E-mu Emulator X3 Reference Manual

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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

Organization of the Emulator X Modules

2 - Emulator Architecture

This chapter contains important background information about the organization of the various modules of Emulator X. Although this chapter doesn’t contain any handson tutorials, this information is vital to your understanding of this ultra powerful instrument. Read This!

2 - Emulator Architecture

SAMPLING

INTEGRATED

SAMPLE

EDITOR

LOAD

& BROWSE

LIBRARIES

VOICES

& ZONES

ASAP

Load Sample SynthSwipe

LOOPING

TOOLS

Auto-Correlate Crossfades Multiple Loops

Translator Tools Librarian Audition from Disk

Xplode 128 Layers Crossfades CC Windows Key Switching RT Windows Cycle (flex) Region Editor Groups

FILE-BASED

DSP

Xtractor Pitch Change Reverse, etc.

Organization of

the Emulator X

Modules

BEAT

ANALYSIS

Sample Markup

PatchCords Envelopes

VOICE

PROCESSING

PRESET

GLOBALS

MULTISETUP

LFOs Function Gens Morph Filters Tuning/Amp Templates FX Sends

Preset FX Tuning Tables Controller Setup

64 Chan Mixer Aux FX TwistaLoop Tempo

OUTPUT

E-MU Systems 31

2 - Emulator Architecture A Modular System

A Modular System

You can think of Emulator X as a collection of sound organizing modules, all contained within the current bank. The following is a brief description of the five main elements of Emulator X’s hierarchy starting from the largest element, the Bank.

Bank

Before you can play Emulator X, you load a Bank of presets. The bank contains all the sounds you wish to use in a particular sequence or performance. If you need additional sounds, they can be added by simply dragging and dropping them into the bank from the system or library. Unneeded sounds can likewise be removed from the bank. When loading a bank, Emulator X only loads a small portion of the digital samples so bank load time is greatly reduced.

Saving

A bank’s data is retained only for as long you have the program open. Saving the bank to disk permanently stores the bank so you can access it next time you use the program.

IF YOU DO NOT SAVE A BANK, ANY CHANGES YOU HAVE MADE WILL BE LOST WHEN YOU OPEN A NEW BANK, OR CLOSE EMULATOR X!

Do not wait until the end of a session to save. Save your work periodically in case of power failure or some other unforeseen circumstance that might exit the program. Hard disks and computers are not infallible. All hard disk banks should be backed up periodically to another hard disk or other media. Should you improve the preset or sample later, you can always replace the original with the revised version. And if something goes wrong, the original will still be available to save you the ordeal of starting from scratch.

When you choose Save, (as opposed to Save As) only the edited presets, voices and samples will be written, saving time and memory.

When you choose Save As from the File menu, the entire bank—presets, voices and samples—are re-written to the hard disk as new files. This method, although somewhat wasteful of memory, ensures that all your samples remain bound with your bank.

When you save, you might be prompted with a dialog box telling you have unused samples. Choosing to delete the unused samples removes them from your hard drive, saving space and memory. This dialog occurs any time you have samples in your sample pool that are not assigned to any voices.

Undo/Redo

Almost every action you do with Emulator X can be undone. You can undo up to 500 actions and this number is selectable under Prefer ence s in the Options menu. See page 30

Select Undo or Redo from the Edit menu or press Ctrl+Z (Undo) or Ctrl+Y (Redo) from the keyboard.

 Whenever you have

done enough work that you would hate to lose it, BACK IT UP!

Use Save As… and rename the bank file to avoid losing valuable data.

32 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Emulator X Bank

2 - Emulator Architecture

A Modular System

MultiSetup

Preset

MIDI Ch 1

Preset

MIDI Ch 2

Key Map

Voice

MIDI Ch 3

Preset

MIDI Ch 4

Preset

Key Map Key Map

Multisample

Voice

MIDI

Ch 32

Preset

Voice

MIDI

Ch 64

Preset

Velocity or Realtime Crossfade, CC X-Switch

Voices

Samples

Multi-Sample Voice

(Multisample)

Multi

Filter Amp

Single Sample

Voice

S01

Sample Filter Amp

Sample01Sample02Sample03Sample04Sample05Sample

S03

S02

Velocity Crossfade

S05

S04 S06

Positional Crossfade

E-MU Systems 33

2 - Emulator Architecture A Modular System

Multisetup

A Multisetup is like a map which assigns a preset, volume, pan position and output routing to each of the 64 MIDI channels. Aux FX and effect bypass controls are also included in a Multisetup. Multisetups can be saved and recalled for use with a particular song or sequence so that all the MIDI channels play the proper preset.

Preset

A Preset is one complete keyboard setup controlled by one MIDI channel. Presets are composed of multiple voices. The assignment of voices to keyboard keys is completely flexible.

Voice

A Voice is one complete sound, containing one or more samples with keyboard and velocity mappings and all programmable synthesizer parameters. Voices can be assigned to a single note on the keyboard, or transposed to cover a wider keyboard range.

 A Preset is the same

as a MIDI Program.

34 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Sample

A Sample is an individual digital recording with a name, sample rate and looping information.

2 - Emulator Architecture

A Modular System

Flexible Architecture

Emulator X allows you great flexibility in the way you construct presets. Consider this — you can assign multiple samples to the keyboard inside a voice or assign s ingle sample voices to the keyboard.

Unless you specify otherwise, only one sample is assigned per voice. In this case you would assign voices (and the single sample each one contains) to the keyboard and create presets. On the other hand, you may want to create multisample voices before you start designing presets and treat the voice as your finished sound. In this case, the Preset can crossfade, layer or switch between multiple complex voices.

E-MU Systems 35

2 - Emulator Architecture A Modular System

Preset Diagram

The diagram below illustrates the concepts of a preset and voice.

Preset

Voi ce

Sample

A complete keyboard layout with unlimited voices.

A complete synth sound containing a single sample or a Multisample.

An individual digital recording with loop information.

Preset

KYBD Range KYBD Range KYBD Range

Voice

Group #

Sample

Loop info.

Sample Rate

Voice

Morph

Filter

Voice

Amp

Velocity or Realtime Crossfade, CC X-switch

Key #

Velocity

Gate

Pitch

Retrigger

LFO

Chorus

(x2)

Loop

Glide

Start Offset

Envelope

Gen

Frequency Q

(x3)

Controls

- 36 Cords -

MIDI

Pan

Vol

Function

Gen

(x3)

Other

Voices

A voice is a complete sound that can be assigned to a range of the keyboard. A sample is the part of a voice that generates the actual sound. You can think of a voice as a complete instrument consisting of one or more samples, which can then be used as a building block in constructing more complicated presets.

A voice consists of one or more samples, a dynamic filter, a dynamic amplifier, three 6-stage envelope generators, three 64-stage function generators, two multi-wave LFOs and up to 36 modulation routings called “Cords” to connect everything together.

36 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

When you record a sample into the Emulator X, a new voice is typically created for each new sample. In this case, each sample will have its own complete set of synthesizer parameters.

Multisample Voices

In another scenario, you might record several samples of an instrument (such as a piano), then place them into the same voice in order to share the same set of synthesizer parameters. If a voice contains more than one sample, this multiple sample obj ect is called a “Multisample.” A diagram of a multisample voice is shown below.

Multisample Voice

Each Sample:

Orig. Key Tun e Volume Pan Key Range/Fades Velo Range/Fades

S27

Velocity Crossfade

S28

S29

S30 S32

S31

Positional Crossfade

2 - Emulator Architecture

A Modular System

 A voice can contain a

single sample or multiple samples, whichever you prefer.

Sample 28 Sample 30Sample 27

Loops, Samp Rate Loops, Samp Rate Loops, Samp Rate

Multisample voices are designed to arrange groups of samples into one manageable entity.

The window below shows an opened multisample. The key range of the multisample can be used to limit the keyboard range of the samples contained within it. A multisampled voice is treated just like a single sample voice.

Normally these samples would be placed side by side on the keyboard as in the diagram above. You assign the sample to a range by setting the original key, (which is usually the original pitch of the sample) a high key and a low key. The number of samples needed for a realistic emulation varies with the instrument, but in ge ne ral , “more is better.”

E-MU Systems 37

2 - Emulator Architecture A Modular System

When a sample is taken, it can be automatically placed into a voice with one sample. You could also manually place the voice (and its sample) on the keyboard if you wish. If more than one voice is assigned to the same range, then pressing a key in that range plays all the voices assigned to that range. Voices assigned to the keyboard can be crossfaded by their position on the keyboard, or the key stroke velocity. Voices can also be switched or faded depending on the value of a realtime controller such as a modulation wheel, an LFO or an envelope generator.

The Sample

Loading in any sound, in mono or stereo, creates a sample, the raw material with which the Emulator X works.

The term sample commonly means two different things:

• A digital recording of a complete sound, or

• Each snapshot of the sound that makes up the complete sample.

In this manual, we’ll assume sample means the complete recorded sound unless indicated otherwise.

You can modify a raw sample in several ways. A sample can be transposed up or down in pitch to cover a particular range of the keyboard making it unnecessary to record a sample for every key. Sample editing might consist of Looping a sample (allowing even short samples to play indefinitely), Truncating (cutting off unneeded parts of a sample), or any of a number of digital processes that actually change the raw sample data.

The Original Key assignment determines the pitch at which the sample will be played back. Therefore it’s important to map your samples to the proper original key.

HighOrigLow HighOrigLow

Original

Low

Key

High

Key

S02 Piano D3 S03 Piano D5S01 Piano A0

Sample Sample Sample

You can also name samples. It’s usually a good idea to include the original pitch in the name so that you can place it on the keyboard later at the proper pitch.

You can have any number of samples in a bank. The number of possible samples is only limited by the size of your computer’s hard disk.

38 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

TwistaLoop™

TwistaLoop is a tool that automatically analyzes a sample by dissecting it into its rhythmic components, making it easy to select multiple loop points and regions. TwistaLoop offers total control over tempo, using real-time audio time expansion/ compression.

You can play back analyzed samples at a custom speed, or in time with Emulator X’s clock (or an external clock source).

Once you create loops from an analyzed sample, you can use them in a variety of ways:

• Change the playback speed of any loop.

• Choose which loops are repeated when played back.

• Set up a continuous controller to change in real time which loop plays.

• Sync your loops to Emulator X’s master tempo, or to an external tempo source, such as a VST host.

• Play different beats or bars from the same sample.

2 - Emulator Architecture

A Modular System

E-MU Systems 39

2 - Emulator Architecture A Modular System

40 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

3 - Getting Started

Exploring the Tree

In this section you’ll learn how to navigate around Emulator X using the Tree. Don’t worry if you don’t know what everything does just yet. Everything will be explained later on.

1. With the Emulator X application running, a bank is loaded by selecting Open from the File menu. Click on the Presets Folder in the Tree and a screen, similar to the one shown below, appears.

Toolba rs

Sampler

Bank

3 - Getting Started

Exploring the Tree

Presets

Folder

Open Preset

Presets

Samples

Folder

Multisetup

Folder

The

Tre e

Sampler/System/Library Tabs

List View

The Tree is the section shown on the left of the screen. There are three tabs at the bottom of the Tree labeled Sampler, System and Library.

Sampler

Allows you to see the contents of the current Emulator X bank.

This tab gives you access to your entire computer system: PC, hard disks,

System

CD-ROM drives, network, etc. Presets, Samples and Multisetups can be browsed, then Merged into the current Bank. Load Emulator 4

banks from this tab.

 E4/E3 CDs use a

proprietary format and can only be read using SCSI/ATAPI drives. They cannot be read using firewire and USB drives.

