S3200XL or S3000XL?

Hey all

So things have moved on since I last posted. I was looking at getting an MPC Live2 as I need a sampler, but now I'm very tempted by a vintage AKAI since I much prefer the old school way of working.

Would love an S1000 but these are now far too overpriced so I've seen both an S3000XL or and S3200XL.

The 3200 has had the new display but both still have floppy drives installed

Thing is, I know nothing about these things so I do have a couple of questions..

Do they boot up without the need for a startup disk?
Are samples lost once the unit is shut down? Presumably I have to load samples each time it boots up
Are they both upgradable to USB drives

Anything I need to check? Are the 3000/3200 shit and thats the reason they are 'cheaper'?

I often end up buying this type of vintage shite, completely ridiculous I know, but I do find the hands on thing really fun. But I know its like the bloody wild west out there in the land of Reverb etc

They have firmware that they will both boot into... so if they have the latest firmware installed then you don't need a startup disk. Otherwise, you'll want a boot disk to boot into what other firmware you may want.

Samples are not saved unless you tell the sampler to save them to storage. After a shutdown you'll need to load up or sample whatever it is you want to play.

You can swap both of them from the floppy drive to a Gotek drive for floppy emulation over USB. The better solution though is SCSI2SD, as you can save your entire contents of memory without having to span multiple floppy or emulated floppy disks.

I don't think anybody would say that the 3000/3200 are shit, they are just cheaper because they are newer and thus less sought after at the moment. The big thing I'd say to remember for all these Akai samplers is for the time, they were cutting edge for reproducing sampled sounds. So they will sound quite clean, when compared to other samplers of the era that they came from. If you're looking for the sampler to be an "effect", I believe the 3200 is better because I'm pretty sure it came with an fx card, though for either you should make sure you know what is in the box. You can certainly find forums with people navel gazing about "XL was produced in China with cheaper parts" and non XL was "last Japan built so is amazing" or whatever... this is all subjective and most people would not hear the difference when any of this gear is side by side, much less when it is in a mix with other instruments, fx, and mastering in place.

Personally, I find the Akai samplers to be quite feature rich and streamlined myself... and I am generally less after the "mythic" qualities of them and use them for what they are, artifacts of a time. So if you are willing to put the time in, you will absolutely be rewarded by the hands on nature, and the "breaks" that you take while some operations run. Old school production is about leveraging your time around your centerpiece device, and being mindful of what you want to do. If this sounds good to you then you'll have a blast... but if you just want "sounds" or "that sound" you're really going to need to learn deeply about the hardware and what allowed for that.

Hey mate! Thanks for the detailed response.

They really do sound like something I would enjoy, I much prefer the really well made vintage stuff, and it was actually someone here who kind of put me of the MPC as they correctly pointed out that AKAI nowadays is not the same AKAI from the 90s. Now made by the same people who make Numark, MAudio...not names I associate with quality!!

Anyway, I can live with the shortcomings I think, the physical size is more of an issue but solveable.

So how does the SCSI drive work, this is also old tech isn't it? Is it just a harddisk connected to the back of the sampler? With this in mind, how will I get access to the AKAI sample library?

I have heard the made in China/Japan thing actually, and already come across this mentioned in forums but frankly it sounds like bull5h1t to me, probably the easiest way to bump up the price of the S1000/950.

Are there any S series to avoid? What sort of price would you pay for a decent 3000/3200?

Thanks

I enjoy some of the post acquisition Akai stuff as well... so I'm probably not the person to ask for which is the highest quality. I loved the MPC 1k, especially with JJOS. Sure it was an after market firmware upgrade, but absolutely still makes the 1k/2.5k shine. The current One/Live/X line is absolutely incredible for what it does as well. I will skip my opinions for the 5000/Ren/Studio stuff... but I guess my point is, even with experience on the older gear, I think there is plenty to like post acquisition, if you're open to it.

The SCSI2SD operates as an attached HDD and can emulate a CD Rom drive as well... I forget max size, but you'll definitely be able to save a maxed out memory S3xxx to the SD card over SCSI. It's basically letting your sampler access newer technology, but still thinking it has older tech attached to it.

