¿Diferences between akai s950 vs akai 5000 sampler?

Hi bros!

I have been looking for hardware to complement my mpc 2000xl. Recently I was given the opportunity to purchase an akai s5000 sampler, which I am a little unfamiliar with. The aim of the sampler is to sound like the classic 90s boom bap.

My idea was to buy a s950, but at the moment I have such a possibility. Therefore, I wanted to know your opinion if there is much difference between these two samplers to integrate them into my 2000xl, if it is worth it, or if I can obtain characteristics similar to the s950 with the 5000 regarding filters and effects (does the 5000 have effects?).


Your opinion would be of great help. Thanks in advance!

the classic sound of the s950 comes from two elements - one, it is a 12 bit sampler, and two, the low pass filter.

the s5000 is a 16 bit (or maybe even 18 bit) sampler, the same sample rate as your 2000xl. i don't know anything about the low pass filter on the s5000.
anyway, the s5000 will not get you the classic old skool sound. however, it is a fully featured sampler, whereas your 2000xl is a phrase sampler. so it's certainly worth buying, if you have a good deal (a couple of hundred bucks). it will give you lots of great sampling features and will work will with your 2000xl.

The S950 also has a variable frequency sampling rate... which given the limited memory of the system is a major component of the sound and knowing which samples to reduce the frequency for and which ones to have the highest fidelity.

While "it is the artist+samplechoice and not the machine" the s5000 is not a good tool to make 90s boombap IMO. I have no first hand experience on the 5000/6000 but I guess you would really have to fight with it to get a lofi sound. It's much easier to get that sound on the 1988 machine or in a computer based environment.
Samplers were not made to sound lofi. The reason some of them do sound lofi are the costs of components at that time. in 1998 (when the 5000 was released) the development of the components was at a level were it was possible to build a machine with really high quality sound at a reasonable price. There was no reason anymore for sampling at lower samplerates etc.
My Emu e64 from 1994 still had the ability to choose between 22kHz and 44kHz samplerate but that was it.

peace

Rafaelvargas17 wrote:Hi bros!

I have been looking for hardware to complement my mpc 2000xl. Recently I was given the opportunity to purchase an akai s5000 sampler, which I am a little unfamiliar with. The aim of the sampler is to sound like the classic 90s boom bap.

My idea was to buy a s950, but at the moment I have such a possibility. Therefore, I wanted to know your opinion if there is much difference between these two samplers to integrate them into my 2000xl, if it is worth it, or if I can obtain characteristics similar to the s950 with the 5000 regarding filters and effects (does the 5000 have effects?).


Your opinion would be of great help. Thanks in advance!

It's not just the machine. It's your ears, how you manipulate the source material, and what recording medium you use. It's also comes down to the kind of environment you live in and the kind of life you're living. You're not just making music, you're telling your story, through sounds.

CharlesRandolph wrote:You're not just making music, you're telling your story, through sounds.

I'd also add, that most of the times it isn't the device itself, but the steps in the process that are chosen (or forced out of necessity) that really sculpts the sound of a producer.

It's easy for me to say this though, as I'm sitting beside my S950 and can get "that sound" when I feel like it. What is "that sound"... it's a mix of preference, aging hardware, and nostalgia. Honestly though, I wouldn't get so hung up on the gear... and learn how the producers got those sounds back in the day. You can absolutely recreate much of this on your phone, computer, or wherever you have some simple bit crushing, frequency rate changing, etc... style effects. Make a conscious choice to only use 23 seconds of sample time... see where that forces you to go. Only use a Low Pass filter on your programs... it'll force you to either EQ more on the way in, or EQ more on the way out...

NearTao wrote:

CharlesRandolph wrote:You're not just making music, you're telling your story, through sounds.

I'd also add, that most of the times it isn't the device itself, but the steps in the process that are chosen (or forced out of necessity) that really sculpts the sound of a producer.

It's easy for me to say this though, as I'm sitting beside my S950 and can get "that sound" when I feel like it. What is "that sound"... it's a mix of preference, aging hardware, and nostalgia. Honestly though, I wouldn't get so hung up on the gear... and learn how the producers got those sounds back in the day. You can absolutely recreate much of this on your phone, computer, or wherever you have some simple bit crushing, frequency rate changing, etc... style effects. Make a conscious choice to only use 23 seconds of sample time... see where that forces you to go. Only use a Low Pass filter on your programs... it'll force you to either EQ more on the way in, or EQ more on the way out...

Break, Melody, Rap, Scratch and a whole lot of aggression, angry, violence, ambition, and I don't give a flying F#%K what anyone says or thinks.

MPC 2000XL + MIXER + Turntable + Speaker + Vinyl. Sample a break, Sample a melody and Low Pass filter, Turn it up to red. Keep doing it, until you find something you like. Find a dope emcee and dj to spit and scratch over it. It's not BOOM BAP, if it doesn't have Scratches and Raps!

peterpiper wrote: the s5000 is not a good tool to make 90s boombap IMO. I have no first hand experience on the 5000/6000 but I guess you would really have to fight with it to get a lofi sound.

You really should try the S5000/S6000 if you get a chance. I've owned a S5000 but still have the S6000 which is cool as it has word clock, 16 outs, detachable face so I can keep the sampler far away and just have the face sitting on the corner of my synth. It's very easy to build patches on it, etc.

It has a very easy interface to use, has great sounding converters, several different filter types for sound design (this means you do get your low pass filter at variable db per octave) high pass filter, bell curve, notch, etc etc.

It really doesn't take much effort to get a lo-fi sound on it. I mean the only annoying part about it is that it may take a few moments depending on the sample size for the CPU to downgrade it to 12 bit. You can do it several times over for different effects and can achieve to some extent the fancy ring-modulation reminiscent of the SP.

In my opinion the S900 and S950 are powerful within their own right based on characteristics and I do really like the variable clock rate and how it is employed when pitching of sample and the S950 specific time stretch is pretty dope as well.

But at the end of the day, these rack samplers are going to be rather under utilized if all you're doing is trying to make a regular "boom bap" kind of beat.

Feel free to ask me any questions about the sampler though.

terry towelling wrote:the classic sound of the s950 comes from two elements - one, it is a 12 bit sampler, and two, the low pass filter.

the s5000 is a 16 bit (or maybe even 18 bit) sampler, the same sample rate as your 2000xl. i don't know anything about the low pass filter on the s5000.
anyway, the s5000 will not get you the classic old skool sound. however, it is a fully featured sampler, whereas your 2000xl is a phrase sampler. so it's certainly worth buying, if you have a good deal (a couple of hundred bucks). it will give you lots of great sampling features and will work will with your 2000xl.

Clearer, impossible! Thank you very much for your answer. I have found out, and I feel that the filters of the s5000 are quite interesting. However, I have also been leaning towards the E-mu Esi-32 for the same reason of the filters, but especially for the effects (which are integrated in the machine); while the s5000 has no built-in effects (I think). In addition to the sample rate and working at 12 bits as in the s950, I think what strikes me the most is the fact of being able to twist samples and customize them, or even give them that look of the sp-1200 which would be closer to achieving with the "Esi-32 + mpc 2000xl", which the akai s950 with the "s5000 + 2000xl". But it's just my guess

peterpiper wrote:While "it is the artist+samplechoice and not the machine" the s5000 is not a good tool to make 90s boombap IMO. I have no first hand experience on the 5000/6000 but I guess you would really have to fight with it to get a lofi sound. It's much easier to get that sound on the 1988 machine or in a computer based environment.
Samplers were not made to sound lofi. The reason some of them do sound lofi are the costs of components at that time. in 1998 (when the 5000 was released) the development of the components was at a level were it was possible to build a machine with really high quality sound at a reasonable price. There was no reason anymore for sampling at lower samplerates etc.
My Emu e64 from 1994 still had the ability to choose between 22kHz and 44kHz samplerate but that was it.

peace

Your answer falls like a ring on my finger! I was doing a little research on the Emu Esi-32 , and I feel like I could get more out of my 2000xl with it than with the s5000. Beyond the question of working in 12 bits with the s950, do you think that I could somewhat resemble the sound of my "2000xl + Esi 32 to that of the sp-1200", than resembling my sound to the s950 with the "s5000 + 2000xl "?

Sure, it won't be exactly the same in either case, but can I at least get that similar look? Since, you could play with the built-in effects of the Emu racks like the envelope + low pass / high pass filters + reverb + "wa-wa effect", etc. The s5000 only has filters, no effects (you will correct me if I'm wrong, but, as I said earlier, Emu samplers have them integrated)

richie wrote:

peterpiper wrote: the s5000 is not a good tool to make 90s boombap IMO. I have no first hand experience on the 5000/6000 but I guess you would really have to fight with it to get a lofi sound.

You really should try the S5000/S6000 if you get a chance. I've owned a S5000 but still have the S6000 which is cool as it has word clock, 16 outs, detachable face so I can keep the sampler far away and just have the face sitting on the corner of my synth. It's very easy to build patches on it, etc.

It has a very easy interface to use, has great sounding converters, several different filter types for sound design (this means you do get your low pass filter at variable db per octave) high pass filter, bell curve, notch, etc etc.

It really doesn't take much effort to get a lo-fi sound on it. I mean the only annoying part about it is that it may take a few moments depending on the sample size for the CPU to downgrade it to 12 bit. You can do it several times over for different effects and can achieve to some extent the fancy ring-modulation reminiscent of the SP.

In my opinion the S900 and S950 are powerful within their own right based on characteristics and I do really like the variable clock rate and how it is employed when pitching of sample and the S950 specific time stretch is pretty dope as well.

But at the end of the day, these rack samplers are going to be rather under utilized if all you're doing is trying to make a regular "boom bap" kind of beat.

Feel free to ask me any questions about the sampler though.

Many thanks friend. This forum is helping me a lot. And just that I was asking myself: Could I get a look similar to the sp-1200 with the s5000+2000xl? Since I also have the possibility of opting for an Emu Esi-32 only for that reason. I understand that the Esi-32 has built-in effects and the s5000 does not (I would have to buy the effects card). Do you think that could be an important factor when choosing the sampler and integrating it with my 2000xl? Thanks again, seriously you have been very helpful!

Like I said I havn't used the 5000 nor the Esi32 (I've heard good things about the Esi32). I used the e64 and a friend of mine had the s3000. Both sound great but we never tried to get a SPish sound out of it. We had a studio with a Promix01 and a nice analog console with great EQs (D&R 8000) a cheap compressor, an Philicorda Organ and a Hohner HS1 (same as Casio FZ1). We paid attention on samples choice and just had fun with this gear. Another friend made really dope beats on his Atari Falcon. He is deep into computers since the 80s and programmed his own tracker program and used a samplecardrige on the Atari. That sounded really dope (from a lofi POV)
Casio FZ1 can sound really lofi although it's a 16bit sampler. (Digital Underground, Hiroglyphics used it)
Damu the fudgemunk made really dope 'BoomBap' style tracks on his MPC2000.
Madlib made really nice beats on ipad.
IMO most important is sample choice. You can use the Skull Snap drumbreak on any sampler and it will sound dope. Use dope drumbreaks and melody/bass samples that already have THAT vibe.

Whatever sampler you use, try the 'pitch-up-before-sampling-technique' and you might get a more crunchier sound. On more 'modern' samplers that only allow 44,1 kHz samplingrate use even more pitch-up (don't be afraid to use something like 2 oktaves pitch up). If this result in a muddy sound when you pitch down in the sampler then also raise the high frequency range before sampling.

peace

started on s 950 which wasnt mine and obviously dont have anymore
yes its know for its low fi sound and great filters but there are at least 2 vst emulation of those filters : rx950 which i own and is good and the SP950 effect plugin that i might pull the trigger on one of these days
but cant compare them to the hardware since i dont have it
had a 2000 and 5000 which i still own
all of them sound different and have great filters
i need to bring my ataris back to life as i would only use those machine to bring up old tracks honnestly and refresh them in studio one if needed.

but the one thing that made me buy the 5000 besides the big ass screen and great sound quality for the time...was the fact u could load up wav samples
i think that wasnt pointed out in the posts and it was kinda revolutionary for that time

and apparently u can also control it from a pc but win 7 only .

i didnt have fx board on it so cant tell how good it was