Akai samplers, MESA, Re-Cycle, Computers and SCSI explained

This was requested by many people so here it is. Hopefully my bad explanations will make sense, I did make some minor mistakes ;-)

[@citizencain454]

practically the only video on MESA here on YT. Thank you! great stuff. A video on set up, and where to find the old software would be awesome.

[@Vesalempinen]

You can also transfer samples via MIDI using Steinberg Recycle 2.0 --> It takes time for samples to upload, but its a great way to load them this way into Akai memory, and then save it into a Disk. Old Recycle 2.0 has support for old AKAI samplers and also support sample dump via MIDI. Recycle 2.0 will run on 32 bit Win, for example Windows XP. You can chop the sample in Recycle and dump all chopped parts in one go, and it will create a program automatically, containing the samples. I use this successfully in AKAI S3000XL Cheers!

[@Arc.hitectureMusic]

Getting my S3200XL Mesa'd and Recycled, just waiting for my HD50 to centronics! Good to see this in action!

[@ohniceness6138]

Loved this video. Your setup would cause me to short circuit. Very impressive mate.

[@TimGn]

THANK. YOU. I just grabbed a 3000xl and I had no clue how to add it to my production chain (or use it, really). It's sat unplugged for a couple months now.

[@Ancaja123]

I remember hearing about MESA when I started making my first recordings on a DPS12. Was always intrigued by the idea of being about to mix and control the recordings via a computer but never had a computer that was compatible.

[@Ancaja123]

just realized I saw some sort of System Disk, not sure for which Akai sampler, for sale at a shop in california. It's been there for over a year now I should probably pick it up..

[@elusivemite]

Just about to venture into SCSI with my dps12. Mesa is eventually running with my s2k. What a chore that was

[@UnterDerSonneOhUnterDerSonne]

YAY! A new one! :-)

[@kobalt77]

well presented video mate...................... you have some great gear !

[@JuanMaristany]

Thanks for this, great breakdown

[@messiahblack4816]

All facts! Informative video...

[@MonkeyMarc]

super helpfull video bro. I'm a big akai user.

[@stuartharrison2896]

thanks james,nice one!

[@flujotech]

Fascinating.

[@rolandexclusive6306]

great video! thanks!

[@theblowupdollsmusic]

Awesome video, Have you ever considered using any of the new CF card readers or floppy emulators?

[@hexdragon_]

cool and very inspiring

[@jezzhadley8624]

great vid...having a challenge getting wavelab and mesa linked up to my 3200xl...im using an aspi driver by nexitech so far where recycle is communicating fine but not mesa and wavelab...which drivers are you using and which versions of mesa and wavelab please..thanks again for the vid

[@bizzybrian2414]

love this vid

[@elainematthews521]

Hi there mate . If you could find a way to turn akai samples into wav files and even visa versa you will make a fortune ! I still swear by my s3000xl, still use it , people laugh at my methods but they don't laugh when they see my tracks in the charts or on someone else's album ! If you could get back to me , you could put thousands of Akai freaks out of their misery , Elaine

Hi Elaine, there is a piece of software out there called 'Chicken Systems Translator'. Silly name but it does exactly what you want. And not only for Akai but you can transfer samples between loads of old hardware, and to computer-readable files as well.

[@markussteinbacher8807]

@ true need lot of cdr or disks

[@elainematthews521]

Yes you are right ,I recorded my biggest top 10 hit on a single ADAT ,running alongside an Atari firing off all the midi 'live' to keyboards and sampler ,I didn't even get it pro mastered ! E .C .

[@jessestrobel2]

Great video. Sampling newbie here

[@lcaise]

this bassline is awesome!! It's Bass Station ?

[@JoostDNonsens]

Cool Video! What's your opinion about the Sonic Portions LXR ?

[@vinyljunkie07]

Joost D. Sounds great but has some rather big flaws regarding the sequencer due to CPU RAM limitations and is also rather unfinished in terms of OS

[@Keyaar1978]

Hi Martin! I want to buy a CD player how you connect it? To the second port of the Zip drive? How you give power for the CD?...and one more: i heard something that you can preview cd-s somehow before loading to Akai???

[@GIANNIANER]

woooooooow.....your studio is like paradise!!!!!

[@macboogieland2897]

dude, is music your full time job?? it better be. and if it is, please tell me under what name you release music

[@Ftoes]

What version of wave lab was that? I've got 4.0 and it says SCSI is not supported for my s2000. Cheers

[@rebirth3X]

Hi, if you only have a CD drive plugged in, do "drive SCSI ID" and "local SCSI ID" have to be set to the same values of whatever the ID is set to, on the CD device?

[@grimemank42]

Vyniljunkie07 I’m getting an akai 3000xl tommorow and all it comes with is the SCSI lead and power lead iknow what I have to get for it but I was wondering can you use any external floppy drive or would I need a Zip drive ? Also I don’t know how to set it all up

[@philtyrich1]

Hi wanted to know what setting do you use in the s1100 to stop your samples from overlapping like there in poly mode reason asking is I got a S1000 yesterday and cant figure out how to get my samples from overlapping when i trigger them from my mpc . Thanks in advance for any advice you can share.

