Roland S-550 | Demo/Review

[@AlexBallMusic]

I love that in the year 2018 there's high quality videos sent to a device in your pocket anywhere in the world demonstrating how to use samplers for 1987. 😀 Nicely done as ever. That 550 has a cool sound, I've never heard one before.

[@EspenKraft]

It's an awesome sampler, sonically maybe (S-50 and S-550) the best sounding sampler ever made. Get one!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Espen Kraft not ventured into the 80s sampler world yet, although fascinated by all those machines. I just had an Oberheim DX arrive in the post this morning. Wanted a classic EPROM drum machine. Super crunchy.

[@EspenKraft]

Nice! The DX is a great classic drum machine. :)

[@mrdali67]

Even the analog circuits and how the filter and adsr circuits are constructed means alot, its still hard to believe that a shitty 12bit 28khz sampler can sound better than a modern 32bit 96khz :) .. but it does actually sound very well :) Still remember how mind blowing it was first time I was trying out an Emulator with an 8bit sax sampling in the local store.. Ended up buying a Korg M1 instead :p

[@24k-n6x]

I have owned S330 and W30. I think they have the same AD/DA as the 50 and 550. Great sounding machines.

[@CannedFunkMusic]

I’ve made so much hip hop music in high school with the W-30!!!

[@Daath7Music]

This was my first sampler! I got so much done with those 12 seconds of sample time!

[@zitosonic]

Roland is celebrating their 50th anniversary, and two of your videos are featured in their article 'A History of Roland Samplers'...congratulations !!!

[@EspenKraft]

So I noticed. Cheers :D

[@philokrynx1456]

When you said the “Red Light District” I creased with laughter so much I needed to get an iron!

[@donjohnsmusic3116]

I’m doing a reboot on my Nerd Vault© and I used this module exclusively in the early 90’s. I purchased mine used and only got a few of the disks that came with it, but what an incredible sound. You can hear on my 1st instrumental album, When Words Aren’t Enough. Go in depth on my Nerd Vault© if you want to hear this great instrument. Thanks for posting this. Such memories! BTW, I found this small black and white monitor that I used with it, I thought I was so cool!

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@10hz]

Thank you so much for this, finally one really concise and well made S-550 Video on YT. Thank you for your effort. Been using the S-550 since 2013 and am still absolutely amazed by it.

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! Yes, it's a very mesmerizing sampler!

[@10hz]

And its got that 12 Bit-Sound plus the Fairlight-Style Monitor. I also got mine for cheap: the guy who sold it to me had it collecting dust in his studio attic and was happy to give it away (with hundreds of disks, a mouse and a monitor) for 100 €. Its also not that sought after, unlike Emus or Akais from that era.

[@EspenKraft]

It beats all EMUs and Akais in sheer sound imo. Still love the others though, for different reasons.

[@CobraTheSpacePirate]

So glad that I found your channel. Great stuff, Espen!

[@EspenKraft]

Cheers!

[@synthury]

Really appreciate your work. BTW you appeared in my spotify weekly discover of this week !

[@EspenKraft]

Nice! Thanks I appreciate it! :)

[@mattsynth]

I believe digital synths are starting to see a comeback. I see more and more digital modules even on Modular analog synth these days. Digital synths can create sound no analog synth can even imagine doing and it will be a nice refreshing change from the analog sound that has dominated for the last 10 years.

[@EspenKraft]

I agree. For me that's only interested in re-creating the synthpop/pop sound of the 80s and the mid 80s in particular, the sound of samplers are essential and I love old schools samplers a lot more than analog ones.

[@iqi616]

I love analogue but a "real" sampler would be great to have so I can create patches from scratch (I have no interest in ROMplers filled with other people's idea of a good sound). Hoping Roland bring out a retro 12-bit or 16-bit sampler.

[@mattbaginski1861]

Hi, one synth that could make a complete song all by itself is my Roland G romper. Rompers all ready have tons of PCM samples built right in so all the hard work is done and all you have to do is make music. You should try one they are indispensable instruments for any musician.

[@iqi616]

Matt Baginski I guess it's different strokes for different folks - I have an Emu Proteus 1 ROMpler and I am not sure why I keep it. Only a couple of sounds pass the "sniff test", the rest are way too cheesy to use in anything I compose. I've downloaded a bunch of patches but because they're still the same samples underneath it's the same old cheese really. Any patch I use whether analogue or Yamaha DX gets customized and often created from scratch - much more fun and serendipitous than scrolling through hundreds of patches to see if one is "close enough" i.e. a compromise.

[@mattbaginski1861]

That because it’s a Proteus, I never did go for Emu stuff. Try a Roland romper like the 1080 it is the best romper of all.

[@herrjingjing]

My first sampler was a Roland DJ-70 which has the same sampling engine and OS as the S-550. It was a NIGHTMARE to work with and the floppy loading times... but it sounded incredible! Lots of bite in the filters and whatever you sampled into it got so much body to it without even beginning to play it at other pitches.

[@bobjary9382]

Yes !!! Wicked filters but a complete headache to use even with the mouse and monitor

[@jessihawkins9116]

I have a DJ70, S550 and S50 w/ tablet. There’s a really nice library for them. The interface on the DJ70 does suck though.

[@DonSolaris]

There is a killer resonant filter included on the board, similar design as D-70. Really wild filter compared to the later more polite Super JV series. While the later S7xx series have a filter akin to JD-800, but a bit more aggressive (even at 50% reso it becomes squelchy, never tried it above 75%).

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks for contributing Don! I'm doing a part 2 of this and I will dig in deeper there. Focus here was mainly the emulator, but got carried away somewhat :P

[@adamharris7775]

The Roland S-50/Roland S-550 sounds were heard in Shattered Dreams.

