The Ultimate Guide to Sampling in the Akai S1000

As I get asked about sampling all the time, I thought it would be worth making a video breaking down what it's all about!
Super happy about this one, took me a while to make as you can imagine! Loved being able to incorporate the Akai s1000 in this video :)
Thanks to everyone for sticking with me so far & especially to my Patreon subscribers! I love making these videos and I'm desperate to do this full time so I really appreciate it.✌️& ❤️
⭐️ Website & Sample Packs - www.groovingbiz.co.uk/
⭐️ Best Selling Sample Pack - www.groovingbiz.co.uk/90drumfunk
⭐️ Patreon - / groovining
- - - Chapters - - -
What is Sampling: (00:00)
Sampling in Hip-Hop: (00:32)
Fundamentals of Sampling: (01:31)
Collecting Samples (Record Digging): (01:48)
Organising Samples: (02:21)
Sample Managers (Audio Finder): (02:42)
Sample Packs: (03:39)
My Sample Packs: (04:05)
Modern Audio Editing: (04:17)
Birth of the Hardware Sampler: (04:34)
Patreon :) : (06:08)
Akai (Keyboard Spread): (06:31)
Akai (Keyspan Slice): (09:05)
Akai (Track Example): (11:52)
Akai (Basic Editing): (12:45)
Akai (Sample Controls): (13:40)
Akai (Layering Samples): (15:09)
Akai (Timestretch FX): (17:50)
Resampling: (19:16)
Outro: (19:59)

[@droidattack3092]

Just a two second Source Direct clip and you’ve stopped me doing what I should be doing. Great work G

[@groovining]

Haha - sold you a fast one there :)

[@MorbidManoeuvres]

man back again, i just need to say im amazed how you packed this video with so much info goodness ! wow amazing. I just got a S1000 and it sped alot of the learning curve up for me. i already feel i know the basics thanks to you ! cheers

[@groovining]

Hey, cheers dude! Glad you got so much out the video. I actually just changed the title to make it a little clearer for people like yourself who are looking for info on the Akai s1000. ✌️

[@MorbidManoeuvres]

@@groovining its a perfect title, thanks once again

[@andrehines]

great video on sampling. I could watch these types of videos all day.

[@groovining]

Thanks andre! I'm mad into this stuff also. Lots of hardware stuff lined up on the channel. I just need time to put it all together! 🚀✌️

[@ghal3on]

grats on the s1000!!! my first sampler :)

[@groovining]

I love it! completely cured my GAS now I have the Akai and Emu! Sorted for life :)

[@dietmarschlichtherle7061]

Thanke you for showing 🙂

[@groovining]

No worries! Thanks for the comment - glad you enjoyed :) ✌️

[@autistikicecream]

I wanna spend the whole night with my sampler after watching this video! So inspiring! Thank you! ✨

[@groovining]

Thanks dude! Happy to inspire - I love my samplers also! - What have you got?

[@autistikicecream]

For now I'm using software only since I have to move frequently from one place to another. More specifically it's Bitwig sampler and rx950 on top to soften the sound a bit plus bitwig has nice time stretching algorithms which can emulate "that" akai sound. I'm also a big fan of old sample cds and I love to mess with them in bitwig making something in the style of Cuckooland and Distorted Reality ^^

[@groovining]

Yes Bitwig sampler seems amazing. Lots of cool features. I also love RX950 and use it on everything - You can get pretty close to that old school sound with 1% the cost and effort. I think I have cuckooland and distorted reality but never really check them out much. Having a look now! :)

[@DSilkSmooth]

Superb mate, always love your videos. My S950 is criminally underused in my studio but nothing comes close to breaks or time stretching inside of it. It captures such a quintessential vibe of that time. Girlfriend has a lovely set of pipes also. Need to spend more time creating samples and new Synth sounds and not always going into my studio trying to make music all of the time. 😂

[@groovining]

Thanks DSilk! I agree its hard to bring these samplers into the modern workspace - timestretching is epic. I do resample a lot from them just to make my life easier sometimes. Haha yes she does! Yea I go through phases of lots of sound design and creating samples, I love sampling a note from the Digitone into the Akai or Emu. Just gives it that bit extra it often needs :)

[@LabofmusicRecords]

Bought a S3200XL, this helps 😅 thx 😎 edit: fantastic video, well edited!

