Why has the price on S950s gone up so much, so fast?

[drollz]

Has anyone else noticed this? I was looking at getting an S950 this summer, and they were going for less than $300 on eBay. I'm pretty sure I saw one go for under $200. Things kept coming up, and I never pulled the trigger. A few weeks ago, I put a $400 bid on one, and it ended up selling for $1G+. True, it was all maxed out, but nevertheless... Another one sold for $450 a few days later. Now, there are two up: one for $750, another for $699. Neither has an expanded options. Also, there used to frequently be several S950s up at once, now there will be weeks at a time where there aren't any.

I really want to get an S950 to use with my MPC 2000 classic. I'll use the 2000 as a controller, and have a makeshift MPC 60 with the added benefits of time stretch and filtering. But at these prices, getting an actual 60 may be cheaper. Then there's the Emax to consider, which used to sell for more than the S950, but now is going for at least $100 less. Would I be happy with one of these other options? Do you think the S950 is going to come back down in price?

[Fats]

Maybe its kinda rare now, i bought mine 950 for 500$ in ideal kondition 1 week ago.

[Hobbs_Won]

it's a great unit....shows u what is old is new....

[jrides]

It has not been duplicated and it sounds ridiculous. It is an amazing unit. People may not be getting the sound they want with their current gear and are looking backwards in time? I dunno. The same thing happened to the Emax.

Its worth every penny. I have a "like new" one with memory expansion. As I told my friend the other day.. When I die bury me with my s950 and one of my Emax SE HD's. Add one crate of vinyl and I can rest in peace.

[lovekrafty]

Yeah seems the same thing is happening with the newer emu 4,s
I picked one up loaded just over a year ago for $350 is
Now they are selling in the $800 ish range.

Maybe the stigma of using outboard samplers has worn off.
LK

[zephonic]

While my S900 and S950 served me well back when I started out, I would
never pay more than $100 for either and they'd have to be cherry at that price.

Ridiculous, really.

The MPC still has its signature groove and feel, so I can see the value in that, but a plain old sampler? Glad to be rid of them.

[SEED78]

got my s950 with max RAM from ex Ninja Tune Records guy here in London - £120 if i rem correctly (2 years ago).

TBH I've had other things going on and haven't had time to get the most out of it yet - have oldschool friends who made their whole carriers off of 2x950+Atari STE and a shed load of vinyl for samples....

Meant to be the bee's knee's for drums innit!!

If prices are going up its down to the massive amounts of forum coverage it gets globally stating what a bargain it is - ironically.

I need to get a rack Emax before they go up, coz that SP1200 isn't getting any cheaper!!!

[Nahuel]

I bet it have to do with all these emulations: brands develop emulations for older folks that request it, younger folks realize there's something special to these older samplers (since their fav soft is trying to emulate it) and want to try the real deal. higher demand=higher price.

[KT1]

Originally Posted by SEED78

got my s950 with max RAM from ex Ninja Tune Records guy here in London - £120 if i rem correctly (2 years ago).

TBH I've had other things going on and haven't had time to get the most out of it yet - have oldschool friends who made their whole carriers off of 2x950+Atari STE and a shed load of vinyl for samples....

Meant to be the bee's knee's for drums innit!!

If prices are going up its down to the massive amounts of forum coverage it gets globally stating what a bargain it is - ironically.

I need to get a rack Emax before they go up, coz that SP1200 isn't getting any cheaper!!!

A good buddy - Golden age producer - Uses the S-950 just to pass audio through it. Sounds great¬!

[SEED78]

BTW if buying one try to make sure it will come with its original power cable - mine didn't and turns out its NOT the normal 3 prong kettle lead most rack gear uses, its a 2 prong one, like what the old Revox tape machines used.

Think its called a C9, and they are getting harder and harder to get - worth baring in mind what with the machine being useless without it.

[Barfunkel]

Originally Posted by SEED78

BTW if buying one try to make sure it will come with its original power cable - mine didn't and turns out its NOT the normal 3 prong kettle lead most rack gear uses, its a 2 prong one, like what the old Revox tape machines used.

Think its called a C9, and they are getting harder and harder to get - worth baring in mind what with the machine being useless without it.

Tell me about it! I lost my power cable and it was a pain to find a new one. I finally found one from some random electronics repair shop.

[SEED78]

suppliers online do come up, but their stock comes and goes very quick - to Revox (and similar) users no doubt.

Came as a surprise, so used to just nabbing kettle lead from my spare cable box for these things - am sure it did to you too!

[Ksp]

Do you think the S950 is going to come back down in price?[/QUOTE]

I think they could hit £5000 easy around about the same time tony blair becomes pope.

you can find them for £70 easily some weeks but Not on ebay.

Ebays prices are 30% higher than the street prices on Everything most weeks.

Ebay is idiot land where a fool and his money are easily parted.

