atm i have only the eps, an yamaha mg 10/2 Mixer, RME Multiface2, Turntable, Behringer ultramatch or something like this is a mulit effekt processor dont use it much. And thats it. Daw of choice is Ableton and Sonar and Reason, for wave editing and sampling into DAW i use wavelab. Have many Software Synths and Sampler, a good library and enough plugins, like waves, psp, nomad and dc.
i wanted an old sampler, to geht the sound of old hip hop tracks, like some screwball tracks. and the eps does his job. i couldnt get this sound with software. im not sure what is a good choice for my next purchase, another sampler? or some outboard gear like a good compressor or an analog filter? any tipps?
Well. I read here people recommend the S1100 a lot. I have the Emu 4XT Ultra RFX and full option version with the Akai S5000, and FX card. I find it personally the minimum for these days experimental breaks and other drum programmings. Even then I have outboard FX and a recording console (8 bus) with a great audio interface (LS56) with lots of I/O set in my DAW. I tell you this. If I don't have the ability to mix on my console with outboard OTB processing it really takes my fun away and the creative side of the whole hardware samplers that are fully integrated in my (hybrid) DAW environment.
interesting stuff fez, this video gets posted a lot but i think it sums up your point quite well:
gotta love those old mackie boards !! (also notice the focusrite compounder above the emu)
IMO The second tool in a samplist's arsenal should be a decent analog parametric eq / preamp. That way you can max out the sound you want going in.
Yeah true, but its hard to stay in 'creative mode' with an EQ in front of you. You tend to want to correct and balance sounds as opposed to creatively shape them.
My personal recommendation would be a filter. (I've got a Vermona DAF-1 which is cool because its stereo and its two filters that you can configure in several serial/parallel combinations.) Having said that, I've got an SSL Alpha Channel (eq/preamp) that I use from time to time with my sampler.
I usually sample sounds dry and then filter/eq them and resample.
Yeah true, but its hard to stay in 'creative mode' with an EQ in front of you. You tend to want to correct and balance sounds as opposed to creatively shape them.
I don't really follow how an eq is going to limit your creativity or slow down your flow. I mean it only adds like a minute to the sampling process and you have full control over the tonality. You can use an eq to creatively shape a sound or to balance them on the way in, or you can use it so that you have a balanced set of material to play with. If you sample clean, then your limited by how much outboard you have. Eq on the way in to make a collection sounds that won't clash so much. Cut out bands that you don't need which are taking up frequency space.
A good quality parametric is what you're after. For the eps it samples mono only. My favorite for the $$ is the dbx242 but they're only available 2nd hand and can be hard to find. Something similar i'm sure is made today.
When I start concerning myself with how samples fit together tonally (as opposed to musically) that early in the creative process, all my creativity goes out the window and I end up trying to turn lead into gold. But that's just me. Maybe its not true for you, but if not, then consider yourself fortunate.
atm i have only the eps, an yamaha mg 10/2 Mixer, RME Multiface2, Turntable, Behringer ultramatch or something like this is a mulit effekt processor dont use it much. And thats it. Daw of choice is Ableton and Sonar and Reason, for wave editing and sampling into DAW i use wavelab. Have many Software Synths and Sampler, a good library and enough plugins, like waves, psp, nomad and dc.
Ok. That's a good start. You can use your Yamaha MG for recording signals to your sampler's input. The MG monitors the DAW "mirror'd" interface output like output 3&4, mixed to a stereo input on your Yamaha. That signal can be volume influenced and processed with EQ and sends, as you want it to be, that will be used for sampler source recordings.
In the past when I had a smaller setup like you. I put the small mixer (your case MG) between my monitors, samplers had 3 stereo inputs used in my interface and one for (outboard) FX on input 7&8, that was a stereo track input with the outboard direct after the sampler out. Those four stereo sampler outputs were being mixed in my DAW while being the whole interface I/O being routed in the DAW (cubase in my case) where all sources being final mixed with just one stereo bus as a track's final recording.
I don't know how Sonar and Ableton works in the matter of a hybrid setup. In your case I will also look for ADAT expansion and your RME has one ADAT I/O. That way you can integrate more hardware instruments like synths, outboard, etc.
