What it is and what it was built for
The Emulator II, or EII, is E-mu’s second sampler, released commercially in 1984. It follows the original Emulator of 1981, a floppy-disk keyboard workstation that E-mu made after its founders, Scott Wedge and Dave Rossum, saw the Fairlight CMI and the Linn LM-1 at a convention and set out to build a cheaper digital sampling keyboard. The EII keeps that aim and offers more flexible editing and better real-time control.
How it works, in terms a player would use
Like the original, it is an eight-bit sampler. The gain in fidelity comes from companding digital-to-analog converters and a 27.7 kHz sample rate rather than from more bits. Sounds are shaped by resonant analog filters, supplied by SSM, long-time E-mu collaborators, and the EII allows more flexibility in editing along with greatly improved real-time control. Upgrades included a second floppy drive, a 20 MB hard drive and a 512K memory upgrade. Its sound is credited to DPCM mu-255 companding, a divider-based variable sample-rate principle and analog output stages built around SSM2045 24 dB/oct four-pole low-pass resonant filters.
What it does better than anything else
It offered resonant analog filtering, flexible editing and real-time control on a sampler priced well below a Fairlight. The EII cost US$7,995 for a regular model and $9,995 for a “plus” model with extra sample memory, close to the original Emulator. Against it, the most basic Fairlight CMI Series II was $30,000 on its first release, which is why the EII was considered good value.
What it does badly
It is still eight-bit. When E-mu moved to the Emulator III, introduced after the EII was discontinued in 1987, that machine stored samples in 16-bit, 44 kHz stereo. The EII was also not cheap, and the second floppy drive, the hard drive and the extra memory were optional upgrades.
What people made with it
Several OEM and third-party sample libraries were made for it, including orchestral sounds. Many of its original library sounds were sampled from the more expensive Fairlight and Synclavier workstations. The Fairlight’s “Sarrar/Arr1” choir is called “DigiVcs” in the E-mu library. Its samples include the shakuhachi flute Peter Gabriel used on “Sledgehammer”, also heard on Enigma’s MCMXC a.D., and the Marcato Strings on the Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls”. Neil Tennant says every instrumental sound on that track came from an Emulator II.
Players in the 1980s included Stevie Wonder, Depeche Mode, New Order, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, Yes, David Bowie and Paul McCartney. It was used on Brad Fiedel’s Terminator score, on many of Michael Kamen’s film scores, such as Lethal Weapon and Highlander, and on nearly all of John Carpenter’s 1980s films. In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ferris plays samples of coughing and sneezing on it to fake illness over the phone.
Who should use it, and who should not
It suits players who want the sampled sounds of 1980s records and film scores named above, and anyone who wants resonant analog filters on a sampler from this period. It does not suit those who need 16-bit, 44 kHz samples, which is where the Emulator III went, or anyone shopping on a tight budget.
Is it worth your time
Yes, if the sound of 1980s sampling is what you are after. It is an eight-bit machine with companding converters, analog filters and real-time control, and the records and films listed above show what it was used for. If you need higher resolution, look past it.
