type: Linear

The Start and End amounts on lines two and three are already at the correct settings. There will be no attenuation at the Start point, tapering to full attenuation at the End point of the sample.

4. Move the cursor under the curve Type on line four. Select Exponential Curve 2, then press ENTER. The sample should now smoothly fade out instead of ending abruptly. And remember that Digital Processing, 9. Undo will cancel the effects of Taper. You can use this feature to further experiment with different Taper settings.

Guided Tour No. 7: MANAGING THE BANK

The following functions don’t necessarily do terribly glamorous things, but they are exceedingly useful for managing your banks of sound data. This guided tour acquaints you with these utilities. To see how they work, load any bank from the hard disk.

Erasing A Preset

Activate the Preset Management module, 3. Erase Preset and erase preset 01. Don’t worry, it will just be gone from the bank, not the disk. And we can get it back anyway by...

Loading A Preset

Refer again to the Preset Management module, 1. Load Preset. This time load preset 01. Now it’s back in the bank again.

This is the basic method for creating a bank with presets from other banks. The bank can only be saved as a whole. Therefore, individual presets are loaded into the bank, and when the bank is arranged to your specifications, it is then saved to disk.

Other Bank Management Functions

The other bank management functions, including copy, rename, create, and preset size, are pretty much self-explanatory. Refer to the Preset Management module, 4. Copy Preset, 2. Rename Preset, 5. Create Preset, and 6. Preset Size. Try these various functions to get a feel for how they work.

Guided Tour No. 8: ON YOUR OWN

The proceeding guided tours cover only the basics. To cover every possibility of how to use the XP would drown you in words. It’s better that you just start playing! The best way to learn the EIIIX is to power up and dive right in. Remember, you can experiment as much as you want on stuff in the bank. You have to actually save the bank to disk in order to alter the contents of the disk. In case you’re a nervous type, you can even lock the disk.

Try to spend some time not playing, but rather practicing, with the instrument. After you’re a bit more familiar with the EIIIX, read the Manual and delve deeply into a particular module or function. The Emulator Three XP is like an audio construction set, where sounds can be captured, held, processed, mutated, sped up, slowed down... and so much more. Take advantage of all it has to offer.

The more you practice with your EIIIX, the more you’ll be able to put your personal stamp on the music you play. And when you do play, you’ll know the instrument well enough so that you are free to concentrate solely on your music. Because that's what matters.

4-MASTER/GLOBALS

1. MASTER TUNE 4-2

2. RENAME BANK 4-3

3. ERASE BANK 4-4

4. DYNAMIC ALLOCATION 4-5

5. SAVE AS EIII BANK 4-6

6. MEMORY AVAILABLE 4-7

7. DISK UTILITIES 4-8

0. SCSI Setup 4-9

1. Mount Drives 4-10

2. Rename Disk Bank 4-10

3. Erase Disk Bank 4-11

4. Copy Software 4-12

5. Lock Bank and Drive 4-13

6. Disk Status 4-14

7. Format Disk 4-15

8. Backup 4-17

9. Erase Software 4-20

8. SPECIAL 4-21

1. Audition Key 4-22

2. Recalibrate 4-22

3. Contrast 4-23

4. Headroom 4-24

5. Main Output Format 4-25

6. Software Version 4-25

7. Disable Channels 4-26

8. Volume Curve 4-28

9. FX Modes 4-30

9. MIDI 4-31

1. MIDI Mix 4-32

2. MIDI Globals 4-33

3. MIDI Load Bank 4-34

4. MIDI Volume Pedal 4-35

5. MIDI Volume/Pan 4-35

6. Multimode Enable 4-36

0. IMPORT OPTIONS 4-37

1. MASTER TUNE

Master Tune adjusts the tuning of all the samples in the current bank, so that you can tune the Emulator IIIX to other instruments.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select Submodule 1.

3. Select the desired tuning offset. This is variable from -100 (one

semitone below concert pitch) to +100 (one semitone above concert pitch).

4. Select the Transpose amount. Transpose allows you to transpose the EIIIX without the use of a keyboard. The transpose range is ± one octave.