I will mix ITB with your setup for now. ADAT units of decent quality are not cheap. You have this company named Black Lion Audio who mods a cheap ADAT Behringer 8000 for instance. The mods:
Although $450 for a $200 stock unit is crazy I think. But a RME ADAT expansion, perhaps secondhand, is what you can do for a upgrade consideration, bought for around 600 dollar or any other brand in that price range, worth checking out.
When I start concerning myself with how samples fit together tonally (as opposed to musically) that early in the creative process, all my creativity goes out the window and I end up trying to turn lead into gold. But that's just me. Maybe its not true for you, but if not, then consider yourself fortunate.
Usually, I'll just use deep cuts to remove sound that I don't want there. But you can also do more gentle shaping to change the tonality of the sample. This works especially well when sampling drum hits, individual sounds, and synth fodder. With samples that are more loops or breaks, it may not be so helpful, but there will be times when maybe you just want the hi hats or shaker part of a loop, and the internal filters don't suffice.
First i will thank you guys! Till now i allways learned everything by myself, thru reading in the internet and reading books. but experince is much more worth then anything.
@fez at the moment my setup is connected like this: analog output 1+2 from rme multiface --> channel 9/10 on the yamaha without preamp but with eq, turntable is connected to channel 5/6 on the yamaha with preamp and eq, the eps classic is connected to 9/10 on the yamaha without preamp but with eq. the eps is also connected to the aux send on the yamaha cause i need a mono input on the eps. and from there i go thru the rec out from the mixer into the analog inputs 1/2 from the multiface. would you change something how i connected everything?
i must mute the inputs in the totalmix else i get a loopback if i want to record something thru the yamaha i unmute the analog inputs 1/2 and record what i need. problem is that i have to route the analog input to chanel 3/4 in totalmix to avoid a loopback. Is there a better way to connect the yamaha and the multiface to avoid this working routine?
if i got your post right you recommended to use a channel with preamp for the sampler to play with the gain? to get distortion? i bought the yamaha cause i read that it has good preamps, what do you think?
i dont think it is much more complex then repairing notebooks or great servers in datacenters , cause i do this in my job, so it is possible that i can handle this
(Warning for other people, caps can give you a serious electric shock, doesn't matter if the unit is off!)
But anyway, how about inspecting the caps (elkos) in the psu, if they are leaking/bulging etc. look up google images to see examples.
See if there is space for a heatsink/s in the PSU at all (or maybe it already has some), see about getting more efficient voltage regulators then.. mouser, digikey, farnell, maplin...
if got your post right you recommended to use a channel with preamp for the sampler to play with the gain? to get distortion? i bought the yamaha cause i read that it has good preamps, what do you think?
If you're sampling from your mixer, you've already got a gainstage and basic eq for your sample input, so that should be fine for now. The thing is that most samplers have built in preamps where you can adjust the level of the input -- but the eps does not. Later ensoniqs do.
As for the power supply. You can unplug the unit and and let the capacitors drain for several days. These are not so hazardous as working on tube guitar amps or old televisions as the caps aren't so big. Refurbishing the ps would just require replacing the capacitors with new ones of the same values and equal rating. If you have no soldering experience, it might be best to practice on something else, but really it's not too too challenging. Not really similar necessarily to fixing computers tho, unless you've refurbished the ps of supply of a computer rather than just swapping in a new one.
The dangerous part would be checking the voltages while powered on. I do not recommend this. By now, all ensoniq eps psus could probably do with a refresh. These are old and the caps are ready to be replaced, it's not really worth risking brushing your hand against a live heat sink or something just to see how off the voltage is coming out. Even if the caps don't show bulge or discoloration at the solder pads, the electrolyte could be dried out and the caps out of spec.
You could also try calling thesoniq and order a replacement psu for the eps that you could just drop in. Probably only ~ $30-40 plus shipping. These are likely used but 'working' pulls from dead equipment. It'd be worth paying a bit more to get one that has already been refurbished. Just the capactors alone if you were to order them in small quantities from a supplier would be probably ~$20
i have contact to an musikshop near stuttgart, and they repair old electronic music instruments. I will ask how much this will cost. I never done that so i keep my hands off of this.
