Akai S950 vs Ableton Drum Rack - 90s Jungle - OctaMED - Workflow

[@GGprods-o2x]

Will never complain about modern "menu diving" holy shit.

[@Harzurner]

It's really not that bad, it's more hands on than doing a thousand mouse clicks in a DAW. This way is better imho, especially for jungle, the modern DAWs do way to much stuff you just don't need, S1000 and 900/950 are pure break era goodness, you almost can't go wrong really.

[@GGprods-o2x]

@@Harzurner wasn't referring to the tracker. Trackers I understand and enjoy. The synths menu diving was the crazy part.

[@Harzurner]

@LaChona420k I was talking about the S950. To imitate it with software requires hundreds of mouse clicks, you have to use an AD/DC plugin and Akaiser and all sorts, it's a very disjointed process, I guess you could use TAL Sampler for more of a 1000 vibe but that requires even more mouse click and staring at tiny fake imagines of knobs and adjusting them all. It's gruling especially if you work on computers at work. The hardware S Seriess after a few months you'll know them so well you can flick though the menus fast, adjusting parameters with a mouse is never muscle memory like that because of the nature of the mouse having any start point on the screen it requires intense concentration to point and click.

[@Formless92]

😂

[@daenbrown830]

​@LaChona420k it's standard synth architecture it looks complicated but it's really isn't and is basically the same as every synth around

[@JB-xv4bw]

I was born in 89' and all music I still get that mystic kind of goosebumps from nowdays is coming from this mid to late 90's and early 00's era, I really appreciate you showing this. I will never touch this equipment and workflow but DAMN this is cool. True art! ♥

[@Abruzzo333]

Good to hear that there's still people out there that love the classic sound. Back then the main focus was creating a vibe....whereas in the last almost 20 years, a lot of electronic based music has been far too focused on technical acrobatics.

[@salaciouscrumb]

Great to see how its done. Patience needed but the results speak for themselves.

[@neveser]

90s for me was industrial with my EPS16+ & SY77. Other guy in my band had an Akai S1000 and an Emulator. Good times... awesome times.

[@DJ_PHIISIX]

im old school (53) and just started tracking again with renoise. Usually Cubase. Taken me right back and given fresh ways to work again. Cant beat the old days. My fist sampler was also the 950, then 1000PB and then the 3000, after that I went a combo of Emu and akai. Today all Cubase 13. Great vids!!

[@audiolego]

I tend to finish and arrange in Renoise. I'm fast using it. I do get writers block with Logic. But with Renoise, 100 percent of the time I finish what I started. Arranging in Renoise is ace!!!❤❤❤❤❤

[@denbo1968]

Ahh the old octamed days, 2 amigas a A500 plus for base n stuff and a A1200 for vocals n that, no midi for me back then just a lolie stick contraption across the 2 amigas to start them in time, still was fun and a few releases on Bare Necessities so was all worth it in the end :) And renoise is awesome, started playing with it a year or so ago.

[@jjohnwords2873]

Look into the inphonix RX950 to use in conjunction with cubase if you no longer have the Akai hardware. It's pretty good.

[@DavidBoura]

That's some precious video. I'm feeling like in the mid 90's right now!

[@mikey42325]

Nice ! 😃 the vocal is sick!

[@fritslyneborg]

Funny how the sound of the Akai samplers wheel actually brought me straight back in time!

[@GeorgeL909]

I love everything about this. It just hits different with the old school workflow and I find that crazy inspiring.

[@dimitridekkers4553]

I had the S950, loved it. As i can remember if you use the left and right output you get a kind of surround sound effect.

[@Thought-Forms]

This is straight ASMR. That 950 jog wheel turning, chaunky buttons clicking, that sweet sweet keyboard, and of course those fat beats & dark pads. Ace stuff man

[@headlinerbeats]

wow creating music with a stopwatch is on another level lol.

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

My stepdad used to get the bpm’s for his vinyl with a stop watch and a tally counter. Using the stopwatch to time these sample actually gives me a massive nostalgia buzz that I put back into the music when I work like this. The human mind is a curious thing. 😆

[@enemysub9057]

That's kind of how I work too, hence I also rock a casio calculator watch lol. If you time the source material with a stopwatch you will know exactly what length to punch in for the loop. What you don't want to do is try and cut the loop by ear on the sampler by constantly moving your frame of reference with the jog dial. If you time it at the regular speed you can use the length to calculate the BPM, you can also do it the other way around too. So, in addition to the stopwatch you also want a calculator so you can work out that as well as convert time to samples and work out time stretching percentages etc. It really is next level compared to squinting at the slot while spinning the jog dial all day long like some demented safe cracker instead of just punching the right numbers in.

