Emulation II from UVI

My love of all things Emulator is well documented. You only need to look at my banner just ^^up there^^ for signs 😉

It’s also no secret that I am keen to collect as many Emulator samples as possible, especially from the EI, EII and Emax machines. There’s not much about. A few sounds here and there, but there is a great library from Digital Sound Factory that contains all six volumes of the Emax factory library, many sounds of which came from the EII library, so that covers a lot of bases. I do know that DSF also have an Emulator II HD and a veritable Aladdin’s cave of material that they one day hope to make available. But until then, the Emax is about the best, and most affordable alternative.

Emulation II

But a new player is on the block with a product called “Emulation II“. This 4.7GB library comes from French company UVI and is compatible with their free UVI Workstation player/plug in as well as MOTU’s Mach 5. However, it costs $199.95 and requires an iLok which costs a further $49.95 if you don’t already have one. Now, this seems quite expensive but until I get my hands on a copy to try, I’ll reserve judgement as to whether it represents good value. If the blurb is to be believed, a lot of work has gone into this, and it certainly looks the part. So, in lieu of a full on review (which I have contacted UVI about), here are some screen shots, audio demos, words and a couple of videos to demonstrate the sounds. Emulator enthusiast John Parkins aka JMPSynth is behind one of them 🙂

So, until that review…

Emulation II features a set of unique instruments to reproduce that typical music from the 80s: from warm digital sounds to the most analog-ish textures.

UVI adopted a hybrid approach to create these sounds, combining deep multi-sampling and powerful modeling tools (analog filters, LFO, envelopes, etc.), inspired by the original machine and enhanced with today most modern audio processing and script technology.

Sounds were recorded and carefully selected from the authentic restored instrument, with the very best analog and digital gear, suiting UVI quality standard. This process allows preserving the original sounds’ lo-fi charm.

Besides, hundreds of sounds and instruments among the best are included: drums, bass, bells, choir-voices, fretted instruments, FXs, keyboards, mallets, percussion, synths, strings, orchestral hits and a lot more.

A simple, yet complete, user interface reproduces the looks and feeling of the most famous and essential machine from the eighties. With 250+ best sounds and primary editing tools, Emulation II enables you to create authentic spin-offs with infinite options of sounds and tones.

This is definitely the ultimate digital version of the long standing professional sampler of the mid-80s, that has been used by Depeche Mode, Peter Gabriel, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Jean-Michel Jarre, Stevie Wonder, Genesis, Paul McCartney, Enya, Vangelis, in John Carpenter’s soundtracks, etc.

Discover also Drumulation: an utter beatbox with step sequencer from the eighties, loaded with 500+ drums and percussion sounds. Make your beats sound 12 bits!

Drumulation.

From the Pop culture resurgence to the most modern Electro-Pop, make music without any frontier.

Thanks to the new and free player UVI Workstation 2, Emulation II can work:
– as a stand-alone instrument, compatible with Mac & PC
– as a VST, AudioUnit, RTAS and MAS plug-in. iLok required.

Also compatible with MachFive 3: make the most of all the editing features offered, like unlimited FX by part.