E-mu Vintage Pro
The E-mu Vintage Pro is a 2U rackmount sound module built around the Emulator X software engine. It was designed to deliver authentic vintage keyboard sounds. Mix Magazine (May 2003) covered it as a new product for musicians who wanted realistic emulations of classic keyboards, and gave an estimated street price of $1,295. It was positioned against software competitors like Native Instruments' B4, Pro-53, and the Korg Legacy Collection.
The specs: 128-voice polyphony (64 voices with layered or stereo patches), 16-bit/44.1kHz audio, and 32 MB of sample memory expandable to 128 MB. Analog output comes from eight individual balanced ¼" jacks plus two stereo main outputs. Digital connections are 24-bit S/PDIF, ADAT optical, and AES/EBU. There is also USB 1.1, and the unit accepts 8 MB of user-installable sound ROM. The Pro/Cussion variant added 16 velocity cross-switchable layers and an extra 16 MB of ROM.
Reception at the time was positive. Mix Magazine called the sounds extremely accurate and musical, said E-mu captured the character of each instrument well, and described the unit as a powerful, versatile, and affordable tool. No negative opinions appear in the surviving record.
On the secondhand market, the Vintage Pro typically sells for $300 - $500 in good condition. Battery leakage is a known long-term problem and can damage the main board, so periodic battery replacement is recommended. Dimensions and weight are not documented, and the exact sample ROM content list hasn't survived in accessible sources.
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