The Library shows you all Emulator X and related files, wherever they

Library

may be located on hard disks, CD-ROM or network. Presets, Samples and Multisetups can be browsed in the Library, then Merged into the current Bank.

E-MU Systems 41

3 - Getting Started Multisetup Page

Multisetup Page

The Multisetup is the top level of the Emulator hierarchy and is the place where you choose and assign presets to each of the MIDI channels.

A multisetup assigns a preset, volume, pan position and output routing to each of the 64 MIDI channels. Multisetups can be saved and recalled for use with a particular song or sequence so that all the MIDI channels play the proper preset.

Click on the Emulator X icon to display the Multisetup page.

There are five views of the Multisetup page. The Multisetup View buttons change the current view. The Single channel view is shown below.

• Single..................... Displays the pre se t f o r the currently selected MIDI channel.

• Channels 1-16....... Displays the preset, volume and pan for MIDI channels 1-16.

• Channels 17-32.... Displays the preset, volume and pan for MIDI channels 17-32.

• Channels 33-48.... Displays the preset, volume and pan for MIDI channels 33-48.

• Channels 49-64.... Displays the preset, volume and pan for MIDI channels 49-64.

 Note: When

sequencing, you can also include program changes in the sequence rather than using a Multisetup. This is often best, since the program changes will then be part of the song.

See page 69

for a complete description of the Multisetup scree n .

Single Channel View

Click Here

MIDI

Controllers

Multisetup View

Tab s

MIDI Mode Select

Aux FX Display

Tab s

Master Volume

Preroll

RAM Used

42 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

CPU & Disk

Usage Meters

Samples

Playing

Current

Channel

Changing Presets (from Single View)

Single View is the default view when you first run Emulator X. This view is convenient for performing live or when you’re only playing one preset at a time. All the main parameters for the selected MIDI channel are displayed in Single View and a convenient Category mode allows you to quickly select presets in a certain category. A closeup of the current channel settings is shown below.

Single View Close-up

3 - Getting Started

Multisetup Page

 Note that Single View

only changes the display and does not affect the currently selected MIDI mode (i.e. Omni, Poly or Multi).

Select All or Select

by Category

Preset

Inc/Dec

Select/View

Preset

Number

Preset

Name

Channel

Volume

Main Output

Select

 To Select Presets by Number

Select

Multi Channel View

Press the Multisetup View 1-16 tab to view channels 1-16.

This page view is particularly useful when sequencing as you can see 16 MIDI channels at once. Note that the Output Display button is now active. Tabs 17-32, 33-48, 49-64 are identical to this page and allow you to access these additional MIDI channels. See also “

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals” on page 69.

Multi Channel View

Click Here

Current

Channel

MIDI

Controllers

MIDI

Activity

Preset

Select

Multisetup

View

Tab s

Channel

Volume

Channel

Pan

MIDI Mode Select

Output Display

Button

Aux FX

Display

Tab s

Main

Output

Routing

Aux Send Enables

Preset FX Enables

Master Tempo

Master Volume

Preset Tune & Transpose

Aux Output Select

Definable

Labels

44 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Preroll

RAM Used

CPU & Disk Use Meters

No. of

Samples

Playing

Current

Channel

TwistaLoop

Override

Filter

Override

Limiter

Changing Presets (from the Multichannel view)

Play your MIDI keyboard and note that one of the MIDI activity LEDs comes on. This is the channel on which your MIDI keyboard is transmitting. If you don’t see MIDI activity, check your MIDI connection and make sure MIDI is set up properly in the Preferences menu. See page 28

 To Audition and Select Presets

1. Click once on the Preset Select button on the channel used by your MIDI keyboard. The complete list of all presets in the bank appears.

2. Click once on a preset to audition it. Play your keyboard to hear it.

3. Try out a few more presets. When you find one you like, double-click on it to select

it and return to the Multisetup screen.

4. Change the current channel by clicking on the number to the left of the preset. The

number you selected turns red.

5. Play the floating keyboard (Select Keyboard from the View menu). Notice that the

MIDI Activity LED of the current preset now plays along with whatever sound is selected for that channel. (Your MIDI keyboard still plays on the channel to which it is set.)

6. Change the channel on your MIDI keyboard then play it. Emulator X now plays the

preset on that channel.

3 - Getting Started

Multisetup Page

 Selecting Presets from the Tree

1. When you click on a preset in the tree, you have just selected it for the current MIDI channel. This action also calls the Preset Global page.

2. To go back to the Multisetup page click the back arrow or click on the Emulator X

icon at the top of the tree.

 Changing the Current MIDI Channel

1. The Current MIDI Channel is simply the MIDI channel you are currently working with.

2. To change the current MIDI channel, click on the channel numbe r in th e M u lt i-

setup page. The selected channel number turns red. Note also that the channel number at the bottom of the window changes to reflect the current channel.

Adjusting the Controllers

Each preset has a set of 16 continuous controllers (CC’s) which are used to adjust and control the sound as you play. Your MIDI keyboard may have several knobs or sliders that are transmitted over MIDI. These can be used to control Emulator X if you match the CC numbers your MIDI keyboard transmits to the same CC numbers on Emulator X. These global settings are located under Options, Preferences, Controllers. See page 28

 To Modify the Sound using the Controllers

1. Play your MIDI keyboard as you adjust the controller knobs on the screen. Notice that the sound changes. If the sound doesn’t change, make sure the current preset (red number) is the same one that your keyboard is playing.

2. If you have controller knobs on your MIDI keyboard and have set up the

Controllers (Options, Preferences, Controllers) to match your keyboard, you can use these knobs to modify the sound. Notice that the screen knob follows the movement of the hardware knob.

and page 314 for additional information about MIDI controllers.

 Selecting “None” in

the Preset field, disables the MIDI Channel.

E-MU Systems 45

3 - Getting Started Multisetup Page

3. Try changing the filt er type. Click on the selector to the right of the filter name and

select one of the 55 different filter types.

4. Adjust the Tone and Presence controls while playing the keyboard to hear your

changes.

5. Change the Volume and Pan controls for the MIDI channel you are using. These

settings can be adjusted remotely using MIDI controller #7 (volume) and controller #10 (pan).

6. If you want to save the changes, you must set the Initial Controller Amounts in the

Preset Globals page to match the settings you made in the Multisetup page, then save the bank.

46 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Create Your Own Custom Bank

It’s easy to create your own custom sound banks by simply “dragging and dropping” the presets or samples you want onto the Emulator X icon in the tree.

 To Create a New Custom Bank

Locate the Presets on your Computer

1. Select New from the File menu. This creates a new empty bank. (You can also merge presets or samples into an existing bank if you wish.)

2. Select the System Tab. The Desktop icon will appear in the tree .

3. Locate the presets you wish to include in your new bank. These will be located in

the “Creative Professional” folder located in “Program Files”.

Click to

Open

3 - Getting Started

Create Your Own Custom Bank

 The included CD-

ROMs contain several other great banks of sounds. Run the installer application on the library CDs to install these banks on your hard disk.

Click to

Open

System Tab

Audition the Presets

4. After you have located the Presets folder, click on the Emulator X icon in the Tree

to view the Multisetup page.

5. Find a preset in the Tree and Right-click over it. A pop-up menu appears with two

options, A

6. Select Audition (or press “A” on your computer keyboard). Notice that the preset

name is now flashing in the Multisetup screen.

7. Play your MIDI keyboard to audition the preset from the hard disk.

8. Right-click again and select Stop Audition (or press “S” on your computer

keyboard). The preset name stops flashing in the Multisetup screen.

9. Continue auditioning until you find a preset you like.

udition and Merge.

 Tip: You ca n al so

audition samples or presets from the library.

 Presets that reside in

.E4B or .EXB disk files can be auditioned from disk.

E-MU Systems 47

3 - Getting Started Create Your Own Custom Bank

Merge the Preset

10. When yo u have found a preset you want to include, Right-click over it in the Tree and select M

erge from the menu (or press “M” on your computer keyboard). The

preset is added to the current bank.

Another Method of Merging Presets

11. Simply click (left mouse button) and drag the preset over the Emulator X icon at the top of the tree. The cursor changes to a plus sign as you pass over the icon. Release the mouse button and a pop-up progress bar will inform you that the preset is being loaded.

12. If you change your mind and don’t want to merge the preset afte r all, choose Undo from the Edit menu to un-merge the preset.

Continue to Create the Bank

13. Continue to add presets to your new bank.

14. Save the bank when you are satisfied.

 Alternate Method using the Librarian to find Presets

1. Select the Library Tab instead of the System Tab in step 3 above.

2. If you haven’t done so already, Update the Library.

3. Choose presets from the Library, then drag and drop them on top of the Emulator X icon at the top of the tree.

48 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Load a New Bank

Load up a new bank in preparation for the next few examples. Load the Proteus X Composer bank located in your Emulator X folder.

1. Select Open from the File menu, then locate Prot eus X Composer and click Open.

Opening a Preset

A preset is a complete keyboard setup for one MIDI Channel. Think of a preset as one complete sound, which usually contains multiple voices and samples.

1. Click on the Preset Folder in the Tree to show all the presets in the bank.

Show Details

Click Here

To Show All

Sort Buttons

3 - Getting Started

Load a New Bank

 Note: Emulator 4

banks are accessed and loaded from the System Tab, rather than from the File menu.

Double-click to open the Folder.

Click on a preset icon to go to Preset Global.

2. Click the Show Deta il s button. The details of the presets are now shown. The sort buttons allow you to sort the presets by name. ID number, bank/program number, or category. Click on the button again to sort in reverse order.

3. Clicking on the plus sign (+) next to the Preset folder or double-clicking on the folder itself opens the folder and displays the bank’s presets in the tree.

4. Clicking on the plus sign (+) next to one of the preset icons displays the sub- modules of the preset: Voices & Presets, Links, Voice Processing.

E-MU Systems 49

3 - Getting Started Opening a Preset

Submodule Function

Voices & Zones Assign voices and multisamples to the keyboard, which can be

switched or crossfaded by key position, velocity or controller setting.

Links Multiple presets can be layered, switched or crossfaded across the

keyboard,

Voice Processing Synthesizer voice parameters including filters, LFOs, envelopes,

function generators and cords.

5. Open the preset “And Voice” by clicking on the plus (+) sign next to the folder.

6. Next, click on the Voices & Zones icon. The Key Window appears. The blue bars show that the two multisamples in this preset are mapped across the entire keyboard.

7. Click on the Mix/Tune tab at the top of the window.

 Please refer to

chapter “2 - Emulator

Architecture” on page 31

for complete explanations of the submodules.

8. There are two multisampled voices in this preset. Adjust the volume slider for each of the voices as you play. Now try playing with the pan position and transpose. Before you leave this window, turn up the volume controls on both voices.

 Exploring the Key and Velocity Windows

1. Click the Key W in tab again.

2. Click and drag the ends of the blue bars so they look something like the screen shown above. The settings don’t have to be exact.

3. Play the keyboard from the lowest key to the highest. Voice 1 plays at the low end of the keyboard and voice 2 plays on the high keys.

4. To return both voices to their original pos itions, select Edit, Undo from the toolbar. Select Undo again until both voices are assigned to the entire keyboard.

Velocity Switching and Crossfading

5. Click on the Ve l W in tab. The following window appears:

Step 8. Alt-Click here.

50 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

6. This page controls the voices using key velocity or how hard the keys are played. Set the bars something like the screen above.

7. Play the keyboard anywhere, but begin playing softly and gradually play harder. Notice that the choir (voice 2) plays with lower key velocity and switches to piano (voice 1) when you play hard. You’ve just created a velocity cross-switch.

8. Alt-click the end point of the bar in voice 1 and drag it to the left. The color intensity of the bar fades. The fade in color is analogous to volume. the darker the color, the louder the volume for a certain velocity.

