The Sampler That Made 1000s DnB Classics ​​

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Introduction:

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Hello!

Welcome to my complete guide to the E-MU E6400 Ultra Sampler. 

This guide is mainly focused on the E6400 Ultra because that is the unit that I own and use daily but a lot of the information in this guide is going to be applicable to other samplers in the range. 

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As with all the documents on my website they are a constant work in progress. I edit them like open source software. If you go to the foot of the page you can see all the topics I am planning on writing about. 

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This is not a Manual but more a collection of information on the real way that I am using this sampler to make tunes at the moment. 

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This page is a work in progress I will be making additions and changes as and when I feel like it. I aim to share all the information that I have about the Sampler that changed the game in Drum and Bass / DnB. 

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I only recently (within the last couple of years) got myself a decent EMU (The 6400 Ultra). 

I want an E4XT if anyone wants to sell me one! I need the 128 voices! 

I have an E6000 Emulator (a previous iteration of the series of big studio samplers) 

and also an Esynth which I believe is an E5000 Ultra with a ROM Memory full of Classic EMU Sounds.

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When I started making music I had an ESI4000 which is like the scaled down version of the big boy emu's. The ESI4000 is very capable as a platform but with some limitations in terms of outputs and the ability to edit samples on the unit itself with a 4 line LCD it cant show you any waveforms so editing start points and chopping samples had to be done on a computer or by ear which is not the most accurate. 

The E6400 Ultra is a massive step up in terms of outputs and being able to edit samples on the unit itself and paired with the optional extra 8 output board and onboard FX makes it the peak of sampling technology available in the hardware era. There are other samplers like the AKAI s6000 and Z4 and Z8 models which are in the same ball park to the EMU in terms of features but I have the AKAI s6000 and s5000 and they don't compare at all in terms of software and functionality. 

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You can really tell that the designers of the E-MU samplers really had functionality in mind when designing the software and the features of the unit to make it as smooth as possible to get a sound and get it playing out the outputs as quick as possible. The same action on an AKAI takes alot more time and on screen editing. I can see why so much incredible music was made on these E-mu Samplers. 

Like a lot of gear when you get your hands on it you really start to gain insights into the reasons why tunes sound like they do from back in day. There are some acts that used the various units (of which there are many variants) widely in they're music including: Photek, Dillinja, Bad Company, Optical. (So many fucking classics!) 

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I realise this is mostly a complete waste of time on my part and there are very few people who care about any of this but I know there are a few hardcore heads out there that might not care about the technology but really really care about a particular sound and era of dnb that is almost completely gone now apart from a few of us die hard producers trying to make new classics on old hardware. Recently I did a joke post about hardware sounding worse and taking way more time to make tunes but this is in no way true well on the first point. It sounds so much better in a way that cant be explained. Yes it takes quite alot longer to make tunes on hardware but it also delivers tunes that sound like a tune and not the sum of its parts. its wierd. Sounds you make or play on the EMU stand up on they're own without having to be in the mix there is just a magical quality to everything it touches. 

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I could go on and on about this. There are a few technicalities that I believe that contribute to the Dark Magic. Midi is not sample accurate so the timing drifts ever so slightly giving drums a groove that makes them feel organic. The AKAI samplers are too loose in timing for DNB I feel but the EMU E6400 Ultra is so tight but loose in timing in just the Goldilocks way not too tight not too loose. Just right to make BANGERS!! 

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