[@cnfuzz]

That gotek routine looks so cumbersome, you need the scsi interface to get the best out of the 550, you can use zipdrives and i have the roland cdromdrive for it as well , it contains all the japanese and usa librarys for the 550, you got the library as part of the drive costing well over 1700 ukp in 1987

[@EspenKraft]

I got my S-550 with the with the Gotek in it, so nice to try it out and it is somewhat cumbersome. If it was up to me I' rather have the floppy drive in it. I don't care much for SCSI either, I love floppy disks and could manage fine with just that, as I have on most of my other samplers. In fact I sell off almost all the internal SCSI cards for my old samplers.

[@ArtisticAutisticandAiling]

@Espen Kraft, I got a Roland PC-200 Mk. 1 MIDI Controller for the Holidays. So I bought myself the Roland S-550, this video helped me get mine powered up too! :D I can't wait to program different samples to each key note in the rack. I have floppy disks for mine but I am excited and nervous using this. It is so groovie! :D 🐼🎨📼 The Prodigy and Public Enemy got me into the 12-Bit sounds and sampling. Your video and Johnny Morgan's are awesome! :D

[@DJ_PROMO_PR]

3:50 West End Girls....awesome.

[@helden159]

I still own an S-50 and S-550, Love 'em. Yep.

[@saren6538]

Heard the s50 has a darker sound than the s550 ?

[@MarkSoutheron]

Great tutorial, I tried the gotek in my s330 but just found it a pain with all the button pushing and went back to using floppies

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! Wise choice :)

[@AspireDMT]

How do I use the Roland s 50 with a gotek??? Mine has that, I have floppy discs that have the sounds idk how to play anything

[@marksoutheron1003]

@@AspireDMT I made a comment 4 years ago saying I went back to floppies . Recently I installed a gotek in my Roland s50 with flash floppy software a screen and rotary controller, it’s a much happier experience this time

[@michaels8597]

i love hardware samplers,and they need to make more....I have analog Roland and newer stuff like the MV8800....

[@jasmeerlabeer4591]

Great video. I almost got an S-550, but went for the AKAI S950.

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! Both great samplers with magical sound.

[@theklangcollage4113]

My first sampler was the S-50 keyboard, which in my opinion has a major weakness compared to the S-550: no TVA! Actually it had only a simple LPF, but without envelope, just a static setting. And its offline, so you need to set cutoff and resonance and then render it into a new sample, until you can hear it. I loved the TVA in the S-330, which I had later. But the overall sound quality was great, like the mentioned bottom end. And the UI was killer, once you connected an external screen, even with the S-50 (no mouse, just operation from front panel controls). Thanks for another great review on this one!

[@EspenKraft]

I think the S-50 has a slightly more gritty "pitch shift" down the octaves than the S-550/330 and as such can be more desirable for some sound design, and it also looks fantastic. I like them all, including the W-30. ;-)

[@winstonbeckford785]

Hello all, got Gotek USB and SCSI chip on my W30, it automatically loads OS on power up, starts with 000 image OS boot, then good to go

[@eaglechildkeys]

I just bought one a couple days ago! Nice video!:)

[@EspenKraft]

Cool man, you'll love it! :)

[@eaglechildkeys]

By the way, what display do you use? Do you know if its possible to connect to a normal mac with a converter or something? Thanks!

[@EspenKraft]

The display is a TV with SCART inout. The S-550 has RGB outout and I convert that to SCART. It's not as easy as it sounds to convert this signal to use with a modern computer screen, but check the Roland S-sampler group on Facebook, I've seen some examples of it there.

[@eaglechildkeys]

Espen Kraft Thanks Espen! I’m going to check how they do it!:)

[@ambientoccluser]

Still have it. Yes it gather dust, but i'm soft in heart for him.

[@cosmosynthesizer]

Wow. Hell Espen! That sounds great even the procedure to load the sounds is quite strange. Anyway: well done. I always love the Roland Sound ( the early JV Synthesizers are amazing), tho I reallly love the Emu Samplers and the menus much more. Keep on with the 80ies stuff and low sampling. Thanx.

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks Colin! I have some old EMUs so I know what you mean :)

[@marcbrasse747]

That floppy emulator is a big hassle. I'd still go for floppies. As instruments the S-series samplers and W30 still hold up though.

[@alphabeets]

Marc Brassé agreed. The gotech emulator isn’t worth the hassle.

[@djhatstand7312]

I’ve stuck an HXC floppy emulator in my W30, works a treat

[@marcbrasse747]

@@djhatstand7312 So it is more direct in it's operation?

[@djhatstand7312]

@Marc Brassé, it’s really to use, it uses an SD Card that you can load up through a PC with Roland library disc Images readily found on the Internet, you set it up to always boot from the same folder whenever you turn on the W-30, I’ve put a SCSI chip in my W-30 so have the SCSI bootdisk in the boot folder, when you turn the W-30 on it loads up automatically, then when ready to go you can go up and down the floppy folders, it scrolls the name on the little screen on the HXC so you select the one you want, then you load it through the W-30 as you would a floppy.

[@jules7168]

That Lead 1 sound man

[@Mode-7]

Espen, I love your old gear videos. Though they do make me want to find them on eBay and buy them all! Any chance you would ever do a video on that Yamaha A3000 that’s below the Roland? I’ve owned that since 1997 and I’d love to see you work your magic on it. Thanks!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! I will do something on the A3000 in the near future. ;-)

[@dosgos]

Thanks for the detailed video. Some great sounds and very helpful tips.

