E-mu Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Reference Manual

E-MU Systems 1

Reference Manual

Ver si on 3.0

E-MU World Headquarters

E-MU Systems

1500 Green Hills Road

Scotts Valley, CA 95066

USA

Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East

Creative Technology Ltd

31 International Business Park

Creative Resource, Singapore 609921

SINGAPORE

2 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Europe

Creative Labs (Ireland) Ltd

Ballycoolin Business Park

Blanchardstown, Dublin 15

IRELAND

Japan

Creative Media K. K.

Kanda Eight Bldg., 3F

4-6-7 Soto-Kanda

Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0021

JAPAN

1 - Introduction & Installation ......................................... 15

Introduction .........................................................................................................................15

Emulator X3 Features .................................................................................................... ..15

Streaming ................ ....................................... ........................................ .......................15

Sampling ....................... .............................................. ................................................ ..15

Synthesizer .................. ..................... ..................... ..................... .................... ...............16

Before you Begin… ...........................................................................................................16

Notes, Tips and Warnings ................................................................................. ..........16

Tutorial List .. .....................................................................................................................16

What’s New in X2 ............................................................................................................17

New in X3 .........................................................................................................................17

Minimum System Requirements........................................................................................18

Software Installation............................................................................................................18

Programs installed: ................................................................ ......................................18

Running the Application for the First Time........................... ............................................19

Setting up your Audio..........................................................................................................20

Setting up the Preferences ...................................................................................................21

Audio Preferences ........................... .................................................................................22

Streaming ................ ....................................... ........................................ .......................22

Audio Setup ..................................................................................................................23

MIDI ................. ........................................ ...................................... ...................................26

MIDI Inputs .................. ............................................ .. ............................................ ......26

MIDI Response ................................ .............................................. ...............................27

Controllers .............. ....................... ......................... ......................... ......................... ........28

Appearance Settings in Windows ................................. ..............................................29

Other Settings ............... ........................................................................................ ........29

2 - Emulator Architecture ................................................ 31

Organization of the Emulator X Modules ....................... .. ................................................31

A Modular System................................................................................................................32

Bank ..................................................................................................................................32

Saving ............................................................................................................................32

Undo/Redo ................... ................................................ .............................................. ..32

Multisetup ............... ........................... ........................... ........................... .....................34

Preset .............................................................................................................................34

Voice .................... ............................... ............................... ................................ ............34

Sample ..................... .... ...... ...... ..... ...... .... ...... .... ....... .... ...... ...... ..... ...... .... ...... ..... ...... ... ...35

Flexible Architecture ........................................................................................................35

Preset Diagram .......................................... .......................................................................36

Voices ................................................................................................................................36

Multisample Voices ......................................................................................................37

The Sample .......................................................................................................................38

TwistaLoop™ ................................................................................................................39

E-MU Systems 3

3 - Getting Started .......................................................... 41

Exploring the Tree...................................................................................................... ..........41

Multisetup Page....................................................................................................................42

Changing Presets (from Single View) ............................ ................................................43

Multi Channel View ...................... ...................................................................................44

Changing Presets (from the Multichannel view) ....................... ...................................45

Adjusting the Controllers ................................................................................................45

Create Your Own Custom Bank .........................................................................................47

Load a New Bank .................................................................................................................49

Opening a Preset....................................................................................... ...........................49

Examine a Voice.......................................... .........................................................................52

Wipe the Slate ...............................................................................................................53

Examine the Samples........................................................................................................... 54

Using DSP ................................................................... ......................................................55

Experiment! ..................................................................................................................57

Save and Save As ..............................................................................................................57

Emulator X Bank Structure ...................................... ........................................................57

Building a Preset from the Ground Up................. .............................................................58

Emulator X Advanced Applications Guide .......... ......................................................65

The Librarian ................................ ........................................................................................66

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals ........................................ 69

The Multisetup.............. ........................................... ............................................ .................69

Changing Presets (from Single View) ............................ ................................................70

Multi Channel View ...................... ...................................................................................71

The Current MIDI Channel ..................................... ....................................................72

MIDI Channel ............................... .............................................. .................................72

Preset Assignment ......................................... .............................................. .................72

Channel Volume ...... .. .......................................................................................... ........72

Channel Pan ................... .............................................. .............................................. ..72

Output Assignment ......................................................................................................72

Output View Button .....................................................................................................73

Aux FX View Buttons ....................................................................................................73

Aux Send On/Off .........................................................................................................73

Preset FX Enables .........................................................................................................73

Select Effect ...................................................................................................................73

TwistaLoop Override ...................................................................................................73

Global Controls... .................................................................................................................74

Master Volume Control & VU Meter ........................................................... ...............74

Tempo Control .............................................................................. ...............................74

Master Tune ..................................................................................................................74

Master Transpose .........................................................................................................74

Limiter ................. ....................................... ........................................ ...........................74

Aux Outputs ..................................................................................................................75

Using the Emulator Sessions in PatchMix DSP .........................................................75

Filter Override .............. ............................................ .. ............................................ ......77

MIDI Controllers & Scribble Strips ............. ...............................................................77

Pre-roll RAM Used .......................................................................................................77

CPU Meter ....................................................................................................................77

Number of Samples Playing .......................................................................................77

Current Channel ..........................................................................................................77

Working with Multisetups...................................................................................................78

Saving FX & Multisetups ..............................................................................................78

VSTi Multisetups ........... ............................................................................................ ....78

4 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Preset Globals................................................................. .. ............................................ ........80

Transpose & Volume ........................................................................................................81

Initial Controllers A-P .....................................................................................................81

Capture MIDI Controllers ...................... .. .......................................................................82

TwistaLoop Lock To Tempo ............................................................................................82

Initial Tempo ....................................................................................................................82

Tuning Tables ...................................................................................................................83

Key CC Window ...............................................................................................................85

Preset Modulators ....................................... .............................................. .......................85

Channel Lag 1 & 2 Rate .............. .. ...............................................................................85

Poly Key Timer ..................................................................... ........................................86

Channel Ramp ............................................................... ..............................................86

Preset PatchCords ........................... .. .............................................. .............................87

Templates ................ .................... ..................... ................... ..................... .................... .....87

5 - Voices & Sample Zones ............................................... 89

Voices and Zones Pages.......................................................................................................90

Mix/Tune ..................... ............... .............. ............. .............. ............... ............... ........... .90

Key Win ................................... ............................................ ..........................................90

Vel Win ................................................. .........................................................................90

RT Win ....................... ....................................................................................................90

CC Win 1-5 ..................... ..............................................................................................90

Region ...........................................................................................................................90

Details ...........................................................................................................................90

Voice Selection ....................... .............................................. ................................................ 91

Manipulating Voices ........................................................................................................91

Working With Multiple Voices .......................................................................................91

Samples & Multisamples . ................................................ .............................................. ..92

Groups ..............................................................................................................................93

Sorting Voices and Zones ................................................................................................93

The Keyboard Display .....................................................................................................94

Overview Section.............. .. .......................................................................................... ........95

Sample Controls ...............................................................................................................95

Sample ..................... .... ...... ...... ..... ...... .... ...... .... ....... .... ...... ...... ..... ...... .... ...... ..... ...... ... ... 95

Original Key ....................................... ...........................................................................95

Group ............................................................................................................................95

Direction .......................................................................................................................95

Mix Tune Controls ...........................................................................................................96