[@groovining]

Thanks for the edit comment! Glad you found this useful for your 3200xl also. I was looking at getting one of those but I went oldschool for the dirtier sound. Amazing machines these. 😊✌️

[@nickskywalker2568]

This is one of the greatest video on sampling I've seen! Really cool and thanks for sharing the channels I am really happy to discover some new music :D

[@groovining]

Thanks so much Nick! I put a lot into this one so really appreciate the feedback. Yea those channels are great - I've found some amazing stuff on them :) ✌️

[@bigjerkface78]

Nice! Next let’s get into some resampling!

[@groovining]

19:18 :) But yes - lots more on that topic also

[@Ant2be]

great video!

[@groovining]

Thanks mate - love these old samplers. Akai s1000 is a beast. Although quite a slow and methodical one! 😊✌️

[@GregDixson]

Nicely done :) If someone only explained it like this when I first came across one years back

[@groovining]

Thanks Greg! Yea its almost a bit of a lost art these days. I've only just got into using old school samplers and got massivly into Renoise which is essentially just a EMU with a tracker interface. There so powerful once you know what your doing. :)

[@GregDixson]

@@groovining I guess I always found all the programs and assigning samples etc on Akais etc so fiddly. I just couldn't get my head around it and never had one longer than a few minutes in studios to play on back in the day. I knew the power was there but just didn't know how to unlock it :-s I went the software and synths route and only found the joys of sampling after Renoise... which is great yea. Anyway a great addition to your setup, and your channel to highlight the classic hardware. Cheers G, more power to your with your content. It's awesome!

[@groovining]

Yea, the Akai is definitly more confusing for me than the EMU even though its fairly simple in its functions. There a lot of steps to get from recording to actually playing a sound when its so easy in a modern DAW. Renoise is the best of both world trust me! it has that old school, hardware sampler feeling but with a modern workflow. Its very similar to the EMU with the way you can modulate etc. Cheers about the vid also - really wanted to highlight how simple these tools were which people made so much amazing music with. Literally: tranposing, slicing, layering, panning, volume, filter, pitch, ADSR, Timestretch and thats pretty much it!

[@itsJoel59]

Just got myself an S1000 for pretty cheap, lil over 200dollars, I'm gonna combine it with a tracker software to learn some jungle, breakbeat and stuff. Can't wait and also subbed and liked! 😀

[@groovining]

Welcome to the channel! 200$ is a great deal for an AKAI s1000. Now you just need to get your SCSI2SD going, silent fan, new LEDs, New PSU and your sorted for the next 10 years! Thanks for the sub :)

[@itsJoel59]

@@groovining holyyy do I need a new PSU and fan as well?! Geee 😅😎

[@groovining]

@@itsJoel59 haha na it’s not a necessity. Depends on the condition of yours really. The fan was a must for me though. My emu especially sounding like a rocket ship 🚀 was about to take off in my studio! :)

[@itsJoel59]

@@groovining Aha I see haha. I'll just wait and see if it will stay or not, however I randomly came across a SCSI board locally today LOL. Is 50 bucks a good deal for one?

[@groovining]

I've got ZULU SCSI in my EMU e5000 which was not too expensive only $61 new. store.rabbitholecomputing.com/ZuluSCSI-V1-1-p/zuluscsi-v1.1-rev-2022c.htm

[@CerealKiller]

Dope!

[@groovining]

Cheers CerealKiller! :)

[@nielsflushh]

What a work back in the days. But it sounds very cool!

[@groovining]

Yes - its a lot of work but it has that sound - its cool, I like them a lot!

[@_P_M_]

I like your videos a lot . Very stylized.

[@groovining]

Cheers mate! I've been slowly developing my own style the more of these I do. Only problem is that they now take longer and longer to make! :) ✌️

[@rawedginnah]

Nice vid. I subbed. Thanks.