MASTER TUNE Offset:+ 0.0 cents Transpose: off Select Tuning Offset

5. Press ENTER to exit the submodule. The EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

This submodule allows you to rename any bank.

2. RENAME BANK

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select Submodule 2.

3. Rename the bank. Choose the characters to be changed with the

left and right cursor buttons. Select the desired characters by using the ten key pad, data slider and keyboard. You can also use the up cursor to insert spaces and the down cursor to delete spaces.

RENAME BANK B01 Current Bank

[0-9]/Slider/Keyboard

4. Press ENTER to exit the submodule. The EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier

■ Use the data slider to access the full character set. The keyboard does not have enough keys to access all available characters.

■ An EIIIX bank will always have an “X” as the last character of the name in order to differentiate it from a standard EIII bank.

3. ERASE BANK

Erasing a bank erases ALL the memory in the Emulator IIIX, which includes all samples, presets, and sequences.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select Submodule 3.

3. Decide if you really want to erase the bank. The display will

inform you that you are about to erase all samples, presets, and sequences in the current bank.

■ After erasing the bank, the

EIIIX will automatically create

an empty preset for you.

ERASE BANK Erases All Presets, & Samples! Are You Sure? Y/N

4. Press Yes to erase the bank or No to cancel the operation. In either case, the EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

4. DYNAMIC ALLOCATION

This function (when on) bypasses the channel assignments made in the Channel Assignment submodule of the Dynamic Processing module, and allows all of the 32 voices to be assigned in a circular manner as needed.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select Submodule 4.

3. Select whether dynamic allocation is on or off.

DYNAMIC ALLOCATION Mode: off

Select on/off

4. Press ENTER to exit the submodule. The EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

5. SAVE AS EIII BANK

This function allows you to save an EIIIX bank in the original EIII bank format so that it can be read by an EIII (the EIII is the predecessor of the EIIIX). If the bank you are trying to save exceeds 8 Mb, or has more then 100 presets or 100 samples, you will not be allowed to save as an EIII bank.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select Submodule 6.

3. If necessary, select the drive to which the bank will be saved.

The EIIIX will default to the current drive. If you want to choose a different drive, place the cursor under the drive number in line two of the display, select the appropriate drive and press ENTER.

SAVE E3 BANK into D3 Syquest SQ555

Select a Drive

4. Select the bank number to which the bank will be saved. Empty banks will be indicated as such, along with their bank number on line three. Or, you can overwrite an existing bank.

SAVE E3 BANK into D3 Syquest SQ555 B02 Rik 12 String Select a Bank

5. After selecting the bank number and drive, press ENTER. The display will say “Saving Bank”. After a few seconds, the bank will be saved. The display will revert to the preset selection screen.

6. MEMORY AVAILABLE

Memory Available shows how much of each type of memory is available, both as a percentage of available memory and in bytes. For example, if you have used up 90.0% of the available preset memory, the display will show that there is 10.0% preset memory remaining.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select Submodule 6.

3. Observe the display. Line three shows the percentage and amount

of preset memory available. Line four shows the percentage and amount of sample memory available. Line four shows the number of sequencer events available.

MEMORY AVAILABLE Preset: 99.8% 127K

Sample: 100% 32.0M

4. Press ENTER to exit the submodule. The EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

Memory Defragment: When samples are erased or truncated, the memory is left fragmented until the bank is saved to disk. Fragmented memory may limit new sample size , even though you have plenty of memory left. This hidden function allows you to manually defragment.

1. Press the Inc/Yes button while in Memory Available.

COLLECT SAMPLE MEM

Collect Memory? Y/N

2. Press Yes to collect the samples, No to exit the submodule.

7. DISK UTILITIES

Disk Utilities Include several additional numbered sub-sections. Here are brief descriptions of each sub-section. More extensive descriptions follow.

