AKAI samplers & Analog Meltdown

[@dilliot2k]

I had no idea how great hardware samplers sound when it came to synths, I've always looked at them being good for drum sounds and loops.

[@Diddddu]

These things pretty much invented the multi sample as we know it today.The s900 and 950 did this also.Even though they costed it was still like having the poor mans keyboard when you couldn't afford a synth right away in your set up.

[@AnalogDude_]

pretty much the vast majority of keyboards are samplers accept you can't load in new samples and you're stuck the sound of the manufacturer.

[@AnalogDude_]

@@Diddddu the price of my CD3000XL was like 2400€ in it's day, nothing poor to me. it's like a full steet band when used full, 8 outs on a hardware mixer on FULL HD sound.

[@CC-fi3pp]

The old Akais s900/950 & S1000/1100, the E-MU Ultras and the ASR-10 are better for synth sounds then most "synths". This a bit of a secret though.

[@marcelmarechal1420]

I always thought you were smart and you knew many things but you keep blowing it out of the water dude. I appreciate what you are doing. Much respect.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

WAy too kind. Thanks!

[@rhill109]

About the same age as SynthMania. I not only played "Jump", but rocked "Axel F" and "Take on Me". Good times.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Hehe, yep :-D kzbin.info/www/bejne/laLJfnyei5aIgKc

[@MrPiratebrain]

SynthMania hey Paolo great video as always. I have some of those sample CDs from the 90s and early 2000s will those CDs that los on you akai load up in an Akai MPC 5000 and recognize the key mapping? I would love to get new use out of those CDs

[@chuckgoodwin87]

same but in 2016-2017. i'm 16 :)

[@synthartist69]

ME TOO!!! Those two songs were all I could play for about 3 years when I first started.. lol

[@MarkKoolen]

Still miss my maxed out S2000 that I bought when I was 17 after months of work

[@EgoShredder]

Back in the late 1990s, I used to get customers say they preferred the fully expanded S3200XL to the later S5000 / 6000 models.

[@georgejanho30]

Hey, what are you using for the CD to AKAI? Is it a SCSI interface? Would you mind linking the device? I'd like to install something like that for loading samples and for saving to CD straight from AKAI. Is that possible? Cheers!

[@caseyshirks9068]

Slow pop 3. Nothing more beautiful and peaceful sounding to me. Love that one

[@65Superhawk]

All of my Love Zeppelin synth?

[@DynastyUK]

great vid! i have a question, is there a difference in sound between playing the .wav in a daw, compared to through the Akai? could you possibly do a comparison ? subbed love the content man

[@ekummel]

That D50 sound is the problem with sampled sounds over generated sounds. The lower you went on the keyboard, the more distortion and the slower the signal played.

[@Ashfaq1999]

Great samplers, apparently gave the fairlights, synclaviers & emulators a run for their money at the time.

[@djgeorgieporgie7862]

Man I must had like 50+ audio and AKAI CD-ROM back in the days. Now they gone or dusting some where in my house on there fiscal form but a converted everything on kontakt format. Great video brother 👍

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you for watching!

[@krinzologicstudio]

Only 50+ lol… i get rid from tons of em not long time ago..most loops and voices.

[@xnonsuchx]

Another music store 'banned' song in the synth area was "Turn It On Again" by Genesis...and in the guitar section, "Stairway to Heaven" was usually banned. ;-)

[@justletmesigninokthx]

it still blows my mind when I see these AKAI screens ! AMAZING sounding machines with TERRIBLE screens

[@LFOVCF]

It forces you to be creative.

[@suadcokljat1045]

That LCDs that time were hi tech, high resolution, high contrast, high brightness, state of the art, highly desirable graphical displays ;-) Compare it to Emu Emax, Emu EIII, Roland S50, Korg DSM1, Akai S950, Ensoniq... and you'll get my point.