The s950's become popular with dubstep guys i think and just in general as people have realised that for drums it adds a nice body and richness that cant quite be acheived with any plugin and just recording any sound into it and then back into a daw and racking up tracks = grimey urban sound to a degree.The s950 also has ' the mpc 60 sound ' and people are trying to get that sound whilst not having to use the mpc60 for sequencing , mpc1000 triggering s950 is trendy now.

Personally i think mpc1000 x s6000 is way more sensible if thats your goal.

All the early samplers do this sample colouration though.The early rolands are super for making sounds richer and larger , so is the vp9000 and the akai s6000 / 5000 can do this via its bit reduction etc .

Add to this mix morons on ebay who always sell everything as 'super rare and hard to find now ' and morons who read ebay ads and believe what the seller is saying and you have percieved inflation and some real inflation ( accept in the realworld where people still charge and pay real prices )


The s950 etc can add a flavour to signals , so can most other old samplers ?

[SEED78]

Originally Posted by KT1

A good buddy - Golden age producer - Uses the S-950 just to pass audio through it. Sounds great¬!

I think a lot of oldschool uk hip hop was made with the s950. Know Blade and Katch 22 used them.

Weapon of choice for DJ Format too.

There was some pics of people's studios on this part of the forum a month back - noticed in a few of the more high end studios that cost mega bucks you'd see a s950 as the only hardware sampler sat next to some compressor worth over 2k - the humble s950 seems to be have a appeal way beyond its price tag. Every time I mention the s950 to a producer over the age of 35 his eye's light up and it always leads to a decent conversation.

LP filter gets props from a lot of people - the funky metallic time stretch also.

[SEED78]

you can find them for £70 easily some weeks but Not on ebay.

Ebays prices are 30% higher than the street prices on Everything most weeks.

Ebay is idiot land where a fool and his money are easily parted.

The s950's become popular with dubstep guys i think and just in general as people have realised that for drums it adds a nice body and richness that cant quite be acheived with any plugin and just recording any sound into it and then back into a daw and racking up tracks = grimey urban sound to a degree.The s950 also has ' the mpc 60 sound ' and people are trying to get that sound whilst not having to use the mpc60 for sequencing , mpc1000 triggering s950 is trendy now.

Personally i think mpc1000 x s6000 is way more sensible if thats your goal.

All the early samplers do this sample colouration though.The early rolands are super for making sounds richer and larger , so is the vp9000 and the akai s6000 / 5000 can do this via its bit reduction etc .

Add to this mix morons on ebay who always sell everything as 'super rare and hard to find now ' and morons who read ebay ads and believe what the seller is saying and you have percieved inflation and some real inflation ( accept in the realworld where people still charge and pay real prices )


The s950 etc can add a flavour to signals , so can most other old samplers ?

I agree that you can def still find them cheap if you are prepared to spend the time, ESP in the UK because of the Akai sampler heavy rave era (91-93+) there are a lot of ex producers in the UK - like all kit. I saved several hundred pounds on amy MPC 3000 by going off the beaten track, same with my Roland SH-2 several hundred ££ saved.

I think the s950 can do more for you drums than the s6000 in terms of immediate access to the specific raw rugged sound most people are typically after without much menu surfing or bit rate experiments - if a person has a MPC1000 or similar and wants the external sampler to be their ONLY sampler, the the s6000 is a better choice as its more versatile (cheap too).

I've seen GOOD Akai samplers start at as low as £30 - s3000 for example at that price... the original s3000 is meant to sound like a MPC 3000, which is £600+ machine (according to Ebay) all be it with other benefits.

Roland samplers (like you mentioned) are another good hit - Ensoniq ASR10 also (their price is starting to go up too compared to as recent as last year).

[romeojesus]

..the s950 is a nice piece of equipment...
I do not think that the prices increased that much..

the s950 versions with the rare optional SCSI (IB109) board
cause some bias, because they are very sought after and fetch good prices
at ebay auctions...

[SEED78]

Originally Posted by romeojesus

..the s950 is a nice piece of equipment...
I do not think that the prices increased that much..

the s950 versions with the rare optional SCSI (IB109) board
cause some bias, because they are very sought after and fetch good prices
at ebay auctions...

Any have a IB-109 installed on their S950?

Think even with that installed you are limited regarding scsi devices that can work with it - but thats unconfirmed as so little people have it to ask...

[romeojesus]

..one of my s950s has the scsi upgrade. it´s an additional card, but also
a special eprom..
I have a 100mb zip drive connected to it...you can´t use all of the zip´s 100mb, but at least 30mb or 60mb ( i am not sure right now)

[SEED78]

thats some good info - more than I've heard so far.

SD floppy emulation might be another route.

[romeojesus]

..a friend of mine expanded his regular s950 with an sd card reader..seems to work like a charm so far...

[Woody Aki]

Blame it on hipsters...think about it - most are loaded, and buy nothing that won't appear like they're 'slumming it'!

Kidding, of course. But it is a mystery as to why they've shot up in price...

[wreckingstuff]

Originally Posted by Ksp

Do you think the S950 is going to come back down in price?

