Looking at some of the old akai samplers on reverb (not the mpcs but the eurorack samplers). Any of you own one? What are they really good for. Any downfalls ?
Head to gearslutz electronic forum , there’s a long long thread about akai.
s612, yes.
yes , recently picked up an s2000. Some say it a stripped down s3000, rather than an mpc2000. The time- stretch is longer and has more options than the mpc2000.
I actually like the sound and the convertors - what is sampled in is clear and transparent. Drums are great and theres a nice low end with filter. The filters better than I imagined and gives off an early warp sounds vibe.
I find it very easy to use in comparison to the mpc2000, asr/eps.
I’ll probably pick up a s3000, if one come around with an sd card/cd rom and huge banks of sounds.
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S1000 yes.
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As long as you get a SCSI - SD card adapter and have the rackspace, why not. The S series Akai samplers certainly have a sound to them. I would imagine the sound being a nice contrast to something like an OT or a DT.
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get an emu. e6400 or e6400 ultra or similar. they sound so musical. so much better than akai imo.
having owned a loaded akai S2000 sampler in the 90s i can tell you the emus sound way better.
s2000 was all i could afford then even used. it could be programmed to be a decent synth adn sound weird and good but the filters in it are lousy and steppy zippery and very identifiable. the LCD is tiny. i always liked the data jog wheel though.
but the DA converters are dull to me. when mine died i got a yamaha A4000 and the DA converters were a huge improvement. that saying “like lifting a blanket off the sound” was never more apt.
some of the older akais have flavor though and i’m not saying no one ever did anything good w/an s2000 but you have to really work w/the sound to get it to sit right.
i recently got an emu e6400 (for $300 shipped!) w/a HD full of emu library and it’s night and day compared to my memories of the s2000 and the modulation on tap is like a modular synth in the box. better filters too. i’m looking forward to getting into it in the coming months.
i wouldn’t pay more than $50 or $75 for an S2000 today.
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I’m looking at the more higher s akai samplers like the 3000xl or 950. The 2000seems like the lower economy one. However, I am looking for a dirty sound
S950/S1000 are the dirty ones. i forget which ones are 12bit. specs are available on line somewhere i’m sure.
emu can do dirty as well but in a different way. there’s a lot of ways to get dirt these days but banging some drum sounds into an old akai is certainly one way.
edit: also older ensoniq/emu samplers as well… have a great sound and some have analog filters.
I’ve had s2000 and mpc2000 many years ago , I like the convenience of modern equipment though. Even akai.sys and scsi was annoying.
That said , I often look at s5000/6000 as they have lots of memory and outputs , around ÂŁ300 though.
I’ve seen s2000 for £50
I’ve got a Yamaha a3000 I haven’t used for years , though it does make a good fx unit , again it’s big , inconvenient and not worth much these days.
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IF you are looking for the 12-bit Akai S950 sound and filter and want to stick with your DAW there is a plug-in for that with an amasing sound and filter reproduction. It can be pushed to with input gain and adjusted with output gain. No filter envelope follower but that can be solved by drawing it in the DAW.
https://www.mathieudemange.fr/rx950-classic-ad-da-converter/
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12-bit analog hardware AD/DA and filter can also be achieved with the OTO Machines BIM Throu mode with the latest update. Can Aldo be pushed with input gain. You will get a fantastic delay as well 
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Click clack how do you like the BIM overall ?
ha. that looks great. will have to check it out. i use Plogue Chipcrusher a lot for that kind thing as it has so many models/behaviors and various flavors of background noise.
Love it! 12-bit AD/DA adds a lot of character, specially when pushed with the input gain. The Freeze function is cool too. The freeze loop length can be controlled with a simple knob twist which can create interesting backgrounds for a beat.
BAM is great too. Ordered the BOUM as well. Should arrive any day now since it was shipped a week ago. Will create the perfect crush chain. Comp + Dist (BOUM) > 12-bit AD/AD thru mode (BIM with delay disabled) > Reverb (BAM).
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Yes, chipcrusher is great too with all the chip encodings but the RX950 filter is really nice, lush and unique. Doesn’t totally close when turned down, exactly like the hardware.
If you want that S950 filter + resonance in your eurorack the MUM M8 is a great option:
Which lead me in to some more jungle using all the nice hardware…
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Clickclack do you have a demo of your 12bit stuff. I already have a lot of 12 bit samplers but I am curious what character the BIM has. There’s a used one going for 449 on reverb…hmmm.
No, but I can do one for you. Any specific sample you want to run thru it?
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Any acoustic style drum loop. I want to hear what happens at the snare.
Here are the raw snares and two different input gain to compare with:
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