[@groovining]

Thanks mate! Glad you enjoyed this one. Love my Akai :)

[@Gosha1992]

Wicked! Love the vocals your girlfriend did too

[@groovining]

She was happy about this comment! ❤️😊✌️

[@TheBizzyBScience]

Good video

[@groovining]

Cheers BizzyB - Love your channel mate ✌️

[@deathsyrup]

Love this device. My dream purchase as well. Let’s just say >:)

[@mrstephenpariah]

Prices have been down on the s1000 for a while, at least in UK. RAM upgrades still expensive though. Check if the internal PSU has been replaced, original ones tend to die.

[@groovining]

Great advice - I replaced the PSU, LED screen, Zulu SCSI and fan on my EMU e5000 ultra which I was quite proud of having zero electrical knowledge. I actually bought my Akai s1000 with a new PSU and LED as its pretty essentially like you say to keep the going. Such great devices, love them both 💾 😊 🚀

[@mrstephenpariah]

@@groovining I bought an s1000 a few years ago but the PSU blew after three days and it's been sitting in my cupboard ever since ☹️

[@Ben_______x]

Thanks

[@Ben_______x]

Keep going bad boy

[@groovining]

@@Ben_______x Cheers ledge! Really appreicate the Super Thanks :) ❤❤😊

[@urbanfabric]

I see a lot of people using Renoise nowadays. Why is that so? Great job on this video too. Respect!

[@groovining]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpWyZmqCrsyZosk

[@amonster8mymother]

Ive got one.

[@amonster8mymother]

My s1000 sounds really good. ❤

[@amonster8mymother]

❤

[@groovining]

✌️😊🎄

[@sparkidee]

Did I hear a Michael Rosen sample? 'Nice'!

[@groovining]

Yea I'm sure you did - what point in the vid? :)

[@amonster8mymother]

Ive also got a s3000xl which is supposed to do 8 loops and a s2000 which i dont know.

[@SvintMvrcus]

Been binging your videos lately man great work! Learned alot about pad design for sure. What sampler would you recommend for atmospheric dnb / house if you had to choose between the s1000 or the e5000?

[@groovining]

I would highly recommend the Emu E5000 Ultra. I went down a huge rabbit hole of trying to find the right samplers and all I can say is the EMU is amazing. With a ZULU SCSI it can read .WAV so you can chuck files in right off the computer. The filters & modulation is fire. Overall sound is really nice and round, has that 90s sound, ignore what people say online about the origianl e4 or e64 being dirtier or whaterever. The e5000 ultra sounds wicked. The Akai is cool and oldschool but so slow to do things compared to the EMU.

[@SvintMvrcus]

@@groovining perfect because I just ordered one yesterday! I’ve heard about how slow the s1000s were too. For the ZULU SCSI how would I know I’m getting the right one and will that be all I need? I was planning on recording pads directly into the emu, doing some processing and then recording them back into Ableton

[@groovining]

@@SvintMvrcus I got this one I believe even though its a newer model now. You have to do a little research on how to install it etc & setup up the SD card so it can read it properly. It's definitly worth doing as sometimes you make a patch or a bit of sound design you really want to save. Even so, you could also just start resampling with a floppy and see if you need to take the next step. In the end I installed a new PSU, new LED Screen, Silent FAN and ZULU SCSI with 0 prior electronic experience. was quite tense tho not gunne lie 😂 amigakit.amiga.store/zuluscsi-rp2040-adapter-p-91301.html?aksid=c427glpucd885kep7fqro6spn5&currency=GBP&aksid=c427glpucd885kep7fqro6spn5

[@SvintMvrcus]

@@groovining that makes sense actually I usually have a bunch of variations of the same sounds so it’ll be a good idea to back them up internally. Thanks man and that sounds like it was a fun project! I have avionics experience so that’s helped a ton with troubleshooting and fixing parts inside my old gear so I know the pain 💀

[@groovining]

@@SvintMvrcus Ah well if you into avionics you'll have no problems fixing up an old emu! Let me know how you get on with it anyways mate & if u have any questions feel free to hit me up ✌

[@ivan3551]

Great video! But how do you connect the S1000 to modern computers? Is an audio interface and MIDI enough? P.S. If you're open to suggestions for future videos, it would be nice to have a video where you explain all Renoise commands because some of them are quite cryptic."

