via this Reverb listing
"This Emulator II has been lovingly refurbished and brought back from the Dead (quite literally!)This particular unit has a storied alleged past that I would implore you to read up on the Mystery Circuits webpage.
I purchased this off eBay about 7 years ago in non-working condition from a seller who had bought it locally from an estate sale in California some years before. I had missed the chance to buy one while they were still somewhat affordable, and this was my chance to get my hands on one. There were a couple of low quality photos included in the listing, but from what I saw it was an Emulator II unit being sold for parts/non-working that I thought there might be a possible chance we could get it up and working again.
I received the unit and it absolutely had seen better days. There was partially disintegrated black foam from a touring case scattered in openings, it was missing it's floppy drive. That's when I notice a Dead Head sticker on the back of the unit. My immediate reaction was to remove it, as my synth heroes all played these: Depeche, Pet Shop, New Order, etc. Why would anyone associate an Emulator sampler with the Grateful Dead? Before I proceeded to remove the sticker I did a quick online search. Faamous Emulator II players...Brent Mydland of the Grateful Dead!? And there was a photo...NO WAY! I stared at that photo, it was awfully close. The sticker placement, the serial number placement. This is way too close of a resemblance. Long story short my tech Mike Walters out of Chapel Hill NC reached out to the Dead's synth tech and did as much research as we could. The conclusion was ultimately inconclusive with a wink wink from Bob and the rest of the Dead crew.
Fast forward to 2021 and there is an auction for Dead memorabilia and instruments. Brent's Stage Used Emulator II is now up for auction. This should dispel any questions, we must not have the unit. But wait! After closer examination- there's some odd sticker placements and the serial number and FCC sticker are considerably further away then the photos of Brent playing his stage used Emulator. My working opinion is the auctioned off unit was likely a backup unit.
Modernized and retrofitted with a SD floppy emulator and new LCD backlight. We kept the original overlay (which is starting to peel in flake in certain areas) but can include a replacement overlay if you so desire. The outer casing has seen life outside of a studio and does show some wear."