Mute ..............................................................................................................................96

Solo ........................ ...... .... ...... ..... ...... .... ...... .... ....... ...... .... ...... ..... ...... .... ...... ....... .... .. ......96

Volume .................. ......................... ......................... ......................... ....................... ......96

Pan ......................... .................. ................. ................... ................... ................ ...............96

Fine Tune ......................................................................................................................96

Coarse Tune ............................... ................................................................................... 96

Transpose .................. ............................... ............................... ................................ ......96

Key Win, Velocity Win, RT Win, and CC Win Controls ......... ......................................96

Direction ................. ............................................. .............................................. ...............97

Adding Samples and Voices................................................................................................97

Mix/Tune Page......................................................................................................................99

Key Window Page .................. .............................................. ................................................99

Using Values to Define Key Window Parameters ......................................................102

Velocity Window Page...................................................................................................... 103

Using Values to Define Velocity Window Parameters ............................................... 104

Realtime Window Page......................................... .. ..........................................................105

E-MU Systems 5

Using Values to Define Realtime Window Parameters ............................................. 107

Continuous Controller Window Pages.............................. .. ........................................... 108

Keyboard CC Window......................................................................................................109

Cycle Groups ............................................................................................................. 111

Using Values to Define CC Window Paramet er s ...... ................................................. 114

Region Page ............................ .............................................. ............................................. 115

Creating or Editing a Region .................................................................................... 116

Region View Controls ................................................................ ... ................................ 116

Sample Zoom and Scroll Controls ................ ................................................... .......116

Sensitivity ................ ........................... ........................... ........................... .................. 116

Snap Settings and Markers ....................................................................................... 117

Region Xplode .................................................................... ........................................... 117

More About Regions .................................................................................................118

Details Page ................ ........................................... ............................................................119

Voice & Sample Zone Utilities ............................... ................................................. .. .......120

Open Voices ........................................................ .............................................. .........120

Open Sample ............................. ............................................. ................................... 120

New Voice ............... .. .................................................................................................120

Delete Voices .......................... ................................................................................... 120

Duplicate Voices ............................................................................................... .........120

Combine Voices ...................................................................................... ..................120

Expand Voice ............................................................................................................. 121

New Sample Zone ..................................................................................................... 121

Delete Sample Zones ................................................................................................121

Duplicate Sample Zones ........ ................................................ ................................... 121

Sort Voices ................................................................................................................. 12 1

Sort Zones ....................... ...........................................................................................121

New Group ................................................................................................................ 121

Select Group .............................................................................................................. 121

Clear All Solos and Mutes ........................................................................................121

Edit Menu Utilities - Cut, Copy & Paste....................................................................... ...122

Links................................................................................................................................... 123

Link Utilities ............................................................................. ..................................... 124

Subsuming Links .................................................... .......................................................124

Mix/Tune Window ........................................................................................................ 125

Key Window .................................................................................................................. 125

Velocity Window ................................... ................................................ ........................ 125

CC Window ................................................................................................................... 126

6 - Voice Processing ...................................................... 127

Simplified Emulator X Signal Path.................................................................................. 127

Overview of the Voice Processing Window............. .................................................. .....128

Templates ................ .................... ..................... ................... ..................... .................... .. 128

Oscillator............................................................................................................................ 129

Pitch Bend Range ..........................................................................................................129

TwistaLoop Controls .................................................................................................... 129

Speed ....................... .............................................. .............................................. .......129

Loop (% or number) ................................................................................................129

Start At Loop .............................................................................................................. 129

Tuning Controls ............................................................................................................129

Transpose .................. ............................... ............................... ................................ ...129

Coarse Tuning ................................. .......................................................................... 129

Fine Tuning .............................................. .................................................................. 130

Fixed Pitch Mode .......................................................................................................130

6 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Chorus Amount ................. .......................................................................................... . 130

Tips for Using Chorus .......................................................... ..................................... 130

Glide Rate & Curve ....................................................................................................... 131

Key Controls ..................................................................................................................131

Delay ..........................................................................................................................131

Sample Offset ............................................................................................................ 131

Sample Start Offset ...................................................................................................131

Amplifier, Filter & Auxiliary Envelopes...........................................................................132

Adjusting the Envelopes ........................................................................................... 132

Envelope Mode: Repeat ............................................................................................ 133

Envelope Mode: Complete .......................................................................................134

Time-based and BPM Envelopes .................................................................................134

BPM Envelopes .......................................................................................................... 134

BPM Tempo Chart ....................................................................................................135

LFOs & Lags ................................................................................................... ................ 136

Frequency .................... ...... ...... ..... ...... ...... .... ....... ...... .... ...... ....... .... ...... ...... .... ....... ..... 13 6

Delay ..........................................................................................................................136

Shape ....................... ............................... ............................. ................................ .......136

Variation .................................................................................................................... 136

Sync ............................................................................................................................137

BPM ............................................................................................................................137

LFO Tricks & Tips: ........................................................ ............................................. 138

Lag Processors 1 & 2 .... ................................................ .................................................138

Extra Summing Amps ...............................................................................................138

Function Generators ........ .............................................. .............................................. . 139

Function Display and Grid ....................................................................................... 139

Function Generator Main Controls ................................ .. ....................................... 141

Modulation Destinations .................................. .. .....................................................143

Function Generator Ideas ........................................ .................................................143

Filter Controls ............................................................................................................... 145

Filter Descriptions .........................................................................................................145

Programmable Morphing Filters .................................................................................149

Morph Designer .............................................................................. .. ........................ 149

Dual EQ Morph .........................................................................................................151

Dual EQ Morph + Expression ..................................................................................152

2EQ + Lowpass Morph ................................... ..........................................................153

Peak/Shelf Morph ..................................... .............................................. .................. 153

Amplifier Controls............................................................................................................ 154

Volume ................. ................... ................... ................. ................... .................. .............. 154

Panning ....................... ............................... ............................... ................................ ..... 154

Amp Envelope Dynamic Range ................. ................................................ ..................154

Response ................. ............................................. .............................................. ............154

FX Wet/Dry .................................................................................................................... 154

Voice Effect Sends ............................. ............................................. ................................... 155

Modulation Cords. ............................................................................................................ 156

Pitch Amount Chart .................................................................................................. 158

Modulation Source Polarity ......................................................................................... 160

Summing Nodes ........... .............................................. .. ............................................. 161

PatchCord Lore .................. ....................................................................................... 161

Sample Loop Modulation ........................................................................................ 161

Assign Groups ...............................................................................................................164

Output Assign Groups .............................................................................................. 164

Poly Key Assign Groups ....... ................................................ ..................................... 165

Keyboard Modes ..................................... .............................................. .. ...................... 166

Latch Mode ....................................................................................................................167

E-MU Systems 7

7 - Editing a Sample ...................................................... 169

Sample Editor Window .................................................................................................... 169

Exporting & Importing Samples............................................. ......................................... 171

Exporting a Tempo Map..................... ................................................ .............................. 171

Tips for Exporting Tempo Maps .................................................................................. 172

Importing a Tempo Track to a Sequencer .................................................................. 173

Display Menu Items.......................................................................................................... 174

Zoom In (Page Up) ................................................................................................... 174

Zoom Out (Page Down) ................................................................................... .......174

Zoom In (Ctrl +Page Up) ......................................................................................... 174

Zoom Out (Ctrl +Page Down) .................................................................................174

