OT.. akai s2000 , anyone have any input on this?

[Jayson Torres]

ok guys, i can always come here and trust your valid opinions and comments. so, what do you guys think about this unit? i will be sampling from audio sources, voices, sounds from my karma, etc. i will be using it with my mpd16's. so, anyone care to give some input?
i want to pick up a sampler, but don't want to spend allot.

[Jayson Torres]

[pk_hat]

The S2000 was the inspiration behind the now legendary MPC2000 series. Wile you can throw samples in most playback software apps, the reason the MPC has become so ubiquitous is due to it's extremely tight sequencer and more importantly, it's sound. Take a few drum samples, throw them in ReDrum, trigger them with an Oxygen 8 or your pads, create a loop.

Now, do the exact same thing using only the MPC, 95% will agree that it sounds a lot better, same samples and all. It just has a nice grit to it, a coloration that thousands of hip-hop and other producers have come to love.

What would I do in your shoes. Well, I'm not sold on the idea of a rackmount hardware sampler, however, you may want to look into the new AKAI MPC1000, which is similar to the 2K, but smaller, flash rom storage, incredibly flexible, etc. Future Music just gave it a stellar review.

Besides that, I would go with Kontakt and keep things simple. Now with RTAS capability, I couldn't be bothered with an S2000, it just doesn't add up unless I really need that "sound". To sum it up, I'd go either with a used MPC 2000, or a new MPC1000, but not a rackmount, OR, Kontakt and trigger that with your AKAI pads.

Just my opinion.

[Jayson Torres]

thanks for your response...

i am primarliy looking for a sampler. will the s2000 do the job and do it well? I do all my of sequencing in pt or on my karma. i am more into getting a sampler, with out spending allot of coin.

[da BaSsTaRd!]

the reason those old akai samplers sound gritty is because they have old gritty converters. if you're not using a sampler for a live show, i would steer clear of the s2000. software is much better. there's no playback latency with software samplers (relative to the rest of your session audio). if you use a hardware sampler you'll need a mixer to eliminate input latency, and that means no cool plugins until you record the sampler's output to an audio track (unless you can live with some latency on a small buffer). but using rewire or rtas sampler plugin, the audio is running on the same card as the rest of your session.

plus, the s2000 is limited to 32mb of memory (i think). that's enough for most drum programs, but if you want to throw in some ambient loops or something, it can get eaten up pretty quick.

plus, the cost of a used s2000 with the multi-out expansion card is more than the price of reason software. and reason's NN-XT sampler imports akai programs.

plus, NN-XT can use 64 outputs directly to PT (8 NN-XTs using all 8 outputs each), or alternatively, unlimited outputs if you submix within reason. i know that's overkill and rediculous, but it shows the difference in flexibility.

i would go with software. by the way, reason's sequencer is awesome. that's another benefit of software.

[Jayson Torres]

db..

i have reason but never really considered using NN-XT. Hmm... now you have got me thinking. Does it work like a hardware sampler? I can just upload audio file into it? I am gonna crack that extra heavy manual tonight!!! oh yeah, can you give me some tips on how to use it with pt? you answered my question about the mpd16's... that is what i will be using it with.

[uller]

Well.....i have s2000 and I love it..its cheap, and works every time.The only drawback is the small display,but there is a softwere called millinium that u can buy,then u can control s2000 on u computer. And the gritty sound is unik for "old akai samples"...i like it. the limit IS 32mega
but u will be suprised how many good akai samples u can buy build for 32mega.
I have to mention, I use it only as a part of a setup.
If this is gonna be the only thing in u setup..u will be better of with reason.

I spell even worse on my native lingo...sorry

[uller]

my post got old while writing

[pk_hat]

db..

i have reason but never really considered using NN-XT.

Well quite frankly it is now time to consider using it. As DB said, software would be the best bet in your situation. You have the sequencer, you have the pads, you have a synth, all you need is to get good samples and fly away. The NN-XT is extremely powerful and intuitive.

Forget about the S2000 altogether, you can't beat software in terms of editing funcionality and ease of use, totall recall, etc.

As for how to use Reason and PT together, DB may reply with a link, but there's certainly enough info on this site if you do a search. Here's some more links.

www.propellerheads.se
www.reasonstation.net
www.digidesign.com/digizine (look at last months archived issue)

This should get you started.

[Jayson Torres]

wow.. you guys have been allot of help!!

"calling DB... calling DB.. come in DB.."

looks like i am going with reason. what is the "reason" you ask? hahah..(sorry, i had to).