E-mu Vintage Keys (1994–1997)
The E-mu Vintage Keys is a 2U rackmount 16-bit sample playback module with one job: putting the sounds of classic electro-mechanical keyboard instruments - Mellotron, Chamberlin, Optigan, Orchestron, Birotron, and their tape-based kin - into a reliable, MIDI-controllable box. It holds 4MB of sample ROM at a full 44.1kHz, with 24-voice polyphony, 37 preset patches, and four user-definable slots. Audio exits through six outputs (main stereo plus four individual assignables). The front panel carries a backlit 2×16 LCD, a headphone jack, and a Panic button. There is no user-loadable sample RAM. What you get is what is in ROM.
EQ Magazine (February 1993, p.32) described the module as a “digital sample playback module that features the most popular classic analog synthesizer and keyboard instrument sounds from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s,” and noted its 32-voice polyphony and “analog sounding” digital resonant low-pass filters. E-mu would later settle on 24-voice polyphony in the shipping unit. The original US price was $699.
User comments from the years since are consistent. The vintage instrument presets are excellent and authentic, and they are the reason to buy the box. The modern, pop, and techno patches are widely regarded as weak. It is a specialist's tool, not a general-purpose module. On the used market, units typically trade in the $315-$350 range.
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