The Classic Keyboards

Amongst the 8Mb of samples in Classic Keys, surprisingly few are derived directly from genuine keyboards. The complete list is as follows:

• ARP 2600
• ARP String Ensemble
• Dyno‑My‑Rhodes electric piano
• Fairlight
• Farfisa organ
• Fender Rhodes electric piano
• Hammond B3 tonewheel organ
• Hohner Clavinet
• Mellotron
• Moog Minimoog
• Moog Model 55
• Moog Taurus bass pedals
• Oberheim Matrix 12
• Oberheim OB‑X
• Prophet 5
• Wurlitzer electric piano
• Yamaha CP70 piano
• Yamaha DX7

Percussion & Other Tricks

You would expect the percussion sample in an instrument called Classic Keys to be taken from TR808s, 909s, and CR78s. Unfortunately they're not — they're just basic samples of acoustic drums. What a missed opportunity! OK, I know that some players will find the drums useful for "all in a single box" sequencing, but if you want an M1, you should buy an M1.

Having had my gripe, I'll admit that Emu have made it easy to use and modify the sounds. Indeed, they have dedicated seven 'Instruments' to them, and these can be edited conventionally within any patch. They have also included seven 'reverb spaces' which, when added to the drums themselves, enable you to program reverbed/gated Phil Collins‑type kits without sending your entire multitimbral mix through the effects processors.