[@lafoudrepasslafoudrepass5238]

I actually like the screen especially where it lets you see the wave you recorded

[@SeazBreeze]

What's your favourite waveform? Mine is the all time classic sawtooth.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Sawtooth is my favorite too, although pulse (esp. width modulated) is a force to be reckoned with :-D

[@synthartist69]

Same here SeazBreeze... love it!

[@uhoh007]

I just got my first Akai product, a MPC 1000. I can't believe how good those patches sound! Yours in this video I mean :) Thank you for all the inspiration.

[@renemunkthalund3581]

Nice vid! S3000XL was my main sampler from the mid 90s until 2005. Such a great machine!

[@owenparker636]

I t would be great if you did a tutorial on making programs in the Akai S2000 .Ther are no good tutorials .Or even a tutorial on the Roland MC500 mk ll .Thank you .Love watching your videos

[@northerncatto]

That last patch, the D50 one, is insane. Love it.

[@marcelb7259]

Thank you very much for this demo. My brother just bought a used CD3000XL and I think that he will enjoy such glorious analog sounds. Cheers from Canada !

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Have fun!

[@mrkeeny]

Samplecds.. those were the days. It’s a shame that when you are young and at your most enthusiastic and creative, you are so poor! Now I’m old, lazy and uninspired 😆

[@DanielStawczyk]

fantastic gear, great legacy sounds

[@Formula400Pontiac]

9:25 Reminds me of the organ-like lead in the intro of an Amiga game called Another World. Cool!

[@Liliedugg]

Back then, Another World was the best game ever!

[@lu4enp]

We're waiting for more Akai content, this is awesome!!!

[@lafoudrepasslafoudrepass5238]

this can read and write to external cd rom? It doesn’t have to just use floppy? It’s doing it through the scsi port?

[@nil2k]

What do the raw samples on the cds for this look like? Is it just one sample per sound? Are there samples for multiple different note ranges? Most of them sound like a single sample through the whole range that you're playing. I'd love to try some of these samples with the software synth that I wrote.

[@lafoudrepasslafoudrepass5238]

you can set a range of notes per sample, it can play multiple sounds at once it doesn’t have to be only one sample

[@smilingbuddha2836]

I've alway dreamed of owning a 1000 back when they came out too.

[@gower1973]

Heh paolo, I got that exact midi keyboard but my question is, do these samplers come with a factory set of patches built in, it seems a bit of a pain messing about with floppy disk and scsi in the days of USB, where do even get a scsi cd drive these days most of them were IDE back in the day

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Hi, Gower, the AKAIs only have a few basic waveforms in ROM, (the sine is great for that "D&B/Jungle" bass, though) and yes, these days there's basically zero need for hardware samplers :-D and it is indeed a bit of a pain to mess with floppies and SCSI :^) They still sound great, but yeah, for convenience, modern DAWs and software samplers are the way to go- I just do these mostly for nostalgia and because viewers ask for them in the comments. Today's software samplers are much easier and faster to use, and of course the fidelity is much higher too (libraries in the GBs/TBs instead of KBs/MBs)

[@jonesconrad1]

you can get SCSI to SD card, or Floppy to USB devices now, pretty simple and makes them a lot more usable in 2020

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

RESPECT , dude ! Oh Yeah - did we annoy those musicshop owners in the 80és - guilty as charged.!

[@station2station544]

When VH 1984 came out I was into D|M, New Order/Joy Div, Bauhaus, etc...Jump was total repellant. Glad you did this video. I still have my akai S2800 and am looking at a S3000XL. Back in the day my treasure piece was an Emulator III KB with 8MB RAM. Loved scrubbing samples with the mod wheel to truncate. Do you remember Doubting Thomas? Did their album make it to Europe? It was Cevin Key and Dwayne Goettel(rip) from skinny puppy doing a project- no vocals, all samples and synths. Heavy use of Ensoniq ESQ-1 and multiple akai S1000/1100 samplers. Check it out if you wanna hear samplers in overdrive. The album is called "The Infidel". Key tracks to check out would be "Hiding" or "Clocks".