■ 0. SCSI Setup: Allows you to change the EIIIX's SCSI ID number

■ 1. Mount Drives: Instructs the Emulator IIIX to check the SCSI bus

■ 2. Rename Disk Bank: Allows you to change the name of any

■ 3. Erase Disk Bank: Allows you to erase any bank from any of the

■ 4. Copy Software: Allows you to update and make new copies of

■ 5. Lock Bank and Drive: Prevents a specific bank and/or drive

and configure SCSI for a McIntosh on the bus.

for the presence of SCSI devices.

bank on any of the available hard drives.

available hard drives.

the operating software supplied on a floppy disk by E-mu Systems or your authorized dealer.

from being overwritten.

■ 6. Disk Status: For a hard disk drive, this function displays the

amount of space that is available, and if the drive is locked or not. For floppy disks this function indicates if it is a software disk, the name and number of a bank disk, and if the disk is blank.

■ 7. Format Disk: Initializes a floppy disk, or the hard drive, to store

Emulator IIIX data.

■ 8. Backup and Restore: Although E-mu has taken every precau-

tion to ensure reliable components, hard disk drives can fail from time to time. This function allows you to backup the hard disk contents on another hard disk or other SCSI media, and if necessary, re-construct the hard disk from the data on the backup disk.

■ 9. Erase Software: Allows you to erase the EIIIX software from a

hard disk drive.

■ 0. SCSI SETUP

This utility allows you to change the SCSI ID number of the EIIIX itself (not it's internal hard disk) in the event that it conflicts with a device on the SCSI bus having the same ID number.

The SCSI interface, located as a 25-pin connector on the back panel, allows the EIIIX to communicate with external storage devices. The EIIIX can support seven SCSI devices (including it's internal HD if it has one). Each device on the SCSI bus has it’s own ID number so that it can distinguish its data from data meant for other SCSI devices. If a SCSI device is added to your system which has the same ID number as an existing device, a SCSI error would occur. To remedy this situation, the ID number on the new device will have to be changed. Consult the operation manual of the external device for information on changing the SCSI ID number.

The EIIIX also contains special SCSI software that allows two “master” devices (the EIIIX and a McIntosh) to coexist on the SCSI bus. If you have a Macintosh computer connected to the EIIIX SCSI bus, the Mac on SCSI bus function should be turned On.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 7. Disk Utilities, 0. SCSI Setup (7/0).

3. Select the new SCSI ID number.

SCSI SETUP EIIIX SCSI ID: 5

Mac on SCSI Bus: no

4. If a Macintosh is present on the SCSI bus, turn “Mac on SCSI Bus” On.

5. Press ENTER to exit the submodule. The EIIIX will save your

choices to the System and return to the Module Identifier.

■ 1. Mount Drives

This utility instructs the EIIIX to check the SCSI bus for the presence of SCSI devices.

■ Use the "Mount Drives" util-

ity whenever an external SCSI

device does not appear on the

list of available devices.

If a SCSI device has been powered up after the Emulator IIIX, it will not appear in the list of available devices. The Mount Drives utility tells the EIIIX to check the SCSI bus and to add any SCSI devices that it finds to its list of available SCSI devices. Normally, if the external devices are powered up before the EIIIX, this will be done automatically.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 7. Disk Utilities, 1. Mount Drives (7/1).

3. The Emulator IIIX will mount the drives, then return to the Module Identifier.

■ 2. Rename Disk Bank

This function allows you to name your banks.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 7. Disk Utilities, 2. Rename Disk Bank (7/2).

3. Select an installed drive, then press ENTER.

RENAME DISK BANK

D1 QUANTUM LP1055 B01 12 String X Select a Drive

4. Select the bank to be renamed, then press ENTER.

5. Rename the bank. Choose the characters to be changed with the

left and right cursor buttons. Select the desired characters by using the ten key pad, data slider and keyboard. You can also use the up cursor to insert spaces and the down cursor to delete spaces.

RENAME DISK BANK

either case, the EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

■ The display will advise you if you try to erase a bank or drive that is locked. Unlock the bank and/or drive before proceeding.

■ The “X” at the end of the bank name indicates that the bank is an EIIIX bank.

