Emax

Hi Alan, 

Your friend is right, the Zip drive is old and outdated. However, I would 
not go for a hard disk unless you really need the fastest load times. The 
better option these days is an external SCSI flash card reader. With 2GB 
compact flash cards available at low prices it is a much more reliable and 
expandable solution than a hard disk. 

Have a look at http://www.scsiforsamplers.com for some models that work with 
the Esi. They also have SCSI hard disks, SCSI CDROM drives and cables if you 
need them. Sometimes you might find these card readers cropping up on Ebay 
at low prices too, so keep your eyes open. You can also get a compact flash 
IDE card reader and a SCSI to IDE brigde and build your own if you know what 
you are doing are handy at DIY. 

The SCSI on the Emax HDSE may work with other hard disks but I think it 
would be worth trying a SCSI flash card reader with it first. Some people 
have reported successfully replaced their Emax floppy disk drive with a card 
reader attached to the internal SCSI bus. 

Transfer of samples between the Emax and Esi is not possible via SCSI. The 
Esi may be able to upload the samples from the Emax via MIDI SDS but it will 
be slow and you will need to set up all the programs etc again. If you have 
access to an Emax II you could load the Emax floppies in the that and save 
them to an Emax II formatted SCSI drive that the Esi could then import from 
directly. That is the simplest and easiest way to do it. 

Hope this helps. 

Regards, 

Tristan 

Alan writes: 

> I need some advice.  I am buying a esi-4000 rack from a friend with 
> Turbo.  He suggests I get an external HD that is compatable and cable 
> to connect to the exi-4000.  He is not impressed with the zip drive.  
> What HD can I get ,what size memory, and what external cable end 
> connectors do I need?  He has the complete 12 sample disc cataloge from 
> emu that he will download into the external HD once I get it.  Will 
> this HD and cable also work on the SCSI of my emax HDSE?  Another 
> question, can I transfer samples from my emax to the esi via SCSI cable 
> directly, or do I have to go to the HD first?  Or what is your take on 
> all this?  Thanks for all your advice and help.  -Alan   
>