[@EspenKraft]

Awesome. Thanks! :)

[@OOF_MUSIC]

Superb! Where is ‘lead 1’ from? Love to get hold of the samples for that!

[@Kosmokatze_de]

Maybe you can show us some of your EMU ESI 4000 features. I own one of them and how i can tell you - these Z-Plane Filters are amazing!

[@EspenKraft]

I don't use the ESI4000 for anything but drums these days. I turn to my Emaxes for anything else. Maybe I'll edit together something later. Thanks for watching :)

[@foreverseethe]

That lead solo at 5:07 was fire.

[@Equinoxalpha647]

With that screen it's easy to see what you were playing... :) Now I learned how to play the chords to westend girls in no time at all :)

[@EspenKraft]

Ah, great. I claim that Pet Shop Boys brought back the Major7 chords into pop music!

[@Equinoxalpha647]

Espen Kraft I use them loads myself, as well as other suspended chords :) My latest track here. soundcloud.com/neon-haze/from-behind-glass-broken

[@ntrsnofficial8328]

The roland W30 is not so much different only smaller screen .

[@justdope1963]

I'd be interested in hearing how it sounds going through some kind of outboard analog filter. With the price of units like the Akai S950 being a little higher than they should, it'd be good to find a more affordable alternative.

[@DanielBula1964]

Solid sounds!

[@suadcokljat1045]

I had S-550 back then in 90ties. Sold it to buy Akai S-1000. Yesterday I bought S-550 back from Ebay :-) A beautifully sounding machine.

[@EspenKraft]

Congrats!

[@suadcokljat1045]

@@EspenKraft Plesse, I notice you get high quality color picture on LCD you're using to display S-550. How do you interface S-550 with LCD monitor? Do you use some kind of digital RGB to VGA or HDMI adapter? Cheers

[@EspenKraft]

I just use a cheap Roland RGB to Scart cable bought through Ebay. Had it for years, works excellent. :)

[@suadcokljat1045]

@@EspenKraft So you have LCD monitor with SCART? What diagonal is the monitor? It looks small on your video. My idea is to make light and small 7" or 9" LCD for S-550. Unfortunately small size LCDs with RGBS input are rare so I must do custom converter.

[@EspenKraft]

I have no idea, it's just a cheap LCD tv someone threw out and I picked it up. I use this for all my old computers when I show them in a video, it works well for that. When I actually use my Roland S-samplers I only use the sampler itself, never with a monitor. ;-) I think it's 17" come to think of it.

[@Multipass05]

I also find that the line level input setting is way too quiet on the S-550. For me, it seems that using the mic setting to boost the signal of a non-mic source ends up distorting the sound a lot using your same settings with a similar bass sound from a synth even if I keep out of that red light district. This can be cool as a harsh effect, but is not desirable for accurate sampling of more pleasant sounds. It is obvious to me how the timbre of the sound changes when switching between the line/mic settings, but I can't say for sure that my S-550 doesn't just have something wrong with it. What works better for me unless I want the distortion effect is to just turn the source of the sound up as much as I can.

[@dosgos]

Sounds great!

[@egguitarsluthier199]

Excellent video Espen Kraft! you're the wikipedia of the 80's sounds!. Here you get the Roland S330, and I don't have any sampler, and I want those gritty lo-fi sounds. Do you recommend it to me? or do you recommend any other sampler? Thank you for sharing your extensive knowledge. Regards!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! It's the S-550 you see here but I get what you mean. If you've never used any old 80s sampler and are coming from a more modern plugin daw environment I usually don't recommend getting one. Simply because 9 out of 10 times it becomes a door stop pretty fast. The reason is always that the workflow and integration is too cumbersome for a most people. However, if you're willing to accept that this will be tedious, slow and with lots of problems on the way, both musical and technical, you'll be amply rewarded. I suggest you start with a old sampler where you don't need a OS disk for boot up, I suggest Akai S700, 900 or 950. Good luck!

[@egguitarsluthier199]

Thanks for the explanation, I didn't know about the boot disk. But since my connection with the synthesizers is more a way to relive the sounds of the past, and not live on it, maybe I even have more fun having to load diskettes, if that assures me that lo-fi sound, welcome :) On the other hand I went crazy when I saw all the sounds that are available to download from the S roland line on the internet. The same I am analyzing if there is not much difference here in terms of price and if I get to the akai s900. Thank you! Regards!

[@AnalogFlava]

@@egguitarsluthier199 hi, on the same journey here...what did you end up with and whats the current status, did you embrace a new workflow with hardware samplers?

[@jesseanderson3835]

Hi there. Could I potentially use this to simply playback individual drum samples such as Linn Drum or DMX triggered by a TR626 or Yamaha RX5? Great tutorial video as always. Cheers.

[@EspenKraft]

Yes, if you mean the TR262 or RX5 triggering samples off the S-550, that is not a problem. It's done over MIDI as with any other MIDI keyboard.

[@jesseanderson3835]

@@EspenKraft Great, thank you for your help.

[@keithchua5840]

Hi Espen, any specific model number for the gotek floppy emulator you used? I understand that there are a few variants and some may not work. I'm thinking to change for many or my synths which has the floppy drives ( SY99, EX5, ASR10 etc...)

[@EspenKraft]

Hey Keith, you're best bet is to follow the advice found here. It's a real treasure for ownders of these old Roland S-series samplers : llamamusic.com/s50s550/DIY_page.html There's very few of the Goteks out there that are compatible with the S-550 so get it right the first time! :)

[@BCThunderthud]

This is the Gotek with the original firmware, and not the HxC firmware? I have an HxC in my Mirage but was thinking of going this cheaper route for my s550. My understanding is that with the HxC firmware it should be more compatible with different floppy formats but this video should still be useful, the bootup sequence seems like a potential stumbling block.

