The Planet Phatt is E-MU's love letter to hip-hop, trip-hop and old-school R&B. Built on the same respected sound engine as the Proteus range, it is loaded with fat analog-style basses, dusty drum kits, vinyl-flavoured keys and the kind of swung, lo-fi character that defined 90s beats. The onboard Beats mode lets you trigger whole grooves, while the filters and envelopes let you mangle the ROM samples into something of your own. A cheap, characterful module that still turns up on records.

FEATURES & PROS:

• 90s Hip-Hop ROM: Basses, kits, keys and stabs tuned for boom-bap and trip-hop.
• Beats Mode: Trigger and chain ready-made grooves for instant productions.
• Real Filters: Shape the ROM samples with resonant filters and envelopes.
• 32-Voice Polyphony: Plenty for layered beats and basslines.
• Rack-Friendly: Compact 1U module, MIDI multitimbral.
• Cheap Character: A lot of vintage flavour for very little money.

GENRE / USE

A budget sound module aimed at hip-hop, trip-hop, R&B and acid jazz. Dusty vinyl-flavoured keys, Minimoog and TB-303 style basses, 808 percussion and the swung Beats mode make it a quick source of 90s boom-bap flavour for beatmakers on a budget.

THE WORD: Sound on Sound describes it as a 16-part multitimbral module built on E-MU's proven Proteus design, with a wide spread of bass and synth sounds that make it an excellent tool for songwriting and arranging. Read the Sound on Sound review.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Model: E-MU Planet Phatt
• Released: 1996
• Type: digital ROMpler sound module
• Polyphony: 32 voices, multitimbral
• Sounds: hip-hop, R&B and trip-hop ROM set, plus Beats mode
• Format: 1U rack, MIDI
• Condition note: used module in good working order; details on request