D1 QUANTUM LP1055 B01 12 String X [0-9]/Slider/Kybd

5. Press ENTER to exit the submodule. The EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

■ 3. Erase Disk Bank

With this utility, banks can be erased from any of the available drives.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 7. Disk Utilities, 3. Erase Bank (7/3).

3. If you wish to select a different drive, press the up cursor. If not, proceed to step 5.

4. Select the drive containing the bank to be erased, then press ENTER.

ERASE DISK BANK D1 QUANTUM LP1055 B01 12 String X Select a Drive

5. Select the bank to be erased, then press ENTER.

ERASE DISK BANK D1 QUANTUM LP1055 B01 12 String X Select a Bank

6. Decide if in fact you want to erase the selected bank. The display will ask if you’re sure.

7. Press Yes to erase the bank or No to cancel the operation. In

■ If there is not enough

sample memory left to accom-

modate the new software, the

display will ask if you want to

erase the bank. Press Yes to

erase the bank and continue

loading software from the

drive. Press No to cancel the

operation so that you can save

the bank first, before copying

the new software.

■ 4. Copy Software

From time to time, the E-mu engineers devise new operating system software intended to enhance or add new features to the EIIIX’s existing capabilities. This software is distributed on a floppy disk. Software should be copied over to the hard disk so that the new system will automatically load whenever you turn on the EIIIX. The system software should be resident on only one hard disk drive in your equipment setup. If you do not install new software on the hard disk you will have to load it from the floppy disk each time you power up the machine.

Each version of the operating system is numbered, and is indicated when you select 8. Special, 6. Software Version (8/6). Copying software on to the hard disk will not change any other data like samples, presets, and sequences. It is a good idea to keep at least two backup copies of the system software on floppy disk.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

■ If you copied new software

to the boot drive, now is a good

time to power the Emulator IIIX

off and on.

■ If the disk you are copying to

is an unformatted floppy, you

will be asked if you wish to

format the disk. Press Yes to

format the floppy disk, or insert

a formatted disk and press No.

2. Select 7. Disk Utilities, 4. Copy Software (7/4).

3. Select the drive containing the new software and press ENTER. Usually this will be the floppy drive. After pressing ENTER,

the display will inform you that the new software is being loaded.

COPY SOFTWARE from D0 Floppy Drive

Select a Drive

4. Select the destination drive for the new software and press ENTER. Typically, this will be the Emulator IIIX’s internal hard disk

drive. After pressing ENTER, the software will be copied and the EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

COPY SOFTWARE into D0 Floppy Drive D1 Quantum LP1055 Select a Drive

■ 5. Lock Bank and Drive

If you don’t want to risk curious hands unintentionally erasing a bank or drive, here’s a safeguard. A complete drive or any bank within that drive can be locked against inadvertent erasure or tampering, and subsequently unlocked as needed.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 7. Disk Utilities, 5. Lock Bank/Drive (7/5).

3. If you want to lock a drive or change the current drive, press the up cursor button. If not, go on to step 6. The display will show

the current drive and its lock status, whether on or off.

LOCK DRIVE: off D1 Current Drive

Select a Drive

4. Select the drive to be locked or unlocked, then press ENTER.

5. Select whether lock is on or off, then press ENTER.

6. Select the bank to be locked or unlocked, then press ENTER.

The display will show the current bank and its lock status, whether on or off.

LOCK BANK: off D1 Selected Drive B00 Current Bank Select a Bank

7. Select whether lock is on or off, then press ENTER. The EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

▼ When using multiple EIIIX's, the bank will only be locked when accessed from the EIIIX that locked it. Any other EIIIX on the SCSI buss can still erase the bank.

■ This function will not let you lock a floppy disk. To lock a floppy, open the write-protect window on the disk.

■ 6. Disk Status

This function displays the amount of space that is available on a hard disk drive and if the drive is locked or not. For floppy disks, this function indicates if it is a software disk, the name and number of a bank disk, or if the disk is blank.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 7. Disk Utilities, 6. Disk Status (7/6).

