What is the warmest sounding hardware sampler?

[Kolakube]

Hi ken,

Any ideas why the hell the ASR10 is so pricey?

Ill look into the Ensoniq. Thanks.

An knowledge on the EMax 2 and its sound and how the digital filters fair?

[Chevytraveller]

Well as an owner of 4 Emax IIs I have to say they are my favorite sampler bar none. I have owned a great many others over the years, including Akais, Rolands, other Emulators etc.
The Emax II has just the right balance of warmth and Clarity for my ear and worth particularly well for synth sounds or sound creation.
The filters are indeed digital on the Emax II, but sound better than the analogue ones of the Emax as the Emax I filters have very pronounced stepping apparent when you introduce modulation.
Have a look at these video to see comparisons
Emax v Emax II comparisons
I tend resample drum sounds into my EIV to gain the character of the Emax II but with a quicker response.
one of the unique things about Emu is the way sample transpose. So one of my fave tricks is to play a drum sample an octave or 2 lower than it's original pitch on the Emax and then pitch it back up once re-sampled

hope this helps

[ken long]

Like VJ said, the Emax 2 is a different beast. I think filter chips replaced by Op-amps. Never used one so can't comment.

ASR is pricey cause its so damn good. Great sound and the ability to re-sample sounds through its effects processors. Also, it has a very useable sequencer.

For the rack mounted ASR, I'd expect to see them going around the £400 mark at the very top. Perhaps slightly more if its fully expanded and has the SCSI or CF options.

EPS 16+ will set you back about £150 - £200.

And Elf, I agree about the craziness of the old samplers but I think the appeal is also down to workflow. Granted, some samplers are buggers to use but the results can sometimes only be reached by going through the motions.

Kola, the only reason I've been mentioning Akai is because I just too possession of a MPC3K and I find the sound quite pleasing. Its not as gritty as my SP but it does surgical very well.

For a "warm" sound, therefore, I would look at the Emu rack range Ultras, etc. All those filters were always top class. There's not much demand for them either. I've seen some crazy prices on eBay / Gumtree.

Japanese v. American. Kawasaki v. Harley

[Kolakube]

Thanks CHevy traveller.

Interesting you say the digital filters sound better than analogue.

Also sampling back and forth is very interesting.

Ken

I think you nailed it with this quote.
"Granted, some samplers are buggers to use but the results can sometimes only be reached by going through the motions."

I find morder day PC based samplers to be fantastic if you want a carbon copy of what you sampled (as most people do.)

In the past few weeks I have drastically changed my production style and as such I have gone from wanting pristine quality sound to a distressed type of sound over all.

ASR vs Emax anyone?

[vinyl_junkie]

Hi ken,

Any ideas why the hell the ASR10 is so pricey?

Cos Kanye West uses it innit LOL

Also worth noting apart from being able to re-sample with FX as Ken said the FX are actually good, similar to the DP4 I think which was a nice rack FX unit.
If you think the ASR is pricey have you seen the prices on SP-1200's?

[ken long]

Hi ken,

Any ideas why the hell the ASR10 is so pricey?

Cos Kanye West uses it innit LOL

Also worth noting apart from being able to re-sample with FX as Ken said the FX are actually good, similar to the DP4 I think which was a nice rack FX unit.
If you think the ASR is pricey have you seen the prices on SP-1200's?

Yes, yes! The DP4 / DP2 effects. That's right. And very good in that trademrak-ey kind of way. The Phaser is instantly recognisable and the reverbs very useable. But if you have a look at DP4 prices, you'll see they are upwards of £250 - eBay crazy price at £400. So yes, makes the ASR worth it. I would pay maximum £300 for a souped up ASR-10. Maybe a bit more for the 88 key version.

SP1200 command big prices because of the brilliant sequencer. Ease of note input second to none IMO. You can play it like an instrument.

[The_BPP]

I completely agree with Mr Elf...

You want a warm-sounding sampler? Use Kontact 4, and stick it through UAD's Fatso!

[Kolakube]

Piano player

That should be "Completely agree with mr Kolakube"

So can anyone comment on Emax vs ASR10?

Also what were the later E4's like?

[The_BPP]

Yes, I am in agreement with you too, Mr Kube.

Believe me, I was a late convert to the PC-based sampler, and I've used several Akais, EMUs and Yamahas over the years (oddly enough, I liked the Yamaha sampler best), but none of them compare to my Kontakt sampler, for sound quality, ease-of-use, compatibility, sound libraries... All of these things are more important than some sort of vaguely-perceived "warm" attribute of a "vintage" hardware sampler, which could be easily emulated/bettered anyway.

There. I said it. Can't take it back now.

[Kolakube]

It was me that originally said DAW sampler via UAD fatso (original post) not Elf. Im not having him nick my kudos points!!

I tried Kontakt and couldn't get on with it. I upgraded the cooly named Simpler that comes standard with Ableton Live to Sampler and it does everything I need perfectly transparently.

Thing is when peeps say Kontakt / SImpler / Battery sound great surely its the PC that sounds great and the software is dependent on it. If its the Fatso sounding great then it isnt the soft sampler either if you see my point. I think PC samplers are the ultimate in clean colourless sampling. And sometimes thats just what we need.