Zoom To Selection (F10) .........................................................................................174

Zoom To All (F11) ........................................................................ .. .......................... 174

Zoom To Sample (F12) ............................................................................................ 174

Display Time in Samples ......................................................................................... 174

Display Time in Seconds .........................................................................................174

Display Time in Bar:Beats ........................................................................................174

Display Level in Percent .......................................................................................... 174

Display Level in Decimal .........................................................................................174

Display Level in dB .................................................................................................. 174

Show Note Markers ......................................................... ......................................... 175

Show Loop Markers .................................................................................................175

Show Zero Crossing Threshold ........................................................... .................... 175

Vertical Units ............................................................................................................. 175

Horizontal Units ....................................................................................................... 176

Transport/Loop Controls................................................................................................. 177

Play (from Cursor) .................................................................................................... 177

Play from Start ......................................... .................................................................. 177

Stop ............................................................................................................................177

Loop Play ...................................................................................................................177

Go to Sample Start ..... .. ............................................................................................. 177

Go to Sample End ............................................................ ......................................... 177

Go to Loop Start ........................................................................................................ 177

Go to Loop End ......................................................................................................... 177

Move Start to Previous Zero ......................... ................................................ ............177

Move Start to Next Zero ... ................................................ ......................................... 178

Move End to Previous Zero ..................................................................................... . 178

Move End to Previous/Next Zero ......................................................................... ...178

Autocorrelate Loop .......................................................................................................178

Cut, Copy, Paste & Delete ...................................................................... .......................... 179

Undo and Redo ......................................................................................................... 179

Typical Applications ................... ................................................ .............................. 179

Cut Section .......................................................... ............................................ ..............180

Copy Section .............. .......................................................................................... .........180

Paste Section ..................................................................................................................181

Sample Edit Tools .............................................................................................................185

MIDI Audition ....................................... ........................................................................ 185

Truncate .........................................................................................................................186

Fade ................................................................................................................................186

Normalize ............... ............................................. .............................................. ............187

Adjust Gain ....................................................................................................................187

DC Filter ......................................................................................................................... 188

Reverse ...........................................................................................................................189

Swap L-R Channels .............. ......................................................................................... 189

8 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Bit Reduction ................ ........................................................................................ .........190

Time Compression ........................................................................................................ 190

Pitch Shift .................... ...................................................................................................192

Transform Multiply ..................................................................................... ..................193

Convert to Mono or Stereo ................................................................................. .. .......194

Sample Rate Convert .................................................................................................... 195

Xtractor ................. ....... ...... .... ...... ..... ...... .... ...... ....... .... ...... .... ...... ..... ...... .... ...... ....... .. ..... 196

Vocal or Instrument Isolation/Elimination ............................................................ 198

A Visual Mix Analysis ........................................................................................... .....200

Batch Processing.... .............................................. .............................................. ................ 202

Looping and Loop Processing ......................................................................................... 203

Crossfade Looping .................................................................................................... 204

Truncate after Loop ................................................................................................... 204

Loop Compression ................................................................................................... 204

Loop Settings ................................................................................................................. 205

Loop Button ...............................................................................................................205

Loop in Release Button ............................................................................................. 205

Loop Select .................................................................................................................205

Lock Button ...............................................................................................................205

Select Loop ..................................................................................................................... 205

Select All ............................................. ............................................................................ 205

No Snap .........................................................................................................................205

Snap To Marker ................ .............................................. .. ............................................. 205

Snap To Zero-Crossings ...... .............................................. ........................................... 206

Background: Zero Crossing Threshold ....................................................................... 206

Delete Unused Samples ............................................. ...................................................206

How to Loop a Sample ................................................................................................. 207

Zero Crossing ............................. ................................................................................... 208

8 - TwistaLoop .............................................................. 209

Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 209

Analyzing Beats In the Sample Edit Window.............................................................. ...209

Running Beat Analysis .................................................................................................. 209

Tempo Range (BPM) .................................. ..............................................................210

Tempo Variation ....................... ................................................................................ 210

Beats per Bar .............................................................................................................. 210

Meter .......................................................................................................................... 211

Create note markers .......................... .............................................. .. ........................ 211

Create beat markers .............................. .................................................................... 211

Viewing Your Analyzed Sample ...................................................................................211

Markers ...................................................................................................................... 212

The Triplet Button ........................................................ ............................................. 212

Sensitivity ................ ........................... ........................... ........................... .................. 212

Fine-Tuning Your Analyzed Sample ............................................................................ 213

Shifting the Beats .......................................................................................................213

Beat Parameters .............. .............................................. ............................................. 213

Bar Numbering Changes .......................................................................................... 214

Beats Per Bar Changes .............................................................................................. 214

Tempo Granularity Changes ............................. .......................................................214

Creating Loops from Your Analyzed Sample ............................................................. 215

Tips for Making Selections for Loops ...................................................................... 216

Using Loops....................................................................................................................... 217

Playing Back Loops ....................................................................................................... 217

Loop Speed and Tempo ............................................................................................... 219

E-MU Systems 9

Changing Loops Using a Continuous Controller ......................................................219

Loop Select (Continuous) ........................................................................................ 220

Loop Select (Jump) ................................................................................................... 221

Other Ways to Change Loops ................ .. .................................................................... 222

Synchronizing Loops .................................................................................................... 222

Multisample Voices and Looping ................................................................................223

The Speed Knob ................................................................................................................ 224

Changing a Loop’s Speed .............................................................................................224

Nudging the Tempo ...................................................................................................... 224

Using Regions of Analyzed Samples............................................... ................................ 226

Using the RT Win With Regions .................................................................................. 227

Troubleshooting................................................................................................................ 228

Beat Analysis Doesn’t Find the Right Beats ............................................................ 228

Looping Doesn’t Occur ............................................................................................ 228

Loops Don’t Synchronize to Tempo ....................................................................... 229

9 - Effects ..................................................................... 231

Overview............................................................................................................................ 231

Programming Effects.........................................................................................................232

Adding an Aux Effect in the Multisetup ............... .. .................................................. ...232

Adding an Effect to a Preset .........................................................................................233

Block Diagram of the Effects Routing ..................................................................... 234

Block Diagram of the Effects Screens ...................................................................... 235

Effects Overhead ....................................................................................................... 236

Typical Effects Usage ...... .............................................. .. ........................................... 236

ASIO Outputs ............................................................................................................ 236

Main Output Window .................................. .. .............................................. .................... 237

Main Output Window ....................................... .......................................................237

Proteus X Composer FX Template............................ ................................................ .......23 8

Key Points ...................................................................................................................... 238

Voice .................... ............................... ............................... ................................ ......... 238

Preset .......................................................................................................................... 238

Multisetup ............... ........................... ........................... ........................... .................. 238

Controlling the Preset Effect Amount from the Voice ........ ................... ................. ... 239

Aux FX Screen.................................................................................................................... 240

Aux Effects ..................................................................................................................240

Aux FX Send Amounts ........................ .......................................................................... 240

Preset FX Screen.................................................................................................................241

Preset Effects ..............................................................................................................2 4 1

Preset FX Modulation Parameters ...............................................................................242

Creating and Deleting Templates ................................................................................ 242

Effects Listing.....................................................................................................................243

Effects Descriptions........................................................................................................... 243

Background: Reverb ............................ ...................................................................... 243

Reverb ............................................................................................................................244

Early Reflections Reverb ............................................................................................... 244

