E-mu Proteus 2000

Back in 1999, this rackmount powerhouse arrived as E-mu's ultimate evolution of the Proteus line, packing 32MB of sample ROM right out of the box—expandable to 128MB via four internal slots for sounds from the Orbit, XK, or MP series, turning it into a modular sound design beast.

It's a 1U digital sample-based synth module with 128-voice polyphony and 32-part multitimbrality, handling massive MIDI sequences effortlessly, complete with DIN MIDI In/Out/Thru and S/PDIF digital out. Each of its 1536 presets (1024 ROM, 512 user) stacks up to four layers, armed with multimode resonant filters (including 50 Z-plane types), three multi-stage envelopes (two loopable), two LFOs, and a deep mod matrix with processors for retriggering samples, polyphonic glide, and clock-sync'd modulation. Front-panel perks include four real-time knobs for tweaking up to 12 parameters, a SoundFinder for preset hunting, plus dual 24-bit stereo effects engines offering 29 reverbs, 15 delays, and more, routed via six polyphonic 18-bit analog outs (configurable as three stereo pairs with insert returns for external gear). Two stereo audio inputs let you blend external signals seamlessly.

Over the years, producers have praised its lush, evolving patches and filter bite—Kanye West swore by it for beats—though some note the global effects limit multitimbral tweaks. If you're chasing vintage depth in a compact footprint, this one's a studio staple that still delivers.