[ken long]

It is a crazy world!

There's an s5000 on Gumtree for £100!

[vinyl_junkie]

It is a crazy world!

There's an s5000 on Gumtree for £100!

Shut up shut up I'm not listeningggg! lol

imo Kontakt is a glorified rom-pler reminiscent of the Akai S-1000PB crossed with a Proteus 2000, how is it called a sampler when it can't actually sample?

[The Elf]

It was me that originally said DAW sampler via UAD fatso (original post) not Elf. Im not having him nick my kudos points!!

Aaaw! I need all the kudos I can get!

If I told you my own secret for sound scrunching I doubt it would help. If you ever manage to scrape up an Energy Technology VKP-1 (Valve Keyboard Pre-amp) then you'll be in squidgy valve-y heaven. I hesitate to wheel out the word 'warm', because it means different things to different people, but when I want a sound to get down 'n' dirty it's the magic wand I head for.

It saturates the sound nicely, makes it thicker and gives it a 'glow'. Pushed harder you begin to find grit, growl and a mid-low purr. Lovely, lovely stuff.

The only problem is that the VKP-1 is as rare as Dalek testicles. The only one I've ever seen is the one I own. It took me a long time to find and I've been looking for another ever since to no avail.

So...

I'd maybe look at something like a valve compressor, or valve EQ as an option. I have a TLA EQ-1 and EQ-2 that, while not as overt as the VKP-1, can impart similar characteristics.

As to the Fatso... I've not tried it, so I can't comment, but I think you're on the right lines with that approach.

[ken long]

It is a crazy world!

There's an s5000 on Gumtree for £100!

Shut up shut up I'm not listeningggg! lol

Wait for this, last week, I found an S2000 on Gumtree for £20. I told a mate who lived nearby to go and pick it up. The seller said he couldn't find the disc so just "gave" him the sampler.

Fully expanded, 8 outs, EFX.

Free.

[vinyl_junkie]

Great deal! The output board and FX board are worth more than the sampler if sold separately on ebay lol

Last year there were two JP-8's on there both for 1k

[hollowsun]

It is a crazy world!

There's an s5000 on Gumtree for £100!

Buy it!!!

[Martin Walker]

Wait for this, last week, I found an S2000 on Gumtree for £20. I told a mate who lived nearby to go and pick it up. The seller said he couldn't find the disc so just "gave" him the sampler.

Fully expanded, 8 outs, EFX.

Free.

I'd better start searching on Gumtree then

I want some free hardware too

Martin

[vinyl_junkie]

Wait for this, last week, I found an S2000 on Gumtree for £20. I told a mate who lived nearby to go and pick it up. The seller said he couldn't find the disc so just "gave" him the sampler.

Fully expanded, 8 outs, EFX.

Free.

Buy It!!!

+1

The other crazy thing, I have recently seen S-6000's go for pretty much next to nothing...£150 any one?
I'm more than tempted but I'm so very attached to my 3200XL..the 6000 would put it out of a job lol It don't even need to be in a rack thanks to that removable LCD screen...perhaps the best idea ever!!

[ken long]

It is a crazy world!

There's an s5000 on Gumtree for £100!

Buy it!!!

Upgrading an MPC3000 at the moment. One thing at a time!

[hollowsun]

I'm more than tempted but I'm so very attached to my 3200XL..the 6000 would put it out of a job lol It don't even need to be in a rack thanks to that removable LCD screen...perhaps the best idea ever!!

If you bought an S5000 or, especially, an S6000 (especially if it has the USB board installed), you'd wonder how the hell you managed on your 3200XL!

[ken long]

From an s6000 listing

Hello,

For sale my Akai S6000 sampler. Specs as follows:

136 MB ram (Max 256) - actually it will be more ram fitted as I have found some extra..
16 Analog outputs
64 extra Voice Card (total 128 polly)

If it isn't listed it isn't present

Not taking offers, blows software samplers away Imo - I have a second machine I am keeping.

[ken long]

I'm more than tempted but I'm so very attached to my 3200XL..the 6000 would put it out of a job lol It don't even need to be in a rack thanks to that removable LCD screen...perhaps the best idea ever!!

If you bought an S5000 or, especially, an S6000 (especially if it has the USB board installed), you'd wonder how the hell you managed on your 3200XL!

Can't wait to get the OS ROMs on my 3K upgraded, RAM expanded, VGA board fitted, and CF Drive fitted.

Then, all I'll need is some Novachord Samples and some meds!

[vinyl_junkie]

Are you getting the Rohan OS for your 3K? I had a play with it and it's great! I love the MPC-3k

@Hollowsun > I also have a MPC-2000XL and although it doesn't have USB it accepts PC formated disks and I use something called MPC PGM Maker on the mac, makes getting samples/pgm's into it a doodle. I use the 3200 mainly just to sample my synths so import/export is not really an issue

[ken long]

Are you getting the Rohan OS for your 3K? I had a play with it and it's great! I love the MPC-3k

Yup!

+ 1 PRGRM MAKER

[Sam Inglis]

Last year there were two JP-8's on there both for 1k

I should point out there's a LOT of scammers on Gumtree. And, if their ads are to be believed, a surprising number of Jupiter 8s and CS80s in remote bits of Scotland...