[@philtyrich1]

@@moodoom Sold the 1000 a little after posting that question . I ended buying a mpc 3000

[@acheleg]

what editor/librarian do you use for the fb-01? i still have win 98, if it helps

[@grimemank42]

Also do you have to have a mixing console ?

[@WestonStephens]

Any reasonably priced recommendations for SCSI to USB on a Mac?

[@Vesalempinen]

Nice thing is that if one want to use old sampler, for example S3000 XL, but do not have legacy computer with SCSI card & cabling running windows 95 or 98, one can transfer samples using MIDI cable. A bit slower, but if one cannot wait couple of minutes, then I think it´s best to stick with computers. Man i love messing with floppy disks :0)

[@WestonStephens]

How do you go about accomplishing this?

[@Vesalempinen]

@@WestonStephens Sorry for the Very Late reply. You can transfer samples via MIDI using Steinberg Recycle 2.0 It takes time for samples to upload this way, but its a great way to load the samples into Akai memory, and then save it into a Disk. Old Recycle 2.0 has support for old AKAI samplers and support sample dump via MIDI. Recycle 2.0 will run on 32 bit WinOS for example Windows XP.

[@mantax55]

Where'd ya get your desk, man?

[@dxtrs_mnpltr]

Can you also transmit the chops from recycle to the S1100?

[@valireality]

Hi, thanks on a explanation :) need help for connecting Boss Dr-670 with Akai S3000i. Every pad on Boss is playing same sample from Akai but with different pitch. how to map every pad on Boss to different sample on Akai? thanks

[@mollyringmod3815]

What's a good scuzzy card to install into my old Dell computer it has XP PCI for my Akai s3000xl I was told that Adaptec aha2940 would be good can you confirm? I appreciate it!

[@smiljanicn]

Hi there! Any advice for using EPS 16 with scsi devices or computer? Mine dont comunicate with Apple 300 external cd rom or with Mac G4 running OS9. I never tried XP with it. Only once i had sucesfully detected external Quantum scsi hard drive.

[@christiantorma2440]

genau dieser sound 😎🤘😎🤘😎🤘

[@atommachine]

my ent/play button is a bit worn and does not always trigger can it be fixed....

[@rolandexclusive6306]

thank you for the video, where are the switches on the zip drives to turn terminate on/off?

[@vinyljunkie07]

On the back

[@rolandexclusive6306]

@@vinyljunkie07 is it the small pin hole? im having a nightmare with this zip

[@marcoooos92]

just bought an s2000 and looking at buying a CD scsi ROM drive. How can i burn samples onto a CD to be read the s2000? i've got a MBP on OSX but have access to old PC's... Thanks

[@MrDazydude]

Hello Vinyljunkie, having problems with my s3000 Sampler getting it seen under WINXP, i stumbled across your vid... Maybe u could provide me with some hints regarding this setup. So, my Sampler is hooked via an adaptec 1460D SlimSCSI Card to my Computer, all Device ID are set correctly, but still it is not recognized as a Sampler by Windows. It is seen as an Optical Drive alongside to his internal HD, but still cant be accessed by MESA, but for strange Reason by NICEYs NiceWave. The Sampler is shown not as "AKAI", but is named with a String of cryptic special Characters, and set to ID 6. However, maybe you could help me get started on this one.

[@MrDazydude]

Oh, and i have the Needed ASPI Layer installed, and the AKAI OS is 2.0 BTW. Actually, i try to set up original Adaptec Drivers instead of the Microsoft ones, maybe this helps. -EDIT- Of course, it DIDN`T. AAARGHLL! Still no MESA! -EDIT2- Strange enough, now that i´ve set the MIDI over SCSI Option in the Sampler to "on" and assigned the right local and remote SCSI-ID, suddenly XP finds a new device and installs a standard Volume Driver for it. hmmm....

[@truman90]

What synth is that beautifull bass sound at 9:20 ?

[@triggerhappytube]

it'S the novation bass station rack I guess ;)

[@truman90]

@@triggerhappytube You are right , thank you

[@oliviersonnenberg341]

very interesting video, are you releasing stuff, do you have a label and are you intrested in projects ??? leave me a note if ;)

[@trakliteproductions]

Peace. Were you using Windows XP?

[@astralbraintentacles1212]

Does anyone know if you can use MESA on a single PC to control multiple samplers?

[@PaulWoodman83]

Where can I find the OS V2.0. I searched everywhere and cannot find it, only the 3000XL version which give no sound output. So I need the 3200XL version in order to transfer samples and here them. Someone please help!!!

[@PaulWoodman83]

tinyurl.com/akai3200XL

[@adamgriffiths1703]

Hey awesome video, really inspired me to do more with my CD3000XL, but inspiration can only get me so far. I’d really like a copy of MESA but cannot find one ANYWHERE! I’ve searched and searched and even emailed AKAI and been ignored. :( Can anyone help paleeeeze?

