Forum for all other samplers & synths such as Maschine, MVs, Akai S & Z series, Roland, Korg, OP-1, analog synths etc.
By tyrone_biggums Tue May 08, 2012 9:58 pm
which one do ya'll prefer? I've never used either and am looking to grab one to pair with my XL. I read the 950 has more sample time and adjustable sample rates. Does the 12 bit sound of each essentially sound the same? or is the 900 more gritty/punchy?
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By crossings Tue May 08, 2012 10:05 pm
same sh!t... and i've had both. the s950 has the nice filter though. just get which ever you can find first at a cheap price... or neither one and find a different way to get that particular sound... after all, those aren't the only budget lo-fi samplers out there.

for whatever it's worth... i sold my s950 and kept my s900... so i don't know if that tells you anything... most would probably prefer the s950 on this forum, but that'll cost you about twice as much these days... and most of them don't have the expanded memory either way.
By tyrone_biggums Tue May 08, 2012 10:07 pm
no doubt, exactly what i was looking for, thanks man...ill keep my eyes open for either on the cheap.
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By mr_debauch Tue May 08, 2012 11:23 pm
the only real issue i can think of if you plan on using it a lot to compliment other samplers... is the 950 has the better disk drive from what I hear.
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By crossings Tue May 08, 2012 11:28 pm
i've replaced the disk drive in an s900 with a TEAC floppy drive that i got on ebay for cheap... i think i posted the info in that old akai S-series thread... i can't remember right now... but if your floppy drive ever fails, you can still just get any floppy drive with jumpers on the back to replace it... not that big of a deal... not to mention that now you can get those virtual drives that can use USB sticks or whatever to store data as those all have jumpers on them as well...
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By mr_debauch Tue May 08, 2012 11:52 pm
crossings wrote:i've replaced the disk drive in an s900 with a TEAC floppy drive that i got on ebay for cheap... i think i posted the info in that old akai S-series thread... i can't remember right now... but if your floppy drive ever fails, you can still just get any floppy drive with jumpers on the back to replace it... not that big of a deal... not to mention that now you can get those virtual drives that can use USB sticks or whatever to store data as those all have jumpers on them as well...


you know, I was thinking about the floppy emulator some day .. the 900 has a bigger floppy slot too so you can maybe fit it in without needing to cut the case .. or so it looks.

Hey, have you ever tried the bootable OS4.0 disk for the s900? I haven't because I dont have a computer that can work with DD disks at the moment, though I am sort of interested in what it can do (I believe you need a certain OS on the 900 that allows for booting off the floppy.. I forget the details now that it has been a while)
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By crossings Tue May 08, 2012 11:58 pm
yeah... you need to have the upgraded OS chips installed in order to use the OS4 floppy which i believe added the use of filters to the S900... but i never really got too deep into it... i just used the s900 for drums and that's it... :mrgreen:
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By mr_debauch Wed May 09, 2012 12:00 am
crossings wrote:yeah... you need to have the upgraded OS chips installed in order to use the OS4 floppy which i believe added the use of filters to the S900... but i never really got too deep into it... i just used the s900 for drums and that's it... :mrgreen:


ahh okay, I seem to remember them saying that it added some capability of the s950 or something..

I dont even remember which os I have.. I dont think i even cared too much to be honest, because like you.. I used it for drums and this may seem odd, but I love that tone program default thing... I always use that! hahaha...
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By crossings Wed May 09, 2012 12:14 am
yeah.. no doubt... the tone program is dope for basslines... i even keep a sample of it handy on my MPC's cf card. :D
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By mr_debauch Wed May 09, 2012 4:26 am
crossings wrote:yeah.. no doubt... the tone program is dope for basslines... i even keep a sample of it handy on my MPC's cf card. :D


I think I may do that next time I've got the x7000 midi's up to the 900... because sampling the PB button note (c3 i think) you cant pitch it low enough in the 60 or 2000... i dont think (it only lets you go a bit over an octave for pitching i think)

oh, the s900 has a LP filter in it by the way.. it sounds good too.
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By peterpiper Wed May 09, 2012 9:42 am
mr_debauch wrote: because sampling the PB button note (c3 i think) you cant pitch it low enough in the 60 or 2000... i dont think (it only lets you go a bit over an octave for pitching i think)


Hit MIDI -> Page02 -> set the note of the PB button :)
Also set the velocity beside this parameter to 127 so the button will play the tone at full velocity.

peace
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By mr_debauch Wed May 09, 2012 3:03 pm
^ah nice, i didn't think to do that as usually... I have the keyboard attached.. but now that you point it out, yeah for sure.
By mpcidiot Mon May 14, 2012 5:22 am
Has anyone with an s900 noticed the output level being way quieter than other instruments/boxes.
Even if I sample at a decent level and turn up the loudness in the program I still have to crank the gain on the mixer. Same deal on all 8 outputs.
Is the s900 (or even s950?) known for being quiet or have i got a faulty one?

As for the difference between s950/900, its more down to the basic specs difference (memory, filter ) than any real noticable sound difference. As said previously, just get the cheaper deal on either.
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By mr_debauch Mon May 14, 2012 5:41 am
I think it is possible to turn up the gain (or to test if it is still set at the right level) right on the voice board inside the unit... it requires a philips screwdriver and a multimeter ... I have never done this but I read it in the service manual.
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By peterpiper Mon May 14, 2012 10:12 am
I've heard that stuff about the gain before but I can't confirm it. I got 2 s900 and 1 s950 and they are all sounding loud/ok. In comparison to my FZ1 and TX16W they are louder. But to be honest they are a bit quiter than the MPC2000.

Are you sure you play at full velocity? (the playbutton on the device itself it set to the velocity value 64 by default so it is much quiter than controlling the unit with an MPC or Keyboard)

peace