[@Mrlemidge]

Yeah you don't need a mixer but it would be difficult to actually mix a track in a sampler without a mixer. A audio interface with 8 ins would be nice as well

[@groovining]

I have a analog mixer although you can mix roughtly in the Akai (just level, panning, filters) - at the moment I just run the main stereo outs from the Akai and 1 extra mono out so I can split drums and instruments. I then have the spare output of my mixer go into my audio interface with input monitoring turned off to avoid feedback loops. Essentially I can record anything that comes out of the Akai and also the Akai records anything out of my interface. Its pretty easy but you still have to do a lot of manual work on the Akai. I use resampling a lot to get the colour of the Akai but without all the effort! :)

[@christiantorma2440]

😎🤘😎🤘😎🤘

[@groovining]

✌️🚀✌️🚀😊

[@amonster8mymother]

If I was going into renoise I would normalize first then add some compression just a little.

[@actionrag1]

When you have started a track and trigging midi from Renoise to the Akai how do you save where you are? are you recording all the audio from the Akai then just putting it back in to renoise as samples. Same question as to when you finish track

[@groovining]

You have to save you project + samples on the Akai using the Disk button. Then also save your Renoise Project. Then you can load back up and everything should work again. The other technique that you mentioned here is to render out sections from the Akai into audio samples and then just trigger then in Renoise. I do a bit of both to be honest. For the final track though you need a way to record both your Renoise output + Akai Output. I use a analog mixer for this routed back to my interface. ✌️😊

[@actionrag1]

@@groovining Thanks so much for the reply really appreciate it.

[@miguelrocha6751]

I'm thinking about getting an S series. Wich audio interface do you use with both of your samplers?

[@groovining]

I actually just use a cheap behringer UMC404HD. It was a spare one. I use 'Loopback' app on mac to route anything playing through my computer to both the outputs on the UMC404HD. These then feed into my AKAI and EMU so I can easily record into them. The EMU & AKAI then go into the mixer and finally the spare mixer output goes into my main interface MOTU m2. It just makes resampling in and out super quick and easy as I never have to change settings. 😊

[@miguelrocha6751]

That's awesome, it shows i won't need to spend a lot to get it running :) , i have a small 2 channel mixer and a 2i2 focusrite but i'll have to prioritize getting the interface beforehand since mine doesn't have midi and also the 2 outs won't be enough. thanks!

[@groovining]

Yea get a larger audio interface so you can route everything properly. Then you will be sorted with that and your mixer. Let me know if you have any problems 😊✌️

[@tunnis7us]

can you widen or mono the sample stereo field on the akai s1000?

[@groovining]

Yes you can pan one sample L and another R to make a stereo sample and then also drag the pan amounts to shrink the stereo amount.

[@tunnis7us]

@@groovining I mean like stereo widening not panning. For example you have sample that already have some stereo, but you then just boost the stereo width even more. IN fl studio this would be done with pluging called "Fruity Stereo Enhancer" which has stereo separator knob which you just twist and get the stereo field even wider :)

[@groovining]

@@tunnis7us yea no chance of this on Akai s1000. Emu e5000 has a great chorus and but I don’t think any of the E Akai s series have stereo enhance or chorus. Maybe the s5000.

[@thew.3037]

The akai s1100 has effects, including chorus, but I don't think that's what you are looking for. That stereo widening must be based on some kind of effect, maybe chorus, maybe reverb, probably both, so if you understand that you can try to recreate it on hardware

[@tunnis7us]

@@thew.3037 no the stereofield separation doens't need chorus or reverb that's why I gave example of FL studio plugin that does this. For example. You can record stereo with 2 microphones and then using the pluging to further widen the stereo field.