9. Drag the fade points of the two voices so the y look something like the window shown below.

10. Play the keyboard anywhere, but begin playing softly and gradually play harder. Notice that the choir plays with lower key velocity and fades into piano as you play harder. You’ve just created a velocity crossfade.

3 - Getting Started

Opening a Preset

 Add a Voice

1. Select Preset, New V o ice from the toolbar. A new, empty voice appears below voice two.

2. The label area of the new voice is blank. Click on the selection box to the right of

the empty label area to bring up the entire list of samples in the bank.

3. Select sample 0350 SectionStringC3 by double-clicking on it. You’ve just assigned

a sample to the voice you created.

4. Play the keyboard and now you have orchestral strings as well.

 Delete the Voice

1. Select the voice you just created by clicking once on the sample name or number to the left of the name. The number turns red.

2. Select Preset, Delete Voice from the toolbar. The voice has now been deleted.

E-MU Systems 51

3 - Getting Started Examine a Voice

Examine a Voice

Each voice has its own synthesizer section (called Voice Processing) to process the raw samples. You can process each voice separately or select all voices to be processed in the same way.

1. Go to the Tree and click on preset P0015 Dana-him. Play the keyboard. You should be able to hear the preset.

2. Open the preset by clicking on the plus sign(+), then click on the V oice Processing

icon. The Voice Processing page shown below appears.

Step 3.

Select All

3. Near the top of the screen near the keyboard you’ll see the Group Selector. Set this

to All, to select all voices in the preset.

4. Feel free to explore the synthesizer section. The filter section is probably a good

place to begin. Change the filter type, then adjust the frequency and Q controls as

Step 5

Set to LFO 1 ~

Step 6

Set to Filter Frequency

 See Groups on

page 93

information on how to select groups of voices.

for detailed

you play the keyboard. Note that the filter response display changes as you change the filter settings.

Cords

One reason synthesizers are able to generate such complex sounds is because most, if not all, of their processes can be placed under automatic control. Here’s an example.

5. Tired of turning the filter frequency by hand? Let’s program one of the LFOs to do

it. Choose Cord #8 and set the left selection box to LFO 1 ~.

6. You’ve just connected one end of a Cord. Like all cords, you’ve got to connect both

ends for it to do anything. Connect the other end of the cord to Filter Frequency.

52 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

7. Each Cord has its own attenuator which controls “how much” sign al goes through

the cord. Turn the knob in the center of the cord all the way to the right (+100%).

8. Now set the filter frequency knob about 1/3 of the way up and play a note on the

keyboard. You should hear the filter being turned up and down automatically.

9. Change filter types and adjust the filter frequency if you don’t hear the filter being

modulated.

10. Adjust the Frequency of LFO 1.

11. Change the Shape of LFO 1. (You’ll have to re-key to hear the new waveform.)

Modulating Cords

In Emulator X even the Cords themselves can be controlled by other modulation sources or controls. Let’s use your keyboard’s mod wheel to control the amount of LFO to filter modulation.

12. Cord 0 already has the Mod Wheel assigned as an input. Set the output of Cord 0 to go to Cord 8 Amount.

13. Turn up the amount of Cord 0 to 100%.

14. Set the amo unt of Cord 8 to 0% (off). (You’re going to turn it up with the mod wheel.)

15. Now play a note and move the Mod Wheel of your keyboard up. (Most keyboards

have two wheels or controllers. One bends pitch and the other is the modulation wheel.)

3 - Getting Started

Examine a Voice

 Tip: Any control can

be set to its default value by pressing Alt + left mouse click over the control.

Experiment

16. Try setting the output of Cor d 11 to Pitch. Now try changing the LFO Shape. Now it’s much easier to hear the different LFO wave shapes.

Wipe the Slate

The preset might be a little messed up after your experiments. It’s good to know that as long as you don’t Save the bank, none of the original data is destroyed. If you want to get back to the original preset, simply load the bank again.

You can also Undo any changes you made by repeatedly clicking the back arrow button (=).

E-MU Systems 53

3 - Getting Started Examine the Samples

Examine the Samples

Samples are the digital recordings which are the basis of an Emulator X sound. As you’ve seen, samples can be layered and switched or treated by the Voice Processing functions to create entirely new sounds, but the actual samples can also be modified and sculpted.

A single preset may use over a hundred samples and a bank may contain thousands of individual samples. Let’s take a look.

1. Click on the plus sign (+) next to the Samples folder to open the folder and display the samples in the bank. (If the Preset folder is already open, you can click on the minus sign (-) next to the folder to close it and clean up the tree.)

2. Click on any sample to display its waveform.

Vertical Zoom

Horizontal Zoom

Zoom All

3. The transport controls are located in the toolbar. If you don’t see them, right-click

an empty area in the toolbar and select Sample Transport. Click the Play button to listen to the sample.

4. Press the Stop button to stop playing.

5. Click on the larger magnifying glass of the Horizontal Zoom buttons. The time-

base of the waveform is magnified allowing you to see more detail. Continue clicking and eventually you’ll reach maximum magnification. The individual sample measurements are shown here as dots. If the sample rate is 44.1 kHz, there will be 44,100 of these dots per second of sound.

6. Click repeatedly on the smaller magnifying glass and the horizontal magnification

decreases.

7. Click the Zoom All button, and the vie w zooms to show the entire sample.

8. The Vertical Zoom buttons allow you to zoom in or out on the vertical axis. None

of the zoom buttons change the wave in any way. They’re just display contro ls.

54 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Using DSP

There are a number of DSP or digital signal processing functions that you can perform on the raw samples. Samples can be spliced together, merged, time-stretched, reversed and on and on.

Time Compression/Expansion

1. Select sample Riff Trip Gb. Press Play on the transport controls to check it out.

2. Suppose you wante d to change the tempo to fit into your song. The time

compression/expansion DSP tool can do this for you. Select Time Compress from the DSP toolbar. The following dialog box appears.

3 - Getting Started

Examine the Samples

3. Change the ratio. Ratios below 100% compress or shorten the time. Ratios above

100% expand or lengthen the time. Note that the tempo and length fields change to show the new length and tempo.

4. Press OK to change the time scaling. Pre ss Play again and note the change in tempo

of the sample.

Loop Play

5. Turn on Loop Play on the Transport toolbar. Now the sample will continue to

loop until you press Stop.

Reverse

6. Select Reverse from the toolbar. The sample is immediately reversed.

7. Press Play and hear the sample played backwards.

Copy and Paste

8. Select the entire sample by pressing the Select All button on the DSP toolbar.

9. Choose Copy from the Edit menu. The sample is placed on the clipboard.

10. C lick anywher e on the wave for m display to deselect the sample, then position the cursor at the very end of the sample by pressing the Go To End button in the

transport section of the toolbar. The flashing cursor line is now positioned at the end of the sample.

 Note: The original

tempo shown may not reflect the actual tempo of the sample. You have to set this value manually in order to have the new tempo accurately calculated.

E-MU Systems 55

3 - Getting Started Examine the Samples

11. Choose Paste from the Edit menu. The following dialog box appears.

12. Insert mode is already selected and it’s the mode we want. The clipboard contents will be inserted at the cursor location, extending the length of the sample. Press OK.

13. Now position the mouse pointer at the very end of the sample. Press the shift key down and click the left mouse button. The section of wave you just pasted is selected.

Step 13. Position pointer here.

56 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Pitch Shift

14. Select Pitch Shift from the DSP toolbar. The following dialog box appears.

15. Set the Tuning interval. 100 cents equals one semitone. Try a setting of 700 cents or a perfect fifth.

16. Select Constant Time. This setting changes the pitch but will leave the rhythm constant. Don’t change the algorithm. See page 192 the pitch change options.

17. Press OK to change the pitch.

18. Click on the Loop Start button in the Transport Controls to set the cursor to the beginning of the sample and press Play.

for more information about

3 - Getting Started

Examine the Samples

Experiment!

Please feel free to try out all the other DSP processes such as Transform Multiplication. Be sure to read the Editing a Sample chapter (page 169

) to learn all about these

powerful tools, but you should actually try them out as you read. Remember that nothing is made permanent until you save the bank, so experime nt

as much as you like without fear. Samples can also be exported as WAVE or AIFF files using the Export function in the

Sample Edit menu. This allows you to use other sound processors in your computer. Externally processed samples can be re-imported using the Import option in the File menu.

Save and Save As

When you choose “Save As” from the file menu, the entire bank—presets, voices and samples—are re-written to the hard disk. This method , alt h ough somewhat wasteful of memory, ensures that all your samples remain bound with your bank.

Be sure to rename your bank when using Sav e As… to save an edited bank, otherwise you may overwrite data you wanted to keep. When you choose Save, (instead of Save As) only the edited presets, voices and samples will be written, saving time and memory.

 All the DSP tools are

calculated in 32-bit precision math.

Emulator X Bank Structure

Banks are comprised of two distinct entities which need to be kept in the same folder on your computer hard disk. The Sample Pool contains the raw sample data used. The Bank file contains all the voice, preset and multisample data that makes up the Emulator X bank.

E-MU Systems 57

3 - Getting Started Building a Preset from the Ground Up

Building a Preset from the Ground Up

In this tutorial we’ll start with an empty bank and create a comp le te preset using some of the samples in your library. Along the way you’ll learn:

• How to locate samples from your library and load them into the bank

• How to place samples on the keyboard

• How to stretch samples across the keyboard

• How to apply various types of audio processing to the samples

 Locate Samples and Load them into the Bank

1. Make sure you have either the Proteus Composer or Proteus X Composer bank on your hard disk.

2. Let’s start with a clean slate. Select New from the File menu.

3. The easiest way to find samples is using the Library feature. Click the Library Tab at

the bottom of the Tree.

4. Select Vocal as the Category, then type “aah” in the ‘Filter by Name’ box. Click

Search.

 Important: If the

Librarian doesn’t find the samples, select Update Library from the File menu. (You need to have Proteus X Composer bank in your System.)

Library Tab

5. Clicking on the Samples Folder in the Tree displays the expanded list in the main

window.

6. The window should look something like the one shown above, although you may

have more samples shown, depending on the size of your sample library.

7. Locate the follo wing samples: Aahs A2, Aahs C3, Aahs C4, Aahs D#2, Aahs D#3,

Aahs D#4, Aahs F#3, Aahs F6.

8. Select the samples listed above and while holding the mouse button, drag and drop

them on top of the Emulator X icon above the Tree.

58 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

 Tip: Select multiple

continuous samples by pressing on the Shift key while selecting items. Select multiple noncontinuous samples by pressing the Ctrl key while selecting items.

Building a Preset from the Ground Up

Drag and Drop

9. Click the Sampler Tab at the bottom of the Tree, then double-click the Samples

Folder to open it. You’ll notice that the samples have now been added to the Bank.

10. Click on one of the Sample icons in the Tree. The Sample Editor appears with one of your Aah waves displayed.

Loop Start Marker

3 - Getting Started

Loop End Marker

11. The sample is of a fixed length. So that the sample will play for as long as you hold a keyboard key, the sample is looped. Notice (but don’t change) the Start and End Loop Markers.

12. Loo p ing is a subjec t f or another tutorial. At this point, let’s move on to the next step in building a Preset, and place the samples on the keyboard.

Time to Save?

13. It’s time to save whenever you have done enough work that you’d HATE to lose it. Now would probably be a good time.

14. Select Save As... from the File menu, choose a location where you can find it again (the desktop?), and press Save. Don’t you feel better?

E-MU Systems 59

3 - Getting Started Building a Preset from the Ground Up

 Placing the Samples on the Keyboard

1. Click on the Presets Folder in the Tree, then select New Preset (Ctrl+W) from the Presets menu. A new preset appears in the Tree.

