10 Facts About E-mu Systems

E-mu Systems was a software synthesizer, audio interface, MIDI interface, and MIDI keyboard manufacturer.

In 1998, E-mu Systems was combined with Ensoniq, another synthesizer and sampler manufacturer previously acquired by Creative Technology.

E-mu Systems was last based in Scotts Valley, California, on the outskirts of Silicon Valley.

E-mu Systems was founded in Santa Cruz, CA by Dave Rossum, a UCSC student and two of his friends from Caltech, Steve Gabriel and Jim Ketcham, with the goal to build their own modular synthesizers.

In 1972, E-mu Systems became a company, developing and patenting a digitally scanned polyphonic keyboard, licensed for use by Oberheim Electronics in the 4-Voice and 8-Voice synthesizers and by Dave Smith in the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5.

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In 1990, E-mu Systems introduced the Proteus, a rackmount sound module, containing pre-recorded samples in ROM.

In 1993, E-mu Systems was acquired by Creative Technology and began working on PC soundcard synthesis.

E-mu Systems made unsuccessful attempts at breaking into the digital multitrack recorder with the Darwin hard-disk recording system.

In 1998, E-mu Systems was combined with Ensoniq, another synthesizer and sampler manufacturer previously acquired by Creative Technology.

In 2004 E-mu Systems released the Emulator X, a PC-based version of its hardware samplers with extended synthesis capabilities.