To get access to the sample libraries, you'll need to download them or convert them somehow. eBay has people posting this kind of stuff... but probably illegally... so I guess up to you how much you like the idea of getting those sounds in any way possible, or how much effort you want to spend trying to get it legally.

The China/Japan thing happened well after the release of the S900/S950/S1000/S2000/S3000... and I believe it happened at the transition point between the 3000 series and the 3000XL series. So I doubt it has as much to do with pumping up prices for the older line, as much as just being a silly have and have not argument for why somebody thinks what they have is better. Especially when they are paying antique/boutique prices for something that I doubt most people are going to take full advantage of in the first place. So BS... sure... but I doubt it has as much influence on the S1k etc... as you are thinking.

Personally... only one I'd suggest avoiding is the S2000s... those small displays and reduced controls look like a real bear to manage to me. Other than that, I think you'd be good.

the S3000 is meant to have better sound than the 3200 and 3000XL. It's meant to have the same sample engine as the MPC3000. whereas the xl and 3200 have the sample engine of the mpc200. that being said, I thought the sound of the S300xl was great.

one thing I don't like about rack samplers is the ergonomics -- if it's racked, you have on kneel on the floor, while editing samples and also reaching up to your keyboard to play notes. but if you have it at eye level, then all should be fine.

how are you planning on sequencing the rack unit?
the S series rack samplers don't have a built in sequencer. so you have to save your samples on one disk and your sequences on another device and the two devices needs to be midi-ed up and you need to load up two files, one in the sampler, one in sequencer each time. it's just adds layers of complication. it's better to get a device like an mpc or an ensoniq sampler where the sampler and the sequencer are all in the one unit.
but if I were to use a rack sampler -- I'd use it with logic or another DAW. sequence in the DAW. and record the audio from the sampler in the DAW each time you make a sequence. if you go this route, you might find using floppies is fine. if you are recording to DAW as soon as you sequence you might not even save your samples on the 3000, or just get saving over floppies as you use them.

terry towelling wrote:the S3000 is meant to have better sound than the 3200 and 3000XL. It's meant to have the same sample engine as the MPC3000. whereas the xl and 3200 have the sample engine of the mpc200. that being said, I thought the sound of the S300xl was great.

one thing I don't like about rack samplers is the ergonomics -- if it's racked, you have on kneel on the floor, while editing samples and also reaching up to your keyboard to play notes. but if you have it at eye level, then all should be fine.

how are you planning on sequencing the rack unit?
the S series rack samplers don't have a built in sequencer. so you have to save your samples on one disk and your sequences on another device and the two devices needs to be midi-ed up and you need to load up two files, one in the sampler, one in sequencer each time. it's just adds layers of complication. it's better to get a device like an mpc or an ensoniq sampler where the sampler and the sequencer are all in the one unit.
but if I were to use a rack sampler -- I'd use it with logic or another DAW. sequence in the DAW. and record the audio from the sampler in the DAW each time you make a sequence. if you go this route, you might find using floppies is fine. if you are recording to DAW as soon as you sequence you might not even save your samples on the 3000, or just get saving over floppies as you use them.

Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated.

Well things have moved on yet again, and it now looks like I'm going to end up with an S1000. It was my dream sampler as a teenager and I could never afford it back then so when the opportunity arose I just couldn't resist (you only live once etc)!! I have found them quite surprisingly hard to come by, seem to be much rarer than the XL series which is surprising...

Don't quite know what I've done, but I am very excited by it all, it's had quite a few upgrades and replacement parts etc

The sequencing will be done by Renoise via MIDI I think, this is just an awesome program I've only recently come across. I was looking for ages for a new version of Octamed and this fits perfectly (much prefer sequencing up down than left right lol)

Already it seems so much simpler than Ableton, fewer options, of course less powerful but I like the limitations hence why I want an AKAI vintage then a modern sampler.

The size and weight is the issue but just looking at work arounds with this now!!

This topic is one of many that should be pinned. A lot of great information is being shared here, I'm giving internet dap to NearTao and Terry for being professionals.

