Akai S950 / S1000

[Dave Reid]

Akai S950 / S1000

Do these two models sound exactly the same ?

[RealSon]

no.

[turbo46]

Something about S2000, has it a good sound?

[Touchmaster]

no.

[Dave Reid]

How do they differ soundwise ?

[Touchmaster]

s950 is 12-bit, s1000 is 16-bit. this alone accounts for a big difference.

[Karloff70]

S1000 is stereo aswell, whereas S950 is like S900 with a few more functions(12bit mono). Both nice for beats if you have good eq. I remember when the S3000 came out and I first used it after being used to working S1000/S1100's. It sounded much bigger at first. Turns out after a while I realised I prefer S1000 (or 12bit 900/950) with eq to make the size up by miles. Much more eq-able than all newer Akai's. Think difference between ribbonmic and condenser and not the loveliest condenser either......

[Dave Reid]

Originally Posted by Karloff70

S1000 is stereo aswell, whereas S950 is like S900 with a few more functions(12bit mono). Both nice for beats if you have good eq. I remember when the S3000 came out and I first used it after being used to working S1000/S1100's. It sounded much bigger at first. Turns out after a while I realised I prefer S1000 (or 12bit 900/950) with eq to make the size up by miles. Much more eq-able than all newer Akai's. Think difference between ribbonmic and condenser and not the loveliest condenser either......

Thanks man - real interesting reply..

I've owned an S1000 for years and have got great results along with an ASQ - always wondered about the 950 - 12 bit difference - i'll have to check one out..

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by Dave Reid

Thanks man - real interesting reply..

I've owned an S1000 for years and have got great results along with an ASQ - always wondered about the 950 - 12 bit difference - i'll have to check one out..

12 bit is nice and grainy for hihats and stuff, even kicks and snares. You'll loose some size initially that you have to eq back in there, but at the end it always sound funkier to me than a flat(ter) 16 or 24 bit.

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by turbo46

Something about S2000, has it a good sound?

Sounds like S3000/S3200, if you like that. Just 4 outs and not as immediate to use(=bit of a pain).

[DJ SPARKLE]

i for 1 have the 900, s950, s2000, s5000, mpc 60II w/3000 upgrades, mpc 2000, mpc 2000xl w/ mcd and the mpc 2000xl w 250 zip, and mpc 4000,
and i can tell you..no matter what bit rate you choose to use..it stills comes out to the way you want your samples to sound...a lower bit rate for grimey and gritty sounds..and a higher bit rate for crystal clear sounds....and i dissagree about the 900 and 950 being the same....because you have timestretch and other features that the 900 does not have..i often experiment with my s950 for the grimey jazz sample and the clear awesome drums on my mpc400 and i also make a nice long muffled bassline using my s5000 and the results are phenominal.

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by DJ SPARKLE

i for 1 have the 900, s950, s2000, s5000, mpc 60II w/3000 upgrades, mpc 2000, mpc 2000xl w/ mcd and the mpc 2000xl w 250 zip, and mpc 4000,
and i can tell you..no matter what bit rate you choose to use..it stills comes out to the way you want your samples to sound...a lower bit rate for grimey and gritty sounds..and a higher bit rate for crystal clear sounds....and i dissagree about the 900 and 950 being the same....because you have timestretch and other features that the 900 does not have..i often experiment with my s950 for the grimey jazz sample and the clear awesome drums on my mpc400 and i also make a nice long muffled bassline using my s5000 and the results are phenominal.

Like I said, the 950 is SOUNDWISE like a 900 but with more features......and the 16 bit ones do NOT sound the same as the 900/950/60 when you bit them down.......the old ones are just nicer for crunch. One old one and one new, say S5000/6000 or MPC4000 would cover everything nicely. Don't see why you would have any more. Have you got 8 arms?

[JDN]

Originally Posted by Karloff70

Like I said, the 950 is SOUNDWISE like a 900 but with more features......and the 16 bit ones do NOT sound the same as the 900/950/60 when you bit them down.......the old ones are just nicer for crunch. One old one and one new, say S5000/6000 or MPC4000 would cover everything nicely. Don't see why you would have any more. Have you got 8 arms?

I always found S950 to be MUCH brighter than S900...like some kind of boost on input

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by JDN

I always found S950 to be MUCH brighter than S900...like some kind of boost on input

? at the same samplerates..?

[turbo46]

Originally Posted by Karloff70

Sounds like S3000/S3200, if you like that. Just 4 outs and not as immediate to use(=bit of a pain).

My friend buyed a S2000 one month ago & say that it giving a dark sound to kicks or snares.

