S950 vs. S3000

Looking for an S950 for my MPC 3000. Just got a S3000, because I couldn't find a S950. The S3000 is being shipped to me as we speak. What is the major differences between the two samples. I know the S950 is 12bit.

are u serious?

Google is ya best friend

thats like buying benz even though you wanted an '88 ford escort and then asking how to drive it

I was hoping to hear from someone who has one or both units! Positive comments would be appreciated!!!

S950 is the s4it, my first sampler... i bought it to myself on my birthday in 93, hard to learn but after that it´s super duper.
The major difference between S950-S3000 S950 sounds "great"(12bit) and have cool feats.
the S3000 is a sampler with more of everything and 16bit sound and compatible with mpc3000.
Buy one of each if you have the money, they are silly cheap..

Thanks. Mine came today. About to hook it up to my MPC 3000. You seem to know what's up. Everyone suggested the S950 for the 12 bit samples. I.was looking for that gritty sound, like the SP-1200 & MPC 60!

I think this link should answer any questions you have.

http://akai.brothelowner.com/jules/

Thanks. That's what I was looking for.

I have both, and enjoy them for different reasons. The s3000 sounds like an mpc3000 with filters, efx, waveform editing. Everything after the s3000 in the series (3000xl, 3200) have the same engine as a 2000. So yeah, the s3000 is the one you want. The s950 sounds like the 60 with a nice filter. My 950 has the Marion Systems 16bit switch so it does double duty. Both are lovely, an even though they are dirt cheap, they're worth lots to me!

sequoia1232 wrote:I have both, and enjoy them for different reasons. The s3000 sounds like an mpc3000 with filters, efx, waveform editing. Everything after the s3000 in the series (3000xl, 3200) have the same engine as a 2000. So yeah, the s3000 is the one you want. The s950 sounds like the 60 with a nice filter. My 950 has the Marion Systems 16bit switch so it does double duty. Both are lovely, an even though they are dirt cheap, they're worth lots to me!

Not to tread jack, but I gotta ask cause I have a s-3000i and always wanted to know...

If a sample a sound on the s900/950, make it all lo-fi and gritty. then load that sound into the s-3000 will it still sound relatively similar to it's 12-bit counterpart? Cause I kinda want to get into the s900/950 game but never can find these with scsi & memory is costly. So my thought is, sample with s900/950, save it to a floppy, then archive those samples on the s-3000's HD.
What's your take?

kneebone77 wrote:If a sample a sound on the s900/950, make it all lo-fi and gritty. then load that sound into the s-3000 will it still sound relatively similar to it's 12-bit counterpart?

Think about it...if you copy a photo on a cheap low-resolution black-and-white copier, then copy that copy again on a high-end color copier....what will you get?

_Stilo_ wrote:Think about it...if you copy a photo on a cheap low-resolution black-and-white copier, then copy that copy again on a high-end color copier....what will you get?

I mean, I see what your trying to say but I don't think it's that simple...
The s-3000 has different A/D, D/A converters, a different sampling engine, and most importantly a different Interpolation scheme. I'm sure that the s-3000 converts the s-900/950 samples from 12-bit to 16-bit before use. This all leads me to believe that the sound will differ. That's why I jumped at the opportunity to ask sequoia1232 since he has experience with both samplers and could offer information base on that experience.
For instance I once was rockin an EPS classic. When I put disks made on it in an ASR-10 I heard a noticeable difference, especially on material with higher sample rates. Yaddideyemean?

So SEQUOIA...when ya got a minute let me hear your take on this, Thanks!

Yeah, the sound will be different, but not as nice as if it was coming straight out of the 950. I haven't done this exact experiment, but I've defintiely sampled a bunch of stuff with my 60II and loaded it into the 3000LE. It works fine, and has a lo-fi quality, but doesn't sound as nice as coming out of the 60. The D/A plays a big part, there are other factors in the signal path too. Also, playing sounds out of the sp1200 or emax, is waaaaayyyyy different than sample dumping them onto the computer and using them there. In my experience, you'll always get the best results coming out of the real machine. Sampling the s950 with the s3000 is another story, still not as nice as coming directly out, but probably closer to the sound. That being said, I've never had a problem using floppies with the 950, it doesn't have much memory. It really is so cheap you can't lose, I have plenty of records worth more these days. I know people are serious about their libraries, but I'm one of those cave man type dudes that samples every sound fresh for each beat. I pulled the HD out of my s3000 for an internal card reader.

^^^
Thanks again, Sequoia. Very insightful. Gives me more to think about. maybe I'll cop a cheap s-900 and just try it on for size...