Akai S950

Using is works out quite ok and if you're used to the Akai Operating systems it won't be too difficult to get into a fast workflow :-)
The System is very well organized -in my opinion- there are a few let's call 'em bugs that could have been programmed a little more userfriendly, but we know that from every piece of equipment... And due to the fact that this is nearly 20 years old it's very comfortable to use ;-)
the manual is -according to the time and to the fact that it should be understood by every hillbilly- very exact, but still leaves some questions open. But all in all good to have it nearby while learning this unit by doing.

A Rack Sampler, 3 Rack-heights tall (i don't know the exact english word for it...)
It has some Sorts of efx, such as LowPass (Cutoff w/o resonance - but Caution: it creates a weird 16kHz sweep when used in strong/low bass frequencies),
LFO,
Pitch warp (a subtle effect controlling small pitch amounts by attack/decay...),
VCF adsr hull curve,
VCA adsr hull curve
and most important of them all: the converters themselves: 12 bit and bandwidth from 3000 to 19200 Hz (on the A/D). Experimenting with different input levels and different bandwidths gives a wide amount of variations.
The memory is expandable from 750 to 2000 (?) kbyte (i don't know exactly - i don't need that much for my stuff).
The usual storage media are floppy disks but a SCSI option is possible, but REALLY hard to find on this planet, I've heard about a program dumping data from that SCSI-looking like "RS 232" port on the back of the unit to a regular PC "COM" Port... Try to google that, if you think you'll need it. But i'm sure it won't be necessary.
The S950 disks cannot be read by MPC2000/60 and PC...just to be noted by the way. And don't even expect stuff like USB...
It is very quiet :-)

I use this mostly for drums and percussive sounds. The sounds definitely doesnt sound realistic, a loss of highs has to be expected when sampling sounds. But Art is also making gold out of shit just by reinventing and replacing it... Understood - to get a perfect copy of the original sound to be sampled go get a Z4 or good E-mu sampler, the s950 is for messing around below 16 kHz ! BlaBla... OK, now a little more exact: you lose highs the lower bandwith you chose here...
and the sound of the Sampler itself 'looks like dusty mahagony'. This would be the best synasthetic expression for it.
You won't get really deep waving low ends and no extreme glassy highs, but such a strong punching midrange...a very stable strength ... just like i said: a fine 70 year old dusty mahagony log... (exept for the luxury aspects ot that wood - this sampler is for slapping faces:-)
Some say it has the same sampling engine as the MPC60 - that may be true, but for me the 60 still sounds different: more highs, more transparent and not so dull, but that may be not very objective...But in the end:
This Sampler has such strong own characteristics and for that price...
I bought it because i was bored of the Drumsounds sampled with my MPC2000XL, for Drums it's a very pleasent alternative (meanwhile i use the MPC mainly just for sequencing, sampling mainly is done by the S950 and an E-mu ESI4000...P.S.: It's true what is said about the E-mu converters;-)

It never crashed during my use. The only thing: I'm a little afraid of the disk drive, a lot of people complain about broken ones....

Akai maybe could add a little more infos online, but real contact to the people i never needed...

I won't miss ist, It definitely has become a fixed place in my productions... " Drums: S950! "
(Way better than sampled through my S/MPC2000 or Esi4k, they get their own special range:-)

Not sure which version... for somereason mine seems to have 512k rather than 750k so if anyone knows anything about this I'd be keen to...

Scared me at first 'cos I'd never used a rackmount smapler before but that only actually lasted a day or two and then realised it's p*ss easy to use. The manuals good - I have the PDF version form Akai's site which has some amusing spelling errors and typos - think it's jut scanned form the paper one...

The features have been stated pretty well below here...

I use mine as a drum module and the memory and polyphony are OK for that - seems to not be able to output all 8 notes from the stereo outs though - but it was the 8 outs that I got it for - I can have a different channel for each sound and really screw about with the eq and effects - great for the hard industrial acid trance I do...

I know modern machines do so much more, but for the price I got it for I'm giving it a 10.

Grungy, 12 bit. Sounds wicked for what I use it for (see above) had a bit of trouble setting up patches to respond right to velocity, but cracked it now.

(ps I don't like the fact that it sounds terrible is 1 in the ratings... ...I want it to sound terrible so this would be a 10!!)

Gigged with it once, no problems. It's old and been round a bit but works fine - Been told that they are pretty sturdy. Have heard the memoy chips fall out occasionally - stull intrigued as to why mine has only 512k though.

My only gripe is the fact it weighs 10 kilos...

This has really helped my live sound - the seperate outputs mean I can mess with my drum sounds, it was cheap and it works like a dream - never even had a disc error!

After a read through the manual, this is a very straightforward bit of kit to use. The sampling procedure walks you through the process so there's no head scratching, especially if you know a bit about sampling.

Mono sampling, 8 notes of polyphony, which is pretty slim so this is best used for percussion and loops. 750k expandable to 2.25mb. I've never bothered to expand because its always been nice to have what I need fit onto a floppy, rather than having to keep load several in.
There aren't much in the way of FX except a great filter. There are 8 independant outputs alongside the stereo and mix outs so processing samples is simple.

Its worth noting this is a very quiet machine and for that reason is great for recording.

I use the S950 for percussion in film and tv work and it has been pretty indispensable. I've created hundreds of custom kits, from hip hop to World and run it from an MPC-60. Its simple, elegant for its time and they work perfectly together. You can even run the midi into Wavelab (or whatever you choose) to send and edit samples. The 12 bit sound is clearer than my old Emulator II and works very well for bass, toms and snares. Anything in the low khz range is going to sound good on this. Cymbals are better suited elsewhere if you want clarity (although I have loads of metal kits with anvils and whatnot that sound superb).

Its not failed me in 13 years and is built like a tank so no complaints here. A friend's floppy drive stopped working on his but akai still do replacements.

Not yet had to deal with them.

The S950 seems almost too simple in this day and age when the average Barbie accessory has more sample time, but this is a really brilliant little sampler and if percussion is a big thing for you then this is well worth owning. I've seen several on ebay this past few weeks for around a hundred squiddies and and I'd pay that again for it anyday.

Easy.

Old school sampler from the late 80's. Limited features... but enough for Hip-Hop and electronic music.

12-bit linear
Sample rate variable from 7.5 to 48kHz.
Memory can be expanded from 750KB to 2.25MB.
MIDI, Polyphony: 8 voices
Effects: None
Keyboard: None
Floppy disk drive.

The Akai 12-Bit sound, still used a lot today in Hip-Hop and R&B. Very warm sounding!

Solid as a tank!

Don't know.

For a very low price, you get the sound! Fantastic value! I will definitely get another one, if it was stollen!