What is a s950????

The question might sound stupid but what exactly is a s950? I heard it was a sampler but I see that people use it with their mpc's and I want to know what it actually does? What difference does it make from a mpc? I'm new so I don't know anything about it at all but I here about it all of the time.

its a sampler thats all. you can not sequence with it. meaning that you can load samples up to it and chop, but you cant make a song in it so to speak. you will need a sequencer to arrange/control your samples that u have in the s950

thanks mindcontrol, but why not chop the samples up in the mpc, why do people use the s950 with an mpc....isn't that a waste of money??? or is it used so that you won't take up much memory in the mpc??

its the sound that they're after. the 950 is a 12bit, variable bandwidth sampler. most of the hardware samplers these days are 16bit.

pad-ophiliac wrote:its the sound that they're after. the 950 is a 12bit, variable bandwidth sampler. most of the hardware samplers these days are 16bit.

exactly, they have what u would call a signature sound..

U'll find people mainly use s950 for theyre drums, hooked up via midi to the mpc to sequence on...

So peeps chop and play theyre drums from the s950 for that crunchy sound, and melody chops from the mpc for that lil bit more cleaness

Does the sound differ a lot from the 60?

Still toying with it but I might sell it one day and get an s950 to use with my xl. Seriously doubt it though...

thanks a lot guys, I always wondered what it was....so basically you can give a 2500 or a 4000 that vintage sound with a s950 12-bit right??

the s950 IS the sampling engine from the akai mpc 60...


from what i understand... they sound the same...


thus, people with any mpc other than the 60 would want the mpc 60 to get that grit ( as mentioned before ).


the s950 is a whole lot cheaper than buying the mpc 60 and is essentially the same thing when hooked up to an mpc 1000...


highly recommended if your going for that raw sound.

NAJROCK wrote:

the s950 is a whole lot cheaper than buying the mpc 60 and is essentially the same thing when hooked up to an mpc 1000...


highly recommended if your going for that raw sound.

Not true.

The main reason to buy an mpc 60, is for the Linn sequencer. Only found on MPC 60 and MPC 3000.

Of course the sound is important, But you can probably get similar and less obvious sounds from any 12bit sampler or early 16 bit machine.

The sequencer on the mpc 60 / 3000 has the ultimate feel.

GritKitz wrote:

NAJROCK wrote:

the s950 is a whole lot cheaper than buying the mpc 60 and is essentially the same thing when hooked up to an mpc 1000...


highly recommended if your going for that raw sound.

Not true.

The main reason to buy an mpc 60, is for the Linn sequencer. Only found on MPC 60 and MPC 3000.

Of course the sound is important, But you can probably get similar and less obvious sounds from any 12bit sampler or early 16 bit machine.

The sequencer on the mpc 60 / 3000 has the ultimate feel.

nope. its the sound.

NAJROCK wrote:the s950 IS the sampling engine from the akai mpc 60....

How do you know this?

I'm just curious, I'd like to know how you know this?

The Akai S900 (1986) was the first truly affordable digital sampler. It was 8-note polyphonic and featured 12-bit sampling with a frequency range up to 40 kHz and up to 750 kB of memory that allowed for just under 12 seconds at the best sampling rate. It could store a maximum of 32 samples in memory. The operating system was software based and allowed for upgrades that had to be booted each time the sampler was switched on.

The Akai MPC60 Digital Sampler/Drum Machine and MIDI Sequencer (1987) was the first non rack mounted model released. It is also the first time a sampler with touch sensitive trigger pads was produced by AKAI.

The Akai S950 (1988) was an improved version of the S900, with a maximum sample frequency of 48 kHz and some of the editing features of the contemporary S1000

The MPC-60 is the music production studio that has single-handedly taken over the Rap and R&B music genres as the main instrument of HipHop production. Designed by Roger Linn (Linn Drum), the MPC-60 is a one-box-does-it-all sequencer-sampler workstation.

The built-in sequencer is very complete and professional. There are 99 tracks per sequence, 99 patterns, and 99 sequences that can be created, edited and stored in the MPC-60 with ease. Most artists create their patterns in real-time adding drum parts to a beat-loop spontaneously creating a groove that captures the vibe. These patterns are varied and chained into a sequence. Full MIDI, SMPTE and various other forms of external control prepare the MPC-60 for any studio situation.

The Sampler section is lo-fi but highly respectable. Its 12-bit sampling at 40KHz is pretty good. Sample editing, looping and transforming is simple to do. And finally, there's even a built-in drum machine for extra groove! Finally, the 18 voices of polyphony should be plenty of room for anyone who wants to create HipHop on the machine of professional artists worldwide including Apollo 440, BT, Jean-Michel Jarre, Jimmy Edgar, DJ Shadow, and A Guy Called Gerald.


The S-900 sampler was Akai's first truly professional sampler, released in 1986. Its sampling specifications were pro-quality at the time: 12-bit stereo sampling, 7.5kHz to 40kHz variable sampling rates and a maximum of 63 seconds of sample time at 7.5kHz. Up to 32 samples can be created and stored to disk along with any edit settings. This was one of the first rack-mount samplers to use a built-in disk drive. Although the drive could load sounds while you play, it was still a very slow process.

Editing and programming the S-900 is a very good precursor to the advanced S-3000 series. There are lots of advanced edit capabilities for looping, truncating, velocity crossfading, tuning and even analog-like parameters to control. Individual outputs for each of the eight voices, stereo mix out, stereo input, MIDI and trigger inputs round out this machine as a professional vintage-status sampler that still proves to be very useful even for today's musicians!

The S-950 soon followed the S-900 and offered increased memory and sampling rates. The sample rate was now variable from 7.5 to 48kHz and it could hold up to 99 samples in memory. Memory could be expanded from 750KB to 2.25MB. The S-950 is used by Fatboy Slim, Moby, Skinny Puppy, Depeche Mode, Future Sound of London, Sneaker Pimps, The Bomb Squad, Dr. Dre, DJ Premiere, Prince Paul, Digable Planets and A Guy Called Gerald.


so after some research to back up what i said... i am both wrong and right...


the s900 is probably closer to the sound of the mpc 60... they both sample at 12 bit 40 khz


the s950 samples slightly better at 12 bit 48 khz and offers some nicer features when it comes to editing...


the only difference when it comes to sampling on the s900 and the mpc 60 is that the mpc 60 has 18 voices of polyphony... where as the s900 has 8...


this shouldnt matter much for those just **** with one hits, drums and bass on thier boxes...


so while not identical... they are pretty damn close and DO sample at the same rate...

for around a 100 bucks the s900 and 950 are both beasts... cop one before they skyrocket in price with heads "tryin to get that dirty sound"


peace

yes the s900 is closer to mpc 60 sound.

But it is the linn sequencer. I own all the best sound stuff. Let me tell you an emu bucthers akai for sound.


However the reason mpc60 and mpc 3000 still go for silliy money is becuse of the feel.

Ok most people probably think its the sound. But in actual fact the reason is because of the feel.

The roger linn designed sequencer in the 60 and 3000 is killer. It has very musical feel.

If this was not true, mpc 60 would be worth about $300 and everyone would just buy an s900 or s3000 and hook it up to newer mpc.

GritKitz wrote:Let me tell you an emu bucthers akai for sound.

Like what? An E4? How about an Ensoniq EPS or ASR?