[@sunpak4898]

its arduous but i personally appreciate the old way. of doing thing. more fluid and less places to get stuck obsessively tweaking settings like on daws

[@andrewkeller2842]

@@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe I did the same thing as your dad (or something similar)… to manually get BPMs for my records. TBH, to get a quick BPM off something that catches my ear on YT or radio or t.v., I have a scaled down version to get approximate BPMs

[@DaftFader]

@@enemysub9057 "spinning the jog dial all day long like some demented safe cracker" ahaha that one got me good!

[@Snshne235]

Fantastic , thats the way i make jungle too years back , good old times ;)

[@almckechnie]

Love it. Lining up the start point of the low-pitched snare took me right back.

[@djmadwax]

Boy do I not miss those days and yet…. I had a lot of fun back then, more than I do now with just software

[@christianweber9089]

I had 1996 on Amiga500 the MED1.4 (4 Channel little Brother of octamed). It was fantastic Workflow, Programmed and live, booth in one Software. I miss them Music EDitor now.

[@princequestly2218]

Wow this brings memories back of spending hours upon hours chopping samples and making beats on this sampler. This was the first one I got it around 1997ish then I got a akai 2000xl a few years later when I came out. But I learned everything on this machine.

[@paullawson8610]

Took me back to the 90s but we had atari st running a very early version of cubase and we had s1000 sampler spent many a smoky night making beats and using the test tone for the bass it's funny what would take ages to do on that old gear you can do in ableton in seconds

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

I loved Cubase! Used to use an Atari ST 520 upgraded to the 1MB chip in my Dads studio. Had the Steinberg Midex+ and an external hard drive. It was huge, pretty sure it was only 10mb or something 🤣

[@TSevensMedia]

This is wicked, you’re truly a breakbeat samurai, hoping to get one someday 🤙

[@rolfedrengen]

Thanks, this was great! This kind of logic is used by a lot of 80-90's digital musicians!

[@edglue6138]

Strings at beginning gave me goose bumps Thanks for taking the time dude. I’ve still got my Alain s3000xl and a 6000 They are gathering dust. But I will use them again Great work mate One love

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

I’m pretty sure those strings are available for free in a little pack of pads I made with a Casio and the Esi32. There should be a link in the description.

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Great samplers btw 👌

[@karaokeitaliano]

Mesmerized remembering my fastTracker days...

[@justind7138]

I've been searching for a video like this for ages thank you!

[@610SAARi]

pure magic

[@philipmcandrew]

savage! loved this!

[@PerryLevy]

Ah the S950, used to take me two days to make beats on it, now with Ableton, it takes 20 min. I had the MPC60, Ensoniq EPS, S950 and Yamaha TX16W. Nice 12bit sounds but really makes workflow so difficult. Love 2023 workflow of no hardware and it's just about the music!

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Yeah Ableton is like a Ferrari is comparison. I have most of my breaks already chopped up and ready in the S950 so I can move quite quickly. I do also find if I’m chasing “that sound” which for my taste I usually am, there’s nothing better than using the real thing. I tend to end up spending hours adding processing to my signal chain in the box where as the S950 just sounds how I want. Some of us just love using old gear though. It’s the difference between taking a drive in a Tesla or taking the old vintage banger out that you love. I love use both! 👌

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Thinking about it though. On a deeper level, I’m not overly impressed with the world in 2024. Using these machines is like stepping in a Time Machine and getting away from it. 😄

[@aldali724]

@@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeReyou should look into Koala sampler. It’s like a bridge to a modern workflow for these vintage samplers.

[@PerryLevy]

@@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe I hear you, if you weren't there back in the 90s, it seems like a nice reprieve from the modern computing world. I was making beats back then so for me, it's not as exciting. I find that some plugins like SampleX and the S950 filter along with some other bit crushers (Decimator, Flava Pro, etc.) give you a decent replication of 12 bit noise. Good enough for me!

[@animaze86]

depends what you enjoy about music, for me personally, the process gives me just as much enjoyment as the end result, and often the end result has more soul cos you have made so many ciritcal, irreversable decisions in your workflow.. :) limitations definitely alter your creative mind state and imposing them can increase creative expression..

[@90sFlav]

So helpful, thx

[@futurereality1988]

Great video. So many memories watching you working on OctaMed! 😊

[@shortattentionspa.....]

