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Emulator II: Overview
 Enter a Classic The Emulator II was THE sampler of the mid 1980's,
the aspiration of countless musicians until the introduction of cheap 16-bit sampling with the Akai S1000 in 1988. The EII was based on the original Emulator I design (Z80 processor, DMA micro controller),
but considerably enhanced with eight full analog output channels, a large sample memory (up to 1 MB) and an excellent and easy to use disk based Operating System with LCD display.
The Emulator II has a sampling rate of 27,777kHz and uses 8-bit samples which are replayed at 14-bit resolution. The EII was introduced in June 1984 at a time when a Home Computer was the
first IBM PC with 128kB memory and no hard drive, or a Commodore 64. The EII matched these home computers in terms of processing power, and provided the first affordable high quality sampler ever.
Demonstration Record
A four track double sided plastic sound sheet record was produced in 1985 to demonstrate the amazing sounds of the Emulator II.
There are also high quality MP3 downloads here: more »
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Concerto for Nature and Orchestra - composed and performed by Chris Stone
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Incubus - composed and performed by Doug Morton and Kevin Monahan
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Clear Moment - composed and performed by Doug Morton and Kevin Monahan
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The Biff and Herb Show - composed and performed by Herb Jimmerson and Biff Vincent
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Development Story The development of the Emulator II was a
major challange for E-mu Systems, causing cash flow problems as the major innovations in electronics caused the project to go seriously late. Read Dave Rossum's account of the complete story !
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The Emulator II Development Story (31KB)
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Positive Reviews The Emulator II received massive aclaim when it was launched. Keyboard Magazine in the US reviewed the Emulator II in their January 1985 issue - quoting it as the new hot
rod version !
"Anyone used to the original Emulator will welcome the
additional features of the EII. Combining sampling
technology with analog synthesizer signal modification
technology, makes for some very unusual and beautiful
timbres. You've got yourself a reasonably priced dream
machine."
E-mu Sytems were still a relatively small company back them, based in Chanticleer, Santa Cruz. They didn't even advertise in Keyboard magazine - they didn't have to.
 Emulator II The initial model was introduced in 1984 with
512 Kbytes of sample memory, a single floppy drive, and no hard disk. E-mu Systems contemplated a 256 Kbytes model, but it was never launched. As the price of RAM and hard disks reduced, further models were introduced at competitive
prices (well for professional musicians !).
Emulator II+ The Plus model of the Emulator II has an additional 512 Kbytes of sample memory bank, which enables a separate set of sounds to be loaded in parallel to the first memory bank. You can switch between them,
but you can not use both together, or have samples than span the two memory banks. It was launched in 1985.
 Emulator II+HD The last model of the EII range has a
20 MB hard disk in place of the second diskette drive. This
enables 46 banks of sounds to be stored on a device that is much quicker than the usual diskette drive.
Options The Emulator II and II+ could be ordered with one or two 5.25" diskette drives. Two drives made it much easier to copy diskettes, but a second drive cost an additional $650.
The "Winchester" Hard Disk upgrade was launched in 1985 for a staggering $3000.
Oberheim DPX-1 The EII sample format is unique, with only one other device being capable of reading EII diskettes - the 2U rack
mounted Oberheim DPX-1 sample player. more »
more »
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Online Store
New OS Diskettes for Emulator II plus cables + schematics more » 
* 8-bit Digital Sampler
* 14-bit+ resolution
* 6018: Single floppy
* OS 2.6 HD
Replace your 5.25" drive with a brand new 3.5" TEAC drive and bezel - same size !! 
* EII $7995 