Reverb Lite (mono) ........... ................................................ ........................................... 245

Chorus ..................... ...... .... ...... ....... .... ...... .... ...... ....... .... ...... .... ....... ...... .... ...... .... ....... ..... 246

Background: Chorus ................................................................................................. 246

Chorus / Delay .......................................... .............................................. ...................... 247

Compressor ................................................................................................................... 248

Basic Controls ............................................................................................................248

Delay .............................................................................................................................. 250

Background: Delay ............................................. ................................................ .......250

10 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Discrete stereo ...................................................................... ..................................... 250

Ping Pong, stereo ............ .......................................................................................... . 251

Ping Pong, mono L->R ....... .. .............................................. .. ..................................... 251

Delay (BPM) .................................................................................................................. 253

Early Reflections ............................................................................................................ 254

1-Band Para EQ ....................................... .. .............................................. ...................... 254

4-Band EQ .......................... ...........................................................................................255

Flanger ..................... ...... .... ...... ....... .... ...... .... ...... ....... .... ...... .... ....... ...... .... ...... .... ....... .....256

Flanger (BPM) ............................................................................................................... 257

Growl .............................................................................................................................258

Limiter ................ .................................. ............................... .................................. ......... 259

Phaser ................... .......................... ......................... ....................... ......................... ....... 260

Pitch Shifter (mono) ..................................................................................................... 261

Ring Modulator ............................................................................................................. 262

SP12-ulator ..................... .......................................... ....................................... .............. 263

Tremulator BPM ............................................................................................................ 264

Tube ...................... ........... ............ ............. .......... ............. ............ ........... ............ ............ 266

Twin .................... ............. .......... ............. ............ ........... ............ ............. .......... .............. 267

10 - Controls ................................................................. 269

The Toolbars......................................................................................................................269

Viewing and Hiding the Toolbars ...............................................................................270

Drag & Drop...................................................................................................................... 270

Floating Keyboard.......................... ................................................................................... 270

Changing Settings ........................ .............................................. ....................................... 271

Entering Numeric Values ....................................................... ....................................... 271

Adjusting Ranges & Fades.......... ....................................................................................... 272

Selecting Voices using your MIDI Keyboard .............................................................. 273

Adjusting Envelopes........................................................... ...............................................274

BPM Mode & Tempo ................................................................................................ 274

Cut, Copy & Paste ............................... .............................................. .. .............................. 274

View Menu............... ............................................ ............................................ ..................275

List Display View ........................................................................................................... 276

Creating a Text List of Presets and Samples ............................................ .................... 276

Tree View ........................................................................................................................ 277

Tree Navigation using the Keyboard .............................. ............................................. 277

Cursor Keys ...................................... .. ........................................................................ 277

Find Items .................................................................................................... ..............278

Tree Navigation Using the Toolbar ...................................... .. ..................................... 278

Refresh (F5) .................... ...............................................................................................278

Context Sensitive Menus .................................... ..........................................................278

All Sound Off (Ctrl + Pause) ............................ ................................................ ............278

Templates...........................................................................................................................279

Creating and Recalling Templates ......................................................... ...................... 279

Organizing Templates .................................................................................................. 280

E-MU Systems 11

11 - From Sample to Preset ........................................... 281

Acquire (Sampling)...........................................................................................................281

Input Controls ............................................................................. .............................. 281

Recording Audio (Sampling) .......................................................................................282

Record Audio Controls ......................................................................... .................... 283

Gating the Samples .................................................... ...................................................284

Gating Display ................................................................................... ........................ 284

Gate/Chop Controls ............................... .............................................. .. .................. 284

Region List Display ............................... .................................................................... 285

Region List Controls ................................................................... .............................. 286

Saving your Samples .....................................................................................................288

Save to Sampler Controls .........................................................................................289

SynthSwipe™.....................................................................................................................290

Tips for Saving SynthSwipe Recordings .................................................................. 293

Resampling........................................................................................................................ 293

Importing Other Sample Formats ...................................................................................294

Set Original Keys ...................................................... .............................................. .......295

Original Key Algorithms .................................... .. .....................................................295

Sample Options ............................................................................................................296

Build Preset Options ............................................................................... ...................... 297

12 - Synthesizer Basics .................................................. 299

Emulator X Advanced Applications Guide .......... .. ................................................. 299

Editing Presets ................................................................................................................ ... 299

Modulation........................................................................................................................299

Modulation Sources ......................................................................................................300

Keyboard Key .............. .......................................................................................... .....300

Key Velocity .......................................................................... ..................................... 300

Release Velocity .........................................................................................................300

Gate ............................................................................................................................300

Key Glide .............................................. ...................................................................... 300

Pitch and Mod Wheels ............................................................................................. 300

Keyboard Pressure (mono aftertouch) ................................................................... 300

Pedal ...................... ......................... ....................... ......................... ......................... ... 300

Miscellaneous Controllers A-P ................................................................................301

Low Frequency Oscillators (2 per voice) ...... ... .................................................... .. . 301

Envelope Generators (3 per voice) .......................................................................... 301

Function Generators (3 per voice) .......................................................................... 301

Noise & Random Generators ......... .......................................................................... 301

T-switch and Footswitches .............................................................................. .........3 01

Modulation Cords ................................................................................................ ......... 301

Envelope Generators.........................................................................................................302

Retriggering ................. ............... ................ ................. ............... ................ ................ 30 2

Complete Mode .........................................................................................................3 02

Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs)...................................................................... ............303

Random Sources ...............................................................................................................304

Clock Modulation............................................................................................................. 304

Syncing an LFO to the Clock .................................................................................... 304

Function Generators..................................................................................... .. .................. 305

Modulation Destinations ........................... ...................................................................... 306

Modulation Processors............................................................ ......................................... 307

Modulation Processor Examples ................................................................................. 308

Dynamic Filters ...................... ...........................................................................................309

12 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

What is a Filter? ........ .......................................................................................... .......310

Parametric Filters ...................................................... .............................................. ...312

The Z-Plane Filter .......................................................................................................... 313

MIDI Channels & Real-time Controls............................................................................. 314

Assigning MIDI Controller Knobs............................ .......................................................316

MIDI Program Change Commands......................................... ....................................... 317

MIDI Bank Select Commands ................... ................................................ .. ................317

Background: Bank Select Commands ..... .................................................... ............317

MIDI Modes..................................................... ............................................ ...................... 317

13 - Appendix ............................................................... 319

Translator Emulator X Converter ....................................................................................319

Supported File Types .................................................................................................... 319

Emulator X VSTi........................................ .. .............................................. ........................ 320

Launching the VSTi Application .................. ................................................................ 320

1 - Setting up Cubase LE4 ...................... ................................................ ...................... 320

2- Recording a MIDI Track using Emulator X3 ..........................................................322

On Your Own ................................................................................................................325

Multisetup is Saved in the Recording Application ..................................................... 325

Checklist for Launching Emulator X VSTi ......................... ......................................... 326

Cubase LE ..................................................................................................................326

If you’re using PatchMix DSP... ............................................................................... 326

Keyboard Shortcuts................................. .......................................................................... 327

Drag & Drop...................................................................................................................... 328

Toolbar Functions...................... .. ..................................................................................... 331

MIDI Key Number to Note Chart.................................................................................... 332

Frequency Range of Common Instruments...................................................................333

MIDI Implementation Chart .... ................................................ ....................................... 334

Received Channel Commands ............ ................................................ .................... 339

Special Notes: ............................................................................ ................................ 339

Optimizing Your Computer for Emulator X..................................................................340

SCSI and IDE Drive Tips and Considerations ................................ ............................ 340

Index ............................................................................ 341

E-MU Systems 13

14 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

1 - Introduction & Installation

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of the Emulator X3 Streaming Sampling Synthesizer—the most powerful and complete software instrument in the world, built on E-MU’s 35 years of synthesis experience. The Emulator X3 features the Xstream™ streaming sound engine with up to 192kHz sampling, and playback, an arsenal of automated sampling/beat analysis/editing tools and almost unlimited sound manipulation.