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Liar :-D I don't believe you :-D I was very much into Depeche Mode / New Order / Joy Division and Bahaus etc. too, but nobody could resist a riff like "Jump!" , and I'm sure you were no exception :-D I remember Skinny Puppy and I was definitely making and listening to a lot of Techno in those days, and sometimes I went to clubs that played Industrial, but I don't recall Doubting Thomas. Sounds like a really cool album, though!: kzbin.info/aero/PLaQpVC7s8B3RH7LdU0zVEFiWaGza1S8wt

[@station2station544]

Truly anti FM rock back then including and especially Jump. When it comes to guitar bands it was Magazine and Television for me. BTW - you do a great service with your channel. You add much needed value to an ever-noisier fluff-filled internet.

[@ushnicyuvnikof2748]

SUBLIME! Gota love the old Akais.

[@michaels8597]

Samplers are amazing and keep you from having to have tons of synths and outboard gear.I use my ASR10 as a sampler,for sound design,and since it has an amazing FX section inside,it's an amazing machine,all in one.You can mess with LFOs,Envelopes,ADSR,mangle sounds,make random aliasing noise,and create your own patch kits,from found sounds.They were usually built like tanks,and you can get them for a fraction of what they originally sold for.I have four samplers and plan to get a few more,and yes,they all are from different companies.

[@Lhammer10]

Do you use any modern day samplers ?

[@michaels8597]

@@Lhammer10 The last one is the Roland MV8800,which they call the MPC killer..My fav though,is my Ensoniq ASR10 rack..

[@michaels8597]

If you even THINK you have actually delved deeply into a sampler,either you just do not know what it really can do,you have no imagination,or it's broken...

[@Lhammer10]

michael s how long have you been sound designing ? Do you like the sp404?

[@MrDanoman812]

Groovy guy... he's cool. Thank you, i'm learning a lot by watching your channel... :)

[@elliottr6213]

Slow pop 3 sounds like it was used for the Windows XP install music.

[@Smoothhh_One]

1:37 ugghghhhfghghfhfg the sound of nostalgia…I dont know why that sound is so satisfying

[@Moonblade042194]

Exposure is a bit funky on the insert guide

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Yes, sorry, light too strong on the display

[@leooliver2828]

Hey, I like all your videos. Personally I own dj-70mkii, sp-808 and sp-808ex, s-50, and mc-909. But I really seek help with the dj-70mkii. Can you feature it? Nobody has instructional videos. I love the dj-70mkii.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you, unfortunately I don't have a DJ-70 / DJ-70 mkII at the moment, but do plan to get one hopefully soon and yes, I'll make instructional videos about it

[@leooliver2828]

@@SynthManiaDotCom Oh wow! man You are so cool, seriously. I would really appreciate it if you would. The dj-70 is a great sampler. But I can't find a lot of instruction. I have the manual but it sucks. I put HxC in mine, I just got the load process down, but can't save samples I've made. I have an S-50 I'm working on that I will put mouse and svga 7" monitor on in about a week.

[@jerrypizzini]

Those sounds are incredible

[@BackSlashJvb125]

i ve been following music production for 2 years. And only until now i discovered the world of sample CD's and OMG ITS BEAUTIFULL. An also how i did not knew about these. I guess i really did not look into this much. And on a modern world, sample packs are pretty much the standard nowadays

[@Dudeitsmeee]

So "Jump" was the keyboard equivalent of "No Stairway" (Stairway to heaven) lol Paolo! I love this digital sampling kick don't get me wrong but I would love to hear you give a tutorial on how to get that Radiorama - Vampires thick synth sound!

[@0e0]

bladerunner theme?

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Yep! Equivalent to Stairway To Heaven for you guys :-D Radiorama and other classics will be forthcoming- thanks!

