AKAI Z8 Tell us about it SK

[Okion]

Well?

[who]

I was going to ask the same question. So, how do you like it SK?

[Okion]

Stone Knife, can you enlighten us?

[Stone Knife]

Oh Man, is this thing the coolest! Every day I discover something else ...but the basics have really been covered in my previous rants about software synths, to sum up:

-USB connects the Z8 with your computer, so all your computer HDD's and CD-R are accessible to the Z8's onboard HDD-

-The thing uses standard PC133 RAM so you can 'rod it up to 512 megs for about $40 by adding another 256 Meg strip

-It has word clock in/out

-2 MIDI IN
-2 MIDI Out-Thru

-96 KHz/24bit 4-channel signal processing and 8 hardware parameter controllers for that; parameters including amplitude, filter cut-off and resonance, start offset, effect send, and sample tune.

-On-computer screen software virtual control panel via ak.Sys software

-Detatchable hardware control panel you can put right in front of you and in front of your QWERTY keyboard

-USB keyboard port for fast loop and sample naming

-The onboard 60Gig HDD uses FAT32 for direct drag/drop of files in and out of your computer

-64-voice polyphony
Virtual sampling mode streams samples direct from disk

-USB host support accommodates USB floppy, CD-R, HD, MO drives.

-192 filters/26 filter types

-Up to 3 simultaneous filters per voice

-Dual independent LFOs with internal/external modulation control

-Internal 60GB IDE hard drive (standard) plus external SCSI connection

-Balanced analog inputs and outputs that support full 24-bit 96 kHz A/D/A conversion. 8 channel optional expander available.

-S/PDIF coax in/out

-Built-in sample rate converter on the digital input to eliminate rate-matching problems...

-Support for QUICK FX: allows sounds to be resampled and simultaneously processed with the internal effects. A bunch of presets are available that describe the final result rather than requiring you to blindly experiment with an overwhelming number of parameters. Presets such as Dirty, Swell, Squash, Stretch, Distant, Fat, etc. provide the desired results without the hassle.

-Auto-sample lets you set an audio threshold and lets you load samples right from any audio source automatically, including CD's. Samples are automatically named and assigned to a new program or any specified program. It’s possible to normalize each sample as it’s recorded.

Obviously the short description on the Musicians Friend 'site leaves some features out...

[Roy Howell]

You mean that's it?... [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] That thing sounds nice, Pilgrim... [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Stone Knife]

Hey, aren't you supposed to be in Casa Rubio East?
It makes pretty good french toast. Weighs less than 7 pounds.

It's hilarious, because I'm bumbling along with a copy of Craig Anderton's MIDI For Musicians and don't know hardly much more than how to turn on the power switch.

The coolest thing really, is it supports Spectrasonics' samples and Groove Control, as we saw in the Stylus demos.

You would do some serious damage w/one of these, podnuh.

[Okion]

It better work like a charm. Sounds like it gives you a lot of cotrol over the sample.

I liked "the Midi Files" by Rob Young. But I liked "Maximum MIDI" by Paul Messick even more. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

One is a nice intro, the other is subtitled "music applications in C++" [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Stone Knife]

Thanks for the book tips!