Which sampler for sampling the TR 808?

[elan]

Hello

Which hardware sampler do you prefer for sampling the TR808?

I'm not talking about lo-fi samplers here, but the one that can better reproduce a TR808

I mean that makes it sound more snappy, creamy, like rubber... bouncing like a rubber ball :P and clean

I don't want something that makes it dirtier, I like its cleaness, I want to make it sound even more electronic, polished

So what? Akai s3000xl? s1100? Or Emu? Which Emu? (I don't know them very well..)


Thanks

[Mardi Gras]

Any modern high bitrate sampler will give you the cleanest sound for the samples

[Sampler Man]

I'm an e-mu fan so I'd go that way but your best bet is to borrow a few samplers off your buddies and find out which one you like best and then carry on with that machine. I could be wrong but I doubt the subtleties between any decent sampler will make or break your project.

[blinky909]

Akai = clean, bright, brittle
Emu = round, full, thick (not wide)

the choices are S5000/S6000 or E4XT Ultra. consider no other samplers.

it sounds to me like an S5000/S6000 is what you are after. they have a clinical sound.

[Dirty Halo]

An alternative would be an Akai MPC 4000 or MPC 5000 (both really clean and high-end sounding with an emphasis on what you're asking, snappy, hit hard (and it's very geared towards "drum thinking.")

-andrews

[audioconsult]

Originally Posted by elan

Hello

Which hardware sampler do you prefer for sampling the TR808?

I'm not talking about lo-fi samplers here, but the one that can better reproduce a TR808

I mean that makes it sound more snappy, creamy, like rubber... bouncing like a rubber ball :P and clean

I don't want something that makes it dirtier, I like its cleaness, I want to make it sound even more electronic, polished

So what? Akai s3000xl? s1100? Or Emu? Which Emu? (I don't know them very well..)




Thanks

E II

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by audioconsult

E II

what would he want an E II? seriously, why?

[grabme]

Definitely the Roland S770 or 750, could be same with the 760 but not tried that one. This range of samplers has some serious low end, quite unlike any of the Akai series. I have a S5000 and its great but lacks the punch of the Roland, I'm not talking a slight difference either. I have heard the Roland has better sound and filters than the EMU range but I cannot vouch for that as I've not heard one. Anyway, the Roland will fool the ears into believing you have a real 808 in front of you.

[audioconsult]

Originally Posted by blinky909

what would he want an E II? seriously, why?

the only hardware sampler worth owning in the year 2012.. and the s-612..

[explorer]

If you want the cleanest sound just sample it into your computer using a good quality audio interface...

[robkramble]

Originally Posted by audioconsult

the only hardware sampler worth owning in the year 2012.. and the s-612..

That's a bit of an overstatement. I'd sooner go with an Emu-6400 and my trusty VariOS.

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by grabme

Definitely the Roland S770 or 750, could be same with the 760 but not tried that one. This range of samplers has some serious low end, quite unlike any of the Akai series. I have a S5000 and its great but lacks the punch of the Roland, I'm not talking a slight difference either. I have heard the Roland has better sound and filters than the EMU range but I cannot vouch for that as I've not heard one. Anyway, the Roland will fool the ears into believing you have a real 808 in front of you.

i totally forgot about the Roland machines...

[Yoozer]

Why not an Octatrack?

[Goa-Dubs]

Originally Posted by Yoozer

Why not an Octatrack?

Great.great sampler ect.Its tricky to manage your samples tho.But worth it.

[fooddude]

Wish I had an emu and roland to see what the hype is about..but I use my mpc60 for 808s, 909s and all my drums, sometimes with the Filter Factory pre-sample-input to give the sample more boom with a hi-pass. Have an S950 too, but I use that for synth and vinyl samples and it's nicer to use the mpc pads for drums.

[spaceacademy]

Z4, Z8, Mpc4000 very high quality sampling. They are the only hardware samplers which can sample 24 bit/96khz. Faithful reproduction and punchy sound.

Emu - totally overrated (and lifeless sounding) samplers except for the early emulators which had bags of character. Avoid!

Roland S770/750/760 brilliant sound, best filters of them all. For bass, keys, strings etc its light years ahead of the rest (ace sound). But for drums they may not be the best because they will kind of analog/warm up the sound a bit. Of course thats exactly what we want in many circumstances but in your case maybe not.

Then you start looking at 12 bit samplers such as the MPC60 which oozes character but I dont think thats what you want. Alternatively theres the MPC300 (16 bit) which definitely has a sound about it. You could get an S3000 which is the same sampling engine and converters. Or even the S1000 if you want that 90's brittle sound.

One thing about the Z4/Z8 and I think the, 3000, 5000 and 6000 is they have super fast midi trigger response times. I believe the fastest of them all. I once had an E6400 ultra and the response time was bad + they didnt sound anywhere near as good as my Roland and Akais I had at the time. I bought an Ultra becasue I believed the hype.