3. Select a drive, then press ENTER. If selecting the floppy drive,

insert a disk before pressing ENTER.

DISK STATUS D0 Floppy Drive

Select a Drive

4. One of the following displays will appear:

DISK STATUS D1 Main Drive Avail: 20.7% 8.49Mb 88 Banks Unlocked

DISK STATUS D0 Floppy Drive Software: Ver. 1.0 Software Floppy Disk

DISK STATUS D0 Floppy Drive

Floppy Disk is Blank

5. To select another disk, press ENTER and return to step 3.

6. Press the Master/Globals button to exit the submodule. The

EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

■ 7. Format Disk

Before a new floppy disk or hard disk can record or store any data, it first must be told how to record this data. This is called formatting. The floppy disk formatting procedure should be run 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 IIIX.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 7. Disk Utilities, 7. Format Disk (7/7).

3. Select the drive to be formatted and press ENTER. The EIIIX will

default to the floppy drive.

FORMAT DISK D0 Floppy Drive

■ Formatting a floppy disk will not erase the bank currently in memory.

Select a Drive

4. Consider the implications of your action. Formatting a floppy or hard disk erases all information on that disk completely. The display will inquire if in fact you want to do this.

5. Press Yes to continue the formatting procedure or No to cancel the operation and return to the Module Identifier.

6. If in step 3 you selected the floppy drive, insert a floppy disk, and press ENTER. Formatting takes about 20 seconds.

7. After formatting a floppy disk, format another, if desired. The

display will ask if you want to format another floppy. To do this, press Yes, remove the current disk, insert a new disk, and press ENTER. Otherwise, press No to cancel the operation and return to the Module Identifier.

■ The recommended type of

R/W Optical drive for the

EIIIX uses the Sony type

cartridge. Brand names

include Sony, Pinnacle, PLI,

and Alphatronics to name a

few.

FORMATTING HARD DISKS

This works exactly like formatting a floppy disk except when the display asks you to "Select a Drive", you should select the hard disk instead of the floppy. If the hard disk is not listed, use Disk Utilities 1, to Mount Drive. The hard disk drive should now be listed. Formatting a hard drive takes several minutes, depending on the size of the HD.

R/W OPTICAL DISKS

Read/Write Optical disks are formatted in the same way as a hard disk. Use optical disk cartridges with 512 bytes/sector rather than the 1024 byte/sector type. New optical disk cartridges usually come with the "low level" formatting already in place. If so, the disk will format normally. If this low level formatting has not been performed, the EIIIX will interrupt the formatting process and show a "SCSI Hardware Error". If this happens, follow the procedure for Low Level formatting on the next page, then format the disk in the normal way.

Note: Optical disks always verify the data as it is written and so do not require the long verify process that occurs after formatting has been completed. You can save hours of time by ejecting the cartridge and re-booting the system after the "VERIFYING FORMAT" message appears in the EIIIX display (about 10 seconds).

HARD DISK INTERLEAVE

The Emulator Three contains an internal list of recognized hard disk drives. The list contains parameter information designed to optimize the interface between the EIIIX and the drive. The following hard disk drive brands are currently listed:

■ Miniscribe 2:1 interleave

■ Rodime 2:1 interleave

■ CDC 1:1 interleave

■ Syquest 1:1 interleave

■ Qume 4:1 interleave

■ Quantum 1:1 interleave

Other hard disk brands will probably also work. If in doubt, the best idea is to try out the drive with the EIIIX before you buy it. If your brand of hard drive is not listed but works with the EIIIX, you may be able to optimize its performance even further.

8. There is a hidden menu when the display asks: "Are You Sure?".

Before choosing Yes or No you may choose one of the following hard disk interleave options:

0--- Uses the EIIIX's default interleave for the type of HD.

Fast 1--- 1:1 interleave

2--- 2:1 interleave (this is the EIIIX's default setting) 3--- 3:1 interleave 4--- 4:1 interleave 5--- 5:1 interleave 6--- 6:1 interleave 7--- 7:1 interleave

Slow 8--- 8:1 interleave

9--- Optical Disk Low Level Formatting

After formatting the HD, measure the time it takes to save a file to the hard disk using the different interleaves. The fastest one wins! The lower the interleave ratio, the faster the hard disk.

