A treasure trove of world instrument sounds at a super-low price!

E-Mu's Old World Instruments sample library is a collection of string, wind, and percussion instruments from the far-flung four corners of the globe. Unique and exotic, this sample library will help to add a special spice to any composition!

Each bank features musical instruments in their pure form along with many other worldly variations. The sound designers at ESC have taken care to accurately reproduce these instruments with great attention to the fine details. All samples retain as much of the natural decay as possible to give you the most control over your sounds. In addition, string and percussion instruments are sampled at multiple velocities which allows the user a whole new level of control over all aspects of performance.

As an added bonus there is a special "Best Of" bank of sounds from the legendary PROTEUS 3 WORLD module. The original Proteus series of sound modules are considered true 'classics' in the industry leading the way to countless number 1 hits over the years. Many professional studios around the world still rely on the sound of these industry workhorses. Now you can have access to these vintage world sounds to Empower your compositions.

The ESC crew has optimized each sound bank to fully take advantage of the powerful synth engine of the Emulator X & Proteus X Desktop Instruments. Each preset is mapped to the MIDI real-time controllers for enhanced expression.

Bank Descriptions


Ashiko: Traditional African single head, cone shaped hand drum, capable of producing high and low tones.

Baglama: The Bouzouki and Baglama (baby bouzouki) are fretted, double-strung lutes that evolved from the Turkish Saz. They are made of wood have long necks with teardrop shaped bodies. The Bouzouki and Baglama have eight strings (four courses X 2), with the two highest sets tuned in unison and the lower sets tuned in octaves. In more modern times, these instruments became very popular during the 1930's as one of the primary voices in Greek popular music.

Balafon: Traditional African twelve note marimba with pentatonic tuning. Each note has one or two gourd resonators suspended below for increased tone and amplification.

Bansuris: Bamboo transverse flute common in North Indian Classical music. This bank features four bansuris, bass, tenor, alto and soprano.

Bell Rattle: Small jingle bells inside a woven sphere of hemp fiber.

Bon Di: Low pitched Chinese bamboo transverse flute with buzzing paper resonator glued over the sound hole.

Brazilian Drums & Percussion: This kit is comprised of traditional Brazilian street percussion instruments including Surdo, Bombo, Tamborim, Snare Drums, Ganza, Crashers, Agogo, Triangle, Cuica, Whistles, Recoreco and others, key-mapped to correspond with the General MIDI drum kit convention.

Celtic Harp: The Celtic Harp is a diatonic folk harp. It is similar in shape to (but considerably smaller than) the Orchestral Concert harp, with "sharping levers" and no tuning pedals. The Celtic Harp is cousin to other varieties of folk harps that evolved in other parts of Europe. It has long been a featured instrument in all types of Celtic music.

Contra-Bass Balalaika

Cumbus Saz: The Saz is a long neck lute, predecessor of the Bouzouki, which is the most popular plucked string instrument in Turkey. In the early 1900's. a Turkish instrument maker (Zeynel Abidin Cumbus- last name pronounced "joom-bush") began redesigning traditional instruments, replacing the wood body with metal and skin, like a banjo. The result was instruments with much greater projection and a lingering reverberant effect that very quickly became more popular than the traditional designs. The Cumbus Saz is sometimes called the "Dulcimer Banjo".

Dizis: High pitched Chinese bamboo transverse flutes flute with buzzing paper resonator glued over the sound hole. This bank contains two Dizis: high and low.

Djembe: The ancient single head African Healing Drum: a hand drum with a thick, light head, bowl shaped upper body and long extended resonator. The Djembe can produce a wide range of sound from high slaps and pops to deep bass tones.

Djun Djun: Double head African Bass drum, with long tube-like shell and thick, haired heads, played with a short, thick stick or mallet.

Gankokwe Bells: Double iron bell from Ghana

Greek Bazouki: The bouzouki is a long necked lute developed in Greece from its Turkish ancestry. Originally a 6 stringed instrument, it now usually has 8 strings tuned CFAD.