Audioconsult mentioned the S612 which is a fantastic little 12 bit sampler. But its only 12 bit, can only play one sound at a time and uses quick disks. Its really not an option.

[bluegreengold]

Originally Posted by spaceacademy

Then you start looking at 12 bit samplers such as the MPC60 which oozes character but I dont think thats what you want.

If you've heard an 808 in a 'classic' hip hop/electro/bass track after 1988, there is a very good chance you heard an 808 sampled into an MPC60.

If you want your 808 sounds to be more whitney houston / marvin gaye than 2 live crew, then the mpc may not be what you want.

[spaceacademy]

Originally Posted by fooddude

Wish I had an emu and roland to see what the hype is about..but I use my mpc60 for 808s, 909s and all my drums, sometimes with the Filter Factory pre-sample-input to give the sample more boom with a hi-pass. Have an S950 too, but I use that for synth and vinyl samples and it's nicer to use the mpc pads for drums.

Trust me im a sampler freak (or i was). Emu samplers are overrated. It started way back in the 90s with their Z plane filters. We have 90 billion different filters the users would shout out. It was just hype. The samplers have no special sound quality at all except for their early models, and the filters sound harsh. They sit like a lumping brute on the sound (same as Akai actually) unlike the Rolands which become part of the sound.

Do try and get a Roland S range (s750/760/770). They ooze character in the sound and the filters are excellent. Excellent machine for sampling bass, playing strings/keys, percussion, and sampling vocal and musical parts. A very good compliment to your 12 bit MPC60

[spaceacademy]

Originally Posted by bluegreengold

If you've heard an 808 in a 'classic' hip hop/electro/bass track after 1988, there is a very good chance you heard an 808 sampled into an MPC60.

If you want your 808 sounds to be more whitney houston / marvin gaye than 2 live crew, then the mpc may not be what you want.

I dont disagree. This is what I said as the Op seems to be after a more faithful reproduction. If he wanted colour in the sound an MPC60 would be an excellent choice. Or an S900 or S950 for that matter.

[bluegreengold]

Originally Posted by spaceacademy

If he wanted colour in the sound an MPC60 would be an excellent choice.

But the mpc60 really doesn't necessary 'dirty' up the sound. It's 12 bit, but sounds crisp and clean compared with most older samplers so long as you do you levels right. snappy, more electronic, clean: yes. creamy, rubbery : no.

s7XX more electronic, clean, creamy, rubbery: yes. snappy : not as much.

mpc3000 is hits all those adjectives

[ekwipt]

Why not just get Maschine? You can sample as high as you want in your computer on your DAW and the sequencer is perfect for xox sequencing, you have fx options, perfect midi timing, easy for live use.

[harness]

I really like E-mu for mangling. If its just a straight 808 kick, I use the S3000xl for punch. I would like to check out a S760 as they are real cheap and plentiful, but I got no rackspace for it. Control seems cumbersome without monitor/mouse, and have no room for that either

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by harness

I really like E-mu for mangling. If its just a straight 808 kick, I use the S3000xl for punch. I would like to check out a S760 as they are real cheap and plentiful, but I got no rackspace for it. Control seems cumbersome without monitor/mouse, and have no room for that either

Wow, very badass. Thanks.

[xanax]

^^^ most of the magic being done to the kick in the above video is through the old sr series mackie board... that being said for having owned a E5000 when they were first released, i can assure you the hype has nothing to do with it, the converters and filters are the bomb, the rest no so intuitive...

btw goldbaby makes very good 808 kits sampled at every parameter through various gear... might save you some time

[elan]

Originally Posted by explorer

If you want the cleanest sound just sample it into your computer using a good quality audio interface...

That wasn't what I was after, I already have the 808 sampled in battery

Originally Posted by bluegreengold

If you've heard an 808 in a 'classic' hip hop/electro/bass track after 1988, there is a very good chance you heard an 808 sampled into an MPC60.

The Hip Hop sound is exactly what I'm trying to avoid, I can't stand hearing anymore Hip Hop samples...

Originally Posted by bluegreengold

But the mpc60 really doesn't necessary 'dirty' up the sound. It's 12 bit, but sounds crisp and clean compared with most older samplers so long as you do you levels right. snappy, more electronic, clean: yes. creamy, rubbery : no.

s7XX more electronic, clean, creamy, rubbery: yes. snappy : not as much.

mpc3000 is hits all those adjectives

Ok, so, when I say snappy I say more like a finger snap... which is rounder.. not an edge in your ears

I think clean, creamy, rubbery, are more important than snappy, for what I'm after (probably I haven't chosen the right word)

So you say the MPC3000 has all these adjective?