2. Select Voices and Zones in the new preset. The Voices and Zones page appears.

3. Select Aahs A2 from the list in the Tree, then drag and drop it anywhere in the Key

Win area as shown below.

4. A new voice named Aahs A2 appears in the window. A green bar appears across the

entire keyboard range indicating that the sample is transposed across the entire keyboard. The red bar shows the original key. Because the original pitch of the sample (A2) is included in the name, Emulator X is smart enough to place the original pitch on the proper key.

• Important: If the original key of a sample is on the wrong key, the sample will be out of tune. The original key selection field is always visible regardless of which tab is selected.

Original Key Selection

5. Play the keyboard. Since the sample is transposed over the entire keyboard range you can play it polyphonically at any pitch. But as you play in the upper part of the keyboard, notice that the sound doesn’t sound so natural anymore. This is a result of the sample transposition. To overcome this problem we add more samples.

6. This time, let’s use a different method of assigning samples. This method is useful if the original pitch is NOT included in the sample name. Select Aahs D#2 from the list in the Tree, then drag and drop it over the D#2 key on the keyboard at the bottom of the window.

Drag and Drop

7. A new voice named Aahs D#2 appears in the window on note D#2.

8. Continue placing the rest of the samples. Practice using both methods.

9. Select the Key Win tab. This window graphically displays the current sample to keyboard mapping. Depending on the way you placed your samples, the display might look something like this. The red bars show the original keys.

Empty Voice

Original Keys

60 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Building a Preset from the Ground Up

10. N otice that the top voice has no sample. This empty voice was created when you created the Preset. We won’t need this voice and can get rid of it. Select the empty voice by clicking on it. It becomes highlighted in red. Press the Delete key on your keyboard to delete it.

11. Also notice that the original keys of our voices are all over the place. Let’s rearrange the voices by the position of the original keys. From the Preset menu, select Sort Voices, By Original Key.

12. Now the voices should be arranged like the screen below.

3 - Getting Started

13. Next, we need to give each sample its own keyboard range. Click on the original key of Aahs D#2 and drag it all the way to the left.

Key Range

Controls

Click & Drag

Inc/dec buttons

14. You can also adjust the key range using the key range controls in the lower right corner of the window. Click the inc/dec buttons and note that the graphic display follows. The Key Range display shows the currently selected voice. The Key Range Controls allow you to select multiple voices and change them all to a single value if so desired.

15. Adjust the range of all your voices until the display looks like the one below. Make sure that none of the voices overlap each other and that all the keys are covered.

E-MU Systems 61

3 - Getting Started Building a Preset from the Ground Up

16. Play the keyboard. The choir sounds much more realistic, especially in the middle range.

Time to Save?

17. It’s time to save again. This time just select Save (Ctrl+S) from the file menu.

 Apply Voice Processing

Now that we have our samples arranged, we can continue to refine our preset using the filters and amplifier.

1. Select the Voice Processing page by clicking the Voice Processing icon in the Tree. The Voice Processing page appears.

2. In the Emulator X, each voice is a complete synthe-

sizer with its own set of parameters. In most cases, you’ll want to treat the voices as a single synthesizer. Select All voices from the Group box above the keyboard in lower part of the window.

• Important! Selecting the proper voices to modify is a fundamental operation and it’s easy to get confus e d . I f the synthesizer controls don’t seem to be working correctly, check to make sure you have the correct voices selected.

Amp Envelope

Select All

Attack 1 Knob Release 1 Knob

62 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Building a Preset from the Ground Up

Amplifier Envelope

3. Our choir sounds pretty good, but the sound turns on abruptly like an organ. Let’s increase the Attack Time a little so that the voices swell up when we press the keys. The Amplifier has its own dedicated Envelope Generator and it’s already selected.

Set the Attack 1 knob to about .5 seconds.

4. Much better! Let’s increase the Release Time so that the sound dies away slowly when the keys are released. Set the Release 1 Time to about 1 second. Heavenly!

Clear the Cords

5. Before we begin, take a look at the Cords section for a second. Cords are the virtual wires that connect everything together in the Emulator X. A bunch of Cords are already connected to their default connections. We don’t want or need these Cords, so let’s get rid of them.

6. Right-click anywhere inside the Cords section. A pop-up selection box appears. Select All Off to clear all the Cords. Poof!

Phaser Phun

7. Now let’s add a filter effect. Select Phaser 1 from the Filter Type menu. This filter simulates a traditional phase shifter by creating two deep notches in the frequency spectrum. Leave the Frequency and Resonance settings at 0.0 for now.

8. Let’s add a bit of movement to the filter by connecting an LFO to the Filter Frequency. An LFO or Low Frequency Oscillator is simply an oscillator that repeats slowly. The LFOs have a range of .08 Hz (12.5 seconds per cycle) to 18 cycles per second.

3 - Getting Started

9. Click on the fields to select source and destination for the cord. Set-up Cord 1 as shown at right with LFO 1+ as the source, Filter Frequency as the destination, and an amount of around +40.00.

10. A block diagram of the connection you just made is shown below.

Filter

Phaser 1

Freq.

Cord

LFO

11. Play the keyboard and you’ll hear the phaser filter sweeping the two notches across the frequency spectrum.

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3 - Getting Started Building a Preset from the Ground Up

12. Let’s tweak the LFO a bit. Select the LFO/LAGS page by clicking on the LFO/Lags tab. Next, set the Frequency to about 0.9 Hz and change the Shape to Sine.

Frequency

Shape

13. If you have trouble adjusting with the knob, try typing the value into the numeric field. One the numeric field “has the focus” you can use the up/down keys on your computer keyboard to increment or decrement values.

14. N o w the effect is a lot more subtle. Increase the Filter Frequency to about 25 to “zero-in” on the main group of frequency components. Feel free to tune the filter to your own taste. You can also adjust the Cord Amount along with the Filter Frequency to get the effect you want.

15. The Resonance control (Res) adds resonant peaks and deepens the notches in the filter. Try it out.

16. Explore a little on your own. Go ahead and try out different LFO wave shapes, or different filter types. (Be careful. Some of the filters have extremely high gain at certain

frequencies and they may distort with the harmonically-dense voice samples.)

LFO/Lags

 Load an Entire Preset

Now we’re going right back to where we started, but instead of loading individual samples, let’s load a complete Preset.

1. Select the Library Tab in the Tree.

2. Select Keyboard 1 as the “Filter Category” and type in piano in the “Filter by Name” box. Click the Search button.

3. Double-click on the Presets folder in the Tree to open it. You should see several piano presets there.

4. Select one of the piano presets then drag and drop it over the Emulator X icon above the filter selections.

5. Switch back to the Sampler Tab beneath the Tree and see your piano preset in the bank.

6. Select the piano preset and play the keyboard. That was easy!

7. Save the bank.

64 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

 To Audition and Merge Samples

Samples can also be auditioned and merged.

Locate the Samples Folder

1. Locate the Samples folder, just below the Presets folder.

2. Click on the Emulator X icon in the Tree to view the Multisetup page.

Audition

3 - Getting Started

Building a Preset from the Ground Up

3. Select a Sample from the Tree and press the Space Bar on your computer keyboard. The sample is auditioned from the hard disk.

4. Press the Space Bar again to Stop auditioning.

5. You can also audition samples by Right-clicking over the sample and selecting

udition. Right-click and select Stop Audition to silence audition.

Merge the Samples

6. Right-click over the sample in the Tree and select Merge from the menu (or press “M” on your computer keyboard). The sample is added to the current bank.

7. You can also drag and drop a sample over the Emulator X icon to merge it into the bank. These “free” samples will have to be assigne d to voices in a preset before they can be played.

8. If you change your mind and don’t want to merge the sample after all, choose Undo from the Edit menu (or press Ctrl+Z) to un-mer ge the sample.

Signing Off

We’ve covered a lot in this lesson. Now you know how to create a preset from samples and how to create a custom bank from the presets in the library. This is a very ‘deep’ instrument, so don’t expect to learn it all in one day. Explore a little at a time and most of all don’t forget the music, because that’s what its all about. Have fun!

Emulator X Advanced Applications Guide

The Emulator X Advanced Applications Guide contains 43 more in-depth tutorials. The Advanced Application Guide begins with the fundamentals and walks you through nearly every facet of this amazing instrument. You can find this pdf document on your Emulator X3 CD or online at: www.emu.com

. Check it out!

 Samples that reside in

.E4B or .EXB disk files can be auditioned from disk.

 Vista Users: To

Audition samples, you may need to download and install the Vista Codec Package 4.5.4.

E-MU Systems 65

3 - Getting Started The Librarian

The Librarian

As your sample library grows so does the problem of managing all your banks, presets and samples. As you’ve probably already discovered, a single bank can contain literally thousands of individual samples.

The Library is accessed by clicking the Library tab at the bottom of the Tree. To use the librarian, you first “Update” from the File menu. This creates a searchable database of all your samples, presets, banks and audio files which can be quickly searched. Audio files can be either WAVE or AIFF.

You can select which drives you wish to add to the catalog or manually “Add Locations” to narrow down the selection range to speed the update process. The Add Location button also allows you to specify network drives to catalog. Only the selected targets are overwritten with new data when the update process is performed. Unselected targets remain as they were. The “Clear Library” button erases the entire library so you can start from scratch.

 Using the Librarian

Catalog your Disks

1. Select Update Library... from the File menu. A popup dialog box appears asking

you to select the disks you wish to catalog.

 Cool Tip: Categorize

multiple Presets:

1. Click the Sampler Tab in the Tree.

2. Click the Presets folder.

3. Select multiple presets.

4. Right-click and choose category.

5. Select category.

Update

Clear Library

Add Location

Updates the Library with the selected items, leaving non-checked targets intact. Erases Library database.

Allows you to manually select targets to speed update time or select network drives to catalog.

2. Select any disk drives that contains the banks, presets and samples that were included when you installed the Emulator X application. Using the Add Location button, you can select network drives to add to the Library catalog. The Add Location button also allows you to select specific folders or locations for cataloging.

3. Click the Update button to begin cataloging. The display will read: “Updating”. This process may take a minute or two depending on how many files need to be cataloged.

66 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Find your Files

4. Select the Library tab at the bottom of the Tree and press Enter on your computer keyboard. All Emulator X Banks, Presets, or Samples can now be accessed here. (This can take a few seconds, especially with very large banks.)

5. Click on the Presets folder to view all the presets on your hard disks.

6. Selecting an item in the Category field returns any Banks, Presets or Samples in the selected category.

7. Type a search string in the Filter by Name field, then press the Search button to search the library.

The 'Filter by Name' field is a subset of the Category search. Select <Any> in the Category field to search the entire library.

8. Browse through the Bank, Preset, and Sample folders to find the sounds you want.

9. Right-click on a Preset or Sam ple to Audition the Preset or Sample from disk. You must play the keyboard while Auditioning to hear presets.

Load your Files

10. To add a file to the bank, Left-click and Drag the desired object in the Library over the Emulator X icon at the top of the tree and release the mouse button. The file is added to the bank.

11. Or… Select the object you want from the Library and Right-click. Then select Merge to merge the object into the current bank.

3 - Getting Started

The Librarian

E-MU Systems 67

3 - Getting Started The Librarian

68 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

The Multisetup

The Multisetup is the top level of the Emulator hierarchy and is the place where you choose and assign presets to each of the MIDI channels. All the control settings in this

window are saved when you save the Multisetup.

 To Select the Current Multisetup:

1. Click on the Emulator X icon at the top of the Tree. The current multisetup appears.

2. The Single Mode view is shown below. This view is convenient for performing live

or when you’re only playing one preset at a time.

