The E-mu ESi32 represented in 1994 a significant shift in E-mu's product strategy, bringing their renowned high-end sampling technology to a much more affordable price point. Traditionally focused on premium "powerhouse" samplers like the Emulator series, E-mu has now managed to pack much of the EIIIXS's sampling capability into a unit costing around USD1200, creating what could be described as "75% of an E-mulator EIIIXS for 25% of the original retail price."
The ESi32 comes in a streamlined 19-inch, 2U rack-mountable chassis housing a remarkably compact and efficient internal design. All main components are isolated on a single, newly designed motherboard containing E-mu's custom LSIs, with ribbon connectors to the front panel interface and disk drive. The power supply is auto-sensing (100-240V) and positioned snugly on the left side. The internal layout is spacious enough to accommodate a 3.5-inch internal hard drive, and the firmware already supports swapping the HD floppy drive for a 3.5-inch Syquest removable drive.
The front panel features 31 well-spaced ovoid buttons providing dedicated functions rather than relying on extensive menu navigation. This ergonomic design choice allows for comfortable operation while maintaining a reasonable form factor. Upon startup, the ESi32 displays the operating system version stored in flash EPROM, reports available RAM and installed boards, and attempts to mount any connected hard drives if a SCSI board is present.
Play Modes
The ESi32 offers three distinct play modes:
- Single Preset Play: Plays a single preset or patch.
- Multi (timbral) Mode: Allows assigning different presets to any of the 16 MIDI channels, each with its own volume and pan position for multitimbral sequencing.
- Trigger Mode: A unique feature allowing samples to be mapped to 10 trigger keys for manual activation without requiring MIDI or a keyboard. Samples can be set to latch or unlatch, enabling creative layering of drum loops with chord progressions or additional loops. This feature is particularly appealing for live performance and DJ applications, though it's currently limited to one set per bank of presets and can only be applied to Preset number 000.
Voice Architecture
The ESi32 uses a distinctive voice architecture that differs from competitors like Akai. While most manufacturers use "sample" as the basic raw material, organizational terminology varies between brands:
- In the Akai system, Programs contain keygroups with four slots for samples, facilitating layering and velocity switching.
- The ESi32 has only one slot per "zone" (equivalent to a keygroup), but each Preset contains Primary and Secondary layers, similar to E-mu's Vintage Keys or Morpheus tone generators, enabling two-way velocity switching.
- Presets can be joined via "Linking," which effectively provides four-way switching or crossfading capability.
A key distinction is that Akai's keygroups and their parameters are linked to fixed keyboard ranges, whereas the ESi32's Zones can be freely assigned to different parameters independent of the sample ranges. This "free zoning" approach offers substantial flexibility. The Quick Zone function allows playing in the desired keyboard range via MIDI and then adjusting individual parameters for that range, regardless of other parameter ranges or sample coverage.
Editing Capabilities
The ESi32 provides two main editing paths: Digital Processing and Dynamic Management.
Digital Processing handles looping, trimming, normalizing, processing samples, and keyboard mapping. Notable features include:
- UNDO mode (when connected to a SCSI drive) that automatically backs up samples before processing
- Ability to audition samples directly from hard disk/CD-ROM without loading into RAM
- Cut, copy, and paste functionality for sample regions
- Fade in/out capabilities
- Transform Multiplication (from the Emax) for creating new sounds by multiplying two samples to accentuate common frequencies and remove uncommon ones
Dynamic Processing applies envelopes, velocity sensing, filter control, and LFO control to samples placed in Zones. The ESi32 includes:
- VCA and VCF sections for both Primary and Secondary layers
- Dedicated envelope generators for amplitude and filter control
- An auxiliary envelope that can be routed to control other parameters like the LFO
- Four basic LFO types enhanced by delay and variation parameters
- Individually controllable "Send" amounts to various destinations
- Velocity control for parameters including sample start point, cutoff, and attack
Real-time MIDI control is comprehensive, with the Preset Definition button grouping all real-time parameters including portamento. The pitch wheel, mod wheel, aftertouch, and two additional MIDI controllers can be assigned to nine different destinations, including filter cutoff and attack.
Expandability
The ESi32 adopts a modular approach not seen in previous E-mu samplers, allowing for various configurations at different price points. Rather than including SCSI and digital I/O as standard, these are available as add-on boards, enabling users to start with a basic configuration and expand as needed.
Memory expansion uses 30-pin, 70ns SIMM boards (familiar to Macintosh users) rather than the more expensive ZIP RAM used in the EIIIX racks. However, the two internal SIMM slots must contain boards of the same size, limiting expansion options to 2MB (2 x 1MB SIMMs), 8MB (2 x 4MB SIMMs), 16MB (2 x 8MB SIMMs), or 32MB (2 x 16MB SIMMs).
The rear panel includes two expansion slots for SCSI and digital I/O boards, actually hard to find nowadays. The SCSI board features a single 50-way connector similar to the Akai S1000 board and includes arbitration firmware to allow two ESi32 units to share a drive and function as a single 64-note polyphonic system using MIDI overflow mode. The digital I/O board provides SPDIF In/Out on RCA connectors, supporting 48kHz, 44.1kHz, and 32kHz sample rates.
File Interchange
The ESi32 can read and translate Akai S1000/S1100 data format via SCSI, including samples (though only the first of Akai's eight loop points), envelopes, and filters. This provides access to Akai CD-ROMs and hard-drive/optical media. Additionally, it can load EIII/EIIIX files and import Emax II files via SCSI, giving it extensive library support.
Sound Quality and Features
The ESi32 boasts impressive sound quality with its 32-voice polyphony, 16-bit sampling, and particularly its resonant digital filters, which are considered among the best outside the EIIIX and E4. It comes bundled with eleven sound sets on HD floppies, including Vintage Combo, Stereo Grand, Orchestral, Techno Shop, Trigger Funk, and Rhythm Section. These sound sets demonstrate the ESi32's capabilities and provide usable presets that maximize sound quality while minimizing memory usage.