Emulator X3 Features

Streaming

1 - Introduction & Installation

Introduction

• Xstream™ 24-bit/192 kHz Streaming Engine, featuring E-MU’s patented pitch interpolation and precision 32-bit floating point processing for unmatched sound quality.

• 32-bit and native 64-bit applications included (32-bit: Windows XP and Vista; 64-bit: Windows x64 and Vista)

• Optimized for Multi-core and Multi-Threaded processors to intelligently balance the processing load across all available resources for exceptional performance.

• Standalone (64 MIDI channels) or VSTi (16 MIDI channels per instantiation) operation.

Sampling

ASAP™ Automated Sampling and Placement

• Sample, Chop and Place

• Load, Chop and Place

• SynthSwipe™ automated hardware and software instrument sampling

Integrated Sample Editor

• Auto-Correlation Looping

• Crossfade Looping

• Comprehensive DSP Tools including Transform Multiply

• External Editor Link

Beat/Loop Tools

• Beat Analysis and Markup

• TwistaLoop™ non-destructive audio manipulator

• Xplode™ beat slicer with MIDI and Tempo Map Export

E-MU Systems 15

1 - Introduction & Installation Introduction

Synthesizer

• Advanced Modular Synthesis and FX Engine (from your initial sample’s tempo through Emulator X3’s entire synthesis and FX architecture, all time-based parameters syncable to BPM clock).

• Over 50 types of Z-Plane™ Morphing Filters (2nd order to 12th order), including the Morph Filter Designer

• Multi-Function Generators/Arpeggiators (can be programmed to modulate pitch, filters, volume, retrigger samples, or LFOs, change tempo or tr igger other events)

• Virtual PatchCord Modulation Matrix (over 100 modules)

• Integrated Modulation FX engine (23 core effects), including SP12ulator, Tremulator, Reverbs, Delays and many more

• Comprehensive sound format support, including EOS, EIII, GigaSampler, MP3, REX2, .AIFF, SoundFont 2.1, .WAV and more.

Before you Begin…

You should have a good working knowledge of your computer’s operating system. For example, you should know how to use the mouse, standard menus and commands. You should also know how to cut, copy, paste, open and close files.

Notes, Tips and Warnings

Items of special interest are presented in this docume nt as notes, tips and warnings.

Notes





 Warnings are especially important, since they help you avoid activities that can

provide additional information related to the topic being discussed. Often,

notes describe the interaction between the topic and some other aspect of the system.

Tips describe applications for the topic under discussion.

cause damage to your files, your computer or yourself.

Tutorial List

Although this document is primarily intended as a reference manual, it does contain quite a few step-by-step tutorials that you may find helpful. A few are list ed below.

Tutorial Page Tutorial Page

Adding an Aux Effect 232

Adding an Effect to a Preset 233 Creating Sequencer Tempo Tracks 173

Building a Preset from Scratch 58 Layering Presets 124

Change Loops with a Controller 220 Looping 207

Conserving Polyphony 165 Morph Designer 150

Function Generator 140

 Tip: Please refer to

the “Index” for a complete list of all Emulator X tutorials.

Control FX Parameters via MIDI 242 Sampling 282

Create a Custom Bank 47 Program Change Commands 317

Creating ADSR Envelopes 133 Setting up your Controller Knobs 28

Crossfade between two Loops 227 SynthSwipe 290

Examine a voice or sample 52 VSTi 320

16 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

What’s New in X2

• Support for 64 MIDI channels (page 70)

• Three 64-stage Function Generators per voice (page 139

• Morph Designer allows you to design custom morphing filters (page 149

• TwistaLoop loop analysis and manipulation tools (page 209

• User interface changes

• New Region Page (page 115)

• New Detail Page with Voices and Zones info (page 119

• Improved Keyboard Display (page 99)

• Floating Keyboard (page 270

• Tabs in Voice Editor (page 89

• Envelope Mode Settings (page 132)

• Sample Display/Overview (page 169

• Sample Root Note shown with Red Bar (page 99

) )

)

• Key CC Window Controls (page 108)

• Cycle Groups in CC Window provide more natural sound by cycling through different samples on repeated key presses. (page 111

• Poly Key Groups allow you to limit polyphony per key (page 164

• New modulation sources for patch cords: (page 156

• Function Generator (+,~,<,)

• Function Generator (gate, trigger)

• New modulation destinations for patch cords: (page 159)

• Function Generator Rates/Retrigger/Length/Direction

•Key Timer Rate

•Lag Rates 1 & 2

• Loop Select: Continuous/Jump

• Sample Retrigger (+, -)

• TwistaLoop Oscillator Speed

• New Effects

•Compressor (page 248)

•Limiter (page 259

•Tremulator BPM (page 264

•Flanger BPM (page 257

)

• New Tuning Tables: al-Farabi 12, 22-Tone, 24-Tone, 36-Tone (page 83)

• More templates (XML based)

• Capture MIDI Controllers to preset initial settings (page 82

• Voices and Zones can be sorted according to different criteria (page 121

• New Preference Settings: Select edited preset for multisetup, Expand tree items when selected, Knob tracking (page 29

)

• New MIDI Setting: Preset Tempo Channel (page 27

• More Undo Levels and greater control over undo behavior (page 30

• Effects Overhead dialog box (page 236

)

1 - Introduction & Installation

Introduction

)

New in X3

• Xstream™ 24-bit/129kHz Streaming Engine—32-bit and native 64-bit applications optimized for Multi-core and Multi-threaded processors. Vista compatible.

• Xplode Region can now create companion MIDI files (page 117

• Export Tempo Map from Beat Analyzed samples (page 171

• Xtractor tool selectively processes audio based on stereo position (page 196

• Librarian improvements - Faster operation with large libraries (page 66

E-MU Systems 17

)

1 - Introduction & Installation Minimum System Requirements

Minimum System Requirements

To use Emulator X you will need at least:

• Pentium IV 1.5 GHz or equivalent CPU (2.4 GHz or faster recommended)

• CD-ROM Drive

• 512 MB RAM (2 GB DDR or greater recommended)

• Windows XP, Windows x64, Windows Vista, or Windows Vista x64

• Onboard Sound or Audio Interface

Software Installation

Programs installed:

• Emulator X3 Streaming Sampling Synthesizer application

• Emulator X VSTi

• Emulator X Factory Sound Banks

1. Insert the CD labeled “Emulator X3 - Software/Manual/Sounds Installation CD” into your CD-ROM drive.

If Windows AutoPlay mode is enabled for your CD-ROM drive, the CD starts running automatically. If not, navigate to the CD and double-click on Setup.exe.

2. Follow the instructions on the screen.

3. You will be asked to choose the Destination Folder for the program. The default location is: “Program Files\Creative Professional\Emulator X.”