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

The Multisetup

 The MIDI Controller

settings and Filter Override are not stored with the Multisetup. These settings are stored with each Preset.

Single Channel View

Preset Select

Click Here

Channel

Pan

Channel

Volume

FXA, FXB,

Aux Output

Enables

Main

Output

Select

Single View

Tab

Select All or

by Category

Select

Changing Presets (from Single View)

Single View is the default view when you first run Emulator X. This view is convenie nt for performing live or when you’re only playing one preset at a time. All the main parameters for the selected MIDI channel are displayed in Single View and a convenient Category mode allows you to quickly select presets in a certain category. A closeup of the current channel settings is shown below.

Single View Close-up

 Note that Single View

only changes the display and does not affect the currently selected MIDI mode (i.e. Omni, Poly or Multi).

Select All or Select

by Category

Preset

Inc/Dec

Select/View

Preset

Number

Preset

Name

Channel

Volume

Main Output

Select

 To Select Presets by Number

Select

Multi Channel View

Press the 1-1 6 Multis etup View button to view 16 channels at once. This mode is useful for sequencing or when playing multiple MIDI channels.

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

The Multisetup

Multi Channel View

MIDI

Activity

Click Here

Current

Channel

MIDI

Controllers

Preset

Select

Multisetup

View

Tabs

Channel

Vol ume

Channel

Pan

MIDI Mode Select

Output Display

Tab

Aux FX

Display

Tabs

Main Output Routing

Aux Send Enables

Preset FX Enables

Master Tempo

Master Volume

Master Tune & Transpose

Aux Output Select

Definable

Labels

E-MU Systems 71

Preroll

RAM Used

CPU & Disk Use Meters

No. Samples

Playing

Current

Channel

TwistaLoop

Override

Filter

Override

Limiter

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals The Multisetup

The Current MIDI Channel

Change the current channel by clicking anywhere on the desired horizontal channel strip. The red indicator displays the currently selected channel number. The MIDI Controllers change to show the settings of the currently selected MIDI channel.

 To Select a Preset:

1. Click on the Preset Select button for the desired MIDI channel. The Select Preset dialog box appears.

2. Click on the presets in the list to audition them. Presets can be viewed by large icon,

small icon, by list, or by detailed list. Presets can also be sorted by name, ID, bank/ program number, or category when in Detail View mode.

3. To choose a preset, select it and press OK, or double-click on the preset in the li st.

 To Select a Preset from the Tree:

1. Set the Current Channel by clicking anywhere on a horizontal channel strip in the Multisetup window.The channel number turns red, indicating that this is the current channel.

2. Choose the preset you want in the tree and Right-Click on its preset icon.

3. Choose Select on Current Channel. The preset is now selected for that channel.

4. You can also select a preset for the current channel by simply clicking the preset’s

keyboard icon from the tree.

MIDI Channel

Each channel only responds to MIDI data on its particular channel. Use the floating keyboard (select Keyboard from the View menu) to audition presets on the currently selected channel. Select the current channel by clicking anywhere on the desired channel strip. The red indicator displays the currently selected channel number.

Preset Assignment

Assign presets to MIDI channels by clicking on the triangle selector button to the right of the preset field. A pop-up dialog box appears with the list of presets in the bank. Select a preset, then click OK to select.

Channel Volume

This control sets the relative volume of the MIDI channel. This is equivalent to MIDI controller #7 (channel volume) and changes made over MIDI will be shown here.

Channel Pan

This control sets the stereo position of the MIDI channel. This is equivalent to MI DI controller #10 (channel pan) and changes made over MIDI will be shown here.

Output Assignment

This control selects the Main Output assignment for the MIDI channel. 100% of the stereo output signal is sent to the selected output bus.

The number of outputs available in this field depends on the number of stereo channels your sound card provides. Add ASIO input strips in PatchMix DSP to increase the number of available outputs. Output destinations will be labeled according to the PatchMix DSP input strip scribble strip name. The EX session templates in PatchMix DSP are designed to be used with Emulator X.

 Important: The act of

creating PatchMix DSP ASIO mixer strips makes them available for Emulator X. If they are not created in PatchMix DSP, you won’t see them in the Output Assignment field.

72 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Output View Button

This button allows you to view the Aux Send On/Off, Main Output Routing, and Preset FXA/FXB Bypass buttons when not in Single Mode. (The button is disabled in Single mode.)

You may want to bypass the Preset Effects on certain channels in order to free up CPU power or to hear the presets dry.

Aux FX View Buttons

The buttons above the TV display select which of the three possible Aux Effect is currently displayed. Note: The Output View button is disabled in Single mode.

Aux Send On/Off

These buttons enable (blue) or disable (grey) the inputs to the Aux Sends for each MIDI channel. When a factory FX template (such as Proteus X Composer) is used, these buttons serve to enable/disable the Aux FX for each channel. The Main Output is unaffected by these buttons.

These buttons disable the Aux Sends whether the Aux FX are being used or not. Please refer to the diagram on page 234 path.

Output View

Button

to see the exact location of this switch in the signal

Aux Effect View Buttons

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

The Multisetup

 The Output View

button is only available when any of the multimode views are selected. In Single mode you can only control the current channel.

Aux Send

Preset FX

Enable Buttons

Main Output

Routing

On/Off

Preset FX Enables

These two rows of buttons marked FXA and FXB, enable or disable the preset effects for each MIDI channel. These work differently than the Aux Send On/Off buttons in that they bypass the effects instead of turning them on or off. These buttons are useful to bypass any preset effects which may have been programmed in the preset.

Please refer to Chapter

“9 - Effects” on page 231 for detailed information about the

output and effects routing.

Select Effect

Click on the Effect Select icon at the top right corner of the Effects TV screen. A list of available effects drops down. See “

Adding an Aux Effect in the Multisetup” on

page 232 for complete details on how to add aux effects.

TwistaLoop Override

This three-way switch determines if the beat looping features are locked to Master Tempo. The three modes are as follows:

• On: Beats on the channel are locked to the Global

Master Tempo. This control overrides the “Sync To Master Clock” setting in the preset.

• Off: Beats on the channel are NOT locked to the Global Master Tempo. This

control overrides the “Sync To Master Clock” setting in the preset.

• Not Set: The “Sync To Master Clock” button in the Preset Globals page deter-

mines whether or not the Beats are locked to the Global Master Tempo.

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Global Controls

Master Volume Control & VU Meter

This is the master volume control for Emulator X. This slider controls the output volume of all MIDI channels.The range of this control can be adjusted using the Headroom/Boost control in the preferences dialog box. See page 24.

The Master volume control responds to the Universal Real Time System Exclusive message for Master Volume. If your MIDI controller (e.g. an E-MU Xboard) sends such messages (such as from a master volume slider), the master volume in Emulator X changes accordingly.

The VU meter indicates the overall output level of the Emulator X Main Outputs. It serves as a handy indicator to show clipping or to troubleshoot audio output p roblems.

Temp o Con tro l

This control and associated display sets the master tempo when Emulator X is chosen as the tempo source. Emulator X contains a global master clock which is used for Tempo-based Envelopes, Tempo-based LFOs, and clock modulation.

External Tempo Source” in the MIDI Preferences dialog must be Off fo r this control to operate.

When “External Tempo Source” in the preferences dialog box is On, and an external MIDI device or appl icati on is generating MIDI clock, the Emulator X tempo will lock to the MIDI clock tempo.

Master Tune

Master Tune adjusts the overall tuning of all presets so you can tune Emulator X to other instruments. The master tuning range is ±1 semitone in one cent steps (1/100th of a semitone). A master tune setting of 0¢ indicates that Emulator X is precisely tuned to concert pitch (A=440 Hz).

Master Transpose

The master transpose parameter transposes the key of all presets in sem it one inte r vals. The transpose range is ±12 semi tones (1 octave).

Limiter

When playing Emulator X you may sometimes hear digital clipping. This clipping occurs in the digital hardware and is not caused by Emulator X, which uses high resolution floating point processing and has tremendous internal headroom.

To avoid the clipping, you could always lower the volume controls, but there’s a better way. The Limiter monitors the signal ahead of the output stage and automatically turns down the volume before clipping can occur.

74 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

 To Use the Limiter

1. Press the Enable button, illuminating the but ton.

2. Set the Release knob to about 30% to start. Release controls how fast the limiter

turns the volume back up after reducing it to avoid the clipping peaks.

3. Increase the r el eas e t im e if you hear obvious volume changes (pumping). Reduce

the release time for percussive playing.

Aux Outputs

These three output assignments assign the Aux Routings selected in the Voices or Presets to pairs of ASIO channels or to DirectSound. Every Voice (page36

) has three effects sends with programmable amounts as well as a wet/dry mix to the Preset FX section. The three effect sends from all voices and Presets are summed into the three Aux Outputs where they are assigned to an ASIO pair. The Aux ASIO streams can be routed to the PatchMix DSP mixer or to other software devices running on your computer.

Emulator X Aux Bus Routing

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

Global Controls

 See Chapter

9 - Effects” on page 231

“

for complete descriptions of the effects routing.

Using the Emulator Sessions in PatchMix DSP

The E-MU Digital Audio System contains special Sessions that can be used with the Emulator X factory banks. These Sessions connect the Aux Outputs to PatchMix DSP mixer input strips containing PatchMix DSP hardware effects.

If a factory bank has the Aux Outputs set as shown in the diagram above, it is designed to use the PatchMix hardware effects. If all the Aux Outputs are set to EX Main it most likely uses the built-in software effects. You can easily add PatchMix DSP hardware effects to a bank that uses Emulator X software effects by simply switching an Aux bus to a PatchMix strip with effects.

See “

Block Diagram of the Effects Routing” on page 234.

ASIO 1/2

ASIO 3/4

ASIO 5/6

ASIO 7/8

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4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals Global Controls

IMPORTANT

The act of creating PatchMix DSP ASIO mixer strips makes them available for Emulator X or any other application. You must create the ASIO mixer strips before Emulator X or any other application will see them.

 To Open the Emulator Sessions in PatchMix DSP

1. Open PatchMix DSP by clicking on the icon and select New Session.

2. Select Emulator X Studio.

3. Select Percussion EQ for use with the percussion banks on Disk 3. Select Emulator X Studio for all other banks.

4. The PatchMix DSP screen below shows the Main and Aux Output connections from Emulator X.

Emulator X Studio Session

Main

Output

Aux 1 Aux 2 Aux 3

The routing options in the Emulator X Aux Output section take their names from the PatchMix DSP scribble strips. To route an Aux Send to a hardware effect, simply change the Aux Output routing to a PatchMix strip containing effects.

76 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Filter Override

The filter type of the first voice in the preset (on the currently selected channel) is shown in this display. If you change the filter type in this field, ALL the voices in the preset will change to the filter type you select. When the display reads, - Not Set - the filters programmed in each voice will be used. The filters may be set differen tly for each voice.

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

Global Controls

MIDI Realtime Controllers & Scribble Strips

Pre-roll RAM CPU Meter Number of Samples Current Channel

Filter Override

MIDI Controllers & Scribble Strips

Sixteen realtime MIDI Controllers are available to control the preset on the currently selected channel. These controllers are connected to MIDI sources as assigned in the Preferences dialog box (page 28

The scribble strip names and the initial settings of the controller knobs are user programmable in the Preset Globals window. See page 80

) and changes made over MIDI will be reflected here.

Pre-roll RAM Used

This display shows how much of your computer’s RAM is being used by pre-roll sound data. The amount of Pre-roll RAM can be adjusted in the preferences dialog box. When Sample Streaming is disabled this number shows the total RAM usage. See page 21

CPU Meter

This display shows how much of your computer CPU power is being used by Emulator X. If the meter turns red, this indicates that there is not enough CPU bandwidth to properly process the audio in a timely manner, which may result in audible glitches or delayed notes.