[@Dudeitsmeee]

Ohh awesome! I will definitely look out for them

[@sp-404hypnodiqsoundjunkie8]

I found someone selling an Akai S1000 with a Syquest 200 MG drive and a bunch of sounds disks for $150. Should I buy it? I already have a s2000 fully loaded with memory and upgrades plus an s3200XL sitting around but i don't have an older computer to connect to,.. just a later model DELL laptop with an i5 Intel processor and 8g RAM. Are there any kits or adapters that can connect old SCSI gear/hardware to newer laptops?

[@ミッドナイトクラブ熱狂者]

For a $150? Thats mental! Get it if you still can

[@DizzyWombat]

SP-404 HypNodiQ SoundJunkie Acording to a forum post I found, you can virtual machine Windows XP and get a SCSI to USB... A little fiddling with how the virtual machine interacts with your USBs and you can make it work. Then use something like Aksys to move samples around

[@5argetech56]

You are a Synth Sage. A Synth Sensei..... Thank you....

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank *you for watching!

[@100tjl]

always want one of these too 1000,2000.3000 xl,, how big are the patches? muilty sampled ever octave or second octave then pitched by the unit with layers very complex sounds for sure

[@wolfunplugged]

sounds very good to my ears, very well demo'd, dude! nostalgia. is there still a certain sound advantage of an akai sampler in comparison to software samplers on the computer? what do you think?

[@JMacQ77]

I have an S-3000XL but only one set of samples for it. Do you happen to know of any web sites that host disc images for the Akais?

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

IIRC AKAI used to have them, try the Internet wayback machine - also the Yahoo group

[@djbonne1]

Hello my friend, how are you? I have a mpc 2000xl and a akai s1000 so I can shoot the samples of akai s1000 through the midi keyboard but I would like to shoot mpc, which connection do I need to do? thanks for listening

[@fantasyproduct1042]

Check the price of this sample cd on eBay :/ More than I paid for the 3000XL.... Love these videos keep em coming :)

[@DJROCKCEEENTERTAINMENT]

Akai s950 is the best Rack sampler !

[@dutchmenneer3289]

Akai S1000 vs E-MU Emulator vs Fairlight CMI. Which do you prefer?

[@danniepower8800]

Any chance the akai s950 would be nice too ? thanks

[@gruponemesis]

naturally my question is, will you share or sell that sample cd to me!!! for mys5000 =)

[@middle_pickup]

I would love to see a rundown on this hardware. I'm considering buying a S3000xl after seeing this video. I like the idea of sampling instruments to create new sounds, but I would like to do it out of a DAW sometimes.

[@kosmikmusa]

Just use software. It will save your time. Buy Ableton live and you would be surprised how easy it is.

[@middle_pickup]

kosmikmusa you read that I said outside of a DAW, right?

[@leftmono1016]

Zachary Drummond - have a look at the Yamaha A4000 or 5000. They have some interesting features! I got an ultra cheap Akai S01 which I circuit bent to within an inch of its life but love how easy it is to use :-)

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

The Yamaha A4000/5000 indeed sounds great and I bought it new when it came out, but I eventually sold it out of frustration because the scsi loading time was *incredibly* slow. I might get another one at some point, but I just wanted to give a headsup. Here's my A4000 page with lots of sound examples: www.synthmania.com/a4000.htm

[@middle_pickup]

SynthMania can you still buy new scsi drives?

[@blankman4012]

Can the new MPCs (X & Live) load these disk??? That would be awesome

[@chriscash782]

Love this guy

[@normapadro9704]

I like this video. I was about 17 when this song came out. I enjoyed it hearing played by you. That was nice.

[@felineki]

Love those brassy synth sounds! Also glad to hear you've got more sample CD demos in store, looking forward to them.

