Harware Samplers - anyone still rock them?

[contakt321]

I am still using my

E-Mu SP1200

Mostly for sampling my drum hits, and short sounds. It adds grit and color that can't be beat, and I love the sound both in my own tracks and on so many classic hip-hop and house records.

Sorry, but no software is touching it. Yes, you can reduce the bit rate, add dirt, etc - but the SP1200 "ring"-ing sound hasn't been successfully replicated. You can definitely hear the SP1200's unique sound on so many records. I love it.

I also am just loving having some sounds be out of the box, I think combining out of the box + in the box, adds more "flavor" to songs.

[kristoffer1989]

boss 303

love it

404 here. use it all the time. kicks ass.

[shimmy]

I'm still an AKAI S950 owner. I love Floppy Disks.

[alex.the.forge]

I'm getting a TX16w for dirt cheap, Typhoon 2000 OS looks really cool! (programmed by the guy who did the Microtonic VST)

anyone have general advice on that weird gem?

ahaaa the old TX16w! My first sampler... I remember it getting laughs from music shop guys because it was like this glitch on Yamaha's reputation because it was so complicated - apparently the guy who designed it topped himself out of shame... or so I heard!

I never actually used the Typhoon OS, maybe that sorted it out, but I ended up with an A3000 which could read the samples off the disks for the TX16w so I never needed to

I got it going though after locking myself in a room for 3 days with teh manual, but it was complicated

it was weird in that it did 33kHz and 50kHz sampling rates - but 50kHz used so much of the pathetic amount of memory it had I ended up with loads of slightly lo-fi sounding 33k samples... a strange beast, but I really couldn't imagine any reason to endure the interface and lack of sample time of any of those old samplers really

[drako]

still have a s3000, had asr 10 2x s 950 , emu 4 ......loved the sound of the asr10's and the emu, but akai were so much tighter with midi.

[Trypset]

I have a question on HW sampler workflow. What are some methods of processing drum loops taken from samplers? If I build a track with MIDI and software then everysound gets its own channel.

I can make some really interesting stuff on my Electibe ES-1 mkII but when I go to "mix down/master" I always have so many ideas and questions as to how to get the most out of a audio source that has most of the info already mixed into one track. Make sense?

Ideas?

[3phase]

still have a AkAI S-1100... but only use it for polyphnic strings or low bass sounds...

As older the Akai Sampler as more bass heavy it is.. So the S-900 is the heaviest.. and the more modern smaller machines like s 3200xl have less..but better computer support via SCSI...

gave away my S-900 for free some years ago but sometimes miss it.. the S-900 can make a bass out of everything.. thanks to its 36db Filter ( but no resonance )...

For the playing keyboard part all hardware samplers sound extremly much better than the software plugs i know...

play a chord in the higher transpositions souds really like crap with sampler and alike..

and also the more expensive sampler plugs are not as good as the old hardware stuff..

[Pitch Black]

As older the Akai Sampler as more bass heavy it is.. So the S-900 is the heaviest.. and the more modern smaller machines like s 3200xl have less..but better computer support via SCSI...

gave away my S-900 for free some years ago but sometimes miss it.. the S-900 can make a bass out of everything.. thanks to its 36db Filter ( but no resonance )...

I'd disagree with you there, I've owned an S900, S950, 1100, 3200xl and the S3200xl can do much heavier basses, because of the resonant filters - especially combining the LoPass filter and the EQ Filter in series.

The 1100 I felt was very clean, but thin. But when the resonant filters were introduced in the 3000 series... well look out!
Did you ever use a 3000 series with the filter/fx board fitted? Unbelievably phat!


Interesting this thread is 2 years old.. I'm not touring with the 3200 any more but still use it in the studio.

[3phase]

As older the Akai Sampler as more bass heavy it is.. So the S-900 is the heaviest.. and the more modern smaller machines like s 3200xl have less..but better computer support via SCSI...

gave away my S-900 for free some years ago but sometimes miss it.. the S-900 can make a bass out of everything.. thanks to its 36db Filter ( but no resonance )...