Irish Bazouki: The Irish Bouzouki evolved from its Greek ancestor in the 1960's. While the Irish Bouzouki has a slightly more full-bodied tone, the primary difference between the two instruments is the tuning. Each double-string on the Irish Bouzouki is tuned to a unison (no octaves as in the Greek bouzouki), one octave below the mandolin.

Jaw Harps: A Jaw harp is a metal tine mounted on a tear-drop shaped frame. The frame is placed against (slightly parted) front teeth and plucked to produce the basic tone. Shaping the mouth to form vowel sounds and breathing in rhythm while plucking the tine produces rhythm-melodic phrases. This bank contains three Jaw Harps: Tenor, Alto and Soprano.

Kalimbas: (including Thumb Piano): Originating in Africa, Kalimbas are tensioned metal tines mounted on gourd or wood box resonators, sometimes with buzzing jingles mounted on the bridge or body. The metal tines are tuned to a scale and played by plucking them with the thumbs while the instrument is held in both hands.

Mandolin: The mandolin is a multinational instrument that evolved in Italy. It is a small lute with a fretted neck and eight strings (four double-strung courses), with each course tuned in unison. The mandolin is heard in traditional and modern music around the world.

Metallophones: various tuned metal bar instruments from Java and Bali.

Old World Combos: a collection of all the instruments.

Oud: The Oud is an ancient six single-string instrument from which the european Lute evolved. It has a large body and a short neck with no frets, and is played with a plectrum. The Oud is popular throughout the MIddle East, Turkey and Spain.

Penny Whistle: A simple block flute used in Celtic music.

Prima Domra: See "Segundo Domra" on the following page.

Proteus 3 World: A collection of samples from the Proteus 3 World sound module.

Ritual Drums: These are various single and double head drums from Pacific Rim countries and Asia. They can be played in traditional and non traditional ways to create a deep, primal drum kit. These drums are key mapped to correspond with the General MIDI drum kit convention.

Salsa Kit: An assemblage of percussion instruments commonly used in Salsa and Afro-Cuban popular music. The kit includes including congas, bongos, cowbell, clave, güiro, shakers, maracas, triangle, timbales, bass drums, snares, toms, cymbals and others. The kits are key mapped to correspond with the General MIDI drum kit convention.

Segundo Domra: All of these instruments are three stringed lutes native to Russia and The Ukraine. The Prima Balalaika has a triangle shaped body with a rounded back and a long and thin fretted neck. it is both a classical and a folk instrument, and is also played in dedicated Balalaika ensembles and orchestras along with its predecessor, the Domra. The Contra Bass Balalaika has a very large, triangle-shaped body. Its thickly wound strings are usually plucked with a large leather pick.

Shekere: A large gourd wrapped in a loose, beaded net that is shaken back and forth and thumped on the bottom.

Steel Drum: Traditional Lead Pan from Trinidad. Made with fire and hammer from an oil drum, the Steel Drum is ultimately tuned to a traditional western chromatic scale.

Talking Drum: A two headed hourglass shaped drum from Africa, which is played with a single curved stick and squeezed to "talk" in high and low tones with various bend nuances. Keyboard performance suggestion: Increase talk phrasing capability by using the pitch wheel.

Tenor Banjo: The banjo is the quintessential early American plucked string instrument. It has four strings, a metal body and a skin head (like a drum) that gives it a loud, penetrating, reverberant tone. In the 1920's, influenced by the newly-popular mandolin in the U.S., the common banjo evolved into the modern day Tenor Banjo.

Toke Bell: A single iron bell from Ghana.

Tongue Drums: Wood box percussion instruments with six carved tongues on the top face. Each tongue is cut to a different length, giving the box a six tone scale. This bank contains two different Tongue Drums, high and low.

Venu: Bamboo transverse flute common in South Indian Classical music.

E-MU Old World Instruments World Sound Library Features:

• Strings, winds, & percussion
• For use with Emulator X and Proteus X
• 36 Banks
• 768 Presets
• Over 1.6GB of sounds

Meticulously recorded and ready to play, these sounds will give your recordings the exotic feel you're looking for. Order now!