Akai S2000 etc gear pros - question for you guys

Hi guys.

I'm looking at purchasing an AKAI S2000. Someone I know is selling one for a good price.

Now its got me thinking about the technical questions of how one transfers actual samples onto the sampler itself. Now I don't have a floppy disk drive but I know of the program Akai Disk.

Now is there a way of directly transfering files to the sampler through the pc via say SCSI to USB lead and bypassing the process of using the Floppy Disk drive?

Will it just work if I dump the right formated files (S1000) in the right directory in say a Akai 2000 Sampler or is this beyond windows.

Thoughts welcome.

Cheers.

  On 2/24/2011 at 8:39 PM, Promo said:

Hi guys.

 

I'm looking at purchasing an AKAI S2000. Someone I know is selling one for a good price.

 

Now its got me thinking about the technical questions of how one transfers actual samples onto the sampler itself. Now I don't have a floppy disk drive but I know of the program Akai Disk.

 

Now is there a way of directly transfering files to the sampler through the pc via say SCSI to USB lead and bypassing the process of using the Floppy Disk drive?

 

Will it just work if I dump the right formated files (S1000) in the right directory in say a Akai 2000 Sampler or is this beyond windows.

 

Thoughts welcome.

 

Cheers.

it's been a long time since i messed around with an S2000, but we used to load samples onto it back in college from a SCSI zip drive

  On 2/24/2011 at 8:39 PM, Promo said:

SCSI to USB lead

sure it exists, but it ain't gonna just be a lead/wire/cable. it'll be some USB SCSI INTERFACE with a box and a chip brain and a price tag.

zip drive sounds like a more flexible option! but then, i got a couple zip drives in a bin, so my perspective might be skewed.

Mm I just came across a program for the PC called Mesa which allows you to edit and control everything on your sampler on the pc. The only question is now whether a cheapo USB 2 SCSI converter would work. If it doesn't then I don't think I'll bother buying it as it seems too much hassle even though the guy is selling it real cheap.

  On 2/24/2011 at 9:11 PM, Promo said:

Mm I just came across a program for the PC called Mesa which allows you to edit and control everything on your sampler on the pc. The only question is now whether a cheapo USB 2 SCSI converter would work. If it doesn't then I don't think I'll bother buying it as it seems too much hassle even though the guy is selling it real cheap.

yeah, i don't think SCSI is as simple as just getting a cable that has a SCSI connector on one end and USB on the other, you need a SCSI controller card and all that stuff.

someone is selling an S2000!

  On 2/24/2011 at 9:19 PM, soundwave said:

someone is selling an S2000!

to be fair, i'd choose an S1000 over an S2000

but yeah, i cut my teeth on an S2000 so i got a bit of fondness for it. 2 line LCD display lol

  On 2/24/2011 at 9:21 PM, oscillik said:

  On 2/24/2011 at 9:19 PM, soundwave said:

someone is selling an S2000!

to be fair, i'd choose an S1000 over an S2000

 

but yeah, i cut my teeth on an S2000 so i got a bit of fondness for it. 2 line LCD display lol

Shame. I guess if I bought a USB Floppy Drive then I could get samples onto it that way. Seems a crying shame that a cheap USB to SCSI cable won't work though otherwise this would be awesome combined with the convenience of using MESA. Still I've always wanted an AKAI sampler so am still quite tempted even though getting samples into it and prepared nicely isn't going to be easy!!

  On 2/24/2011 at 10:20 PM, Promo said:

  On 2/24/2011 at 9:21 PM, oscillik said:

  On 2/24/2011 at 9:19 PM, soundwave said:

someone is selling an S2000!

to be fair, i'd choose an S1000 over an S2000

 

but yeah, i cut my teeth on an S2000 so i got a bit of fondness for it. 2 line LCD display lol

Shame. I guess if I bought a USB Floppy Drive then I could get samples onto it that way. Seems a crying shame that a cheap USB to SCSI cable won't work though otherwise this would be awesome combined with the convenience of using MESA. Still I've always wanted an AKAI sampler so am still quite tempted even though getting samples into it and prepared nicely isn't going to be easy!!

well to be fair, when the S2000 came out it was intended that the end user would sample material using the sampler themselves, using the inputs. then you would edit the samples and save the data using solely the S2000.

but if it's going cheap enough, i'd pick it up

they've got sweet converters, i'll give you that, but other than the characteristic crunch, i can't really see the point when you can do all that and more 'in the box'

it's all digital domain after all.

i'd punt my 3000 if i thought i'd get a remotely good price for it.

  On 2/24/2011 at 11:10 PM, loganfive said:

they've got sweet converters, i'll give you that, but other than the characteristic crunch, i can't really see the point when you can do all that and more 'in the box'

 

it's all digital domain after all.