4. You will be asked to choose the Destination Folder for the VST plugins. The default location is: “Program File\Steinberg\VstPlugins”

5. The program will be installed. Click Finish to complete the installation (when prompted) then remove the Emulator X application disk from the CD drive.

6. The included CDs contain the following Emulator X sound banks:

• X Producer.........E-MU General MIDI, Hip Hop Producer, Proteus X Composer,

Saint Thomas Strings

• Studio Grand..... A stunning 1.4 GB grand piano bank

• Beat Shop 1.......ATC, Buju, Head Nod, Homage, IDA, Modern Kit, Rock Kit,

Seattle, Studio Kit

• Xperience...........Breakdown, Filters and Functions, Guitar Wah Bazaar, Jam

Session, Jazz Drummer, Transform Tool Kit, Transformed, Twista Mania

• Xtreme Lead-1...The complete set of presents and samples from the Prote us

Xtreme Lead-1 sound module

7. Follow the onscreen instructions to install the banks on your hard disk. The Factory Sound Banks are installed inside “Program Files\Creative Professional\Emulator X\Production Sound Banks” by default.

8. You may install the sound bank disks now or at a later time.

 No Hardware

Requirement: As of software version 3.0 Emulator X3 no longer requires that a piece of E-MU hardware be connected to your computer system.

18 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Running the Application for the First Time

1. Launch the Emulator X program by double clicking the Emulator X icon on the desktop or by selecting the Emulator X item from the Start menu.

2. You will be asked to activate your copy of the softwar e by ent er ing the serial number included with your master CD-ROM.

1 - Introduction & Installation

3. Activation can be verified via the internet or by email. If your computer is connected to the internet, activation will be automatic.

4. If you are NOT connected to the internet, you can register via email using another computer (such as a friend’s house, or public library). Click the “Activate by email via another computer” button. The following dialog box appears.

5. Contact E-MU by email at: emu.support@customercare.creative.com. Be sure to include your Serial Number (from your Activation Card) and the Request Code in the email message. You will receive a return email with your author izati o n code.

6. When you receive the response code enter it in the box above and click “Activate”.

7. Continue on to “Setting Up Your Audio” on the following page.

E-MU Systems 19

1 - Introduction & Installation Setting up your Audio

Setting up your Audio

Before you can start making music, you have to establish a connection between Emulator X and your audio output hardware. This is done by selecting a software driver that makes this connection between hardware and software.

1. In the Options menu of Emulator X, select Preferences. The following screen appears.

2. In the Audio section of the menu, select E-MU ASIO if using an E-MU Digital Audio System. Select ASIO E-MU USB|0202, ASIO USB|0404 or ASIO E-MU Tracker Pre|USB if using an E-MU USB interface. If you’re using another brand of audio interface, select the appropriate driver.

3. You can verify that the Emulator X is producing audio by clicking on the icon in the toolbar. This calls up the Floating Keyboard. Play the floating keyboard with your mouse and you should be hearing sound and seeing activity on the Emulator X main mix meters.

4. After running Emulator X, you may want to adjust the Audio Preferences for optimum performance on your computer system.

5. If for some reason you want to use hardware that doesn’t support ASIO, select the DirectSound driver. For Emulator X to communicate with your sound card, you need to have Microsoft DirectSound installed on your computer and there must be a DirectSound driver installed for your audio hardware.

Please go to page 22

for complete explanations of the Audio Preferences.

20 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Setting up the Preferences

The preferences dialog box contains a variety of important controls used to configure Emulator X for your audio hardware and to customize the controls to suit the way you work.

To get the best possible performance from your computer, you’ll need to spend a little time adjusting the Audio Preferences such as Pre-roll, Sample Buffers, CPU Cap and ASIO Buffer latency. These parameters interact with each other and you may have to experiment to find the settings that work best on your unique computer system.

 To Access the Preferences Dialog Box

1. In the Options menu, select Preferences. The following screen appears.

1 - Introduction & Installation

Setting up the Preferences

2. The preferences dialog box is divided into four main groups. Click on the tab heading to select one of the four sets of controls.

Disk Streaming Controls, Sample Rate, Audio Hardware Setup &

Audio

MIDI

Controllers

Other

Pitch Shift Algorithm Selection, Multiple Processor Support, ASIO Control Panel.

MIDI Input Channels 1-64, IntelliEdit, and Receive/Ignore Program Changes, Internal/External Tempo Source select, Velocity Curve, Volume Curve, Volume Sensitivity, Preset Tempo Channel.

This section allows you to set up the MIDI Continuous Controllers you want the Emulator X to receive.

This group contains several miscellaneous controls: Load last bank at startup, Select preset on active channel when editing in multimode, Clear clip indicators after 10 seconds, Expand tree items when selected, Knob tracking, Recording Directory, External Audio Editor, Undo settings.

E-MU Systems 21

1 - Introduction & Installation Setting up the Preferences

Audio Preferences

Streaming

When you load an Emulator X bank (with Streaming on), you are not actually loading the sample files themselves into your computer’s RAM. Only the prese t in formation and the first few seconds of each sample are loaded. The rest of the sample data is taken directly from the hard disk when needed.

This streaming technique makes fast loading times possible even when using huge banks that would clog a RAM-based sampler. Multi-layer, minute-long, stereo samples on each key are no problem for Emulator X. Sample streaming technology is not new. It was originally developed in the 1980’s for hard disk audio recorders so that fast punch-ins and punch-outs could be achieved.

You have the option to enable or disable streaming audio. If streaming is turned off, Emulator X loads (or attempts to load) the entire bank into RAM.

If streaming is so great, why would you ever want to turn it off? Well, if you’re using your computer as an audio workstation, performing multiple simultaneous functions, sooner or later, you’ll exceed your computer’s CPU, memory or disk access resources. Sample streaming makes very heavy demands on your hard disk. If you’re recording other audio tracks, using multiple software plug-ins and playing Emulator X with a lot of voices, you may run into a disk access bottleneck. By disabling streaming and loading the bank into your unneeded RAM, your hard disk can be reserved for more critical operations.

Pre-roll (seconds)

This important control allows you to set ho w many seconds of each sample should be loaded into RAM when the bank is loaded. This setting greatly influences the performance of Emulator X when streaming is on. The setting you choose depends on: the number of samples you want to use and the amount of RAM you want to dedicate to Emulator X.

The smaller the pre-roll, the more disk access will be required for sustained sounds. Frequent disk access may overtax your computer system, depending on its speed and the number of other disk dependent applications you have running. Large pre-roll times improve polyphony and performance at the expense of system RAM and slower bank loading. If you set the pre-roll high enough, the entire bank will be loaded into RAM and no disk streaming will occur.

 Tip: If you get an

error message when trying to open a file, the file may be too large to fit into RAM. Turn streaming on.

 Tip: Decrease Pre-roll

time for fast load times when auditioning sounds and creating new banks.

Increase pre-roll time when you’re playing many notes or dense sequences.

22 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Sample Buffers

This control allocates the amount of RAM that will be set aside for Emulator X (in other words, the number of the largest complete samples in the bank th at can be kept in the RAM cache). As samples are played, they are streamed from the hard disk into RAM. If you play those samples again and they are already in RAM, they don’t have to be reloaded. This control sets the size of the RAM cache that will be kept and lowers disk access at the expense of RAM.