[@NachtSchreck13]

These machines sound so damn good. The peak of AKAI sampling technology. The S3000/3200/2000/2800/XL series sound awful in comparison. The S5000/S6000 are great samplers, lots of filter types, lovely display and great editing capabilities, but they lack the presence of the S1000.

[@groovining]

Yea they really do. I love my Akai s1000 and the EMU e5000 Ultra actually sounds dope as well. Its hard to really display how good they sound in these examples as I think they shine more when you have a couple of programs running side by side all coming out of these maschines! :)

[@3rd_eyevision]

950 no.1

[@jazzroom]

​​​@@3rd_eyevisionin terms of sound and LP filter YES - i am using one for years in combo with my SP1200 & SP12 ..but it has its limitations 8 voice poliphony / mono ( you could do a split L and R copies sample for fake Stereo trick) downsampling in half rate on the sampler , variable sampling rates are crazy and go from "hifi" to very "low fi " to your taste . I have S5000 as well but although its mega capable and has tons of very new for its time options like USB editing for example and 32 or 64 voice polyphony , But I hardly EVER use it ...because of complexity ( To many menues to many options) of use and not because of its sound....the sound actually is still much more punchy and lively out of the Box than any modern ( china made) software/audio card computer sound that needs tons of plugins to give it some character and weight ;) ... Akai S950 , 1000 and S5000 were all Made in Japan from great audio components ..that no sampler today no modern MPC has unfortunately. just 2cents ! P.S. dont have S1000 but my guess is that its a happy in between sampler thst has the SOUND editing and ease of use of its older brother and its yonger brothers 😂 Peace , Jazz👊

[@Lux-Voltaire]

Thank you x 10 for not preaching about legalities and copyright infringement of sampled music. Subbed.

[@groovining]

Thanks friend - welcome to the channel! I love sampling and sampled music Boom-bap/jungle/ukg/classic house. Its all banging and made from samples. People who hate against it don't understand the art form. 😊✌️

[@amonster8mymother]

Not sure how to get into the "snippet mode"

[@groovining]

What do you mean by snippet mode? Edit?

[@amonster8mymother]

@@groovining jes. Your word not mine.

[@amonster8mymother]

I have a s1000 2000 and 3000xl.

[@groovining]

Sexy machines :)

[@cb52593]

hey man! I hate to ask but could you get back to me on how to setup my s1000 with logic? I've done midi/audio setups before but have a different computer and gear so my settings may be out of wack. I just got an 1000 and need a little help getting it going. id really appreciate your help

[@groovining]

With Logic I just use an External Instrument with the midi destination set to my Midiface 4x4 which has a midi cable going out from there to the input on the back on my Akai. The sorts the midi side of it. I have an USB Multi Output Tascam mixer so I can also route the Akai channel back over usb to the input of the External instrument if I want the audio coming into logic rather than directly out the mixer.

[@cb52593]

@@groovining I have a Roland UM ONE midi interface. I updated the driver so hopefully the logic can identify it. As d fee ar as the audio I have a balanced cable going from the master mono out of the akai into a channel on logic and that channel as the in on the audio track in logic. All seems good right?

[@groovining]

To get the audio back into Logic you route it through the External Instrument you sent the midi from. You need to set up your Audio Interface the Akai's outputs are router to as the 'Input Device' in the audio settings in logic. Then select the correct channels in the 'Input setting' in External instrument. This allows you do to Latency compensation also which you will generally want on.

[@cb52593]

@@grooviningok I understand. I’ll try these and get back to you. Also a maybe silly question but since I got this akai online it doesn’t have any samples or floppy included but is there always the sine, square, saw, and pulse?

[@cb52593]

@@groovining ok so I got the sine, square, saw, and pulse test sounds out. But now I’m stuck on recording in. I have tried recording at low levels and high and see the sample being recorded but when I press the play button I can’t hear it

[@MorbidManoeuvres]

hey great video thank you, but whats weird with my S1000 is where yours says the Note (regarding preparing to sample) my is wrote as PITCH. why is this ? thanks

[@MorbidManoeuvres]

ahh when i smash in the midi keyboard it sets the note, and note pitch all good

[@amonster8mymother]

You can only do 1 loop on it. So far as a i know.

