SAMPLER SHOOTOUT! MPC3000 vs S3000 vs Ensoniq EPS 16+

What's up everybody?

Let me contribute a little bit to our beat-community with sonic comparison of the following samplers:

AKAI MPC 3000K LE
AKAI S3000
Ensoniq EPS 16+

Audio route: NUMARK TTX (with ortofon OM 5E) -> MONACOR MPX-4PA MIXER ->AKAI EIE PRO 24bit -> DAW.

I compared two samples: drum break and a 8 sec soul sample in various khz and with low-pass filtering of the soul sample. EVERYTHING RECORDED MONO (stereo signal switched to mono on the monacor mixer).

No further changes to what has been recorded on particular tracks. I tried my best to balance the volume from each sampler.

On DRUMS it should be around -1 DB.

On SAMPLE like -0,8 to max -0,3 in one point (due to filtering).

Check it out, leave a feedback, I'm curious what y'all think.

The link (it's packed in a .rar file): http://www77.zippyshare.com/v/zWkJUyJI/file.html

I hope it'll be a help to anybody who seeks for answers about how a particular sampler sounds or whatever.

Peace.

Interesting test. Just had a real quick listen thru (and look thru with Audacity). Seems like the S3K & MPC3K sound nearly identical to me, very similar at least. The EPS seemed to sound a bit different, but still excellent as well.

The only thing I noticed in my 3-minute look thru was that the MPC seemed to clip the snares on the soul sample. Didn't dive too deep into it, just something I noticed from looking at the waveform. Couldn't tell much difference in sound (but you often can't until things start getting stacked).

Many claim the S3K is identical to the MPC, this test supports that. I've heard the S3KXL sounds nothing like the MPC, I'll have to do a more thorough test myself to determine that.

Anyway, thanks for posting this.

Thanks, SEMS, glad you like it.

Well, the difference in filters between MPC3000 and S3000 really hit me. As for the filters: S3000 ALL DAY.

About the MPC cliping on snares you mentioned: yes, that's exactly what I've noticed. S3000 seams to be more gentle and I felt like it gives a soft compression to sampled sounds. But I must mention that I got my MP with damaged outputs which were repaired by an AKAI electrician (some soldering done). Now a problem occured - my LEFT STEREO OUT is gone (it has been gradualy going down with the volume of the output till the moment when you can't hear anything from the LEFT STEREO OUT). Anyway, I don't think those damaged outputs in the past might have an impact on cliping and sound quality, do they?

Of course the biggest (but not that big, really) sonic difference is between AKAIs and Ensoniq.

But overall: yep, MPC3000 and S3000 sound very close or identical to me I must say.

Cheers.

Are the drum samples in that order (mpc 3000, s3000, ensoniq)? Which sampler is the first 10 seconds?
I found that the first 10 seconds of the drumsample sounded the best. Whats that at the end? It get's quieter and filtered.
The filtered soul sample at 0:52 sounds really nice, which one is this? I think the first filtered sample was the mpc 3000 right? What settings did you dial in there?

Thanks for making this!

Hi, Elias.

Yep, the samplers are in the exact order: MPC3000 then S3000 then Ensoniq - so...

1) first 10 seconds is MPC3000

2) at the end you can hear Ensoniq EPS 16+. There are no filters at all - just the sample rate is set to 11 khz. That's why it sounds different - more dirty, less detailed, some "ringing" occurs

3) Nope. The filtered sample in 0:52 is S3000. The filtered sample before is MPC3000 (0:42 to 0:50)

Cheers.

What were the gain settings on the S3000 and MPC3000 set at when recording?

@richie

S3000: REC KNOB - 3rd dot (like 40%), VOLUME KNOB - 5th dot (like 66%)

MPC3000: REC KNOB - between 2nd and 3rd dot (like 25%), VOLUME KNOB - 5th dot (like 66%)

The input in S3000 is D*MN high comparing to MPC3000 and Ensoniq. If I put the REC KNOB higher in S3000 I get the static noise which is pretty audible on samples.

I don't usually turn the REC GAIN more in MPC3000, because I get a little audible buzzing.

The thing is I got a lot of electric equpiment on my desk side to side. Not sure if it doesn't cause any interference.

@nu-comer I see but what rec gain setting are you using? Low / Mid / High?

SH*T, richie, I completely forgot about the switch at the back plate!

It is set to MID on MPC3000.

It is set to HIGH on S3000.

Would it make such a difference? (Yeah, I know that for the sake of the comparison test I should have set both on the same velocity position)

Edit: by "such a difference" I meant quality and character of sound coming out of the box, not the difference in output velocity between MP and S, because obviously velocity due to switch set to HIGH is higher in S3000 right now.

@nu-comer well now is your chance to do some more testing I guess? I believe that the gain switch does make difference. I never put on mine on high because my source levels are good in the first place. I prefer leaving it on MID because it feels more like the amount I'd need to turn my XL rec knob to accomplish the same tasks. Such example, I know if I turn my rec knob to about 75% on the XL, that doing so on the S2800 will sound at almost the same volume.

nu-comer wrote:Hi, Elias.

Yep, the samplers are in the exact order: MPC3000 then S3000 then Ensoniq - so...

1) first 10 seconds is MPC3000

2) at the end you can hear Ensoniq EPS 16+. There are no filters at all - just the sample rate is set to 11 khz. That's why it sounds different - more dirty, less detailed, some "ringing" occurs

3) Nope. The filtered sample in 0:52 is S3000. The filtered sample before is MPC3000 (0:42 to 0:50)

Cheers.

Yeah, thats what i meant. The first sample of the filtered stuff was the mpc 3000. But the s3000 has better low pass filter.
In my opinion the mpc 3000 is the best out of the three concerning drums. But itcould be that the mpc 3000 is a bit louder, could that be?

Resurrecting this thread (no point making a new one).

I agree with other posters that the mpc 3000 is almost exact to the S3000, judging from this sound test.

Is there any real difference in using the GAIN buttons on the back? We all know that recording hot gives it a somewhat coloured sound, but will this affect the sound?

I've been looking at getting an S3000 or S3200 for some time now to thicken my drums and samples and use connected with my MPC 2KXL.
This thread only made me want to get one even more, but it's more of a want than a necessity.

I've never really used a rack sampler before so it'll be a new experience for me.
I mean.. I'm not really sure where to start, would I just use the MPC for triggering the sampler via MIDI? And would it be for both the drums and the samples?

Could anyone point me in the right direction for any useful videos?

Cheers!

MrDismal wrote: I've never really used a rack sampler before so it'll be a new experience for me.
I mean.. I'm not really sure where to start, would I just use the MPC for triggering the sampler via MIDI? And would it be for both the drums and the samples?

s3000 is deep sampler, which means that its gonna take you some time to get to know her
I would just use XL as a sequencer and s3000 for everything else

Like Wal Martian linked, turn off the backlight and that'll cut down the ground noise a bit. If you still hear it then that's just because it's coming from the source you're sampling through/from or if you live somewhere where your power is not grounded or grounded properly.

What are some ways you people have found to improve your drums using your S3000 series? Personally, I've found mine to be really clean sounding and making it not feel like it was worth using as a resampler.