[@EspenKraft]

I too have a Mirage! Yes, this is not HxC, which you really don't need, they're more expensive too, but have some potential better options like more than 99 image files, less button pushing and filenames can be longer. OS loads without same type of button pushing as well. Apart from that they behave the same way. I find them too a hassle in a way and prefer floppies really. It's all a matter of what suits you the best I guess. In a busy, stressful live situation I prefer to have my sounds on ONE floppy with a clear label. Much less room for error! :)

[@philokrynx1456]

This was an excellent watch. I have one in my cupboard with dust on it. I want to put it into my setup but I didn’t know where to start. Are you able to kindly provide a step-by-step guide once I have dusted it down and put it in my rack? I only have the unit. No mouse or screen but I think I can buy one from around the corner. What screen will I need?

[@EspenKraft]

I don't have time to give step by step instructions on using old gear, you wouldn't believe how many requests I get to do that. You should just go here: llamamusic.com/s50s550/s-50_s-550.html This page answers almost everything you need to know. You can't use another mouse on the S-550 without some electronics between the mouse and the S-550 though.

[@Letsgetbread8500]

Mr Espen Kraft I have the Lotharek HxC floppy emulator with the Roland S-550 I just bought..How do load that up without the mouse? I also need to know how to sample.. Thanks,👍👍👍👍👍

[@EspenKraft]

It's all in the manual, the manual is easily found online. The manual is how we learned to use this stuff in the 80s and it still works. ;-)

[@maccagrabme]

Roland should do a boutique version of the S range of samplers, just one box that can emulate S550 up to S770 with modern storage and Vst editing.

[@EspenKraft]

I don't think that'll ever happen. I don't think they'd make any money on that. No one wants a desktop/rack sampler anymore. Everything is groove and pattern based now.

[@mccarry30]

I have a D50 and I've heard their boutique version is closer to a soft synth in a box.

[@JurassicTrance]

No, they should not. The boutique crowd does not deserve these samplers. They're better off sticking to the DAWs.

[@PeterMilanovski]

Which monitor are you using and how have you connected it? Are you using the proper cable or have you modified the S550 to HDMI or VGA output? There's another video showing how he added HDMI output plus an SD card reader inside the S550... I'm not sure but I think that the SD card setup looked better than the GOTEK ...

[@EspenKraft]

Using an old LCD TV which has all types of inputs, as they often had. I'm using a custom made RGB - SCART cable going from the sampler to the monitor. Works very well.

[@allehooop]

Hi Espen, did you compared this one with the S-770? Can you tell me your impressions about that? Thank you for your videos and music, i enjoy it a lot!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! I don't have a S-770 so I can't compare them, but the 770 is 16-bit and "hi-fi". The S-550 is 12-bit and as such is more in line with a sound I'm going for, a little more texture on the sampling.

[@JurassicTrance]

I've got a question - How do stereo samples work with this thing considering there is only a single 1/4 inch output for the "mix out"? I assume you can use a combination of the other outputs - though how can one be sure to get the stereo separation correct.

[@EspenKraft]

This is a mono sampler. Theoretically you can sample each stereo source twice and route the individual samples to two ouputs and in a mixer pan hard left and right I guess. Not the way to do it. You sample in mono and you play back in mono and use a effect unit to make pseudo stereo if you want. Not the way I use it though.

[@JurassicTrance]

@@EspenKraft Ah - I was curious as I was reading the contents of the S550 RSB library and I saw there were some stereo kits mentioned. Haven't yet tested them out - though wrote 8 of the DS/DD disks this evening. Thanks for the reply!

[@JurassicTrance]

​@@EspenKraft Just tried loading in some of the Roland Library disks - interestingly, seems at least some of them are designed as stereo pairs imgur.com/tdsiStY I'm pleasantly surprised!

[@EspenKraft]

Yes, I too have "programs" that are stereo in that sense. The cumbersome part is getting there as we touched in the prrevious comments, but it's doable ;-)

[@justinjohnson4246]

Around 5:08 the inset screen shows sample names. Are those your own samples or did you make them? I just ordered a S-550 so I'm ready to start the journey!

[@EspenKraft]

I have no idea where those patches came from, they're just on a disk I have.

[@justinjohnson4246]

@@EspenKraft serendipity! The best way to make music. Thanks for all your inspiration!

[@IanSaxman]

Espen, I just noticed your Yamaha A3000 sampler beneath the Roland in your rack. There is one of these in great condition at a thrift store near me for a decent price. As a big fan of the Roland and Akai units, do you recommend picking one up/planning to do a demo of that one any time soon?

[@EspenKraft]

Didn't you watch my video about it? ;-) I use it mainly for effects though and rarely as a sampler. It's a great buy if you don't pay too much.

[@IanSaxman]

Awesome. I can grab it for about $70 and it has a demo floppy with it.

[@EspenKraft]

Oh, go get it NOW! :)

[@psychowsky]

Weird to see that the 550 has an LED screen. The 330 which was previous gen, has backlit LCD :-/ On that note, Roland hit the spot with the external monitor support IMHO. I couldn't use any other sampler after my S-330... I'm tempted to hook it up right now although I'm not sure if any of the disks will work anymore :'(

[@EspenKraft]

The S-330 came after the S-550. The S-330 basically half the memory of S-550.

[@psychowsky]

@@EspenKraft Hm! Looks like you're right. I'd swear that 330 was manufactured 2 years prior... Mandela effect, lol

[@EspenKraft]

Sure, the S-50/550 came first and they stripped those down into the S-330 before turning their attention to what became the S-7XX series.