I've sampled it with a s3000xl and it is better then it was (for that matter even the MPC 2000xl) just I was looking for something even more creamy, rubbery

I mean the 808 attack (specially kick, toms) tend to sound quite hard... I want to smooth it out in a pleasant way.. not just killing the attack.. getting a finger like snap.. a soft snap, I don't know how to describe it

I hope you have understood

I had in the past the MPC 2500 and thats really not what I'm looking for.. to me it just reproduce stuff in a bad way.. it cuts the subs and all sounds quite sterile...

the s3000xl for now is the one that gave me the better results, the mpc2000xl is even better from a certain point of view (probably it smooths the attack even more) but kills too much the transient and has a color I can't get a rid of, that sometimes works usually not (compared to the s3000xl)

[elan]

Originally Posted by xanax

^^^ most of the magic being done to the kick in the above video is through the old sr series mackie board... that being said for having owned a E5000 when they were first released, i can assure you the hype has nothing to do with it, the converters and filters are the bomb, the rest no so intuitive...

btw goldbaby makes very good 808 kits sampled at every parameter through various gear... might save you some time

yeah, great samples, but I like only the unprocessed one, the processed are too much pushed.. and clipped, the attack usually sounds really edgy, and you get a lot of dirty, but I know many of the processors he uses (like the distressor) doesn't necessarily sound dirty..

I mean.. all samples seems done for hip hop

I've heard some tracks from an Emu Esi 2000 and seemd what I was looking for.. it sounded big, deep, rubbery, but tight, defined. Very electronic

Then I've searched in GS an people said it doesn't sample very good.. if you use imported samples is fine, if you sample no... and that is quite a big downside for me...

I never tried it, do you think is worthing for the sound I've in mind?

[kpsiegel]

I have an 808. I used to use my S3000XL but I stopped when I got my MPC 5000. It is just way more convenient to use. I am pretty sure you can get where you want to be with it. I definitely understand what you mean about not wanting to sound hip hop but the MPC is not going to force you there.

[elan]

Originally Posted by kpsiegel

I have an 808. I used to use my S3000XL but I stopped when I got my MPC 5000. It is just way more convenient to use. I am pretty sure you can get where you want to be with it. I definitely understand what you mean about not wanting to sound hip hop but the MPC is not going to force you there.

Well convenience is one thing, sound is another.

I mean I got 2 mpc2500, the first used and was defective.. then after an year or so, I thought... well.. I get a new one because I'm really hating the random errors it gets triggering the pads.. and other stuff

And the second one, brand new, with plastic and everything on it.. was even more defective then the used on I got... pads that triggers 6 pads instead one.. and stuff like that

The sound wasn't really what I was looking for.. seemd to have a lofi battery.. lofi because of the cut in the sub and the highs sounded "cheap" (I know it is not a term... to me makes sense)

Plus was unplayable compared to the mpc 2000xl (velocity just wasn't right.. and.. I don't know you had to play it better then the metronome if you wanted to record with quantize enabled)

I don't think the 5000 would be another league.. and I don't like to give my money to Akai (new one).. too much buggy things, too high rate of defective products and so on...

[kpsiegel]

Originally Posted by elan

Well convenience is one thing, sound is another.

I mean I got 2 mpc2500, the first used and was defective.. then after an year or so, I thought... well.. I get a new one because I'm really hating the random errors it gets triggering the pads.. and other stuff

And the second one, brand new, with plastic and everything on it.. was even more defective then the used on I got... pads that triggers 6 pads instead one.. and stuff like that

The sound wasn't really what I was looking for.. seemd to have a lofi battery.. lofi because of the cut in the sub and the highs sounded "cheap" (I know it is not a term... to me makes sense)

Plus was unplayable compared to the mpc 2000xl (velocity just wasn't right.. and.. I don't know you had to play it better then the metronome if you wanted to record with quantize enabled)

I don't think the 5000 would be another league.. and I don't like to give my money to Akai (new one).. too much buggy things, too high rate of defective products and so on...

My 5000 has been fine but I definitely would agree about not giving money to Akai. If I had your experiences I would feel the same. I am not thrilled at the level of support they give. It has been a while since the last OS update for sure. I am fortunate to have one that has not given me any problems at all. I got it new also so I never had to worry about someone else abusing it.

[xanax]

Originally Posted by elan

I've heard some tracks from an Emu Esi 2000 and seemd what I was looking for.. it sounded big, deep, rubbery, but tight, defined. Very electronic

Then I've searched in GS an people said it doesn't sample very good.. if you use imported samples is fine, if you sample no... and that is quite a big downside for me...

I never tried it, do you think is worthing for the sound I've in mind?

I never tried an ESI series but they were the budget line so i would definitely go with E4 series, especially at the prices they are going for these days but theyre are plenty of other options out there... roland s series used in house a lot but since you already have an akai i'd suggest an american sampler like e-mu or ensoniq, generally warmer sounding. as for mpc's the last good sounding one is the 2000xl, everything after sounds plastic...the best sounding one being the 3000..

I also own a 808 and i just like running it clean with maybe just a splash of reverb.. the 909 on the other hand demands a lot of processing to achieve a proper sound.. i haven't yet adventured into sampling them yet but i'm looking into it, need to pick up an ensoniq first..