Home
Search
Links
Manuals
Rare Analog
Synth DIY

Site Intro
 

Overview
Ads & Reviews
CDROM's
Diagnostics
OS Versions
Repairs
Samples
Sample Editors
SCSI / Plus
SE Upgrade
Technical    
 

Created by
 Western Graphics
Last modified
 13 March, 2004
 

Emax : CDROM's     How to burn an Emax CDROM click here »

Limited Availability The Emax was launched with an RS422 serial interface, just like its predecessors. However it was not until OS 3.2 CD and then OS SE was released in 1988 that this interface could be used with the newly introduced CDROM players. A sample CDROM typically has 350 MB of sample data, arranged into 75 or more sample banks of 512 Kbytes each. In the late 80's CDROM players for samplers were still very expensive and quite rare, so only two CDROM's were ever made for the Emax, both by OMI in the USA.

The later model Emax's could be upgraded with an external SCSI interface, which can be used with SCSI CDROM players. You will have to burn your own CD-R's.  more »

CDROM Players The only CDROM players that work with the Emax were designed and manufactured by Optical Media International in the late 1980's. They were the very first CDROM players for samplers. Inside is a very early Sony CDROM drive (with caddy), plus an interface electronics for RS422 (and/or SCSI for the Emulator III).

OMI made two models - the CDS3 external drive, and the ProCDP rack mount.  They cost around $1999 initially, and OMI ceased manufacture in the early 1990's. They are very rare, especially outside of the USA. A few hundred were produced, but many have broken thanks to the short life of the internal CD mechanism.

CDS3 This is the original OMI drive, that was launched in 1986 for the Emulator II, and with the right firmware will work with an Emax. Early drives do not work with Emax CDROM's. The CDS3 has a remote control with LCD screen and tocuh buttons for selecting sample banks and loading them to the sampler. It is a chunky device, similar to the early CD players - but in biege with a blue loading tray. The early CDS3's are 110V only, and need an autotransformer to work on 220V.

ProCDP This is the second CDROM developed by OMI, and it was introduced at Summer NAMM in 1988. It can be used with both the Emax via RS422 and the EIII via SCSI. It is a deep 2U rack mount unit, in black sheet steel, with a blue and yellow front panel stripes.

ProCDP was short for Professional Universal Compact Disk Player, and it had both analog and digital outputs for playing audio CD's!
The SCSI version was $1795, the RS422 version $1995, whilst both interfaces could be had for $2495.

Burning an Emax CDROM
Overview The Emax Plus, or Emax HD with an external SCSI upgrade, can be used with an external SCSI CDROM player, although this was hardly what E-mu envisaged in 1987 ! The usual means of connecting a CDROM player is via the RS422 port !! There are no commercial sample CDROM's for the Emax that work over SCSI, so you'll need to burn your own!.

Burning an Emax CDROM You can burn your own Emax CDROM's with up to 35 sample banks, and read them back into the Emax using the following setup:

• An Emax with external SCSI
• A PC with a CDROM writer
• A ZIP drive (Parallel or SCSI) connected to your PC
• A SCSI ZIP drive connected to your Emax via SCSI
• A SCSI CDROM player - preferably old and slow !
   e.g. a Compaq Model 142223-001 at $15.00
• Some copy software called  "disk2file131.exe"
• Download Disk2File from here »

Check your CDROM is set to a 512kb sector size, it may have jumpers that need setting. On the Compaq the scetor size jumper is "ON", Terminator jumper is "ON",  the Parity jumper is "ON" and Term Power is "OFF" and the SCSI ID is set to 2 (or any number you prefer to use other than your main hard drive).

1. Hook up a SCSI ZIP drive to an Emax with SCSI
2. Format a blank ZIP Disk in Emax format
3. (optional) Copy the Emax OS software to  the ZIP drive.
4. Copy the desired banks to the ZIP drive.
5. (optional) Create an empty preset and rename each bank as desired.
6. Remove the ZIP disk and place it in the PC ZIP Drive.
7. Run the disk2file.exe program and  make an ISO copy of the ZIP disk you just created on the Emax
8. Use your CD burner software to burn a blank CD-R of your newly created CD "ISO"image file.
9. Use the "old" SCSI CDROM to read the newly created CDROM from the Emax.
10. Label your CDROM however you want to identify it.

Supplemental Notes

1. Yes it is a waste to burn 20 MB on a 650 - 700 MB  CD, but these days media is cheap. less than US$1.00 each. Its still worth the  investment.The ZIP disk can be reused on other burns since you already saved the ISO image file to your PC hard drive (didn't you?)
2. This procedure works for the Emax II also. You can burn up to 100 MB of banks on the EMAX II from a ZIP 100, and 250 MB from a ZIP 250.
3. The shareware disk imagaging software  disk2file131.exe has a few times to run then you have to register and pay for it.

Many thanks to Skip for this information and lots of Emax knowledge
 

Two CDROM's were produced by OMI under the Reflective Arts International name for the Emax. The range is called Universe of Sounds (UOS).
 

Project 580 All the OMI samples are now available on a series of 17 ZIP100 Emax format cartridges.

       Email sales!
more »

* Emax ZIP100's
   ZD400 - 416
   Sample Bank Listing
 

This CDROM contains an amazing 504 sample banks, with a very wide range of different samples. Some of the sample banks are from the E-mu factory library, but over 90% are fresh and new. Some samples were seen in the Emulator II and III. This library was later released in Emax II native format, as a set of four CDROM's in 1990, and in this format it is still available.
 

* Universe of Sounds
   Volume 1 Sample
   Bank Listing 212KB

This CDROM contains 76 banks of a wide selection of sounds. The samples provide both acoustic and synthesized sounds, ranging from bass and choirs, to pads, FX, vibrant strings and brass.
 

 The Emax is connected to the OMI CDROM player via a special cable. It has a DB9 pin plug at the OMI end, and a DP9 pin socket at the Emax end. This is NOT a normal RS232 serial cable. The best option is to make one up.
Buy a 2 metre RS232 serial cable with conectors, cut the plug off and rewire to a new DB9 plug. Alternatively make the cable from scratch. Solder up the connections as follows.
  

Pin to Pin Wiring NC = No Connection OMI DB9 socket Emax Function Emax DB9 plug 1 GND 3 2 NC NC 3 GND 3 4 +TXD 8 5 -TXD 9 6 NC NC 7 CLK 7 8  +RXD 4 9 -RXD 5 OMI CDROM DB9 PLUG Front View EMAX DB9 SOCKET Front View