I think they could hit £5000 easy around about the same time tony blair becomes pope.

you can find them for £70 easily some weeks but Not on ebay.

Ebays prices are 30% higher than the street prices on Everything most weeks.

Ebay is idiot land where a fool and his money are easily parted.

The s950's become popular with dubstep guys i think and just in general as people have realised that for drums it adds a nice body and richness that cant quite be acheived with any plugin and just recording any sound into it and then back into a daw and racking up tracks = grimey urban sound to a degree.The s950 also has ' the mpc 60 sound ' and people are trying to get that sound whilst not having to use the mpc60 for sequencing , mpc1000 triggering s950 is trendy now.

Personally i think mpc1000 x s6000 is way more sensible if thats your goal.

All the early samplers do this sample colouration though.The early rolands are super for making sounds richer and larger , so is the vp9000 and the akai s6000 / 5000 can do this via its bit reduction etc .

Add to this mix morons on ebay who always sell everything as 'super rare and hard to find now ' and morons who read ebay ads and believe what the seller is saying and you have percieved inflation and some real inflation ( accept in the realworld where people still charge and pay real prices )


The s950 etc can add a flavour to signals , so can most other old samplers ?[/QUOTE]

If you want to post up a sample, and the same sample bit reduced by an S5000/6000. I would be happy to put the sample through an S950 so we can compare the results.


As stated earlier in the thread, the 950/900 have a unique quality, and more people are becoming aware of this, that is why they are becoming more expensive.

There is a great deal of variation in the condition of 950's due to their age. There are a lot of beaters about. Price should really depend on the qualities/spec of the individual unit and any accessories.

If you are patient and willing to travel, you can still pick them up fairly cheaply. Ebay is just a market place. If somebody knows they want the sound, and they see a unit at a price they are prepared to pay, and they have the funds, does that really mean they are a moron? If sellers recognise the market and want to get maximum revenues for their unit, are they morons?

Originally Posted by romeojesus

..a friend of mine expanded his regular s950 with an sd card reader..seems to work like a charm so far...

This is very interesting. I looked into floppy emulators, but decided against getting involved because they are not like card readers, they still load and save like a floppy, the only advantage being that they will not wear out like disk drives. Usually I get material to where I want it, sample into a 950, then record straight back into the DAW.

If your friend wanted to share how he hooked up the card reader with other users, this would be a great place to do it, and I'm sure many people would greatly appreciate it.

[romeojesus]

..hit him via youtube...
Akai S950 with external SD Cardreader HxC Floppyemulator plus internal Floppydrive (Finished) - YouTube

I´ll bet he´s somwhere here on gearslutz, too

[wreckingstuff]

Originally Posted by romeojesus

..hit him via youtube...
Akai S950 with external SD Cardreader HxC Floppyemulator plus internal Floppydrive (Finished) - YouTube

I´ll bet he´s somwhere here on gearslutz, too

Thanks dude! The card reader is still via the floppy emulator, but wow, really tidy job he's done there with the selector on the front panel. Nice.

[squatski]

ok I know they sound yummy for drums and breaks because I own one, but please stop hyping it up too much on public message boards, the only reason is my friend was thinking about buying one (without any wallet damage y'know) and it might be forums like this having effect on 2nd hand prices.

[wreckingstuff]

Originally Posted by squatski

ok I know they sound yummy for drums and breaks because I own one, but please stop hyping it up too much on public message boards, the only reason is my friend was thinking about buying one (without any wallet damage y'know) and it might be forums like this having effect on 2nd hand prices.

HaHa, no let's big it up loads, I'm picking up another one next week so I will be letting at least one of mine go, at moron hipster prices fo sheez.

[SEED78]

Originally Posted by wreckingstuff

This is very interesting. I looked into floppy emulators, but decided against getting involved because they are not like card readers, they still load and save like a floppy, the only advantage being that they will not wear out like disk drives.

not sure now much space on an SD it can handle, but I think it'll lots of floppy sized partitions on one card, so thats a LOT more storage than on a single floppy - thats the advantage.

I've not seen a single example of a CF drive installed in a S950, even those that have scsi expansion, am guessing there is a serious reason for this, like its got even more fussy SCSI protocol than the MPC60/3000 (which can be a bitch also).

SCSI expansion for s950 on rare times it does crop up is mad expensive £200+, and I don't like zip drives much, so at some point I'd be very tempted to stick a floppy emulator in it.

[wreckingstuff]

Yeah I get that it's a bigger storage space, but load/save times are no quicker than floppy. I just felt that the benefits were not worth the hassle and expenditure for my own purposes. For the same reasons the scsi card/drive is useless to me. For those who want to edit and program on their nine fiddys in the traditional way, maybe it's the shit.

[ferran]

I just sold mine for $150

[Retrofreak]

Is it possible to simply stream live audio through an S950 into a DAW in order to capture the S-950 sound?...

Or do samples have to be stored the S950 memory in order for it to have the S950 sound?