I'd disagree with you there, I've owned an S900, S950, 1100, 3200xl and the S3200xl can do much heavier basses, because of the resonant filters - especially combining the LoPass filter and the EQ Filter in series.

The 1100 I felt was very clean, but thin. But when the resonant filters were introduced in the 3000 series... well look out!
Did you ever use a 3000 series with the filter/fx board fitted? Unbelievably phat!


Interesting this thread is 2 years old.. I'm not touring with the 3200 any more but still use it in the studio.

the sin test wave of the s-1100 is wall shakin.. the same with the s3200xl ( the newer one) is doing nothing...

you maybe can boost low frequencies with the internal eq´s..but i can do that with external ones aswell..

the general output of my s-1100 has a more solid low end than my s-3200xl had..

i sold the 3200xl as long i still could get a little money for it..

the S-1100 is really down in price.. i ve second one i wasnt able to sell for 100 euro

i better dont say what i once payed for that machine.. oh my... hurts to even think about...

[DJ VAKIS]

Look at this thing here:
www.teenageengineering.com/products/op-1/#form

[Silverfish]

I just got into hardware sampling. Infact, I'm waiting for a long weekend to sit down with the manuals and tame these beasts.

I picked up an Akai CD3000XL, S2800, and a Roland S-550, all for very, very cheap. It was a challenge to find working, affordable floppies for the Roland, but I found some new ones off ebay for a good price. And now, I need to run out to an office supply store and buy a giant box of newer floppies, as Sony has now stopped production. Maybe some day I'll just swap out the floppy drives with a CF drive from SCSIforsamplers.com or something.

I have to say, there is nothing easy about these machines, but my God the sound...

Can anyone think of a reason to keep an S2800 if I have a CD3000xl?

[thefinger]

th absolutely very best hardware sample mangler out there atm is the roland v synth gt. besides that it is a kickass synth. its also incredibly intuitive and tactile, thanks
to th touchscreen

emu e4000 can still do shitloads of cool stuff. functionally most if not all of what you will need to do could be done with ableton sampler. but its real and there and in your face physically. and it sounds great.

proud owner of a vp9000 here. probably one of the most hated sampler (and biggest flop) in the history of sampling. it can also do dynamic realtime stretching, formanting, and pitching of samples.. and it has a kickass effects section. but if i had to pick another sampler out it'd be the vsynth, and id reserve the standard workhorse sampling for the computer.

[Pitch Black]

I have to say, there is nothing easy about these machines, but my God the sound...

Like with any hardware, "the moves" will become second nature after a learning period - you could say the same for MPC / Maschine etc

Can anyone think of a reason to keep an S2800 if I have a CD3000xl?

If either has been bumped up with the following expansion boards:

EB16 (SampleVerb in the US) 4-channel multi-effects
IB304F (ProFilter in the US) DSP board for expanded filtering + EQ

You can get rid of the other. In fact I would say sell the 2800 and get both expansion boards. They have unique sounds that for me, were worth dragging a S3200xl around the planet for 10 years.

BTW the 3200XL is exactly the same voice arcitecture/polyphony etc as the two you have, but with the boards factory fitted.

[3phase]

Can anyone think of a reason to keep an S2800 if I have a CD3000xl?

no

[WaveRider]

I'm thinking about getting an EMU - e4xtultra> I heard my friends Emu and it sounded amazing - the filters were incredible.
Does anyone else still hardware samplers anymore?
The emu is sort of a hybrid synth/sampler/sequencer.
I'm amazed at how cheap they are- this was an $6000 sampler 8 years ago and I can get it for $800aud.

I just bought a couple of used ultras a month ago. They sound great. I got a rackmounted 16gig fixed + removable cartridge CF drive to go with it.

I am still building sounds and can't wait to use it in my tracks...

I would be in heaven if ableton would use emu's filters and architecture in their sampler.