Option #9 allows you to perform a low level format on a "virgin" optical platter (of the Sony type only). Most optical disks that you buy will already have this low level formatting, but some don't and will not be recognized by the EIIIX. This utility allow you to perform the function. This takes about 25 minutes, so don't do it unless absolutely necessary.

■ 8. Backup

This module allows you to backup and restore a portion or the entire contents of the hard disk. This function makes it so easy that you really will have no excuse for not backing up all your hard disk banks. If you'd hate to lose it, BACK IT UP.

To Backup to another Hard Disk:

1. When the display asks you for the source drive (from), select the disk drive to be backed-up, then press ENTER.

BACKUP from D0 Main Drive

Select a Drive

▼ In order to use the back-up function, BOTH drives must be unlocked.

▼ A disk drive cannot be

backed-up to itself.

2. The display asks you for the destination drive (into). Select the disk drive to which the information will be saved, then press ENTER.

BACKUP into D0 Main Drive D1 Removable Media Select a Drive

3. Select between Automatic or Interactive backup modes.

BACKUP from D0 Main Drive D1 Removable Media Mode: Interactive

■ Automatic Mode : transfers the complete contents of the source hard disk (or just the updated banks) to the destination drive without prompting you at each bank.

■ Interactive Mode: transfers the banks of the source hard disk drive to the destination drive, but prompts you to select each source and destination bank.

4. Select the backup mode and press ENTER.

5. Select the Bank Type. The display shows:

BACKUP from D0 Main Drive D1 Removable Media Bank Type: All

■ All: Copies all the banks on your hard disk.

■ Updated: Copies only those banks which have been modified since

your last back up.

■ Range: Copies a selected range of disk banks.

6. Select the bank type and press ENTER. If you selected All or

Updated as the bank type, the screen shown in step 7 will appear.

If you selected Range as the bank type the following screen will appear:

BACKUP Low Range: D0 Main Drive D1 Removable Media 13 Baby Burps X

7. Select the low bank of the range. In this menu, you select the lowest bank in the range of banks which will be copied to the destination hard disk.

■ The “X” at the end of the bank name indicates that the bank is an EIIIX bank.

BACKUP High Range: D0 Main Drive D1 Removable Media 22 Dog Barks X

8. Select the high bank of the range.

9. Press ENTER when the highest bank in the range has been selected. The following screen will appear:

BACKUP D0 Main Drive D1 Removable Media Bank Dest: SameBank

■ Same Bank: Copies the banks into the same numbered bank locations on the destination disk.

■ Empty Bank: Copies the banks into the lowest consecutive empty bank locations on the destination disk.

10. Select the bank destination and press ENTER. The display will inquire if you are sure. Press Yes if you are, and backup will proceed. Press No to cancel the operation and return to the Module Identifier.

During the Backup procedure, the display will show the banks being copied.

To Restore:

To restore your backed-up disk, simply reverse the source and destination drives following the directions for backup.

■ 9. Erase Software

With this function, software can be erased from any of the hard disk drives. If the EIIIX operating system software has been copied onto more than one hard disk, you might want to erase it so that the EIIIX will boot from a particular drive. This utility allows you to do it.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 7. Disk Utilities, 9. Erase Software (7/9).

3. Select the drive containing the software to be erased, then press ENTER.

ERASE SOFTWARE D0 Main Drive

Select a Drive

4. Decide if you really want to erase the software. The display will ask if you really want to do this.

5. Press Yes to erase the software or No to cancel the operation.

In either case, the EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

This section contains several additional numbered functions. Here are short descriptions of each sub-module. More extensive descriptions follow.

■ 1. Audition Key: Allows the Emulator IIIX to be played without a keyboard. This function sets the key that will be played when the Audition button on the front panel is pressed.

■ 2. Recalibrate: Allows you to recalibrate the action of the data and volume sliders on the front panel.

