Dynacord ADS

my ADS: V2.0, 6 Mb RAM, built 1989, 19",
Great but rare original presetsounds maybe available.
editing patches is a pain ida. except the amazing!!! "modulation matrix" which gives you possibility to manipulate nearly all controllers with each other. including 2 built in LFO's this is my favorite, easy and fast tool of the ADS.
the one and only ads-editor from r.biedermann does not bring much more than you can give names to samples, sounds and mixes by the risk of crashing ads (never delete a sample from the editor!100% crash!i dont use it!).i never found a ADS-driver for avalon.
navigation is quite easy, an overview of all(!)parameters is printed on the front panel of the rack-version.
the architecture is similar to the akai-concept.
around 2000 pices where built.

99mixes,8 channel-mixer: not midi-controlable, 8 sounds (99/set) with up to 20 samples/keygroup(3 velocity layers). multiple midi modulations.
the free designable modulation matrix is real great, easy, and the one and only of its kind. ( I rate 10 for that!)
8 outputs and only 16 voices, sometimes not enough for percussion and long layers.
i always missed filters!!!
has no effects.
you cannot move sample start- and end-point at same time. ?
no sequencer, but can record! and play a demo song.

its sound is great. you can have a fat bass if the source sound is fat. but NO filters!
meanwile my ADS has some little high frequ. noise in the outputs -disturbing!(getting old:)

dependable: 99%, even live, hear this story:
... the electricity went off again, the light was off, all machines dark, just my ADS-sampler was on, buffering for this ~2/3 seconds with the self regulating power-supply (90-250VAC 50/60Hz) . this happend when we were playing live, electricity was not stabil there, but the ADS did not shut down.
sometimes discs are not readable. you have to load up file by file without the distroyed one.

when i bought the used sampler, it crashed completely.
i moved to dynacord-germany and needed a new main processor.
for 450.-DM i got one of the last ones changed. probably they are sold out now.
people were very friendly,competent & helpful, even friday afternoon.
a bit expensive.

i dont wanna get rid of it.
i play it since 5 years
i wish it would have filters and the arcitecture of a roland sampler.

The last software revision available for the ADS is REV 2.0 which is very easy to navigate. While the ADS is simple to use, several features are hidden which may be difficult for the inexperienced to find without the owners manual. If you are familiar with Roland or Yamaha gear you will find the ADS a breeze to use. Not many ADS's were made and ever fewer ADS-K's were produced. The ADS-K was the keyboard version of the ADS.

The ADS features a very well laid out front panel that is screened so you can easily access the most used functions. The unit features 8 polyphonic outputs which is great for doing drums and percussion. In addition there is a built in mixer with an effects send and return so you can use outboard gear to process your samples. Maximun RAM is 8 megs expanded via 2 MEG RAM cards. The unit comes stock with 2 MEGS of RAM. SCSI and MIDI are standard and well implemented.

The ADS was the first sampler I know of to support true 20 bit conversion. The sound quality of the unit is first rate and it easily rivals most samplers made today. Drums and percussion sound truly amazing on the ADS. There aren't many sound disks available for the ADS but if you sample your own sounds, you'll find the ADS can capture every nuance of the original quite faithfully.

German designed and built the ADS's build quality is more akin to a tank than a sampler. In the 10 years I've owned my ADS I have never had a single problem with the unit nor do I expect to.

Dynacord is distributed in the US by EVI/Telex. EV's support is first class and the staff is very friendly and knowledgeable.

The ADS is a great sounding sampler that I love for drums, bass, and percussion. Compared to samplers made today that have lots of polyphony and RAM the ADS may seem primative but the fact remains it sounds great, is easy to use, and is one of the most reliable pieces of gear I have ever owned. In the used market the ADS can be found at bargain prices and it's worth every penny.

many buttons but very orgenized.
very logical.

unbelivably great.
I have few 16-20 bit samplers but this is the best sounding
I ever played.
It is 16 note poly.
16-24-20 bit in thru out.
Stereo and mono samples in 44.1 Khz and 22.05Khz sampling rate.
Sample midi dump ( sound forge...)
SCSI and 3.5" Floppy disk.
Read Akai disks. ( for the old backup filers )
2-8 MB memory. ( 188 seconds max memory !!! )
8 20 bit outputs and stereo returns with a level knob.
it has 3 levels of 3 envelops anf modulations per samples sound.
99 programs.
Fusion sampling - you can play your sample
and it will sample the playing as a new sample...COOL !
many many midi and other cool features.
very user friendly after playing.

as i said before it is the best sounding sampler.
You have to understand that it was built and designed
by the german people (Germans built Studer and Mercedes..)
They used 3 8 bit AD-DA in serial order
to get the real 24 bit signal.
when you sample a sound you can hear the result
at the same time you are sampling it and change it right than.
When I played a .wav file (PC) and MIDI sample dump it to the ADS
it sounds better and warmer than any converter I've tried.

Very Good - built like a tank.

They did send me something a few years ago.
They are in Germany but EV ( electro voice) represent them here.

It was a very expensive in the 90's.
something like $4000-$5000 new
and the memorey IC's wasnt cheap either.
I also bought the SCSI rebovable Drive
and I'm a happy Cat.
I love My Tamaha A3000 V.2 with all the options
but the Dynacord ADS-K ( built into a keyboard - Very Rare!)
is always my best on hand sampler.
I use to have a very long time KORG DSS-1 that
I was having fun with, but it didn't have the quality
or memory of this Sampler.
ADS is Advanced DigitalSampler.
I currently own both the ADS and the ADS-K.
you can find them these days for much less.
people don't know their true value.