With respect to anyone else reading and may need clarification, there are 2 separate series of Akai S samplers:

- The Akai S3000, S3200 and CD3000 are not the same as the Akai S3000XL, S3200XL and the CD3000XL.
- The S3000, S3200 and CD3000 are said to have the same 'sample engine' as the MPC 3000.
- The S3000XL, S3200XL, CD3000XL (in addition to the S2000) are said to have the same 'sample engine' as the MPC 2000 / MPC 2000XL
* There is also a scaled down version of the S3000, the S2800. Only difference between the 2 is that the 2800 does not have 8 outs, only 4 mono and stereo main out.

**The non XL units do have some effects on them where as XL units require the EB-16 expansion installed to get effects.

When looking for operating system upgrades ;

- The final operating system available for the S2000, S3000XL, S3200XL and CD3000XL is version 2.0
- The final operating system available for the S2800, S3000, S3200 and CD3000 is version 2.0.

OS Version 2.0 for S series XL units is not the same or compatible as non-XL series units. So when purchasing a boot disk off eBay or ROM chip, make sure to clarify if it is for XL or non-XL units.

When purchasing a non XL S2800, S3000 and S3200, it is fair to valuate them based on how much memory and what expansion cards are installed as it is not unheard of for people online to pull out the individual SCSI, SMPTE and Digital I/O and try to sell them separately at $100+ per card. Memory can also be costly, expect to pay anywhere from $150-500 to max it out to 32 megabytes.

The advantage with the XL series units is that SCSI is standard, Memory is standard PC SIMM. The only thing to look out for is if the XL series units are missing or have had their 8 outs pulled, as the 8 outs in those are compatible with the MPC 2000 / MPC 2000XL and are being sold separately anywhere from $200-300 online now.

That's about all I can think of for now, be safe.

richie wrote:This topic is one of many that should be pinned. A lot of great information is being shared here, I'm giving internet dap to NearTao and Terry for being professionals.

With respect to anyone else reading and may need clarification, there are 2 separate series of Akai S samplers:

- The Akai S3000, S3200 and CD3000 are not the same as the Akai S3000XL, S3200XL and the CD3000XL.
- The S3000, S3200 and CD3000 are said to have the same 'sample engine' as the MPC 3000.
- The S3000XL, S3200XL, CD3000XL (in addition to the S2000) are said to have the same 'sample engine' as the MPC 2000 / MPC 2000XL
* There is also a scaled down version of the S3000, the S2800. Only difference between the 2 is that the 2800 does not have 8 outs, only 4 mono and stereo main out.

**The non XL units do have some effects on them where as XL units require the EB-16 expansion installed to get effects.

When looking for operating system upgrades ;

- The final operating system available for the S2000, S3000XL, S3200XL and CD3000XL is version 2.0
- The final operating system available for the S2800, S3000, S3200 and CD3000 is version 2.0.

OS Version 2.0 for S series XL units is not the same or compatible as non-XL series units. So when purchasing a boot disk off eBay or ROM chip, make sure to clarify if it is for XL or non-XL units.

When purchasing a non XL S2800, S3000 and S3200, it is fair to valuate them based on how much memory and what expansion cards are installed as it is not unheard of for people online to pull out the individual SCSI, SMPTE and Digital I/O and try to sell them separately at $100+ per card. Memory can also be costly, expect to pay anywhere from $150-500 to max it out to 32 megabytes.

The advantage with the XL series units is that SCSI is standard, Memory is standard PC SIMM. The only thing to look out for is if the XL series units are missing or have had their 8 outs pulled, as the 8 outs in those are compatible with the MPC 2000 / MPC 2000XL and are being sold separately anywhere from $200-300 online now.

That's about all I can think of for now, be safe.

Did you open one of them to look inside?
S3000 ,S3000xl ,S2800 ,S2000 ,S3200 and S3200xl ??


If you don’t know you don’t bro
All you are right is that s3000 is a base sampler of mpc 3000 …s3000xl not

…MPC 2000 and MPC 2000 xl are different
Skillz up

With respect to anyone else And you my brotha

Source_beat wrote:Did you open one of them to look inside?
S3000 ,S3000xl ,S2800 ,S2000 ,S3200 and S3200xl ??

If you don’t know you don’t bro
All you are right is that s3000 is a base sampler of mpc 3000 …s3000xl not

…MPC 2000 and MPC 2000 xl are different
Skillz up

With respect to anyone else And you my brotha

Not exactly sure what your point is but cool story.

Skillz up.