[@DJmallninja]

haha. Was not expecting the Axel-F ... it was epic

[@EspenKraft]

Great! :)

[@pascalillustration3650]

Great tutorial. The good old hardware samplers :) Is it one sample for each patch spread over the entire keyboard? Or does it use for some patches also one sample for each note? (Or maybe for each octave?). Cool west end girls cover.

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks man! I use the old samplers that way, one sample across the whole keyboard. It's then you get those old artifacts and grit that makes the authentic sound I'm after in my productions.

[@pascalillustration3650]

I understand. Like that 'Moses - We just' sound. The 80's brought some very exciting electronic musical instruments what made 80's and early 90's songs sound like they sound :)

[@EspenKraft]

Exactly and I strive for maximum sonic authenticity in my music and I love old samplers as well ;-)

[@pascalillustration3650]

Great.

[@PeterMilanovski]

@@EspenKraft have you done a video on how to get a sample to one key or a few different samples on a few keys or a single sample across the whole keyboard? I have seen most of your videos but I don't believe that I have seen how to do it.... I have gone looking for how to do it here on KZbin but I haven't found anything yet! Either I have missed a video or no one has done one.... The Yamaha sampler just doesn't seem to have a logical layout. Seeing someone else do it at least points to a screen that I can look for on our machine.... I know that it can do all the above but it's not DOS or windows and that means I'm at the mercy of the KZbin God's! My son picked up a Yamaha sampler that looks similar to the one that you have in your rack below the amazing Roland.... Speaking of which, my son just picked up a Roland U20 and apart from some of the buttons which don't want to work (needs new tactile buttons on the PCB) it sounds amazing.... I have my heart set on the Roland W30.... Sure Roland still makes workstations that are far more advanced and for not much more money than a W30 but there's something about it, I don't know what it is, but I just know that I have to have one! With the floppy drive intact! It just works!

[@lu4enp]

Hi!!! Thanks for your great videos!!! How you have connected that screen? I see black and white in mine because i use the video output, i can't find any way to use the rgb out

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! I use a cheap Roland RGB to SCART cable. Easily found on Ebay. Works like a charm.

[@alcutrax]

Awesome video!! Can you do a video on how to use the S-550 with an external sequencer like an MPC? I can't figure out how to assign the samples to multiple midi channels. It's very easy with an ASR 10, but the S-550 is giving me problems. I want sample one to go to midi channel 1 and sample two to midi channel 2 on the MPC, and so on. I can only get the samples to go through midi channel 1. I'm using the MPC 2000XL. Thanks!!!

[@EspenKraft]

It's actually quite easy. Changing the midi channel is right there in the first window if you use a monitor with the S-550 which makes everything much easier than from the S-550 itself. I use mine with an external sequencer all the time. It 's the column which says channel. Just change each sound to the midi channel you need.

[@LuciRosseTV]

what do you think about the keyboard version (the s50)? I have found one at a good price complete with monitor

[@EspenKraft]

The S-50 and S-550 is pretty much the same, the S-50 marginally better, but takes up space. If that'snot an issue go for it! :)

[@LuciRosseTV]

@@EspenKraft thank you very much... I have my old trusty atari 1040 with cubase, yamaha cs1x via midi (that was my first electronic music setup in 1998) and I guess the s50 would be a nice add-on!

[@robbelliii]

Couldn’t help buy notice the EMu above. I have the e-Synth/ emax 4. Do you use it very much? I haven’t used mine very much, but picked it up for $50 US. I like mine better than my old Akai 2800. I like the way you can process the sample through the onboard filter and other subtractive synthesis you can apply.

[@EspenKraft]

I use the ESI4000 for drums and not anything else. I have a vast sample library I've made from all the drum machines I've had through the years and I fire those off the ESI4000 in a live situation. If I want the EMU filter sound I turn to my Emaxes these days.

[@matszh]

Great work! My wet dream is to get a S760 sampler with the Gotek floppy emulator, and replace the DT-100 tablet/monitor/mouse editing acessories with a modern tablet, like the iPad. Don’t know if that would be possible without major skills in electronics and programming though? How large USB drives can the Gotek handle?

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! No, you've got it wrong, the Gotek is a USB-floppy emulator. It can only hold floppy image-files. None of these kan be over 720 kb in size so for all practical purposes it's like having 99 separate floppies on ONE memory stick. No more! And you can only load one at a time into the emulator itself and from there into the sampler.

[@EspenKraft]

So the memory stick itself can be quite small in memory size so a "big" one is really waste of money.

[@RoyMaya]

For the S-760 you're much better off using a scsi emulator like the SCSI2SD instead of a floppy emulator. It's a much better solution.

[@matszh]

Roy Maya I can totally see that, is it possible to put a SCSI-drive inside the S760, as I want a small physical footprint? The most interesting would be to make an editor/librarian directly on an iPad/Android, booth for graphical editing and storing samples. Then again, there are already sampling apps, not sure if they can reproduce the sound/filter characteristics of a hardware vintage sampler though...

[@RoyMaya]

The S-760 is not designed to have a scsi-drive installed internally, but I was able to put a SCSI2SD in place of the floppy drive and route the scsi cable out the back and connected to the external port. The SCSI2SD doesn't generate any heat so it's no problem putting it internally.