[@DonSolaris]

Now we are talking! Excellent topic, Paolo!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Glad you like it, Don! Several people have asked for more AKAI / CDs, so I'll do more

[@chap2065]

Thx man, I never realized you could do this and have it sound so good. Nor that you could buy professionally made cd’s that had the sounds. Thank you :-)

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Enjoy!

[@synthartist69]

That Jump patch sounds more like the Van Halen I'll wait patch.. but sounds good.. first time I have ever heard you play Jump, always wondered why not? Thought you may be ANTI-JUMP or something, like a guitar player may be ANTI- Stairway to Heaven or Smoke on the Water.. haha Great vid Paolo..

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Haha, well, I, like I'm sure you since we're the same age, had to endure thousands of kids playing Jump when going to musical instrument stores in the '80s... so I'm sure we're all a bit hesitant to play it too often :-D

[@synthartist69]

@@SynthManiaDotCom One of the first songs I learned to play, but never correctly of course. Always loved it and that phaaaat dual detuned saw wave OBX patch. There have been many online discussions on what synth was used for that sound. Although we see Eddie playing an OBXa in the Jump video, the word is that it was played using an OBX on the actual recording but that the OBX kept breaking down so he finished the Album using an OBXa which is what we hear on I'll Wait. Supposedly he ran the I'll Wait patch through a Marshall Amp for slight distortion which you hear on the album. Shortly afterwords, the OBXA was swapped for an OB8 which is what you hear on the 5150 album.. Love Walks in, Dreams,, Why can't this be love (sync lead patch) and the organ on the song Feels so good. I know you are more of a synthpop Italo Disco guy.. which I love that style too, so thought I would share those interesting Tidbits for you my friend :) See you on the next synth walk... I have been joining in while I am on the treadmill.. lol

[@KianaKaslana638]

Can you make "real" vaporwave

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Sure. Can you post a link to the best song that you can think of that is "real" Vaporwave? I'm not super familiar with that.

[@BoyRatty-ds7yb]

hey SynthMania, What model is the Apple external optical drive you have attached to the Akai Sampler and is it connected to the SCSI input? Great demo and thanks for your passion.

[@dussie920]

Yes, it's SCSI connected.

[@0e0]

i converted some of these to soundfonts ages ago..still use them occasionally

[@orlandeuce6567]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! NOT Analog Meltdown!!!! CLASSIC CD.

[@giuseppmetallic8872]

THATS REMIND ME LITTLE BIT PATCHES FROM DX7

[@mollyringmod3815]

Curious how difficult it is to load and play the CD rooms with the s3000xl? Is it just SCSI plug and play?

[@dussie920]

Yes, it is. Set SCSI ID on the back of the CD drive. In the SCSI settings of the S3000XL select the CD drive as "drive ID" and select any other number for the Akai's "local ID". SCSI ID's have tot be unique in the chain and go from 0 to 7. Then you load the samples and select the CD drive as source. It's that easy indeed.

[@asdifasi]

The resonant filter do the job insanely well

[@PepeHerman]

all those tones are just sounding great

[@Zeisslermusic]

Amzing sounds, Great

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thanks!

[@MrMongo321]

You always bring so many good memories with many of your vids and great playing!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank *you for watching!

[@trizzakeylo]

3:00 wtf?! I dont understand!!! Is the akai being controlled through midi?! But the actual sounds are from the CD?!

[@dussie920]

Yes, it is a MIDI sampler. You load samples from diskette, ZIP, harddisk or CD-ROM drive, connected via SCSI. The notes are played on a keyboard connected via MIDI. Or a sequencer or DAW of course.

[@trizzakeylo]

@@dussie920 woooow thats amazing!!!!!

[@Pan6888]

Hi Paolo can this akai format load in a Yamaha A5000 sampler ? i own that but i miss the Akai samplers simplicity.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

I used to have an A4000 but sold it a long time ago, so I'm not 100 per cent sure, but you should be able to. You might have to do adjusting of the parameters, though

[@Pan6888]

Hey thanks for the instant reply, will have to do it and see what happens, take care.