Number of Samples Playing

This display shows you how many samples are currently being played. The maximum number of samples that can be played depends on a variety of factors such as: HD speed, RAM memory speed and CPU speed. See “ information about performance.

Audio Setup” on page 23 for more

Current Channel

This displays the currently selected MIDI channel. Change the current channel by clicking anywhere on the desired channel strip.

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4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals Working with Multisetups

Working with Multisetups

A Multisetup is a “snapshot” of the current Emulator X settings. Multisetups store the preset, volume, pan position, and output bus routings for 64 MIDI channels along with the Global Tempo and the three Aux Send destinations.

Saving FX & Multisetups

It is important to realize what data is stored in a multisetup when saving banks. In addition to Volume, Pan, and Preset choices for each channel, the Initial Controllers, FX Aux 1, Aux 2, and Aux 3 are stored with the multisetup. The send level for each preset to each Aux bus is stored in the preset data. Remember to save the bank

whenever you have made changes that you want to keep.

VSTi Multisetups

A multisetup for your VSTi is stored in your Cubase project and will be loaded when the project is opened. This multisetup overrides whatever default multisetup may have been saved if the bank was opened in standalone mode. If you wish to store extra multisetups you may do by using the Multisetup menu on the toolbar.

 To Store the Current Multisetup

1. Set up all the multisetup parameters the way you want them.

2. Select Store from the Multisetup window on the toolbar.

3. Choose a name and number for the multisetup. Changing the number allows you to place the Multisetup anywhere you want in the list.

4. Press OK to store the Multisetup.

5. Save the Bank, otherw is e nothing will be saved.

 To Restore a Multisetup

1. Open the multisetup folder in the Tree. Any multis etups contained in t he bank will

be listed below the folder.

2. Left-click on the desired multisetup icon in the tree and drag it over the Emulator X icon above the tree. This multisetup will be restored.

3. Alternate Method - Right-click over the Multisetup icon in the Tree and choose Load.

 To Export the Multisetup as a New Bank

This feature lets you save only the presets and samples you need as a new bank.

1. Set up all the multisetup parameters the way you want them.

2. Select Export from the Multisetup window on the toolbar. The popup “Save As” dialog box appears prompting you for the save location.

3. Choose the location for your new bank and click Save to save the bank, or click Cancel to cancel the operation.

 To Rename a Multisetup

1. Open the multisetup folder in the Tree. Any multisetups contained in the bank will

be listed below the folder.

2. Right-click on the desired multisetup icon in the tree, then select Rename from the pop-up menu.

3. Type in a new name for the multisetup.

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 To Delete a Multisetup

1. Open the multisetup folder in the Tree. Any multis etups contained in t he bank will

be listed below the folder.

2. Right-click on the desired multisetup icon in the tree, then select Delete from the pop-up menu.

3. The Multisetup will be deleted.

 To Duplicate a Multisetup

1. Open the multisetup folder in the Tree. Any multis etups contained in t he bank will

be listed below the folder.

2. Right-click on the desired multisetup icon in the tree, then select Duplicate from the pop-up menu.

3. The Multisetup will be duplicated renamed “Copy of…XX” and placed in the first empty Multisetup location.

 To Rearrange the Order of Multisetups

1. Click once on the multisetup folder in the tree. The list of multisetups appears.

2. Select Details View from the view options in the toolbar and change the ID number.

3. If you try to save a Multisetup with a number that is already used, a popup dialog box will appear asking you if you want to use the next available ID number or enter a new ID.

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

Working with Multisetups

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Preset Globals

The Preset Globals allow you to edit presets and their key maps. Samples can be arranged into single-sample or multi-sample voices with synthesizer processing applied. Then these complete voices can then be arranged anywhere on the keyboard.

The Preset Editor contains three sections. The first section, Voices & Zones, is used for arranging voices and samples on the keyboard and editing global preset parameters.

The Links section makes it easy to build new presets by combining other finished presets. Multiple presets can be crossfaded or cross-switched according to key position, key velocity, or by the position of MIDI continuous controllers.

The third section, Voice Processing, is used to perform more detailed editing of voices such as envelope shaping of amplitude and filters as well as modulation parameters. This is the synthesizer section of Emulator X containing E-MU’s legendary Z-plane filters and powerful matrix modulation.

 To Edit a Preset:

1. Select the Sampler tab from the Tree. The contents of the current Emulator X bank appears in the Tree.

2. Double-click on the Preset folder from the

tree (or click once on the (+) symbol). The preset folder expands to display the presets contained within.

3. Click on one of the Preset icons in the Presets

folder to view the Preset Globals window.

4. Double-click on the desired preset icon from

the tree (or click once on the (+) symbol). The preset icon expands to display the subsections:

Voices and Zones, Links, and Voice Processing levels.

5. Select the desired section: Voices & Zones,

Links, or Voice Processing by clicking on the associated icon.

 To Select a Preset from the Tree:

1. Set the Current Channel to the one you’re

using by clicking on the channel number in the Multisetup screen.

2. Choose the preset you want in the tree and

Right-Click on its preset icon.

3. Choose Select on Current Channel. The

preset is now selected for that channel.

80 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

These parameters affect the entire preset and are saved with t he bank.

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

Preset Globals

 You can quickly access

the Preset Globals window by clicking the

button in the toolbar.

Transpose & Volume

Transpose works by shifting the keyboard position. The actual samples are not retuned. In other words, if you have the same sound on each key, such as a piano, the piano will change key when you transpose. On the other hand, if you have a different drum assigned to each key, changing transpose will shift the position of the drum s on the keyboard.

The volume control allows you to adjust the volume for the entire preset. This control is variable from -96 dB (off) to +10 dB.

Initial Controllers A-P

These set the initial value of MIDI controllers A-P for the preset. As soo n as a M ID I controller is moved, it jumps immediately from this initial setting to the new setting of the control. The controllers A-P are assigned to MIDI continuous controller numbers in the Preferences dialog box.

Controllers A-P can be adjusted via MIDI or by turning the controller knob in the Multisetup.

The Label fields to the left of the initial controller knobs are user definable. These labels or “Scribble Strips” also appear in the Multisetup screen to show the function of the realtime controller knobs.

See “

MIDI Channels & Real-time Controls” on page 314 for additional information

about Controllers A-P.

 Changing the initial

controller settings is an easy way to customize a preset. Simply change the knobs and save the bank.

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Capture MIDI Controllers

You can capture the state of all your MIDI input device’s MIDI controllers, and place the settings in the Initial Controllers section of the Preset. Essentially, this allows you to capture the Multisetup’s MIDI controller state, and store it in the preset.

 To Capture MIDI Controllers

1. Make any desired changes to any MIDI controllers on your MIDI input device, or in the Multisetup window.

2. Go to the Preset Globals window for the preset you want to apply your current

MIDI state.

3. From the Preset menu, select Capture MIDI Controllers.

4. Notice that the initial controllers now reflect the state of your MIDI controllers. To

keep these settings, you can save the Preset.

TwistaLoop Lock To Tempo

This control locks all analyzed beats in the preset to the global master tempo. When this function is on, all beats in the preset will lock to the master tempo unless “TwistaLoop Override” (page 73 is turned off.

This button works in combination with “TwistaLoop Override.” When TwistaLoop Override is “Not Set,” this button determines whether beats sync to the master tempo for the pres e t.

When TwistaLoop Override is set to On or Off for the MIDI channel, this button has no effect. These two controls allow you to set the state of “Sync to Master Clock” by MIDI channel (TwistaLoop Override) or by Preset (this button).

)

Initial Tempo

This feature allows the master tempo to be programmed from presets that use tempo-based envelopes, LFOs or TwistaLoop.

The Initial Tempo works in combination with the “Preset Tempo Channel” option in the Preferences menu, which allows one specific MIDI channel to control the master tempo. See

Tempo Channel on page 27.

When the Initial Tempo is set to a tempo on the defined Preset Tempo Channel, the master tempo will follow this tempo setting when the preset is selected.

 To Set the Master Tempo from a Preset:

1. Turn Preset Tempo Channel on a nd set it to the desired MIDI control channel. (Options, Preferences, MIDI) “External Tempo Source” must be turned off.

2. Set the Initi a l Tempo (Preset Globals) to the desired tempo.

3. Turn on TwistaLoop - Lock To Tempo (Preset Globals) if you are using Twist-

aLoop.

4. Select the preset on the assigned preset tempo channel.

Preset

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Tuning Tables

In addition to the standard equally divided octave tuning, Emulator X contains twelve factory programmed tuning tables. The Keyboard Tuning parameter selects which tuning is used by the current preset.

The factory keyboard tuning tables are described in the following table.

Tuning Tables Description

Equal Temperament

Just C

Just C2

Just C-minor

Just C3

Vallotti and Young

19-Tone

Gamelan

Werkmeister

Kirnberger

Scarlatti

Repeating Octave

al-Farabi 12

22-Tone

24-Tone

36-Tone

Standard Western tuning 12 equally spaced notes per octave.

Just intonation. Based on small interval ratios. Sweet and pure, non-beating intervals.

Allows you to play the following chords in the key of C: C, E, F, G, A, B, C#m, D#m, Em, F#m, G#m, Am, Bm

Allows you to play the following chords in the key of C: C, E, F, G, A, B, Em, Am, Bm, C#m, D#m, G#m

Allows you to play the following chords in the key of C: C, D, F, Bb, C#m, Dm, Em, F#m, G#m, Am

Valotti & Young non-equal temperament. Similar to 12 tone equal temperament. Each key has a different character for a given scale.

19 tone equal temperament. 19 notes per octave. Difficult to play, but works well with a sequencer.

5 tone Slendro and 7 tone Pelog. (Javanese.) Pelog are white keys, Slendro are black keys. Exotic tunings of Gamelan flavor.

A “well” temperament developed in the 17th century. Although you can play in all keys, each key sounds slightly different.

Another well temperament developed by Johann Philipp Kirnberger where no pitch is more than 12 cents off from equal temperament.

A variant of Meantone tuning which was used from the 15th to 18th centuries.

Middle C octave is repeated up and down the keyboard. Link with a preset in equal temperament to form unusual inversions up and down the keyboard.

A twelve-note reduction of an Arabic/Middle Eastern tuning system. The following scales are useful:

Diatonic: C Eb G G# A A# B c Zalzal: C Eb Gb G# A A# B c Persian: C Eb F G# A A# B c

22 tone equal temperament. Good for minor harmonies.

24 tone equal temperament. These notes are quarter steps apart.

26 tone equal temperament. Difficult to play, but even better for minor harmonies.

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

Preset Globals

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The Just C Tuning Tables

Well Tempered and Just were standard keyboard tunings up until the 20th-century when the current “equal tempered” scale became prevalent. In an equal tempered scale, the octave is equally divided into 12 parts. In Just or Well Tempered scales, the 12 notes are separately tuned to produce pure chords. However, in Just tunings you are limited to playing certain chords and if you play the wrong chord it may sound sour!

Tuning tables can be changed as you play using a program change (create several presets with the same sound and different tuning tables) or using a continuous controller (link 2 presets and crossfade between them using a controller).

The Just C2, Just C min, Just C3 Tuning Tables

Fully explaining the mysteries of just intonation is beyond the scope of this manual, but the subject is covered exhaustively in Hermann Helmho ltz’s On the Sensations of

Tone, available at most libraries and bookstores.

