Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

Hello all,
	Having just gotten the digest and re-read my POP ROM review - it sounds as if I have a 
far worse opinion  of it than I really do.  There really are some great sounds in there. 
I've never heard a BAD sounding E-mu anything, so all these points are  
relative.  Even my old Emax II sounded pretty darn good. For what I do there is quite
a lot to work with that is sonically extremely different from the XL ROM.  I'm not 
unhappy with it, but telling somebody what you loved about a synth without saying 
what you aren't so happy about isn't real useful...  I don't trust totally glowing reviews 
generally - no instrument is perfect for everybody except the tone deaf.  



>>>I know what you mean, being a guitar player myself.  I find that the 
best way to check out the presets on the XX-7's, is to just press the
Audition button and then scroll through them.  The guitars on the POP ROM
really come to life when you hear them in the context of a sequence.  But,
as you say, they still don't replace a real guitar.  BTW, just picked up a
PODxt, wicked, wicked guitar box. <<<

I haven't heard many people say ANYTHING bad about the PODs, though I haven't ever used or actually heard 
one... The digital outs are very tempting... I'm currently running mine through antiques - Digitech GFX-1  and 
GSP-5, sometimes into a Rocktron Intellifex LTD.  The GSP-5 is noisy on some settings (but a hush/comp 
pedal cures that pretty well), but amazingly good sound variety and punch...  Very nice budget boxes.  Got the 
GSP-5 for like $40!  Highly recommended.  Excellent chorus onboard (I'm suspicious it's analog) - nice 
reverbs, too, with very good classic distortions.  Won't do the heavy metal stuff, but I'm too old for that, and not 
angry enough I think.  Best thing is they are both really WARM and don't sound thin like most digital stuff.    It's 
fun to route synths through them.  You can get some wild stuff. I've made several patches on the GFX-1 
specifically for my synths. Of course, if I had a PODxt, I probably wouldn't be messing with this gear ;)  But you 
never know... I'll have to hear one... when I have money again... if ever...  Right now I don't even want to be 
tempted... Sorry got distracted there... Back OnTopic...

	 I've been getting a lot of mileage out of that audition button :)  I've been auditioning stuff the whole 
time I've been typing this.  Thanks for all the tips and for setting up such a great list.  It's great to find good 
synth groups where people really help each other out.  The resources here are wonderful.  Made getting up 
and running a LOT easier.


 I recently started
a project with another XL-7 owner though, and using presets has made
collaberation during the initial writing stages much, much easier, and the
results are surprisingly very good still.<<<

I can see where that would work well... I'm almost completely self-taught, (and I'm not a qualified teacher) so I 
have a lot of difficulties collaborating with people - plus I'm pretty intrinsically chaotic.  I know what I can do, 
but I'm not so good at understanding what more literate musicians talk about.  Theory isn't my strong suite and 
I'm useless with other musicians - strictly home studio stuff. I can read manuals, though and I love all kinds of 
music - well most anyway, but I won't go there.... Taste is personal...

Seriously people - doesn't somebody have the Protozoa (or any of the other ones for that matter) ROM and a 
few minutes to write it up? I'm very curious about it and I bet some other people are, too.  

	Best to all,
			Flibfree


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