 

i'd punt my 3000 if i thought i'd get a remotely good price for it.

had to sell my S6000 last year. i paid £450 for it in 2007. it sold for £200 :(

  On 2/24/2011 at 11:14 PM, oscillik said:

  On 2/24/2011 at 11:10 PM, loganfive said:

they've got sweet converters, i'll give you that, but other than the characteristic crunch, i can't really see the point when you can do all that and more 'in the box'

 

it's all digital domain after all.

 

i'd punt my 3000 if i thought i'd get a remotely good price for it.

had to sell my S6000 last year. i paid £450 for it in 2007. it sold for £200 :(

feel ya bro. got the 3000 soon after it came out. full expansion.

*sting*

  On 2/24/2011 at 11:15 PM, loganfive said:

  On 2/24/2011 at 11:14 PM, oscillik said:

  On 2/24/2011 at 11:10 PM, loganfive said:

they've got sweet converters, i'll give you that, but other than the characteristic crunch, i can't really see the point when you can do all that and more 'in the box'

 

it's all digital domain after all.

 

i'd punt my 3000 if i thought i'd get a remotely good price for it.

had to sell my S6000 last year. i paid £450 for it in 2007. it sold for £200 :(

 

feel ya bro. got the 3000 soon after it came out. full expansion.

 

*sting*

damn, well at least you got some good use out of it i'm guessing?

a friend gave one to my house mate, it's currently being used just to prop something else up and I've another mates A4000 with a huge scuzzy drive cluttering up my room that he will never come and collect

none flash hardware samplers are doorstops, don't kid yourself

I think I'll get it just 'cause its at a price which is so cheap I think what the hell and I've always wanted an Akai!! I know its not the greatest Akai but once I get some samples in it then I will use it for sure. I'll probably load some essential Drum kits in it for starters such as the 808 & 909 and then maybe add some synths etc. Either way it'll be fun and it'll make nice eye candy to my set up!!

Once I do get it I'll post a pic of me set up just for you guys. ;-)

get a korg electribe es-1 or esx. You'll make more music with them, and dealing with samples is so much easier, and better. They are both dirt cheap for what they are. I look at gear classifieds/ebay all the time, akai s2000's and the whole line of akai's older sampler are always really cheap, because they are more hassle compared to what else is on the market for the same price. I've00000000 seen s2000's go for $5 or een gien away in lots with other stuff.

It *is* a great sampler, I learned on mine and used it often, but i spent more time loading sounds & mapping them than doing anything musical. Usually just used it at shows for one shots. The conerters are nice, fx areusable, decent digital filter. It's certainly not a waste of money, but...

The roland Dr. samplers, korg's electribes, and kaoss pad 3 are wayyyy more useful, easier to get along with, and easier to get samples from your computer to sampler with. If you are going to get an older akai sampler save a lil and get an s6000. Or a korg kaoss pad 3, or roland sp line. All those already have a whole range of drum sounds already in them, including great 808 & 909 samples.

just my 2c :)

If you don't mind spending time waiting for stuff to load, and buying a scsi zip drive & waiting forever to load stuff, by all means it's still a useful sampler.

yeah dude

its down to an s6000 for 200sterling or less for a 5000

and you will still have a nightmare saving and moving samples aroind

no, don't.

  Quote

Now its got me thinking about the technical questions of how one transfers actual samples onto the sampler itself. Now I don't have a floppy disk drive but I know of the program Akai Disk.

Just sample it. That's one of the perks to a good hw sampler.

Loading samples onto an s2000 is not as hard is people are making it seem. The initial setup can be a pain in the ass, but once you get it all figured out, it's actually fairly fast and simple. I can even drag and drop Kontakt and Battery programs (or any other sample format) from my hard drive (almost) directly into the sampler.

You are going to need an SCSI card for your computer, and a cable. This is not a big deal. They are super cheap and easy to come by. I got my card for $7 (shipping included), which is a typical ebay price for one. You can find out which cards are compatible here. The cable was a bit more expensive at $13. Just make sure it has the right connectors.

With just an SCSI card and cable you can talk to your sampler with your computer. You will first have to install ASPI drivers, and make sure you are running the latest OS on your s2000. Unfortunately, at this point in time ASPI only works with WinXP and older systems, so if you are running Win7, you will have to do a dual boot, which definitely puts a damper on things. But if you are running XP, you are golden. I don't know anything about Macs.

Now there are two programs you can use to interface with your sampler: Akai's MESA, or Chickensys Millennium. People say Millennium is better but I've never used it. MESA is a little finicky, but works fine and gets the job done. You can download it from the Akai website. Just look under 'support' for the s2000. Using MESA you can load individual samples from your HD, save programs, and control most of the sampler parameters from your PC.

That's enough to get you up and running, loading samples, and making programs, but to unlock the full potential of the s2000 I highly recommend buying a zip drive. I got my zip drive together with ten 100MB disks for 30 bucks. I've seen them go for even cheaper than that. You will specifically need an SCSI zip drive, and get another cable so that you can chain the sampler with the zip drive and the computer at the same time.