[@synthtools]

Hi Espen, great sampler, the S-550 !! I also got one in the early 90s. Today I have an S-330, as you can get it for almost nothing on ebay these days. If you keep the S-550 you should definitely go for a HxC Floppy Emulator or the cheap Gotek with HxC Firmware. What you showed in the first minutes of the video is much to complicated to work with seriously. The HxC ist much more easy to use. Don't forget to mention that the old Rolands are known for their weak timing behaviour, you can notice it when playing whole drumsets and 16th HiHats. - Even if it sounds great !!! :-)

[@EspenKraft]

Hey! The whole premise of USB-floppy emulators are somewhat flawed as the logistics of having floppy images on a memory stick doesn't work that well imo. I actually prefer floppies still. It forces you to keep focusing on shorter samples. Timing issues are of no concern to me as I only ever PLAY samples in real-time off the old samplers except for the Akai S1000 mostly. The S-550 is very nice sounding though and possibly the best sounding sampler ever made. Again in my opinion.

[@lito9467]

@@EspenKraft love your videos! just installed a gotek/flash floppy with oled in my s-330 .you can see file names instead of just numbers with the oled.

[@EspenKraft]

@@lito9467 Yeah, I know. I hate floppy emulators no matter how fancy they are. I'm replacing the Gotek in my S-550 with an original floppy drive as fast as possible ;-)

[@christopherrusch3165]

i'm trying to understand.. what is the difference between the floppy disks and the start up disks?

[@EspenKraft]

These old samplers need to load the OS in at startup, from the floppy or in this case, the floppy emulator.

[@Metamophisis]

Damn your intro song is 🔥 Fire! 🎹🎸🥁🎧💉👂🎼🎵🎶🔥💣🧨👀

[@EspenKraft]

Sweet, thanks! :)

[@reneotten2288]

Ok I need to watch this because I still haven't been able to load the samples on my S550 (we discussed this on FB)... if I still don't get it after watching your video I'll let you know :-)

[@EspenKraft]

Just remember to have the OS as 000.IMG on the memory stick and it must be formatted as shown in the description to my video.

[@RodBeauvex]

Does anyone know what that is that plays at 4:43?

[@darkjoint4087]

I still own and use my EMU ESI 4000

[@EspenKraft]

Good for you! I have one too. Great machine :)

[@SyntheticFuture]

It does sound good :D So many steps though... I guess we got spoiled by MIDI dumps? Talking about those: do you have any experience with the Midi-quest software?

[@EspenKraft]

I use Midi Sample Dumps on several samplers, but only those with smaller sample size formats like the S-10 or Casio RZ-1 etc. The larger size samples takes too long for my taste. I only use Send SX from Bome for sending/receiving samples. Free and works well.

[@molekulaTV]

You have the 8 output for it? Was that a factory default? I had it. It was an incredible sampler. I had the 8 outputs too.

[@EspenKraft]

It came with 8 outputs yes.

[@nonsuch]

I noticed @ 11:06 you said you have a Juno 6. Have you added midi to it yet? I did mine a few years ago and it's a god send.

[@EspenKraft]

This video was made some time ago. I've sold the Juno 6. I didn't midifiy it. I don't do that mostly. I have no need for that. 90% of all my songs are recorded by hand as audio straight in. ;-)

[@InterplainMusic]

Can i ask Espen, do you think the Gotek USB-Floppy Emulator would work in the Roland S10? or is the ribbon cable on the S10 nothing like the interface on the GoTek reader. It would be great to plug one in and get rid of that obsolete Quickdisk

[@EspenKraft]

No, you can' t do that. No emulator exist for the QD-system. The QD-system isn't disk technology at all, it's basically just audio tape that stores data, it's circular instead of being on a roll. That's why it doesn't exist any emulators for it. You can't emulate it a data tape easily.. ;-)

[@CoolColJ]

What the name of the song/ band, the riff your playing at 4:43? It sparked my memory, I think a Beatmasters track?

[@EspenKraft]

It's nothing. Just random octaves in a Pet Shop Boys style.

[@CoolColJ]

@@EspenKraft There is definitely a 90s song that sounds very similar. As someone who owned an S-550 back then and was writing breakbeat/jungle tracks and releasing them If I can remeber I will let you know :)

[@CoolColJ]

@@EspenKraft Possibly a Beatmasters or S'Express track

[@CoolColJ]

@@EspenKraft Actually I remeber now - it was a Pet Shop Boys song - dominion dancing :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5yVinlmas6LaNk

[@EspenKraft]

A riff like that was used in numerous Italo Disco/Synth-pop tracks in the 80s. Everything I play here is totally random.

[@michelcury]

Can you add two or more sample layers in one patche? To get more details in a piano or string patch?

[@EspenKraft]

You can't think of these early Roland samplers in terms of "layers" of patches. This isn't a rompler from the 90s. You can mix two sources into one TONE. That's it. The manual is online. Check that out.

[@michelcury]

@@EspenKraft thanks! I asked because the Mirage Ensoniq sampler of 1984, you could sampler 8 layers. It's amazing!

[@EspenKraft]

True, that works in a very different way. Cheers

[@JONOTEC]

4:12 This sample is the same sound in Metal gear solid on PS1 Psycho Mantis Level

[@danielortizdecaracas]

Hi mr Espen my S550 stucks on NO SYSTEM FILE message at startup, any idea?

[@EspenKraft]

Check out Llamamusic, that's the go-to site for the S-50 / S-550. ;-)

[@unclesam530]

where are the sounds you put on the USB from?

[@EspenKraft]

Those are downloaded from the internet. There's lots of samples for the S-50/S-550/S-330/W30 online. Almost everything Roland ever put out + users own samples. as Image files. Google it! :)

[@LFOVCF]

I have an ESI 4000. Could I replace the floppy drive with that sub drive like the Roland?