[dialectic]

I own both of these machines and from my experience these are the fundamental sound differences:

• As others have previously mentioned in this thread the S950 is 12bit where the S1000 is a 16bit sampler. If you were to sample the same drum loop on both machines and did an A/B comparison you would find that the S950 delivers a more punchy and compressed sound. This is why so many hip-hop producers still use the S950 and other old 12bit machines.
• Some producers still sample from vinyl LP's at 45RPM instead of the correct speed of 33RPM and once in the sampler pitch it down to the correct speed. This trick was used back in the day in order to get more sample time from those old samplers with limited memory. However, by using this technique the sample also obtains a more lo-fi sound which is more affective on the 12bit machines such as the S950.
• When sampling a sound source the S950 offers a varible bandwidth between 3000 and 19200Hz which is great for experimenting with in order to obtain unique lo-fi sounds. The S1000 offers a fixed bandwidth of either 10000 or 20000Hz. However, once you have sampled the sound in the S1000 you can resample it internally and choose the new sample rate/bandwith.
• The filters! Both machines offer a low-pass filter but they each sound totally different. The S1000 gives a very clean and precise sound when the filter is applied whereas the S950 give a more murky dirty sound which adds loads of character to your loops etc. Some people say that although digital, it sounds like an analogue filter on the 950.
• The time stretch function on the S950 is less sophisticated that that found on the S1000 but if your using the time stretch function as an effect rather than for its intended purpose (use your PC or Mac for that) then the S950's ya boy.

Hope this helps.

[dialectic]

Heres a couple of threads that I started which may be of interest to you:


Classic hardware (sp1200, s950, mpc, eps, asr etc) tips & tricks.

Classic Hardware: Emu Sp1200, Mpc60, Akai S950, Ensoniq Eps, Asr10, Mpc 2000xl.

[Dave Reid]

Cool info people !

Has anyone tried the S1100 against the S1000 ?

i've read it had different sound chips and was better sounding
than most Akai samplers..

[dialectic]

The S1100 is basically an S1000 with all the additional extras as standard (SCSI, Digital in/out, FX etc) and improved AD/DA chips.This tends to gives a slightly better sound if 'hi-fi' is what your after, most notable is a brighter 'top end'. I believe that the S1100 also has a faster CPU that the S1000.
Many people claim that the improved AD/DA convertors and CPU were more superior than that found on the later AKAI samplers in the 'S' range.

Any thoughts on that?

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by dialectic

The S1100 is basically an S1000 with all the additional extras as standard (SCSI, Digital in/out, FX etc) and improved AD/DA chips.This tends to gives a slightly better sound if 'hi-fi' is what your after, most notable is a brighter 'top end'. I believe that the S1100 also has a faster CPU that the S1000.
Many people claim that the improved AD/DA convertors and CPU were more superior than that found on the later AKAI samplers in the 'S' range.

Any thoughts on that?

And you can run 11 outs, using the extra send......always handy....

Haven't used either for ages, but can't recall a violent difference. I think you can get more level out of the 1100. 1000 not so hot, which is why people used to put them up mic ins....and some not awfully useful fx in the 1100. Can be fun-ish.

As far as against S3000/3200, I sort of like the skinnier shape of sound. Sounds more musical once made up with eq. 1100/1000 take eq better than 3000/3200 in my opinion.

S5000/6000 is a whole different thing.....sounded good and big, but my experience was I could never trust the buggers not to throw a wobbly when you least need it.....

[dialectic]

Good post Karloff70. thumbsup

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by dialectic

Good post Karloff70. thumbsup

Akai's geezer, Akai's.....oh, the memories of many moons ago......DAT backups.......Atari's........sentimental......

An Akai and an Atari 1040 with Notator was one FUNKY groove setup!! Somehow much groovier than macs...not sure why, but there where never much 'setting track delay more than once' issues, whereas with a mac I find myself shuffling the f***ers to the bitter end....and softsampler timing is sample accurate........and it still doesn't 'sit down' as tight as it did then.......oh, the memories....

[Touchmaster]

id rather shoot myself than use an Atari ST.

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by Touchmaster

id rather shoot myself than use an Atari ST.

Ever tried ST+ C-Lab software for a groovetrack?

[Touchmaster]

to be fair, no, but I couldnt stand the ST operating system in 1990 when I last had one (OK, I was only 12) and I'm sure I wouldnt be any more enamoured with it now.... I like modern computers, in particular integrated DAW & MIDI capabilities.

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by Touchmaster

to be fair, no, but I couldnt stand the ST operating system in 1990 when I last had one (OK, I was only 12) and I'm sure I wouldnt be any more enamoured with it now.... I like modern computers, in particular integrated DAW & MIDI capabilities.

....so do I in general, or I'd be using the ST now (which I'm not...but I do mainly non-programmed stuff now) but ST/C-Lab was (=is!) a LETHAL combo for beats!! Doubletight and groovy, like MPC in solidity but with more swing options......banging!

[Touchmaster]

what do you mean by non programmed beats? you dont quantize any more?

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by Touchmaster

what do you mean by non programmed beats? you dont quantize any more?

Live instruments played by humans into mics

[Touchmaster]

thats crazy talk mufnuka

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by Touchmaster

thats crazy talk mufnuka

lol.....did you see the thread where phillysoulman qouted a client...."give me sum o dat dere akkus, muffukka!"....classic.....(=reverb, it turns out)...