Comparison to EIIIX
While sharing many software features with the EIIIX, the ESi32 has several differences:
- Four unbalanced outputs vs. ten balanced outputs on the EIIIX
- One SCSI port vs. two on the EIIIX
- Optional SPDIF digital support vs. XLR AES/EBU and SPDIF digital I/O on the EIIIX
- No RS232 port
- No arpeggiator, Volume Curves, or Exciter DSP tool
- No SCSI transfer to sound-design software (at time of review)
- Slower DSP function calculation
- Less robust casing
Despite these differences, E-mu has preserved the essential power of the EIIIX in a smaller, more affordable package, making it highly competitive in the sampler market.
Market Position
The ESi32 initially positioned itself between the Akai S01 and the Roland S760. It offers higher polyphony (32 voices) than Roland's 24 voices, though it lacks the graphic/CRT display some users might prefer. The ESi32's extensive feature set, sound quality, and library compatibility make it a compelling option, particularly for those who don't require Akai's key-group workflow or floppy disk compatibility. Its actual competitor would likely be the S2800 that was more expensive but offered similar functionality.
Conclusion
The E-mu ESi32 set a new standard for samplers in its price range, offering unprecedented power and features for the near USD1000 price. With its sleek design, extensive feature set, good quality resonant digital filters, and impressive sound quality, it represented outstanding value. The comprehensive manual with clear explanations, tutorials, and troubleshooting information further enhances its appeal, made it a highly attractive option for musicians seeking professional sampling capabilities without the premium price tag in mid-90's.
Technical Specifications
Physical Specifications
- Form Factor: 19-inch, 2U rack-mountable chassis
- Power Supply: Auto-sensing 100-240V (IEC 3-pin connector)
Voice Architecture
- Polyphony: 32-voice polyphonic (16-voice stereo)
- Multitimbrality: 16-part multitimbral
- Filters: 32 digital resonant 4-pole filters
- Voice Organization: Primary and Secondary layers with linking capability
- Zone System: Freely assignable parameter zones independent of sample ranges
Memory
- Standard RAM: 2MB
- Maximum RAM: 32MB
- RAM Type: 30-pin, 70ns SIMM boards
- RAM Configuration Options: 2MB (2 x 1MB), 8MB (2 x 4MB), 16MB (2 x 8MB), or 32MB (2 x 16MB)
- Operating System: Flash EPROM for instant boot-up
Audio Specifications
- Sampling Resolution: 16-bit
- Sampling Rates: 44.1kHz and 22.05kHz
- D/A Conversion: 18-bit
- Sample Inputs: Two 1/4" unbalanced inputs for mono/stereo sampling
- Outputs: Four 1/4" individual unbalanced polyphonic outputs
MIDI Implementation
- MIDI Ports: In/Out/Thru
- MIDI Channels: 16
- MIDI Controllers: Assignable pitch wheel, mod wheel, aftertouch, and two additional controllers to nine destinations
- MIDI Overflow: Supported with two units via SCSI arbitration
Play Modes
- Single Preset Play
- Multitimbral Mode
- Trigger Mode: 10 trigger keys with latch/unlatch capability
Expansion Options
- SCSI Interface (Model 6212): Single 50-way connector, compatible with hard drives, CD-ROMs
- Digital I/O (Model 6210): SPDIF In/Out on RCA connectors, supporting 48kHz, 44.1kHz, and 32kHz sample rates
- Internal Storage: Space for mounting 3.5-inch internal hard drive
- Drive Options: HD floppy drive swappable with 3.5-inch Syquest 270Mb removable drive
Sample Editing Features
- Digital Processing Functions:
- Taper
- Gain Change
- Reverse
- Stereo <-> Mono conversion
- Left <-> Right channel swapping
- DC Filter
- Sample Integrity check
- Sample Rate Conversion
- Digital Tuning
- Compressor
- Parametric EQ
- Time Compression
- Pitch Change
- Transform Multiplication
- Doppler/Pan effects
- Looping: Single loop point supported
- Playback Functions: Cut, copy, paste of sample regions, fade in/out
Synthesis Features
- Envelope Generators: Dedicated envelopes for amplitude and filter control, plus auxiliary envelope
- LFO: Four basic types with delay and variation parameters
- Velocity Control: Sample start point, cutoff, attack, and more
- Real-time Control: Portamento and controller assignment to various parameters
File Compatibility
- Native Format: ESi32 format
- Compatible Formats (via SCSI):
- Akai S1000/S1100 (samples, first loop point, envelopes, filters)
- EIII/EIIIX files
- Emax II files (import capability)
Bundled Sounds
- Vintage Combo (2 disks)
- Stereo Grand (2 disks)
- Orchestral (2 disks)
- Techno Shop (2 disks)
- Trigger Funk (1 disk)
- Rhythm Section (2 disks)
Software Features
- UNDO Mode: Automatic backup of samples before processing (requires SCSI drive)
- Sample Auditioning: Direct from hard disk/CD-ROM without loading into RAM
- Dynamic Processing: VCA and VCF sections for both Primary and Secondary layers
- Quick Zone: Keyboard range assignment via MIDI for parameter editing
- Preset Definition: Grouping of real-time parameters for easy access
The E-mu ESi32 sampler represented in the mid 90's a significant milestone in E-mu's product line, offering professional-grade sampling capabilities at a remarkably affordable price point. I've organized the information into two comprehensive documents: a detailed description that covers all aspects of the sampler's design, functionality, and market position, and a technical specifications list that provides a structured overview of all the hardware and software features.