The four just intonation tables are called Just C2, Just C3, and Just C Minor. Try playing in the key of C/Cm using each table. You’ll quickly discover both the wonders and the frustrations of just intonation! In Just C, for example, you’ll find that the chords C, Em, F, G, and Am sound beautiful. If you hold one of these chords, you’ll hear no “beating”. After playing for a few minutes, switch back to Equal Temperament for a rude awakening!

At this point you might wonder why anyone would use Equal Temperament to begin with. For the answer to that question, play a D, Dmi, or Bb chord! The intervallic ratios that make the C & G chords sound so pure make the D chord sound horribly out of tune. That's why we had to include Just C3. In this tuning, D, Dmi and Bb sound in tune, but the G chord will sound wrong.

Each of the 4 tables allows you to play a different group of common chords in just intonation. Sadly, there is no single 12 note tuning that will allow all of the common chords to be in tune, and of course that's why they invented the equal temperament tuning system that we use today.

Just C

Play these chords: C, E, F, G, A, Cm, C#m, Em, F#m,

Gm, Am

Just C2

Play these chords:

C, E, F, G, A, B, C#m, D#m, Em, G#m, Am, Bm

Just C minor

Play these chords: C, D

Just C3

Play these chords: C, D, F, B

, D, Eb, G, Ab, Cm, Em, Fm, Gm

, C#m, Dm, Em, F#m, G#m, Am

Equal Temperament Tunings

For each of the equal temperament tunings except 19-tone, middle C (i.e., MIDI note

60) is middle C as it would be in a standard 12-note tuning. The keyboard is then scaled up and down from middle C (C2). For example, using the 22-tone scale, one octave above middle C is 22 keys up the keyboard (A#3).

84 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Key CC Window

These controls work in conjunction with the “Keyboard - CC Window” function in the Voices and Zones. See “

Pressing the “Key CC Win” button and setting a Keyboard Range fields marks off a section of the keyboard to be used as control keys for the CC Window or a PatchCord source in the Voice Processing section. These keys will no longer trigger sounds. Instead, they are now used for selecting different voices in the CC Windows, or as a modulation source in the Cords. (See page 222.

Continuous Controller Window Pages” on page 108.

)

Preset Modulators

The Preset Modulators are special class of modulation sources in that they originate at the Preset Level, but their output is used in the V oice PatchCords. There are three types of

preset modulation sources.

Preset Modulator Typical Uses

Channel Lags 1 & 2 “Leslie” speaker effects. Switch slowly increases/decreases LFO

speed. Poly Ramp (Timer) Controlling key-up layer volume based on the time a key is held. Channel Ramp Ramps on First Note only. “Hammond” style organ percussion.

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

Preset Globals

Channel Lag 1 & 2 Rate

Like the Layer Lag processors (described on page 138) the Channel Lag slows down rapid changes in the input signal. The output “lags” behind the input at a preprogrammed rate.

Unlike the layer level lag processors, the Channel Lags 1 & 2 take effect as soon as the preset is selected. In contrast, the Voice level lag processors begin acting only after a keyboard key has been depressed. The Channel Lag also has a Lag Amount input which controls the lag time. Positive lag amounts increase the lag time. A MIDI controller (front panel knob) is commonly used to control lag amount.

The Channel Lags could be used to slowly increase or decrease the speed of an LFO which in turn controls some other effect, perhaps left/right panning, pitch, or the filter. When a MIDI footswitch is used as the input, the lag acts to slow down the inst antaneous change of the switch. The slowly changing output value can then be routed using a patchcord to smoothly crossfade between voices or gradually change the speed of an LFO.

Channel

Lag

ex. footswitch

Lag Amount

(+ value = longer)

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Poly Key Timer

This processor starts a timer which begins counting down whenever a key is pressed, and stops and outputs its value when the key is released. The value of this timer can be used on any voices after the key release. The Poly Key Timer is a special modulation source controlled by the key and not the voice.

The Poly Key Timer is commonly used on grand piano presets to reduce the pedal damper volume the longer the keys are held.

Release layer voice becomes softer the longer the key

Release

Layer Voice

Amp

is held.

Poly Release

Trigger

Amp Vol

Poly Key

Timer

Preset Global

Note-On - Poly Key Timer begins counting down. Note-Off - Poly Key Timer stops counting and outputs value.

Channel Ramp

This processor generates a single negative going slope whenever the first key is depressed on the MIDI channel. This preset level processor was originally designed to simulate the percussion key click on Hammond organs, but you may find other uses.

Channel Ramp

time

decrease

1st Note

Played

The Channel Ramp instantly resets when all notes have been released and the next first key on the MIDI channel is pressed. The value of the ramp rate set s the increment. Large

values produce fast ramps and small values produce slow ramps. To use the Channel Ramp as a first-note decay envelope, patch the Channel Ramp out

to Amp Volume and set the Amp Envelope for a fast attack and 100% sustain and short release.

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Preset PatchCords

Preset PatchCords give you real-time control of the Preset Modulators. There are 16 Preset PatchCords per preset with a source, a destination and an amount control. The amount can be set from -100 to +100.

Modulation Sources Modulation Destinations

Off Off Pitch Wheel Channel Lag 1 In Mod Wheel (Modulation Wheel) Channel Lag 1 Amount Pressure (Channel Pressure) Channel Lag 2 In Pedal Channel Lag 2 Amount MIDI Volume (Controller 7) Channel Ramp Rate MIDI Pan (Controller 10) Post-FX Main Send Expression (Controller 11) Post-FX Aux 1 Send MIDI A-P Post-FX Aux 2 Send Footswitch 1 Post-FX Aux 3 Send Flip-Flop Footswitch 1 (F’switch 1 FF) FX A Mod 1 Footswitch 2 FX A Mod 2 Flip-Flop Footswitch 2 (F’switch 2 FF) FX A Mod 3 Thumbswitch FX A Mod 4 Flip-Flop Thumbswitch (T’switch FF) FX B Mod 1 DC Offset FX B Mod 2 Channel Lag 1 & 2 FX B Mod 3 Channel Ramp FX B Mod 4

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

Preset Globals

Templates

For each different module in the Preset Globals window, you can save a library of your favorite settings. These Templates make it easy to create your own customized voices and presets. Templates are saved as an XML file within the Emulator X application directory so they’re always available for use. For more information on templates,

See

Templates on page 279.

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88 Emulator X3 Reference Manual

5 - Voices & Sample Zones

Each preset contains voices. A voice houses a sample, or multiple samples, and can cover an individual key, or a range of keys.

The Voices and Zones window allows you full control over the parameters for each voice, including levels, tuning, keyboard range, crossfading, looping, region, and more. The Voices and Zones window is divided into tabs, each with its own set of controls. Certain controls, such as Volume and Pan appear in each window.

To access the Voices and Zones window, expand a preset in the tree, and click Voices and Zones.

5 - Voices & Sample Zones

Selected

Voice/Zone

xpand/Collapse

Multisample

Mute/Solo

Voice or

Zone

Selected

Voice(s)

Overview

Section

Page Selection Tabs Voice Multisample Voice Sample Zone

MIDI Controller RangeKey Range for

Selected Voice(s)

E-MU Systems 89

5 - Voices & Sample Zones Voices and Zones Pages

Voices and Zones Pages

The Voices and Zones Window is separated into tabbed pages:

Mix/Tune

Adjust volume, pan, transpose, coarse tuning, and fine tuning for each voice . For mo r e information, see “

Mix/Tune Page” on page 99.

Key Win

Edit keyboard range assignments and place voices and multisamples wherever you want. For more informations, see “

Key Window Page” on page 99.

Vel Win

Control the volume of a voice by key velocity. Crossfade or cross-switch between voices by key velocity. For more information, see “

Velocity Window Page” on page 103.

RT Win

Control the volume of a voice using a real-time controller such as a modulation wheel, a pedal, an LFO or an envelope generator. For more information, see “

Window Page” on page 105.

Realtime

CC Win 1-5

Switch CC windows using specified keys on your MIDI controller. For more information, see “

Continuous Controller Window Pages” on page 108.

Region

Define which part of a sample plays. For more information, see “Region Page” on

page 115.

 You c an q ui ckl y ac cess

the Voices and Zones window for the current preset by clicking the button in the toolbar.

Details

An overview of each voice that allows you to view and change Sample, Direction, Mix/ Tune, and Key Window information using numeric values. For more information, see

“

Details Page” on page 119.

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Voice Selection

In each tabbed page, voices can be selected by clicking any part of th e voice strip. Selection is shown by a red box around the voice strip.

1. Select the first voice in the “Voices & Zones” screen.

2. Hold the Shift key to select contiguous voices. Hold the Control key to select or

deselect non-contiguous voices. Press Control-A to select all voices.

Manipulating Voices

Under each tabbed page, there are various controls that allow you to change a voice’s Group, Sample, Direction, Volume, Pan, etc. Some controls, such as Group or Direction, are selected from a drop-down menu. Others, such as Volume and Pan, are controlled by a slider or wheel.

Most pages also contain parameters that can be adjusted using graphical sliders.

You edit a slider’s range or position by clicking the slider, and dragging your mouse left or right. Create a fade by holding the Alt key in conjunction with clicking and dragging your mouse. See the example below:

5 - Voices & Sample Zones

Voice Selection

Click & Drag the

End to Resize

Click & Drag the

Middle to Move

Click & Drag Fade Point

to Adjust Fade

Alt-Click & Drag the

End to set Fade

• To set the high and low ranges, click and drag the end points of the graphic display

• To move the whole range without resizing it, click and drag the middle of the range.

• To create a fade, hold Alt, and click and drag the end points. Once you create a fade point, you can click and drag the fade point to re-position it.

Working With Multiple Voices

If you select more than one voice, you can edit parameters for all selected voices simultaneously. To select more than one voice, hold the Ctrl key while clicking the voices with your mouse. To select contiguous voices, hold the Shift key while clicking.

It’s important to understand how changing parameters in the various tabbed pages differs from changing parameters in the Overview section that occupies the bottom half of the screen:

• In the tabbed pages, such as the Mix/Tune page, parameter changes w ork in a relative manner. This means if you select multiple voices and decrease the Volume of a voice by 10 dB, you decrease all voices’ volumes by 10 dB.

• However, if you select multiple voices and change the volume knob in the Overview section, you change all selected voices’ absolute volumes.

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5 - Voices & Sample Zones Voice Selection

Note about multiple voice editing: If you open several voices for editing that have different voice parameter settings, the parameters in th e dif f er e nt voice s will remain as they were until you change them. That is, if you have three voices selected and you change the filter cutoff, all three voices will jump to the new cutoff setting, but all the other parameters will remain as they were.

Samples & Multisamples

The samples contained in the voice are displayed and can be edited. If the voice contains more than one sample, the word “Multisample” is displayed in the sam p le field. All the samples in a multisample share the same set of synthesizer parameters. However, the volume, fine tune and pan parameters can be adjusted separately for each sample in a multisample.

 To View & Edit the Samples in a Multisample

1. Click the + symbol to display the individual samples and key ranges which comprise the multisample.

2. Click the - symbol to coll apse the multisample.

Expand/Collapse Multisample

Multisample Key Range Individual Sample Key Ranges

Multisamples allow you to place multiple samples under the same set of synthesizer voice parameters.

The multisample key range sets the overall key range limit for the samples in the multisample. In the diagram above, the top sample won’t be played, because its key range is outside the limit of the Multisample key range.

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Groups

Voices can be categorized into Groups as a way to organize and select similar voices, say a layer of piano voices and a layer of string voices, into unified entities.

You can create a temporary group if you want to edit several voices. Grouping the voices and then selecting the group is faster and more dependable than manually selecting each voice when editing.

 To Place a Voice into a Group

1. Tag each voice you want to be in the group with the same group number. This can be done in the “Voices and Zones” window or from the “Voice Processing” window.

