Platinum 88 (7 gigabyte) The Platinum 88 contains complete non-looping samples of all 88 notes— five layers with the sustain pedal up, six layers with the sustain pedal down, and one layer of note-off samples. Each stereo sample is 24-bit, 48kHz.
			Platinum 88 LE+ (1 gigabyte) The Platinum LE+ has three layers of pedal-up samples, and three layers of pedal-down samples. Each stereo sample is 16-bit, 44.1kHz, looped.
			Platinum 88 LE (200 megabytes) The Platinum LE has two layers of pedal-up samples. Each stereo sample is 16-bit, 44.1kHz, looped.

Having three versions of varying layer depths provides you with plenty of options depending on the intended use and the available system resources.

For example, while the Platinum 88 is a must for solo piano performances, it will take a heavy toll on available resources. If your system has difficulty running the Platinum 88 (or if your computer is multitasking), the Platinum 88 LE+ is an economic alternative. The Platinum 88 LE is great if you want to get a quick-loading piano sound that uses few computer resources. For example, if you're using Emulator X VSTi or Proteus X VSTi with your favorite sequencer, and you want to quickly load a piano bank, use the Platinum LE. Once you've successfully recorded your inspired MIDI track, you can replace it with the Platinum 88 or Platinum LE + for better sound quality during mixdown. Each piano uses all three pedals to complete the realism of the Platinum 88. The sustain, sostenuto, and soft pedals are automatically configured to work perfectly in Emulator X and Proteus X.

After an exhaustive search, E-MU's sound designers discovered a beautiful, well-maintained Steinway Model L concert grand at Whip Records in Berkeley, CA. Using Neumann U67 microphones and high-quality preamps, every note was meticulously recorded at 24-bit resolution. Each note was allowed to sound until disappearing completely— enabling the Platinum 88 bank to be completely natural sounding and free of loops. Each sample was reviewed, and the best were assembled into the twelve layers that make up the Platinum 88 7 gigabyte bank. As a result of this process, the samples are perfectly matched, sound great, and are free of artifacts.

The final set of samples was then carefully mapped to the proper key and velocity layers. Finally, the pedals and continuous controllers were programmed to take advantage of the Emulator X and Proteus X synthesizer engines, providing you with further tweaks and enhancements that allow you to easily configure the Platinum 88 to your personal liking. The result is the finest, most natural sounding piano sample library available.

The Steinway Model L at Whip Records

The Platinum 88 also offers a truly unique feature called Spread. The Spread feature allows the user to control the stereo image spread of the Platinum 88 playback. A larger Spread value simulates the performer's listening position while sitting at the Piano keyboard, while a smaller Spread value simulates the audience's position.

Each preset uses all three pedals to complete the realism of the Platinum 88. The sustain, sostenuto, and soft pedals are configured this way in Emulator X and Proteus X:

By default in Emulator X / Proteus X, the Sustain and Sostenuto pedals are mapped to CC64 and CC66 respectively. The Soft pedal is mapped to CC65 (Portamento). You can change these to whatever you want (e.g. CC67 if your MIDI Controller has three footswitch jacks) under the Controllers tab in the Preferences dialog box.

Useful controls are mapped to continuous controllers. Controllers A through D to adjust the Filter Amount, Q, Filter Attack, and Filter Decay. Controllers E through H control volume envelope parameters Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release. Controllers I and J control the relationship between velocity and volume and between velocity and filter. K and L are auxiliary sends to master effects such as Reverb and Delay. The mapping of controllers M through P varies among presets, and in some cases control additional effects such as EQ or Tube. Here are some of the settings you'll encounter: