ASR-10 still interesting?

Guys,

For some reason the ASR-10 is appealing to me. Maybe because of the old Alchemist video's, dom't know haha. Is it still a dope sampler to buy? I know you don't become Al by buying an ASR or a 2500, that's not the point. I guess I like it somehow because it's totally different than a MP.

Is it gonna bring something extra next to, let's say, my 2kxl and s3kxl?

Regards!

cheaper / more oldskool but still very powerful alternative is an eps - you can really mangle samples w that thing and they sound incredible

ASR 10 does a good job, however money wise, it would be better to purchase outboard compressors, eq's, filters, and pre-amps. I find that people buy different pieces of gear, that do the same thing. Instead of getting gear that will compliment and enhance their workflow.

Compressors, eq's, filters, and pre-amps will shape your sound, vastly expand your knowledge, and in the long run give you more options. It's like making a sandwich.

If the MPC/ASR/SP is the Meat, Cheese and Bread
EQ is lettuce
Filter is Tomato
Compressor is the special sauce and warm toasted crunch.

Look at the Kanye West video, that ASR-10 is running into that SSL console with other outboard gear attached.

CharlesRandolph wrote:ASR 10 does a good job, however money wise, it would be better to purchase outboard compressors, eq's, filters, and pre-amps. I find that people buy different pieces of gear, that do the same thing. Instead of getting gear that will compliment and enhance their workflow.

thats true and thats good you have your way of doing it, but the actual sampler itself can do a lot more than an eq / pre / filter in some aspects. especially old ones when the tech wasn't as clean as it is today.

aliasing, retuning algorithms, converters, workflow...all these things add up to a particular sound, and its not always as simple as adding an effect on top.

i could never make an mpc sound like my 13-bit eps through outboard fx alone.
i can't make an mpc pitch a sample the same way an emu does.

to use your same example, if i want a roast beef sandwich instead of turkey, no amount of mayonaise or lettuce is ever going to make that turkey into roast beef.

tapedeck wrote:thats true and thats good you have your way of doing it, but the actual sampler itself can do a lot more than an eq / pre / filter in some aspects. especially old ones when the tech wasn't as clean as it is today.

aliasing, retuning algorithms, converters, workflow...all these things add up to a particular sound, and its not always as simple as adding an effect on top.

i could never make an mpc sound like my 13-bit eps through outboard fx alone.
i can't make an mpc pitch a sample the same way an emu does.

to use your same example, if i want a roast beef sandwich instead of turkey, no amount of mayonaise or lettuce is ever going to make that turkey into roast beef.

Yes all the machines have their own characteristics to some degree and yes your full sound is combinations of all your gear, cables, room, electricity, players, sound source, and most importantly our EARS!

I come from a live tracking world first. I know how to get many, live instruments to sound like they do on records, that people sample. We rent studios and pay top session players to come in and replay songs. So personally I've never had to rely just on records to get a certain sound.

Also the point was not to turn a turkey sandwich into a roast beef (ASR) sandwich. It was to use the tools to make the best turkey (MPC) sandwich you can and vice versa. I love dedicated outboard gear because they do what they were designed to do. No Fuss! Plus later on they are good to achieve other audio textures.

Run a ASR 10 through a Manley Variable Mu and Manley Massive Passive and watch your eyes light up. LOL

This does not mean I don't love old Analogue Synth Keyboards: OB-6M, Jupiter-8 and others.

Interesting thoughts. Is the outboard gear (compressor, eq) so much better than using plugins in your DAW?

tapedeck wrote:i could never make an mpc sound like my 13-bit eps through outboard fx alone.
i can't make an mpc pitch a sample the same way an emu does.

Which EPS do you have? I picked up the EPS classic last week and am having an interesting time with it. Some of the navigation is different from the ASR-10 I've found.

Lazy Ray wrote:Interesting thoughts. Is the outboard gear (compressor, eq) so much better than using plugins in your DAW?

I would not say better, but different. They work without having your computer on and they work with your computer on. If you buy the pieces that are manufactured well, you can really push them. They also become a main stay in your personal studio, because you can run any sound though them and benefit right away. Guitar, Drums, Pianos, Synth, Voice, Doorbells, you name it.

If you don't have crazy budget and space, I would start with 500 Series pieces and slow build your lunch box. Like this one here the API 500-8B 8-Channel 500. You can put 8 different pieces in it.



Now a days people glorify the gear and forget who the person is behind the gear. That's why SP1200 are on sale and unsold for 5000 dollars on ebay. It's all hype. If we can't make dope music with mpc2000xl. We are not going to make dope music with ASR-10, Logic, and so on.

I've had the EPS, ASR 10, ASR 88, ASR X (Red and Black), most of them are gone but my outboard gear is still here. Keyboards and samplers are wonderful pieces and we can do many things with them. But learning how to engineer, record, and make your music sound good, is the key to long term success in this industry.

Also our knowledge with outboard gear, can open up other doors. People are always looking for great engineers who know what they are doing. However they are not always looking for a person who can freak an ASR 10.

If you have your heart set on an ASR-10, I suggest you buy the best one you can, that is fully maxed out. Because the last thing you want, is to have to repair them. I like gear but I rather spend my time making music and not becoming a repair tech. This is a good place for replacement parts: https://syntaur.com/asr_parts.html

And like @tapedeck said: "An actual sampler itself can do a lot more than an eq / pre / filter in some aspects. Especially old ones when the tech wasn't as clean as it is today."

The Ensoniq samplers sound interesting straight out the gate.They inspire playing.The ASR 10 sounds a bit like vinyl.The FX are very cool.The sequence is a good starting place too.So yeah....its well worth it.

Asr is still relevant. I would only get one with scsi and also some accompanying software to transfer files.

It was my main keyboard before I upgraded and the work flow was killer with the Mpc live. Really like the live, asr, analog heat combo.

Their are other keyboards and programs that excel with sound design but as a multitimbral instrument it’s solid.

Cockdiesel wrote:Asr is still relevant. I would only get one with scsi and also some accompanying software to transfer files.

It was my main keyboard before I upgraded and the work flow was killer with the Mpc live. Really like the live, asr, analog heat combo.

Their are other keyboards and programs that excel with sound design but as a multitimbral instrument it’s solid.

I do miss hearing the click, click, click of the ASR 10 buttons. They had to be the loudest buttons in history.

richie wrote:

tapedeck wrote:i could never make an mpc sound like my 13-bit eps through outboard fx alone.
i can't make an mpc pitch a sample the same way an emu does.

Which EPS do you have? I picked up the EPS classic last week and am having an interesting time with it. Some of the navigation is different from the ASR-10 I've found.

the classic.
i love it but yea it is confusing to navigate at first. i'm not an asr user i just understood that the asr was sort of an evolution of the eps, and with as much stuff as the eps could do, i bet the asr is just even more interesting as far as sample mangling goes.

very early on i put a floppy emulator in mine - those dd disks are too hard to find and hd disks were just not reliable. i like how you can get by with so little memory, using the same sound but using different parameters is really cool. the eps is not as good for sampling maybe more than one short phrase, but for hits, and especially for synthesizing sounds, it's a monster.

so yea, i can imagine an asr is that x 100.

tapedeck wrote:the classic.

very early on i put a floppy emulator in mine - those dd disks are too hard to find and hd disks were just not reliable. i like how you can get by with so little memory, using the same sound but using different parameters is really cool. the eps is not as good for sampling maybe more than one short phrase, but for hits, and especially for synthesizing sounds, it's a monster.

Have you modified yours to handle the heat issue on it? After a few hours I got an error 137 on it that of course had nothing on google about it. Restarted it and it hasn't happened since but still freaked me out. I have not tried doing the copy parameter thing to do a makeshift chop on it but believe it should be possible as it is on the EPS+ and ASR-10.

I was lucky and got the 2x memory expander with it but unfortunately without SCSI. I don't like the sequencer at all on it but I'd be stupid to expect it to be any better than the ASR-10 sequencer which is sh*t to me as well, and no ability to change the bpm beyond even beats is sh*tty too, so I think I'll let one of my MPC's handle the sequencing. The only thing I like about the ASR-10 sequencer wise is that I can sample while the beat is still going and of course the effects.

richie wrote:Have you modified yours to handle the heat issue on it? After a few hours I got an error 137 on it that of course had nothing on google about it. ....

I don't like the sequencer at all on it but I'd be stupid to expect it to be any better than the ASR-10 sequencer which is sh*t to me as well, and no ability to change the bpm beyond even beats is sh*tty too, so I think I'll let one of my MPC's handle the sequencing

never had the heat issue, no, never had it crash on me either (compare that to my friggin xl which, at my show the other night, started crashing whenever i would load up sequence 40 ).

yea i have used the sequencer for lofi shit but the mpc is so much better at sequencing.

i like it not so much as a normal sampler, but as a gateway to some really weird shit.