Did anyone of you guys had contact to thesoniq? i wrote him an email last week and no response at all....
i have trouble sample chopping on my EPS. so i tell you the procedure:
1. sample something
2. assign a keyrange (say c4)
3. command, wave
4. copy wavesample
5. copy parameters only (to save memory)
6. eps says wavesample copied
7. set keyrange to new sample (say c4#)
EDIT: It has only the standard memory no Expander. (But should not be a problem, cause i used the copy parameters only option, right?)
know i can set different sample start and endpoints so i chop up a sample. sometimes this works fine for 2-4 wavesamples and then the eps plays only 1 wavesample or no wavesample at all.
Hi all,
I am reviving this elderly thread to say that my EPS behaves in exactly the same way. It REALLY feels like a software bug. I am reasonably sure that my EPS is working OK, all other functions seem to work.
Its PSU has just been recapped.
I can fill the sample memory and playback OK, so I doubt it is a RAM problem. The memory is only half full when the problems start. I also have no RAM expansion.
I have not had any success with disabling the pitchtable, but haven't really investigated this much.
Was this problem ever properly diagnosed and/or solved?
Do you have legato set to on, and maybe the sounds are set to he same legato/mute group or whatever its called.
I've noticed a strange bug with the asr where a sustained sample will sometimes fade out a few secs after being triggered from my mpc... some bars it plays to the end others it doesnt.
...also have found other bugs where after copying wave params.. theyre not copied.. have to choose the option again then it usually works...
Thanks, I'll check that, but I doubt it's anything to do with legato. The problem is that you can make three or four samples, but at the next one, the entire sampler stops playing anything. After that there seems to be no way to get it back again, but again, I haven't really checked thoroughly.
I tried reducing the sample rate and got one more sample before it went dead again.
Apropos the EPS sample chopping problem - I've realised what was going on. It is a combination of user error (me) and a very finicky operating system that will let you destroy your work.
If you work in the following order:
Sample
Copy the sample
Assign new sample to keyrange
it is absolutely vital to press EDIT to make the new sample current before assigning the keyrange. If you don't then you somehow end up assigning more than one sample to the same key and obliterating your work. Once it's gone it's gone and you can't get it back.
I just created a chopped drum sequence (the famous intro from People are People) with six slices and it all went OK.
I hope this makes sense.
BTW, it was kind of funny to sample with the EPS, which can hold about 10 second of sound, from my tiny Sandisk MP3 player with 8GB of memory that can hold hours of music at a much higher quality than the EPS can produce. I guess that's progress. The Sandisk has a green screen too, which matches that of the EPS.
Get a S1000/S1100 for workhorse quality samplers. The EPS has a very peculiar dirty sound to it, sometimes almost too dirty but depending on what you want, you can get great results out of both. A fully expanded S1000 is alot more versatile.
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"if your an engineer you know how important it is to have good looking knobs" Dave Pensado
Get a S1000/S1100 for workhorse quality samplers. The EPS has a very peculiar dirty sound to it
Which is precisely why I like it.
Seems to me there is no point faffing about with an old hardware sampler unless you want that special "old sampler" sound. For my "workhorse sampler" I've got my computer, which is about 10,000,000 times more powerful and convenient than an old Akai, and a lot less heavy.
Get a S1000/S1100 for workhorse quality samplers. The EPS has a very peculiar dirty sound to it, sometimes almost too dirty but depending on what you want, you can get great results out of both. A fully expanded S1000 is alot more versatile.
I just thought I'd add to this that the recent recapping of my EPS's power supply has actually cleaned up the sound. It was a lot more "dirty" before.
I just thought it was supposed to sound like that. So if yours is too dirty, there might be something wrong with it.
...which sampler do you prefer? and why? i have an Ensoniq EPS and could sell it and could get an Akai S1000 or S1100, so i need your opinions.
I would vote for the S1000. I have a personal soft-spot for it. Its been a workhorse for many live and studio setups for so many years. The S1000 akai CD format is still the widest supported across hardware platforms. I am still somewhat shocked to see my own collection of S1000 sample libraries are being bought but there are still a lot of people using hardware, or else stuck in 1991 as a previous post mentioned
You can also use the free PC editor MESA for free with the S1000 giving you a way to manage samples much easier than fiddling with a jog-wheel and squinting at a tiny LCD display.
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, cause i do this in my job, so it is possible that i can handle this