2. Whenever you select that group number in the Voice Processing window, all voices

with that group number will be selected. You can define up to 99 groups, but a voice can only be in one group at a time.

 To Make a New Group from the Currently Selected Voices

1. Select the voices you want to be in the new Group from the “Voices & Zones” page.

2. Select New Group from the Preset menu. A new group will be created using the

lowest available group number.

5 - Voices & Sample Zones

Voice Selection

 To Select All Voices for Editing

• From the Voices & Sample Zones window, press Control-A.

• From the Voice Processing window, select All in the Group box.

 To Select a Group of Voices for Editing

• Method #1: Simply select the desired group number from the Voice Processing page. Once you have selected a group, you will be editing all the voices in this group.

• Method #2: Select any voice in the group, then select Select Group “N” from the Preset menu. All the voices in the group will be selected.

Sorting Voices and Zones

You can sort Voices, and Zones using the following criteria:

• Sample Number

• Sample Name

•Low Key

•High Key

•Original Key

• Volume

•Pan

• Group (voices only)

 To Sort Voices or Zones

1. Right click any Voice or Zone number.

2. Select Sor t Voices or Sort Zones, and choose how you want to sort them.

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5 - Voices & Sample Zones Voice Selection

The Keyboard Display

The keyboard display on the bottom of the screen gives you a visual representation of the Key Win range for the currently selected voice(s), and the Note range of your MIDI controller.

Notes that fall within the currently selected voices’ key range appear in color. You can also mask out notes that don’t fall within a range of keys that match your

MIDI controller. Masked keys display in darker colors.

MIDI Controller Range (Light)Mask (Dark) Mask (Dark)

Key Win Range for

Selected Voice(s) (Color)

 To Choose What type of MIDI Controller to Display

• Right-click the keyboard and select the type of controller you are using. Choices are Full MIDI (no mask), Piano (88 keys), Three Octave, XBoard 61, XBoard 49, and XBoard 25.

The keyboard display is also useful for identifying notes and creating a new voice with a specific Original Key value Key Win range:

• When you hover your mouse over the keyboard, the name of the key is displayed.

• You can create new voices by dragging samples onto the keyboard in the Voices and Zones screen. See “

Adding Samples and Voices” on page 97 for more infor-

mation.

 The Keyboard also

appears in the Voice Processing screen.

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Overview Section

The bottom portion of the page contains an overview that displays and allows you to control parameters for the selected voice(s).

These controls are available regardless of which tabbed page you select (except the Region page), and work per voice. When you modify a setting here, the corresponding setting changes in the Voice Processing window.

Note that the selected voices are indicated in the upper-left corner of the Overview. Changes to these controls only affect the indicated voice(s). If you select multiple voices and change a parameter in the Overview section, that parameter changes for all selected voices.

When you select multiple voices, it’s important to understand how changing parameters in the Overview differs from changing parameters in the various tabbed pages. In the Overview section, all changes are absolute values. This means if you select multiple voices and change the Volume knob to a value of 10, you change all selected voices to a volume of 10. However, if you select multiple voices and move the volume slider in the Mix/Tune page, you change all selected voices’ relative volumes.

5 - Voices & Sample Zones

Overview Section

 Tip: To set a control

to its default setting, hold Alt while clicking the control, or right-click the control, and select Default.

Selected Voice(s)

Sample Info

Mix/Tune Info

CC Win Info

Key, Realtime, and Velocity Window parameters

Sample Controls

Sample

The sample assigned to the selected voice or zone. If you select mu lt iple voices, this window appears blank.

 Muting and Soloing

voices does not save polyphony! Muted voices still play; they are simply silenced.

Original Key

Sets the Original key of the selected voice or zone.

Group

Changes the group of the selected voice or zone.

Direction

Selects whether the sample plays forward, backward, forward loop, backward loop, or one-shot.

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5 - Voices & Sample Zones Overview Section

Mix Tune Controls

These are the same controls found in the Mix/Tune page.

Mute

Mutes the selected voice(s) or zone(s).

Solo

Mutes all voices but the selected voice(s) or zone(s).

Volume

Controls the volume for the selected voice(s) or zone(s). This control is also located in the Voice Processing window.

Pan

Controls the Pan for the selected voice(s) or zone(s). This control is also loca ted i n the Voice Processing window.

Fine Tune

Fine tunes the pitch of the selected voice(s) or zone(s) by cents. This control is also located in the Voice Processing window.

Coarse Tune

Tunes the pitch of the selected voice(s) by semi tones. This control is also located in the Voice Processing window. This control is NOT available for individual zones of multisample voices.

Tran spos e

Transposes the pitch of the selected voice(s) by semi tones. This control is also located in the Voice Processing window. This control is NOT available for individual zones of multisample voices.

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

 Tip: To qui ckly

remove all solos and mutes, select Clear All Solos and Mutes from the Preset menu.

 See page 129 to

understand the difference between transpose and coarse tune. You can also set the group number from this page.

Rather than using the graphical representation found in each corresponding tabbed page, you can change the Key Win, Velocity Win, Realtime Win, and CC Win values from any page (except the Region page). Remember, any changes you make only affect the selected voice(s).

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Direction

For each voice (or zone in the case of a multisample voice), you can choose direction settings. The Direction drop-down menu allows you to choose one of the following:

5 - Voices & Sample Zones

Adding Samples and Voices

Forward

The region plays from beginning to end while the note is held.

Backward

The region plays in reverse from end to beginning while the note is held.

Forward Loop

The region loops forwards from beginning to end as long as the note is held.

Backward Loop

The region loops backwards from end to beginning as long as the note is held.

One-Shot

The region plays from beginning to end when a note on signal is received. If you release the note before the sample completes, the region still finishes playback. Note: You may have to adjust the Amp Envelope settings in order to hear the sample. See “Envelope Complete” mode on page 126

Adding Samples and Voices

You can create new voices and add samples to them from any of the tabbed pages in the Voices and Zones window.

 To Add a New Voice

There are several ways to add a new voice from the Voices and Zones window:

•Press Ctrl+W on your keyboard.

•From the Preset menu, select New Voice.

• Right-click an empty area and select New Voice.

 To Cha nge a Zo ne’s Sample

•From the Sample column, click the Selector Button next to the appropriate voice or zone. Select a sample from the Select Sample dialog box.

• Drag a Sample from the Tree to the zone’s strip.

 To Add an Additional Sample to a Voice

This either adds to, or creates a Multisample voice. From the Voices and Zones window:

• Drag and Drop a sample from the Samples tree (or from your Library) on the left into a voice in the Voices and Zones window.

• Explore your computer for an audio file (Wave, AIFF, MP3, REX 2). Drag and drop the file into a voice in the Voices and Zones window. This imports the sample and adds it to the voice.

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5 - Voices & Sample Zones Adding Samples and Voices

 To Add a Voice and a Sample Simultaneously

There are several ways to add a voice and a sample in the Voices and Zones window:

• Drag and Drop a sample from the Samples tree (or from your Library) on the left into the empty area just beneath the list of voices.

This creates a new voice containing the sample you selected. The new voice’s original key will be the sample’s original key (or C3 if this information is unavailable). The voice’s key range will be C-2 to G8.

• Explore your computer for an audio file (Wave, AIFF, MP3, REX 2). Drag and drop the file into any area in the Voices and Zones window.

This creates a new voice containing the audio file you selected. The new voice’s original key will be the audio file’s original key (or C3 if this information is unavailable). The voice’s key range will be C-2 to G8.

• Drag and Drop a sample from the Samples tree, from your Library, or from your desktop onto a note on the keyboard at the bottom of the screen.

This creates a new voice containing the sample you selected. The new voice’s original key will be whichever note you dropped the sample onto. The voice’s high and low keys will also be whichever note you dropped the sample onto.

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Mix/Tune Page

5 - Voices & Sample Zones

Mix/Tune Page

Sample Name

Mute/Solo Direction

Selector

Button

Vol ume PanGroup

Transpose, Coarse Tune, Fine Tune

Volume, pan, direction, transpose, coarse tuning, and fine tuning can be adjusted separately for each voice. The Mix/Tune window allows you to see these settings for each voice at the same time, giving you an overview of your preset’s direction, volume, pan, tuning, and transpose settings for each voice. All of these controls are available in the other tabbed windows, but in this window, you can see the volume and pan for each channel.

Additionally, from this screen, you can easily select multiple voices and change their volumes with one adjustment. Select the voices whose Volume or Pan you want to change, and hold Shift while dragging the volume right or left.

 See page 129 to

understand the difference between transpose and coarse tune. You can also set the group number from this page.

Key Window Page

Group

When a sample is recorded, it is automatically placed in a voice and assigned a keyboard range specified in the “Auto-Placement” parameters in the “Acquire” or Import Samples” options in the File menu. The Key Range Window allows you to edit these assignments and place the voices and samples wherever you want.

A voice containing only one sample takes the name of the sample. If a voice contains more than one sample, it is called a “Multisample” and the samples it contains are listed below it. The screen above shows two single sample voices. Voice 1 plays on the lower half of the keyboard and voice 2 plays on the upper half.

Sample Name

Selector

Button

DirectionMute/Solo

Original Key Graphic Display

of Voice Position

The Original Key determines the pitch of the sample. The original key need not be located between the high and low key ranges. Samples normally have the original key

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5 - Voices & Sample Zones Key Window Page

as part of the sample name. Imported samples with embedded original key information can be auto-mapped to the correct location. See page 295

The key position is edited by placing the cursor over the desired parameter and then playing the MIDI keyboard or adjusting the value using the keyboard. You can also simply drag the blue bar to the desired position with the mouse.

Voices and samples can be crossfaded according to key position by adjusting the low and high fade parameters. The fade is adjusted in “number of keys” and is graphically represented by a gradual decrease in the color intensity of the bars.

 To Manipulate the Bars:

• To Set the Length of the Bar: Left-click and drag from either endpoint.

• To Move the Entire Bar: Left-click and drag from somewhere in the middle of the bar.

• To Create a Fade: Left-click and drag inward while holding the Alt key.

The voice will gradually fade-out in volume below B2 as you play down the keyboard.

 To Switch Voices According to Position

Assigning voices (samples or multisamples) adjacent to each other is the simplest and most common application of the Key Window. The voices in the screen below are each assigned a one octave range.

Another way of visualizing this assignment is shown below.

VOICE 1 VOICE 2 VOICE 3

VOICE 4

 Samples can be

arranged in a multisample voice in exactly the same way that voices are arranged on the keyboard. They can be arranged side by side on the keyboard or stacked on top of each other to create layered sounds, all within a single voice.

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E-mu Emulator X3 Reference Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User 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

Organization of the Emulator X Modules

2 - Emulator Architecture

A Modular System

Bank

Saving

Undo/Redo

Multisetup

Preset

Voice

Sample

Flexible Architecture

Preset Diagram

Voices

Multisample Voices

The Sample

TwistaLoop™

3 - Getting Started

Exploring the Tree

Multisetup Page

Changing Presets (from Single View)

Multi Channel View

Changing Presets (from the Multichannel view)

Adjusting the Controllers

Create Your Own Custom Bank

Load a New Bank

Opening a Preset

Examine a Voice

Wipe the Slate

Examine the Samples

Using DSP

Experiment!

Save and Save As

Emulator X Bank Structure

Building a Preset from the Ground Up

Emulator X Advanced Applications Guide

The Librarian

4 - Multisetup / Preset Globals

The Multisetup

Changing Presets (from Single View)

Multi Channel View

The Current MIDI Channel

MIDI Channel

Preset Assignment

Channel Volume

Channel Pan

Output Assignment

Output View Button

Aux FX View Buttons

Aux Send On/Off