Wicked tutorial mate, thanks for sharing!

[@OGGalleryCrew92]

2:48 I've got the same sampler and just getting into using it but the instructions might as well be in Chinese as i just don't get it, would you please would you do a breakdown on how to use the sampler , like making chops and samples please, from a old skool raver 88-93, ps keep up the great videos and music

[@mojito6629]

Had been used many kind of Akai mighty samplers back in those days, I'll never come back from Ableton Live now LOL.

[@Rezzin]

That work flow is so cooooool! That was a watch Legend!! Many safes

[@ApexDubb]

Hell yeah Skull Skates🤘🏻 I grew up with this brand on the Canadian West Coast and to this day still support PD’s company

[@Koma7oze]

Jesus dude, 90s tools for the win! Good show chap!

[@briangomez8716]

You don’t know unless you know- I was from these days - using my MPC 3000 - we had to figure it out and did it almost the same way - there were no videos to teach

[@AjarSensation]

holy fuk! i admire someone still doing the old shit, old style!!! dayyym boyyyy

[@DMS8410]

True school era ❤️

[@test-201]

you're like a wizard mate i wouldn't have a clue how to do any of this, enjoy listening to it tho even your accent adds a 90s feel

[@Justindl26]

This is great mate x

[@hardnoar]

you tha men!! S950 its the first sample of my posse its a cool mavhine and i have a S1000 PB in my house amazing job bro!!!

[@atommachine]

Nice info, i miss my 950 but still have a s3000xl with filter card running scsi from recycle 2.0 win xp . Good video .

[@futureworldmachines4407]

To make Jungle you need to use hardware samplers, as someone who was listening to Jungle in the early 90's, it just doesn't sound or feel right when it's made in DAW. I can instantly tell when someone tries to make 'Jungle' in DAW, it sounds too clean, lacks depth sonically and the timings are too precise, it lacks that groove you get when your samples are slightly off grid. Even if you can't afford a vintage sampler, it's worth getting hardware sampler like an SP404 or that new Teenage Engineering one, it's all about the process if you want that authentic sound.

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

I feel the same 👌

[@milk_bath]

You can set midi/audio off the grid in a DAW though. Trackers are literally on grid.

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

@@milk_bath yeah there’s massive limitations working in a tracker. Although for the oldschool jungle technique you wouldn’t necessarily be looking to move breaks off grid as you generally use portions of the original break that have the feel of the drummer already taking things off a bit. But yeah, it’s primitive stuff. I think the point @futureworldmachines4407 was more about the tonality of hardware samplers compared to the pristine sound of a DAW. There are of course ways you can lofi in the box stuff. Let’s face it at the end of the day it’s your ideas that count. Doesn’t matter how you get there. I use both setups depending on what I’m looking for. 👌

[@anthoonius_gabagoolius]

isnt about grid,at all lmao@@milk_bath

[@Instrumentals4Sale]

Not sure if I get you with the 'sound' part. there are many ways to work with samples, as you have seen he starts with a daw and then transfers to a sampler, some people start with a sampler and transfer to a daw. As for the samplers themselves, each has its own character which is determined by the inbuilt filters, the bitrate and the output staging circuits. And then you have the actual rendering recrording stage, so if you are judging a track by surface noise a daw track might sound like it is coming out of hardware if it was run to tape or passed through an analogue desk prior to final record stage. I think the only way to determin if something is recorded on hardware is down to the effects and micro editing in the track, but even then that would still be a guess if the artist is processing loops and then resampling. Any drum break that has been 'played' by a human is going to have swing, and that swing as well as any 'air' in the sample is going to transfer to a track regardless of how it was sequenced (DAW, tracker, hardware sequencer).

[@MosheBenChaim]

Old skool gear is a mystery to the young 😂 I had the S2000 and I still have floppies filled with samples

[@albastard2902]

Same here, s2000 + Atari hosting cubase 2.0 lol - we had to be very creative without all the modern plugins

[@johnupdate]

the sound of the trigger buttons and the jog Wheel give me massive flashbacks😂

[@Flossy1976]

I had octamed on AMIGA..This video is SICK :))

[@ayubi007DK]

great man! pretty much the same way i work, i just use reaper and s3000xl, nice to know that I'm not way off :)

[@RetroPlus]

There is something about using these old tools that makes you think much more deliberately about the creative decisions when making music

[@dzaxys4643]

Great stuff respect but so glad i have modern technology for makeing beats nowadays i don't miss using my Amiga and akai but you can't quite get that sound anywhere else peace

[@aldali724]

The sound nowadays is enough for me to use the vintage equipment. I started off on fl studio but I use the mpc 2000 and after this Friday the mpc 60ii. The modern tech had me all prepared to use vintage samplers. I still make beats the same way besides the things you HAVE to do with these machines. It takes a lil longer but it’s all worth it for that sound for me. Most of my favorite music was produced using an s950. I gotta put in the mix somehow!