■ 3. Contrast: This function allows you to adjust the contrast of the front panel LCD .

■ 4. Headroom: Allows you to adjust the amount of available head- room of the EIII's D/A converters.

■ 5. Main Output Format: This function adjusts the EIIIX for optimum performance when using either the main analog outputs or the digital I/O.

■ 6. Software Version: States the current version of the operating system software.

8. SPECIAL

■ 7. Disable Channels: If an Emulator IIIX output channel fails, you can locate and disable it with this function.

■ 8. Volume Curve: Allows you to select 1 of 8 volume response curves. These curves are applied to any controller that affects the final volume, such as volume envelope, MIDI volume, etc.

■ To Access Any of the Special Functions:

1. Activate Master/Globals.

2. Select Submodule 8 and press ENTER.

3. Select the desired function in Submodule 8 and press ENTER.

■ The Audition button allows you to preview samples directly from the hard disk when you are in the “Load Sample” screen.

■ 1. Audition Key

This screen allows you to set the key that will be played when the Audition button on the front panel is pressed. The audition button allows you to audition sounds from the EIIIX with having a MIDI keyboard connected.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 8. Special, 1. Audition Key (8/1).

3. Select the pitch to be auditioned when the audition button is pressed.

AUDITION KEY Pitch: C3

Select a Pitch

5. Press ENTER to exit the submodule. The EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

■ 2. Recalibrate

With this function you can set minimum and maximum values for the data and volume sliders. If you feel that the sliders are not working correctly, it may be time to recalibrate.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 8. Special, 2. Recalibrate (8/2).

3. Select the controller to be recalibrated using the inc/dec buttons, then press ENTER. Moving the slider shows the current

range of movement. The values should range from 000-255.

RECALIBRATE 1 Data Slider Value: 255 Select a Controller

4. Move the slider to the minimum position, then press ENTER.

The display now shows the pre-processed values for the slider.

RECALIBRATE 1 Data Slider Min: 000E Set Minimum Value

5. Move the slider to the maximum position, then press ENTER.

RECALIBRATE 1 Data Slider Min: 000E Max: 0302 Set Maximum Value

6. Check the movement of the slider. The value shown should

range from 000-255. Press ENTER.

7. To save the calibration, press Yes. To cancel the calibration,

press No. In either case, the display will jump ahead to the next

slider to be recalibrated. When both sliders have been recalibrated, the EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

■ 3. Contrast

This function allows you to change the viewing angle of the LCD so that it may be easily read from either above or below. The angle is adjustable from +7 to -8. Positive values make the display easier to read when viewed from below. Negative values make the display easier to read from above.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 8. Special , 3. Contrast (8/3)

3. Select the desired contrast setting.

■ The headroom adjustment also controls the level on the digital audio output.

CONTRAST Contrast: -2

Select Contrast

4. Press ENTER to exit the submodule. The EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

■ 4. Headroom

Headroom is the amount of dynamic range remaining before clipping will occur. Sampling instruments are quite different from a CD player, since a sampler plays multiple channels at once. Each channel boosts the headroom requirement by 3 dB. The amount of headroom on the EIIIX is adjustable from 0 dB to 15 dB in 1 dB increments (with the front panel volume control set to maximum). A headroom setting of 0 dB for example, will provide the hottest output level, (and the highest signal to noise ratio) but may cause “clipping” if too many notes are played at once. The default headroom setting is 10 dB, which maintains an excellent signal to noise ratio while keeping a reasonable amount of headroom in reserve. If you hear clipping from the EIIIX, raise the amount of headroom. The headroom setting is retained when power is switched off.

1. Activate Master/Globals module.

2. Select 8. Special , 4. Headroom (8/4)

3. Select the desired amount of headroom. The amount of remain-

ing headroom is variable from 0 dB to 15 dB in 1 dB increments.

HEADROOM Headroom: 10dB

Select Headroom

4. Press ENTER to exit the submodule. The EIIIX will return to the Module Identifier.

E-Mu Emulator IIIX User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual