In this video, TheDaydreamSound shares his impressions of the Akai S950 – a vintage sampler from 1988.
14 thoughts on “The Akai S950 Sampler (1988)”
I bet it’s crunchy
I think that the reason this sampler sounds more “pronounced” could possibly be that it actualy has analog filters (without resonance)… Capacitor switched filter to be exact.
incorrect. the sound is punchier even when the filter is wide open.
its the conversion that makes the sound hit more since some frequencies are more pronounced in order to compensate for lack of bits.
Ahh… I see.
But I’m sure the filters would add some character to it as well when used in some way.
they do, and its alright but without the resonance its nothing spectacular. filters on the sp and even asr are much better i think.
Funnily enough I was considering the purchase of an S950 only yesterday after a friend posted up his SP1200 jamming session on Facebook and I was bemoaning the fact that I could never afford one. Mind you, these seem to have gone up in price somewhat over the years but nowhere near the price of an SP!
s900 can be found cheaper and its the same machine soundwise. look out for that one.
There’s a very cool app called AKAIZER that gives you that old-school S-950 time-stretch effect. Great piece of software and it’s FREE. http://akaizer.blogspot.com/
I own 2 of these and a ATARI STE
I have one of these bad boys with a hxc SD floppy emulator. Very nice
If you’re looking for a “warm” 12-bit sampler go for the Korg DSS-1 :
man there is something soo fucking awful about gear videos where all the person does is TALK ABOUT THE GEAR, at least PLAY IT a LITTLE BIT after you blab for 5 minutes. holy fuck.
100% agree. I’ve lost interest after I’ve had 10 minutes of …”this features two awesome fat oscillators which can be routed through the most awesomely fat filter you’ve ever heard…..” then at the last minute you think you’ll get a snippet of sound as the guys fingers hover over the keyboard, then…”oh and did I tell you about the awesome modulation capabilities which….” and I close the page.
I bet it’s crunchy
I think that the reason this sampler sounds more “pronounced” could possibly be that it actualy has analog filters (without resonance)… Capacitor switched filter to be exact.
incorrect. the sound is punchier even when the filter is wide open.
its the conversion that makes the sound hit more since some frequencies are more pronounced in order to compensate for lack of bits.
Ahh… I see.
But I’m sure the filters would add some character to it as well when used in some way.
they do, and its alright but without the resonance its nothing spectacular. filters on the sp and even asr are much better i think.
Funnily enough I was considering the purchase of an S950 only yesterday after a friend posted up his SP1200 jamming session on Facebook and I was bemoaning the fact that I could never afford one. Mind you, these seem to have gone up in price somewhat over the years but nowhere near the price of an SP!
s900 can be found cheaper and its the same machine soundwise. look out for that one.
There’s a very cool app called AKAIZER that gives you that old-school S-950 time-stretch effect. Great piece of software and it’s FREE. http://akaizer.blogspot.com/
I own 2 of these and a ATARI STE
I have one of these bad boys with a hxc SD floppy emulator. Very nice
If you’re looking for a “warm” 12-bit sampler go for the Korg DSS-1 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlMruWE8OYk
Emax loves breaks too.
man there is something soo fucking awful about gear videos where all the person does is TALK ABOUT THE GEAR, at least PLAY IT a LITTLE BIT after you blab for 5 minutes. holy fuck.
100% agree. I’ve lost interest after I’ve had 10 minutes of …”this features two awesome fat oscillators which can be routed through the most awesomely fat filter you’ve ever heard…..” then at the last minute you think you’ll get a snippet of sound as the guys fingers hover over the keyboard, then…”oh and did I tell you about the awesome modulation capabilities which….” and I close the page.