[@VestanPance2007]

Mate this is a cracking S950 demo / tutorial.. thanks 🙏🏻

[@actionrag1]

Nice Video mate, always good to watch someone else work.

[@gizzzzzzzz]

bro is the final boss of jungle producers

[@VKNGofficial]

Wicked mate. Pure vibes

[@mrpesk1]

Great vid. Would love to try those casio pads, where can i find? Cheers!

[@arvindbeeharry8214]

Dude! You are a legend for this.

[@RetroJay1974]

Ah yes good old Octamed! Im a long time Amiga nut, got too many of the things but also decided to buy in some Akai samplers and crack out the amiga sampler carts :D

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Big up!! 👌

[@finndewart7011]

Thanks for the tips. Oldskool as...

[@matthewwilson3673]

Great video, love these rack mount samplers

[@cstarcrusher]

hey mate just wanted to say i love your content and I've been using those sexy Casio pads you made in loads of stuff. i'm normally a hip hop and house head but been listening to jungle and dnb since i was a kid and made a proper roller a couple months back that had one of your pads in it!

[@adskiblad]

RIGHT, I'm firing up the 950 Big up!

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Enjoy ✌️

[@jesusisgodallbyhimself]

Enjoyed this. Nice one.

[@harshrealm]

Skull skates! Nice Canadian throwback (says the guy living outside of Vancouver). :)

[@viktorasjefimovas7063]

The tutorial is just great, thank you!

[@frigga]

As adnb music lover, it's so cool to see how the oldschool stuff is done. i just don't like this polished sound of newschool releases, it just doesn't hit the same.

[@andrewrossy]

Oh my brings back so many memories of knob twiddling to adjust. Don't miss that at all ... looks a lot more painful that I remember. 😀

[@SystematicAdvert]

this looks so fucking cool good job keep up the videos mate

[@Stealthynl-s5p]

Nice way to get mastered samples.

[@thewolfgirlliberation]

Fantastic. I appreciate your work flow

[@crazylifehd9088]

i love da old school produktionz!!

[@piynubbunyip]

top video. Seems slow from an outside view but the flow gets very fast whereas the computer requires a mouse and eyes always. The S950 has buttons - I don't know the numerical values but I know the taps on the cursor button, almost like words. - 5 taps right for start point edit for example

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Yeah if you want to get a job done quickly it’s not the way 😂 If you do some prep and have your main break programs made you can get results pretty fast. But yeah, definitely a labour of love if you’re that way inclined.

[@ASH-ou4cg]

When you are playing the drum loop with the sub, are they coming out of separate outputs on the back of the S950, or the same output? Main mix??

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Separate 👍

[@badsugar]

Absolutely amazing!

[@ASH-ou4cg]

When you record the sub bass (Tone Program) from your S950, do you get a high pitched whine sound playing in the background of the sample? My S900 does this. Is this normal (aliasing?), or something else?? Thanks so much for these videos and for the time in answering.

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

I haven’t noticed on the 950. I hear it with 8bit samples on the internal Amiga chips though but that’s part of the charm:)) I’ll take a close listen she I’m there next.

[@ASH-ou4cg]

@@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe You are awesome and thanks for the quick response! Yes, you know the sound I am talking about, the whistling/whining sound in the background, I just assumed it was aliasing, but I can't always hear it when others are using their samplers, so I wondered if it was just mine. Mind you, I don't notice it when playing back from the sampler, but if I record that sample and normalize it, it is there! I appreciate you and look forward to your reply!

[@hydrashock]

Yep was interesting for me, nice one!

[@MicrophonesInTheTrees]

Imagine buying a vintage sampler for the cred and then being upset when it turns out it doesn't do everything for you. "Oh no! I have to actually sample into a sampler! What's next? Wiping my own arse when I done poopy?!". LOL. Modern "producers" make me laugh.

[@breakerrormusic]

That's what's up.

[@nicorojo007]

What's the intro song???

[@raveltammeleht6278]

Sounds seriously good!