[@ChrisNova777]

let me know when u get a g4 mac:)

[@dussie920]

Are you Dutch? You sound like a Dutchman in the way you pronounce words in English :-)

[@jezzhadley8624]

Looking in to a scsi hard drive to link in to the scsi chain...scsishop.co.uk/product-category/data-storage/hard-to-find-scsi-drives/ ....with the aim to store & access sample libraries & programs (akai format) via the akai....the question i have is will this be located & accessed in 'my computer' the same as your zip drives ?

[@XBASS247]

all this old stuff sounds alot better dont u think

[@marcb907]

Actually it doesn't but you get used to.

[@XBASS247]

@@marcb907 na it does wen it comes to jungle

[@stuartharrison2896]

thinking about purchasing s2000, are there any sample disks with amens for jungle,d&b etc,seems to be scarce,cheers

[@EpicWinz]

stuart harrison Might want to consider the 3000xl, the 2000 is a pain to operate with 2 line lcd. You can buy tons of Jungle break samples on eBay.

[@EpicWinz]

stuart harrison Yeah S3000 FTW! I picked up a copy of Jungle Warfare on eBay.

[@scottmitchell8754]

can you do the same with a s6000?

[@louismarcell]

yeai have S5000 and i do the same .ak.sys and usb card or direct drive transfer with the latests Os and translate chic systems

[@stoffenl]

I've noticed that the Recycle can't do S5/6000, at least not the version I checked but it accepts pretty much every AKAI before that.

[@Ancaja123]

@@louismarcell WISH I had the USB card on my S5000. They go for almost as much as the unit itself however.

[@UNDERGROUNDCALLING0161]

Iv been looking for an old computer with a scsi port for ages 😕

[@michaels8597]

Just find a decent PC,with full RAM,take all that crap off like games,and one you can install an Adaptec SCSI card inside.The only one that might come with one was the Yamaha music computer,but i am not sure of that either.

[@BlazeONEANdChill]

@@michaels8597 I have an old hp media center pc m7000 in the garage... 2gb of ram .. will that work?

[@michaels8597]

@@BlazeONEANdChill This is wild,because I have the same exact PC,under another model number..It's a machine that gave me hell at first because it has some form of Vista for media.I had someone install Windows 7 Pro, then had it cleaned out again,since it had a fresh HD inside.I got it back but the case would not come back on right,and the power button would not engage,so it sits there still. I just went ahead and got another HP which died,so I stopped going for the big names and bought a desktop from MicroCenter,a PowerSpec,which they make in house.That was an still is the best PC I have even owned in my life,hands down.Now If you're going to mess with that HP,find a SCSI card,usually from Adaptec,check the dimensions,and see if it will fit in the HP. I also have and LOVE Mac G4 computers,and have three.Just remember how this game goes.They want MONEY,and they want to try and force you to think you 'need' to upgrade.They purposely half build these big name computers,yet sometimes,they over engineer some models,like the Dell XPS series.Maybe that's a misleading term but in other words,a company will make 2 models out of 10 which happen to really be better,on a next level. They purposely give you bloat and junk so when you buy it,it's full of trial software,and junk you will never need to make music.Then they give you 2 GB of RAM,knowing full well,the latest OS needs 2 GB,your updated browser needs 2, etc,s by the time you install some bloated version of your DAW,your computer is already running out of resources. The solution is stick with the version of Logic/Ableton/Reaper you NEED to make music,,and stop allowing them to coerce you into buying over and over.You can get into the cycle of thinking you need to upgrade everything,computer,RAM,DAW,etc,etc..,just spending more and more money,and you might not even be breaking even financially with your music.Four Tet used to use a home Dell,stock,and I think Cool Edit Pro,and was making LPs/EPs. I have a MAc Ge I got for $5,totally redone,and then found a DAW from back in that time period,which used to be over $300,for free.There is NOTHING wrong with Ableton 5,MOTU 5,Wavelab 5,etc,etc..Anyway,I suggest contacting Tom's Hardware,and giving them the model number and tell them what you are trying to do,because sometimes you could either have a gem or a headache... I have my PowerSpec,a Compaq,an HP with a Zip drive,an Old Dell with floppy drive and modem,the Mac G4s,one Mac G3,and right now I am on my i7 laptop.I broke down or just disconnected all my desktops,and I am only using my Roland MV8800,a tablet,and I might use some guitar pedals.Trust me,that you might see a room full of gear online,but the fact is,you can make music just as great,with 1/3 of that gear.

[@BlazeONEANdChill]

@@michaels8597 Thanks for the quick reply and advice I Bought an old sampler akai cd3000 and trying to figure out this whole scsi situation i never dabbled in it. Currently i have a pretty good set up for music, i had a friend build me a comp

[@michaels8597]

@@BlazeONEANdChill This should help...www.mindpride.net/root/Extras/how-stuff-works/how_scsi_works.htm

[@louismarcell]

One

[@michaels8597]

www.techopedia.com/definition/331/small-computer-system-interface-scsi

[@mrkeeny]

You seem too young to be so old school