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

Being an old dog myself, I have to agree with you on a number of things
you've pointed
out. Though there are some really nice features the MP-7 does have and the
rhythm
patterns and sounds are very cool, especially with the addition of the
Techno Synth
ROM card. So, here's a question for you, since you've pointed out some
drawbacks
of the MP-7, how would you compare Korg's Karma to the MP-7...overall.

Not that I'm going to trade in my MP-7...not at all, I really like it, but I
may replace
my fading M! with a Karma.

Thanks,

jp
  -----Original Message-----
  From: argomax2002 [mailto:argomax@...]
  Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2002 2:07 PM
  To: xl7@yahoogroups.com
  Subject: [xl7] COMMENTS ON MP-7 FROM AN OLD DOG - for Emu's people


  Hi.
  I'm a dealer in Italy, and I specialize in music electronics for
  remix and dance productions. I am the premier dealer for this
  kind of gear in my country.
  I've been in this business for a long time and I've owned, used
  and sold ALL products ever produced  in the last 15 years that
  had keys, knobs or a PLAY button on them.
  Since I also indulge myself in having a small and effective studio
  setup, I grabbed an MP7 for my own use.
  It's an enjoyable machine and I like to play with it. I won't use it
  professionally yet until I really get it to do what I like.

  However, after a few days of exploring, I will tell you the following
  comments, but don't take them too bad:

  * The interface layout is not bad but not excellent either. Too
  much space is given to functions that could be within menus,
  and too little to those that should be upfront, like sequencer edit
  functions, extended transport buttons, and so.

  *Where's my UNDO button? The COMPARE button, which is
  there instead, is only one-tenth as useful as the UNDO button. If
  there is an Undo function anywhere, I couldn't find it. Not even in
  the index.

  *The sequencer is steady but barely there in terms of features.
  For example, I can't copy just some bars that I recorded well over
  some other bard I recorded badly within the same track: I have to
  copy the whole track somewhere else or nothing.
  Yamaha keyboard workstations from 10 years ago had a better
  sequencer on board. And you should be able to sequence a
  song WITHOUT just chaining patterns.

  * The soundset is quite uneven in terms of dynamics, overall
  levels and sound quality. Enough said. And the reverbs fizzle.
  UUGGGHHH!!! THAT'S CHEAP!!!

  *To say that the effect bussing section is confusing is putting it
  mildly. Also, the effects could include a few more variety, what do
  you think?

  *The hip-hop soundset is good only in the Bass and Drums/Perc
  categories. Everything else is useless in my opinion.

  *A TWO-LINE DISPLAY? IN 2002? IN THIS PRICE RANGE?

  *The E-Loader won't load a damn thing from a Mac using USB. I
  don't even want to make any effort to find out why, nor I want to
  switch platform. It should work immediately. Period.

  * The synth programming functions are certainly very deep,
  powerful and extensive.
  But guys, I don't feel like scrolling with a dial and tapping
  endlessly with a cursor switch anymore, sorry. I'm 36 y.o., and I
  want better for my money.

  *The pads are very well built and respond well. You obviously
  have used a lot of the ideas from the Ensoniq ASR-X series,
  from the sequencing structure to the pads themselves. But I'd
  have gone further. I'd have implemented sampling as well
  (Yamaha RS-7000 beat Emu to that) and a fixed Ram storage
  like that featured on Roland SP-808, which, you'll agree, is THE
  BEST and MOST PRACTICAL type of memory storage ever
  developed in music application, period.

  Thanks for your time and I hope I didn't offend anyone.

  Max Ventura,
  Italy.












        Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
              ADVERTISEMENT




  To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
  xl7-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



  Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.