a) its smallish display screen (doesn't bug me, it shows everything I need to see on my sound module; there's no room admittedly for streaming Laverne and Shirley re-runs, but hey, there's a downside to everything)

b) its lack of lots and lots of great acoustic emulations, BUT remember, this is just the basic unit's initial 16 MB sound sampler. The monster 32 MB expansion boards will start appearing in a month or so and then we'll really be able to compare it fairly to, say, the Roland JV series, which is already loaded up with expansion boards.

As good as the JVs are, I went with the Proteus 2000 because its technology is newer, it's cheaper, and its expansion potential blows away that of the competitors. Oh, and also because it has tons of patches that are really wonderful right out of the box.

But none of them have the Proteus 2000's 128-voice polyphony plus 32 channel MIDI capability plus over 1000 pre-sets which are only the tip of the iceberg as expansion boards (by Emu and third party developers) are being readied for release.

The real-time controls, the filters ... too much to go into in one review. This synth thrills and inspires me. Using it after several years using my Korg X-3 is a quantum leap in sound quality and flexibility. The X-3 now makes an excellent controller for the Proteus 2000; its aftertouch is really ingeniously utilized by the Emu patches.

The ways this box organizes and auditions patches is so ingenious -- you just gotta try it, and I don't mean five minutes in a noisy music store. You've got to really take some time to delve into the astounding depths of this machine to realize what Emu has accomplished. The presets are great for contemporary pop, hip hop, and dance -- there are tons of cutting edge synth leads, drums, basses, and strange sounds. There are not as many great acoustic emulations as one might like, but remember this is only the 16 MB initial sound sampler. When the orchestral board, 32 MB piano sample, and other boards are released later this year, the full capabilities of this beast will become very obvious.

These machines are flying out of the stores and the more you work with one, the more you'll understand why.

-- Steve in VB