[@EspenKraft]

Yes, you could, but there are better options for the ESI4000 than a floppy emulator. Go for some SCSI to SD instead. Check out the EMU sampler forum on Facebook :)

[@LFOVCF]

@@EspenKraft many thanks Espen

[@scyphezero8878]

Wow ! Thank you for this video ! Sometimes it's really hard to understand how old samplers work. I bought a s-330 one year ago. Can i put the same usb emulator as you on your s550? Anyway, great video, and it's helping me a lot, the interface is the same on my s330! (almost)

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks! Yes, you can use the same emulator in the S-330. The S-330 is pretty much the same sampler as the S-550, just less memory.

[@Ne3s23p2]

Hello, my S550 could find a new life with a Gotek only because of the FlashFloppy replacement firmware, much better than the crappy original Gotek fw. Then I found a digital RGB to VGA converter, sold as a circuit board without enclosure. The main chip has a heatsink and runs hot so an enclosure must allow passive cooling, preferably standing in a vertical position. Has anybody used the SCSI subsystem ? If yes, is it much easier to handle with Cd-ROM and 20MB hard drive ? I do not have the HD5IF interface but got its schematic from Roland many years ago and eventually found the chips and drew a PCB (with a classic 8-bit SCSI internal 50-pin connector, not the crappy D-shell 25-pin external connector used by old Macs) ... ready to make, only if really interesting because the scsi2sd emulator is not cheap like goteks.

[@colinjones27]

You need a system disk regardless, so the FlashFloppy replacement is a good move. There is a guy on reverb/ebay selling a SCSI card for these, well worth it, it makes everything much quicker (edit programs are loaded off of SCSI, and you get a nice performance bump with pretty much everything). I just use a Zip disk dedicated to the S550, and it works good enough, the compatible CD drives are unobtainium and there are quirks abound with the SCSI implementation (external drives are not automatically recognized, 80mb limit, sampler stuck on id 7, CD-ROM utility disk 1.0 is the most stable, etc).

[@pablo2011]

Hello! I have one s550 With mouse screen and hxc floppy usb , do you know where can i found the library with sounds like air choirs? Thanks a lot!

[@EspenKraft]

Check out the other comments. Llamamusic is the place to gp, they have almost all the sounds available.

[@davidsimons1377]

Can you get the original Roland S series samples for Gotek on USB stick then? I have an S760 but never got any 3.5 floppies for it. How do 550 and 760 compare & should I be able to get a Gotek emulator for S760?

[@EspenKraft]

The S-550 is 12 bit and lo-fi in sound compared to the more transparent 760 16 bit sampler. The 760 sounds good though, but I prefer the S-550. Gotek emulators are painfully tedious to use as you can see in my video. Better with HxC emulators. For samples and everything else you need to know, go to Llamamusic. Link in the description. :)

[@davidsimons1377]

@@EspenKraft Apart from S760 I guess for lofi that leaves me with my S700 for 12 bit and I believe my Mirage rack is 8 bit isn't it? I also have Korg DSS1, Yamaha EX5R, Akai S5000, Roland VP9000, EMU ESI32 , Kurzweil K2500RS , Circuit bent Casio SK1, Korg Triton rack ,Oberheim DPX1 & Powertran MCS1 sampler delay plus several Eurorack samplers , plus Steinberg Halion & NI Komplete software. Do you think I should find something useful amongst that lot?

[@EspenKraft]

Man you have plenty of gear there to make whatever you want LoFi or HiFi ;-) The Mirage is 8-bit yes. The DSS-1 is especially nice!

[@InterplainMusic]

looking to swap out the Qdisk disk on the S10 will that work the GoTek

[@EspenKraft]

They have something working to replace QDs now, but I don't keep track of where or how... I like floppies and got rid of my S-550 for that reason. Wanted one with the original floppy drive in it. ;-)

[@spokeman]

I have an S-550 bought new in 88' with a few hundred discs or so. It hasn't even been plugged it in for about 30 years. It's almost new still. How would I get my Floppy sounds (if they still work) into a USB if I install a GOTEK Floppy Drive Emulator? I see they are for sale with the full library for about $100. Do I need to buy that one?

[@EspenKraft]

All your answers is here: llamamusic.com/s50s550/ No need for me rambling on when someone did it for me :D

[@OrallusMaximus]

Slightly different thread but seeking your thoughts. I may be able to pick up a Roland S760 sampler with 18Meg RAM, mouse & OP760-1 expansion for about $400 USD / 365 Euro. Is this a good buy?

[@EspenKraft]

It's too much imo. I wouldn't spend more than 300 euros tops if everything was in good condition and even that is probably too much as well.

[@OrallusMaximus]

@@EspenKraft Thankyou so much. Turns out it only has 18M RAM too. I've since found a Yamaha A4000 with 128M for 280 Euros - that may be more interesting :-)

[@EspenKraft]

They're both great samplers in different ways. 280 euros for a 4000 is also too much imo.

[@johnnydekock]

Hi Espen thanks for this tutorial, very cool! What effects are you using on the S550?

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks Johnny! The effects are actually from the Yamaha A3000 sampler below it in the rack. You can use that samplers 3 separate effects as send/returns on a mixer.

[@johnnydekock]

Espen Kraft thank you.

[@foolproof3091]

Great👍👍Thank you for sharing. Have a nice weekend. Greetings Matthias 🎹🎵🎶🎵🎹

[@EspenKraft]

You too Matthias! :)

[@alexeyblinov336]

excellent!

[@littlebritain64]

Is this Usb interface suitable also for, let's say, a Casio FZ1 or a Korg DSS1 samplers?