 Optimize the Performance and Polyphony of your System

The polyphony of the Emulator X is dependent on a variety of factors including:

• The Pre-roll setting (if str eam ing is enabled)

• The Sample Buffers setting (if streaming is enabled)

• The CPU Cap setting — the amount of CPU resources available to the Emulator X

• The bit depth of your samples —16 or 24 bits (24 bits = fewer voices)

• The sample rate of the audio hardware — 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 96kHz .

Lower sample rates use fewer CPU resources.

• Ultra-High Precision Interpolation and the use of high-order filters can reduce

polyphony.

1 - Introduction & Installation

Setting up the Preferences

 Tip: Adding RAM is a

relatively cheap and easy way to improve EX3 performance. With more RAM available, you can turn up the Pre-roll and Sample Buffers to reduce disk access.

• The speed of your computer — CPU speed, number of CPUs, speed and size of

RAM, as well as hard disk access time

Cost of Filters on Voice Count

No Filter

2nd Order

No additional CPU load.

Additional CPU load comparable to playing another 1/2 sample.

4th Order Additional CPU load comparable to playing another 3/4 sample.

6th Order Additional CPU load is comparable to playing 1 more sample.

(maximum polyphony is divided by 2)

12th Order Additional CPU load comparable to playing 2 more samples.

(maximum polyphony is divided by 3)

Synthesizer parameters also use CPU resources. When creating presets, feel free to use modulation cords as needed, but don’t leave cords half connected if you aren’t using them, since these patch settings waste CPU cycle s. Turn off both the source and

destination of unused cords.

Audio Setup

These controls let you set audio quality parameters related to Emulator X and your sound card.

Type

You have a choice to use either Direct Sound or ASIO audio drivers. If you have another high quality sound card installed in your system, it will be shown in this field.

ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) is a cross-platform, multi-cha nnel audio transfer protocol. ASIO is fast and supports 16-bit and 24-bit data width. Select E-MU ASIO if using an E-MU Digital Audio System. Select ASIO E-MU USB|0202, ASIO USB|0404 or ASIO E-MU Tracker Pre|USB if using an E-MU USB interface. If you’re using another brand of audio interface, select the appropriate driver.

E-MU Systems 23

1 - Introduction & Installation Setting up the Preferences

Selecting Direct Sound uses the audio output device specified in the control panel of your computer. In general, using Direct Sound is NOT RECOMMENDED because of low transfer rate and high latency issues.

Buffer Size

This control sets the number of sample periods between updates of the synthesizer parameters. The buffer size can be adjusted according to the speed of your computer’s CPU. A faster CPU can handle a lower buffer size.

An asterisk (*) next to a buffer size in the drop-down menu indicates the optimal buffer size for your ASIO Buffer Latency settings.

Use Optimal Buffer Size

When this box is checked, the Emulator X will choose the best buffer size based on the ASIO Buffer Latency setting (located in the ASIO control panel). You should normally leave this feature enabled for best audio performance. In certain rare cases you may want to manually set the buffer length to improve MIDI or synth performance.

Sample Rate

This control sets the output sample rate of the Emulator X, and will always match the sample rate of your sound card. The default setting is 44.1kHz.

CPU Cap

This control sets the maximum percentage of CPU resources that can be used by Emulator X and consequently the maximum number of samples that can be played at the same time. (Depending on the design of each preset, playing a single note on Emulator X may cause multiple samples to play simultaneously.) The maximum setting is 80% CPU usage. If you hear notes being “stolen” in your seque nce or as you play the keyboard, or if the disk meter readout at the bottom of the window frequently goes into the red, increase the value of this control. If you have other applications running, you may want to reduce the setting of this control to free up more CPU for them.

Headroom/Boost

Headroom is the amount of dynamic range remaining before clipping occurs. The amount of headroom is adjustable from 12 dB to -30 dB in 1 dB increments. A

headroom setting of 12dB provides the hottest output leve l, (and the highest signal to noise ratio) but may produce “clipping” if too many notes are played at once. The default headroom setting is -7 dB, which maintains an excell ent signal to noise ratio while keeping a reasonable amount of headroom in reserve. If you hear the signal clipping or breaking up, make the headroom value more negative. In practice, you can think of this control as adjusting the control range of the Master Volume control.

Ultra-High Precision Interpolation

This button allows you to select between E-MU’s ultra-high precision pitch shifting algorithm or a lower quality pitch shifting scheme which uses fewer CPU resources.

If you are using presets with a sample placed on every key, as is the case on many banks, you can switch high precision off to free up CPU with no penalty in audio quality. No pitch shifting is occurring anyway. High quality pitch interpolation is only needed when you are playing presets which have a few samples mapped across the entire keyboard. In this case, Emulator X shifts the pitch of the available samples to fill in the keyboard.

 Warning: Sounds

with long release times will exhibit “voice stealing” more than short percussive sounds.

24 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

ASIO Control Panel

This button brings up the E-MU ASIO control panel which allows you to set the ASIO buffer latency in milliseconds. This important setting determines how fast notes will

sound after you play them. If this time is too long, (>10mS) the keyboard response will feel slow and sluggish. If set too fast, however, you will hear the sound break up and crackle when you play too many notes. Experiment to find the setting that gives the best performance on your computer.

Use Multiple Processors

This option allows the processing load of the Emulator X to be divided among several CPUs or multi core processors. You can also set the Number of Processors (up to 4) to utilize the latest quad-core processors for significant performance gains. You can even use the 2 processor option if you have a hyper-threaded CPU since it can run 2 simulataneous threads.

If your computer is also serving as your DAW, recording audio tracks and running VST plug-ins, simply assigning all your available processors to the Emulator X may not always be the best approach. Since your computer is running many other processes besides the Emulator X, you want to balance the workload between your available cores for most efficient results.

For example, if you have a screaming fast quad-core system you might assign the Emulator X to use 3 of the 4 available CPUs for a significant performance gain without crowding out your DAW. On the other hand, if you have a computer dedicated to the Emulator X you might want to give it all the available CPUs.

1 - Introduction & Installation

Setting up the Preferences

 Tip: To find out how

many logical processors your computer supports check the “Performance” tab in the Windows Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Delete or “Processors” in the Device Manager.

Emulator

DAW

Software

CPUCPUCPUCPU

When running multiple audio software applications, it’s usually best to balance the workload between the available CPU cores.

Balancing the workload between the available CPUs is the key to maximizing the performance of your system. If you have a multi core machine and Multiple Processor mode is OFF, you can probably turn up the CPU Cap (try 80%) for a performance gain, since the multiple CPUs are sharing the overall task load.

VST Output Buses

This control is only active in the Emulator X VSTi application. This setting allows you to add additional VST buses (stereo pairs). Emulator X channel outputs can be assigned to VST buses in the Multisetup, Output field. These outputs are sent to the VST Mixer in your recording application. You must restart the VSTi for the change s to take effect.

E-MU Systems 25

1 - Introduction & Installation Setting up the Preferences

MIDI

This group of preferences allows you to set up the MIDI inputs, adjust the master MIDI volume and velocity curves and turn the “IntelliEdit” feature on or off.

MIDI Inputs

Channels 1-16, 17-32, 33-48, 49-64

Emulator X can respond to 64 MIDI channels. Since there can be only 16 MIDI channels per MIDI cable (or input), four inputs are provided. Set the MIDI inputs to match up to four outputs from your MIDI interface or sequencer. If you don’t need 64 channels you can turn any input off.

