Musikmesse 08: E-MU announces Emulator X3 software sampler

E-MU was a king in the world of hardware sampling, and with the release of the Emulator X3, it´s aiming to strengthen its position in the software sampling sphere.

This third version of Emulator X comes in 32- and 64-bit versions and is built around the latest 24-bit/192kHz iteration of the Xtream engine. This promises to improve performance by balancing the processing load across all available resources (multiple cores, for example).

Other new features in the software include the Region Xplode Beat Slicer - which can extract MIDI files from audio drum parts - and the Tempo Map Export. Using this, we´re assured that you can easily sync a rhythm track to a song that has a variable tempo.

Elsewhere, there´s the Xtractor, which is said to enable you to cut or boost levels in a mix (based on stereo position and frequency). There´s also the Translator Convertor, which enables you to import content in a wide range of sample formats into Emulator X3.

Shipping with a 3.3GB sound library, Emulator X3 will be available in March 2008 priced at $500/€500/£350. Sadly, it´s still PC-only, though Vista support is in place and the good news is that you no longer need to run a piece of E-MU hardware as a dongle.

Get the full lowdown on the E-MU website.