[@dietmarschlichtherle7061]

Thank you for showing !

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

My pleasure!

[@atxbigballer1]

I need a copy plz!

[@fantasyproduct1042]

Does anyone know what type of external CD drive to hook up to the S3000XL? Thanks in advance!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Here you go: akaiscsifaq.digidude.net/akaifaq_cdrom_drives.htm

[@fantasyproduct1042]

SynthMania thank you!

[@DiscoR53]

Oh how this takes me back to the 80's

[@issiewizzie]

Akai s1000 was about 4,000 dollars in the 80s

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Issie wizzie, Where do you get this figure, what source are you using? Actually, the S1000 was more like 6,000 dollars (without any of the additions yet) when it came out in 1988. Source: my magazine collection: Keyboard magazine, December 1988, Keyboard Report by Jim Aikin, page 126: "List Price: $5,999.95". If you don't have that issue: you can check this 1990 article (S1000 ver. 2.0 OS) from Radio And Production by Jerry Vigil: "What does this beauty cost? List price on the S1000 is $6000. The S1000HD (with internal hard disk) is $7000. The S1000PB (playback only) is $3600. The S1000KB (keyboard version) is $6700, and the EXM005 memory expansion boards are $1350 each." - source: www.rapmag.com/a/1990s/38-90/feb90/142-test-drive-the-akai-s1000-digital-stereo-sampler - 3rd page in the article - and although I was in Italy and dealing with lire in 1988, accounting for inflation I deem 6K to be the more accurate figure for the S1000. And let's not even mention the Roland S-770, that cost 10M lire! (must have been closer to $10K back then). How do I remember these facts... I was already a young synth maniac, had all the industry magazines and was drooling on the S1000 (and MPC60) every day lol

[@issiewizzie]

SynthMania I wanted to buy one . I’m based in the U.K. I remember the cost being around that .... but two things have happens ...I’m much older , and my memory is next to useless when it comes to time periods ... it could have been the early 90s . I may be confusing the s1000 with their other model in their range 😀

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Hehe :-D I know the feeling. I can't remember things as well as I used to. That's why these days I try to write things down or make videos about it...

[@Жан.джазмен]

Thanks, honor!

[@thebmxband1t]

Oooooh! So tempting to hunt around for the Emu now! Even over scsi patches took some time to load😬 My scsi cd rom you had to load it into a caddy! Blimey! We're so used to instant gratification nowadays. Thanks for great entertaining videos and tutorials. Keep up the great work. ✊️ Jb x

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank *you for watching! I have a couple of old Roland drives with the "dreaded" caddies, they both broke :( and I really need to have them fixed. Agree, today is instant gratification, in many ways! Thanks!

[@DadoSimicStudiostriver]

Is there any reason to get such a gear today except nostalgia and collection desires? I mean what such a hardware gonna offer that other software samplers today do not offer already? Just asking, please do not attack me if its stupid question, really have no clue. ;)

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Just nostalgia :D All you need these days is any modern DAW - they all have everything you need.

[@DadoSimicStudiostriver]

@@SynthManiaDotCom Thanks for let me know. ;)

[@dussie920]

It doesn't cost you CPU power, but that's not really a problem anymore nowadays. However, some hardware have very specific sound character, especially 12 bit samplers like S900/950. But that's just taste and there definitely are plugins to simulate that sound. I like to turn knobs and see flashing LEDs and not het distracted by online apps like chats, mail etc. Hardware keeps me focussed on making music. Software is easier when you travel and like to take your "studio" with you. Hardware just works, software is sometimes a hell of a job to make working die to incompatibility issues, Windows versions, drivers etc. Software is not for life, but only for a few years, till it is not OS compatible anymore. Hardware probably is, but needs fixes maybe. Hardware keeps soms value, software won't. There is good software nowadays, but hardware makes you smile, software is just software.