[@EspenKraft]

Almost every floppy drive on old gear can be replaced by floppy emulators today. Check the respective forums online for tips on a specific model. I personally don't like floppy emulators so I won't install it on any more gear of mine.

[@littlebritain64]

@@EspenKraft Thanks a lot, also for the quick answer! Since I have lots of disks I thought it would be a good option to have all of them on a single little Usb device. More, it would be good if uploading time was reduced. Not too sure, but asking on the forums as you kindly suggested could wipe away my doubts.

[@EspenKraft]

The loading time from floppy emulators takes exactly the same time as loading from the real floppies. It's in the nature of the floppy emulator to mimic every aspect of using a floppy. So nothing to gain there. I speak here of the Gotek ones that I have on the S-550. Not sure about the HxC though as I don't use those at all.

[@littlebritain64]

@@EspenKraft Thanks again!

[@testohtoby]

I'm gonna buy the s-770, do I have to install the USB floppy emulator too? Is it a good sampler too? I know almost 0 about samplers :(

[@EspenKraft]

Let me ask you this, and I mean no offence, why are you getting a old school sampler if you know nothing about them? It will only lead to you getting frustrated and selling it shortly after. There are plenty of forums, sub groups and places where you can read up on what they do, how they operate, how to fix them, upgrades etc. You don't need floppy emulators at all, in fact, it's only cumbersome and unnecessary. I have a emulator in my S-550 because it was in there when I bought it and I plan to get rid of it and getting the original floppy drive back. I like floppies and it's the only "proper" way of using these samplers. It was how they were sold and they way I like to use them today. The S-770 is one of the best, but it has a learning curve and not the sampler I would go for as the first.

[@WYM_kr]

What LCD monitor are you using with S550? I need a new monitor for my s760 and current one doesn't show clear image like yours for s550

[@EspenKraft]

That's just a dirt cheap LCD TV from 2010 or something. Someone threw it in the bin and I just grabbed it. ;-)

[@WYM_kr]

@@EspenKraft ah ha i see. thanks for your comment!

[@slammingsamples8855]

Legend 👍

[@kyostikkallio]

What kind of display are you using? I bought an S-550 a while back, but it's almost useless without a display.

[@EspenKraft]

It's usable without, but it is much easier with you're right about that. I use a RGB to SCART cable and run it into a 14" LCD TV. Nothing fancy :)

[@Electro5e]

can you please share your sample Sets of the gotek drive???

[@EspenKraft]

All the samples off the Gotek in this video can be found here: llamamusic.com/s50s550/

[@miss.wright3035]

Armand Van Helden's goto sampler for all his albums. Where's Armand ?

[@owenparker636]

Would you do the same process with a Gotek on an Akai S2000 with the OS

[@EspenKraft]

I don't own the S2000 anymore.

[@owenparker636]

I have an Akai S2000 and I have a Gotek drive to put in it

[@daniyalahmed97]

Can the Roland S550 use single cycle waveforms?

[@EspenKraft]

With the digitize tablet you can draw any waveform you want into the 550. It does not come with basic waveforms built into it like the Akai series.

[@daniyalahmed97]

Espen Kraft Thanks for replying Espen! I'm actually getting a Roland W30 which wouldnt have the tablet, I just said S550 since youre more familiar with it. I was wondering if I could sample in a waveform? Also just wanted to say youre a real inspiration man, youre the reason I love old 80s synths and have collected quite a few so far. Big fan here!

[@EspenKraft]

Thanks Daniyal! As you can sample anything you want into it and edit any waveform, what you input is what you can work with. Even single cycle waveforms, but I think you should sample a longer one, and just edit it down to one single cycle afterwards as it will be easier to setup the sample process that way.

[@daniyalahmed97]

Sounds good man, really appreciate the help. Keep up the great work.

[@donpoulos]

Love that sea-dweller. ;-)

[@KyleShawXD]

Can this do portamento?

[@EspenKraft]

No.

[@adam872]

That brassy riff you played at around 3:30 was bothering me and then I realised it was (by accident or design) this kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKXOfmeabd-kh8k Gary Moore, nice choice!

[@EspenKraft]

You're quite right Sir. I often use this riff to demo brass sounds :)

[@Ancaja123]

this video came just in time, I am really having trouble with my floppy emulator although its for a MPC60. I would be soooo happy if I could just get that damn "d0" message to show up :(

[@EspenKraft]

I hope you get it sorted!

[@lundsweden]

Wow, the preset sounds are really good, especially considering they have no effects on them (Sampler has no fx). Sounds very similar to the S330. OK, I'll admit this has triggered me, I'm now looking for old Roland samplers on eBay!

[@EspenKraft]

The 550 and 330 is exactly the same in terms of sound , only memory sets them apart. The 550 is a little more fragile when it comes to output transistors so beware of that.

[@desernauta]

I bought this model, SFRM72-TU100K, but it does not work :(

[@EspenKraft]

The S-550 is vary picky about what Gotek you install. Check out llamamusic.com/s50s550/sinfo.html

[@PatrickDiAngelo]

Hey Epen...Does the filter on this sampler has anything common with the d-50 one ?(I guess no, but i've to ask you for sure....:) I love the way you play all these old special hits, in a so easy way, kinda the ease you breathe...!!!

[@EspenKraft]

Yes, one of the filters does. The S-559 has both the non-real time filter as the S-50 and the S-10 that there is no undo from, but the S-559 also has the TVA/TVF like we learned to know later on the D-50. This you can manipulate in the edit window of the S-550. I show this in the video.

[@zosxavius]

I had one. Then an ex threw it away along with an apple ii monochrome display and my C64. I need to get another one.