[@CC-fi3pp]

S1000 amd my personal favourite S950/S900 sound SO GOOD! Do not sample from KZbin, the compression is awful.

[@groovining]

I agree the S1000 sounds wicked, wish it interfaced a bit better with my computer like the EMU e5000. Being able to chuck Wav's on a SD and slot it in is a life saver. I'm usually pretty good at using .wav etc and looking for high quality stuff but every now and again am a bit lazy not gunna lie. The thing about the KZbin compression is it dosent affect the sound too much if your just playing it back at the same pitch. However, if you start to Pitch it around or add effects like saturation it really starts to show. 😊✌️

[@CC-fi3pp]

@groovining Top man! Sampling is becoming a complete 💩 show unfortunately, you've got guys on MPC Stems taking KZbin MP3s and then one tenthing the already poor quality with separation. And they won't have that it sounds God awful, it's getting bad, it's getting really bad, the true art form has been consumed by huge tech conglomerates and shat straight out of the bowls of its AI algorithm with compulsory $1000 plastic midi controller design to disintegrate exactly as the mark ii plastic fantasy and 3000 flashing rgb lights is released straight to subscription never own services.

[@groovining]

Haha I agree for sure dude. It's nuts what's going on at the moment. All these weird pitched up 30 second tracks for Instagram. I just stick to the companies and tools I know really well now. Elektron for me stands out as a company who make fantastic products akin to the older hardware. Once you get into sampling & resampling on the old hardware you quite quickly realise that's the sound you've been looking for all along without all those plugins. ✌🚀 @@CC-fi3pp

[@CC-fi3pp]

@groovining +1 for Electron, I actually class the Octatrack as a later but legit classic break beats ready sampler, the build quality is definitely there. And the Digitakt can be used in a pinch too if nessesary as a sequencer, it's definitely worth keeping around on that regard but if absolutely no other option it can work as a sampler too, it reminds of the the MPC 2000xl in that regard, Electron build quality isn't far off old Akai (anything before and including the MPc 4000), Electron are legit, can't say that for most companies still around though unfortunately, I've had new Akai, Eurorack and Teeenage Engineering products literally just crumble after ubder 18 months, when the sound I desire isn't even there this is just even more infuriating, I literally feel robbed.

[@CC-fi3pp]

​@groovining Yea the interpolation just isn't there with the up pitched Tik Tok content, its not to my sample snob pallet either. I'm not a Kanye fan but I remember him getting criticism for the chipmunk effect, well in retrospect the ASR-10 actually pitches up audibly more pleasurably to my ears than whatever software the Tik Tok crowd are using. An up pitched break in order to up okdschool up tempo it - is my guilty pleasure in life though, doesn't have to be Amen, I can get my fix from almost any of the JB breaks, Roachclip, Skull Snaps, Sweat Pea, and so on, but I have a thing for the Akai S900/950 and S1000 performing this task in particular, in every way, the clip behaviour on the inputs, the operations, the button cicks the menus, the Akai colouring to the sound, the colouring of the outputs, the tine stretch algorithms, the build quality,the way they interface with software and the nuances of having different midi channels sent from the computer via midi to different audio outs coming back in, the ancient midi handshake and getting dump scsi or rs to work on the non standard file transfer protocol on the 900/950, the 1/4" Japanese folded Steel rack ears, the grey powder finishthat us literally military grade and still looks great almost 40 years later, it's all just like a fine wine.

[@cnfuzz]

Sampling was the excuse for ripping of other peoples records 😅

[@groovining]

Yes and no really. Certainly some Hip-Hop tunes just using loops etc but in jungle/DnB there was and still is lots of creative sampling going on. As long as the original artists are compensated its a good by me. ✌️

[@ushnicyuvnikof2748]

Do not sample from KZbin, the compression sucks, if your gling to be a degenerate millennial at least get the flac or a wav.