IntelliEdit

This control allows you to set the MIDI device for IntelliEdit. Selecting “None” disables the feature.

When editing sample key ranges or editing voices it is convenient to select the key position by simply playing your MIDI keyboard. IntelliEdit lets you selectively edit key ranges using the keyboard when you need to, but blocks keyboard editing when you may not want it, such as when your keyboard is playing in the background.

 To Use IntelliEdit:

1. Make sure IntelliEdit is set to the same MIDI port your keyboar d is using.

2. In one of the Voices and Sample Zones screens such as “Key Window”, position the cursor inside one of the Key Range fields (Low or High).

3. Press and hold, Ctrl+Alt on your computer keyboard.

4. Play your MIDI keyboard. The key range will be edited.

5. In the Voice Edit window, holding Ctrl+Alt lets you select voices for editing. If more than one voice is assigned to the key, the voices will cycle around with repeated pressing of the same key.

6. To select multiple voices, you must use the Group feature. See

26 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Groups on page 93.

Receive Program Changes

This check box selects whether or not MIDI Program Change messages from your MIDI controller or sequencer will be received or ignored by Emulator X. Place an X in the check box to receive program changes.

External Tempo Source

This check box selects between internal tempo clock or MIDI clock as the tempo source. Emulator X uses a global master tempo for Tempo-based Envelopes, Tempobased LFOs, clock modulation and TwistaLoop. When this check box is selected, MIDI clock will be used for the global tempo and the tempo control in the Multisetup window will be disabled.

Preset Tempo Channel

The tempo of Emulator X can be specified in the preset so that selecting a preset on a specific MIDI channel changes the tempo. See

Initial Tempo on page 82. This option

selects the MIDI channel whose preset will be used for Tempo Control. This allows the proper tempo to be set when a Tempo-based or Twistaloop preset is selected.

For example, suppose you have this field set to channel 1 and the preset on MIDI channel 1 has its Tempo Control set to 122.22 BPM. When the bank is loaded, the Tempo will be set to 122.22 BPM. If you change the preset on channel 1, the tempo will change to follow the “Set Global Tempo” setting in the new preset.

If the preset on the Preset Tempo channel has its Tempo Control set to “Off”, (or if this option is set to “Off”) no tempo change occurs when the preset is selected.

1 - Introduction & Installation

Setting up the Preferences

 Important!

If External Tempo Source is set to external, the tempo control in the Voice Processing window will be “greyed-out” and non-functional.

MIDI Response

These controls allow you to customize the MIDI response of Emulator X to match your MIDI Controller or other instruments.

Vel oc ity Curve

Incoming velocity values can be scaled by one of 24 curves to better adapt to your playing style or MIDI controller. Selecting “linear” leaves incoming velocity data unaltered. The shape of the selected curve is displayed in the window. Select the curve that works best for you.

Vol um e Curve

This is an adjustment to help match MIDI controller #7 volume response to other manufacturers’ equipment. Three curves are provided: Linear, Inverse Square or Logarithmic. The action of this control is displayed in the window.

Volume Sensitivity

This control allows you to modify the response curve for MIDI continuous controller #7 (Volume). This allows you to match Emulator X's response to other manufacturers’ equipment. Low numbers compress the volume control range, raising the volume level at lower controller #7 values.

E-MU Systems 27

1 - Introduction & Installation Setting up the Preferences

Controllers

This is where you set up which MIDI Continuous Controllers Emulator X will receive. Match these controls to the MIDI continuous controller numbers that your keyboard or sequencer transmits. What the controllers actually do is programmable in each preset. See

Modulation Cords on page 156.

As you can see, MIDI Continuous Controller numbers are assigned to letters (A-P) or labels (Pitch, Mod, Pressure, Pedal, etc.) in this scree n. When programming a preset, these letter or name labels can be assigned to control various parameters such as filter frequency or attack time.

The name labels such as pitch and mod wheels are so commonly used that they have their own assigned name, but these can also be freely assigned in any way you choose.

If you’re just getting started, it’s probably best to use the default settings. Press the “Use Default” button to restore the default settings shown above.

Controller Knob Assignment

Preferences

(Options, Preferences Controllers)

MIDI Keyboard

Controller

Knob data

1. Select the CC numbers you wish to receive.

Continuous controller numbers

are assigned Letters (A-P)

& Labels (mod wheel, etc.)

 For more information

on MIDI Controllers...

MIDI Channels &

See Real-time Controls on page 314.

Voice Processing Cords

2. Assign the controller letters to Synth destinations.

The Controllers screen determines which CC numbers (knob controller data) the Emulator X will receive. What the knobs actually do to change the sound can be programmed differently for each preset (Voice Processing).

28 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Appearance Settings in Windows

Adjust the “Performance Options” in Windows to make the Preference buttons much easier to read and increase smoothness when dragging windows around the screen.

 To Improve the Appearance Settings:

1. Open the Windows Control Panel. (Start, Settings, Control Panel)

2. Select System.

3. Select the Advanced Settings tab.

4. Under Visual Effects, select Adjust for Best Performance.

5. Click OK.

Other Settings

1 - Introduction & Installation

Setting up the Preferences

Startup

• Load last bank - This feature automatically loads the las t bank you had loade d whenever you start the Emulator X application.

Interface

• Select preset on active channel when editing in Multimode - When checked, selecting a preset for editing in the Tree selects that preset on the active channel in the multisetup. This is what you want if you’re editing a preset and playing a MIDI keyboard.

If you’re playing back a multi-timbral se quence and want to make a quick edit to a preset, you might want this feature Off so as not to alter your multisetup.

• Clear clip indicators after 10 seconds - This feature automatically clears the main output meter clip indicators. If this function is set to Off, the clip indicators will stay on until you manually click on them.

• Expand tree items when selected - If this option is checked, selecting presets from the Tree will automatically open the selected preset for editing. When unchecked, selecting presets from the Tree will select the preset for playing, but not open it for editing.

• Knob Tracking - This control allows the rotary knobs to be manipulated with either Rotary, Horizontal, or Vertical motion. The setting affects all rotary controls.

E-MU Systems 29

1 - Introduction & Installation Setting up the Preferences

Paths

• Recording and temp file directory - This option allows you to choose the location where new samples will be stored when sampling.

• External audio editor - This option allows you to set the location of an external audio editor. The External Audio Editor is selected from the Sample Edit menu or the toolbar. When the External Editor is selected, the current sample opens in the editing application you have selected. When y ou Save the edited sample in the external editing application, it is automatically transferred back to the Emulator X. You even have the option to Undo the external edit.

Undo

•History size - The maximum number of stored undo steps.

• Clear history when saving - Clears all undo history when you save a bank. If you have this box unchecked, you can undo even when you save and re-open a bank.

• Clear now - Clears the undo history immediately.

30 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

+ 322 hidden pages

E-mu Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Table of Contents

1 - Introduction & Installation

Introduction

Emulator X3 Features

Streaming

Sampling

Synthesizer

Before you Begin…

Notes, Tips and Warnings

Tutorial List

What’s New in X2

New in X3

Minimum System Requirements

Software Installation

Programs installed:

Running the Application for the First Time

Setting up your Audio

Setting up the Preferences

Audio Preferences

Streaming

Audio Setup

MIDI

MIDI Inputs

MIDI Response

Controllers

Appearance Settings in Windows

Other Settings