[@tatarenkovaa]

Great guide bro! Make more video bout how to make it works what type of amiga need type cables ram? How to connect amiga and samplers? Wanna make my amiga live again. Have mixer s950 s1100 cd3000i actually orders midi cable for amiga. Any video like this will be great for ppl like me who wanna make production on amigas or atari will be very helpfully.

[@enemysub9057]

Not sure about the Amiga but you can use the RS 232 port to hook the S950 right up to the modem port of the Atari. Set the correct baud rate and you can send MIDI to it using the C-Lab Export driver. Basically, you get an additional MIDI port by using just a common cable.

[@tatarenkovaa]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@enemysub9057 Awesome need to try it;) Will look for 13pin cable and Atari. Found C-lab notator will order soon .but what atari u recommend? Atari 140ST are ok?

[@tatarenkovaa]

@neb6 hard to find right now dss8+ but I made DIY sampler mod from GitHub. Will try to find amiga with this specs. Thanks for response!

[@JimmyHandtrixx]

​@neb6u dont need such a powerful amiga! this guy is using a500 😂

[@kbutter100]

love the skull skates sticker

[@Will-qx9vm]

Have you tried the RX950 by inphonik?

[@Dilzze]

waiting for the release

[@evaldo6017]

Music 😢😢😢😢😢 download

[@sqwop]

I know this is workflow video but would love to hear sound differences exported from daw and from the sampler from same arrangement, maybe if you got free time one of these days just import 4 elements, ie. jungle drum loop, 808 bass, some atmosphere synth line and maybe vocal, keep it simple no processing just to hear if the sampler has anything over the daw sound/dynamic/soundstage wise. Cheers

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Sure I’ll see if I can do this on the next video 👌

[@sqwop]

@@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe Legend 👏👏

[@lwtek]

Great video! Great sound! 🔥

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Thanks 🙏

[@dertiebassett7825]

Your octamed colour scheme brings me out in hives 😵‍💫😂

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

🤣 it’s themed on one of my early 90s skateboards 🤟

[@dertiebassett7825]

@@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeReoohhhhh, gonna have to guess what one, what team ?

[@phonomena]

My guess would be a pink Caballero!

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

@@phonomena bloody nailed it mate!! With fluro gullwing truck and T Bones!! 👌

[@phonomena]

⁠​⁠@@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeReHaha mate what were the odds. My mate had one with clear grip tape, it was a beautiful looking deck. I had a blue Corey O’Brien Reaper, also rocking Gullwings with Bullets.

[@troelsersking101]

OctaMED, it just got a recent update I think :)

[@LinaaaOfficial]

I don't think I could ever go back to hardware samplers anymore

[@stekker1]

nice video mate

[@wedfrest]

Awesome. Can’t seem to see any sample packs on your Bandcamp, unless I’m missing something?

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Hmmm ! Moved them to their own page. I’ll check later and update the link. Thanks for pointing that out 👌

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Just updated the description so you’ll find them now. There’s also some free pads from this vid kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2rCh3SlZbiBarcsi=LYpX6UCJazNt3chT

[@r.davidsen]

A DOS sequencer? Didn't even know it existed!

[@sneekeruk]

Just thinking about what you said about octamed's bpm being 'approximate', could it just be down to using an A1200 with everything timed off a 14mhz bus (and cpu if its not got an accerator) rather then an ECS Machine with a 68000 and everything running at 7mhz, the timing between AGA/ECS could just be different enough for octamed to notice.

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Yeah maybe! Tbh I’ve not really dug into the specifics. I’ve also done some mods to my A500 that may have affected things. 🤷

[@tetron62]

Excellent video, thanks!

[@rafalwronowski1893]

Amiga forever!!!!!

[@pepuletrz]

ahhh..the S950...the cream.

[@joshb9657]

So sick bro!

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Cheers man 🙏

[@tonybeatbutcher]

the original break is "The Incredible Bongo Band: Apache"

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Yep that’s the one! Awesome break 👍

[@marcusgideon4022]

Do you use more than one keygroup on the 950 or are all your sounds in one keygroup

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

Multiple keygroups 👍

[@louminati4318]

We used the tone of a S950 as a sub bass

[@marcusgideon4022]

Can you tell me if an Amiga A500 is good enough to run Octomed v4 ? What limitations can i expect ??

[@12BITJuNGLEOuTTHeRe]

I use an Amiga 500 & Octamed v4 to make my music. It seems to work for me. That’s about as much as I can tell you tbh.

[@hellf.o]

Is it still the '96?!?😮