This is where things get really cool. Now you can save programs to the zip drive so that you don't need to be tied to your computer to use your sampler. But here's the best part" If you get a copy of a program called "Chicken Systems Translator" it will allow you to directly drag and drop pre-made programs from your hard drive onto the zip drive, and it will automatically convert them to the proper format. They don't even have to be Akai programs. So, at this point I rarely even ever use MESA. I just make a drum kit in Battery, or an instrument in Kontakt and then drag and drop them onto the zip disk using Translator, or I just use one of the thousands of free soundfonts that are floating around the internet. Piece of cake. Another thing that Translator can do is read Akai cd images directly from a file, or from your CD drive. That means you can load Akai sample cds into your s2000 without owning an SCSI cd drive. How cool is that?

One thing I should mention is that Translator is probably the single buggiest piece of software I have ever used. It crashes constantly and sometimes it messes up a parameter or two that I have to fix after the dump, but fortunately it loads quickly and saves a ton of time, so I'm not complaining.

Some people will say "What's the point of using a hardware sampler in this day and age?" Well, I personally just like to get away from the computer as much as possible when making music. There is something about using old hardware that's just more inspiring, even if it is a bit more of a pain in the ass. They also have their own "sound" too. For the prices these old samplers go for these days, it's definitely worth picking one up IMO.

  On 3/1/2011 at 8:05 AM, MrSparkle666 said:

Loading samples onto an s2000 is not as hard is people are making it seem. The initial setup can be a pain in the ass, but once you get it all figured out, it's actually fairly fast and simple. I can even drag and drop Kontakt and Battery programs (or any other sample format) from my hard drive (almost) directly into the sampler.

 

You are going to need an SCSI card for your computer, and a cable. This is not a big deal. They are super cheap and easy to come by. I got my card for $7 (shipping included), which is a typical ebay price for one. You can find out which cards are compatible here. The cable was a bit more expensive at $13. Just make sure it has the right connectors.

 

With just an SCSI card and cable you can talk to your sampler with your computer. You will first have to install ASPI drivers, and make sure you are running the latest OS on your s2000. Unfortunately, at this point in time ASPI only works with WinXP and older systems, so if you are running Win7, you will have to do a dual boot, which definitely puts a damper on things. But if you are running XP, you are golden. I don't know anything about Macs.

 

Now there are two programs you can use to interface with your sampler: Akai's MESA, or Chickensys Millennium. People say Millennium is better but I've never used it. MESA is a little finicky, but works fine and gets the job done. You can download it from the Akai website. Just look under 'support' for the s2000. Using MESA you can load individual samples from your HD, save programs, and control most of the sampler parameters from your PC.

 

That's enough to get you up and running, loading samples, and making programs, but to unlock the full potential of the s2000 I highly recommend buying a zip drive. I got my zip drive together with ten 100MB disks for 30 bucks. I've seen them go for even cheaper than that. You will specifically need an SCSI zip drive, and get another cable so that you can chain the sampler with the zip drive and the computer at the same time.

 

This is where things get really cool. Now you can save programs to the zip drive so that you don't need to be tied to your computer to use your sampler. But here's the best part" If you get a copy of a program called "Chicken Systems Translator" it will allow you to directly drag and drop pre-made programs from your hard drive onto the zip drive, and it will automatically convert them to the proper format. They don't even have to be Akai programs. So, at this point I rarely even ever use MESA. I just make a drum kit in Battery, or an instrument in Kontakt and then drag and drop them onto the zip disk using Translator, or I just use one of the thousands of free soundfonts that are floating around the internet. Piece of cake. Another thing that Translator can do is read Akai cd images directly from a file, or from your CD drive. That means you can load Akai sample cds into your s2000 without owning an SCSI cd drive. How cool is that?

 

One thing I should mention is that Translator is probably the single buggiest piece of software I have ever used. It crashes constantly and sometimes it messes up a parameter or two that I have to fix after the dump, but fortunately it loads quickly and saves a ton of time, so I'm not complaining.

 

Some people will say "What's the point of using a hardware sampler in this day and age?" Well, I personally just like to get away from the computer as much as possible when making music. There is something about using old hardware that's just more inspiring, even if it is a bit more of a pain in the ass. They also have their own "sound" too. For the prices these old samplers go for these days, it's definitely worth picking one up IMO.

great fourth post!

You PDXians are class folk.

In the end my head ruled and I decided it was too much hassle. I just wanted to buy a USB to SCSI cable and it works but that didn't seem to be possible so I scraped the idea. I still may get an old sampler one day but I'm running a laptop so getting a SCSI card would have been a little trickier.

Okay guys I've now got an Akai S2000 and an external SCSI CD rom drive plugged into it. My question is how do I burn Akai formated CDs with samples etc in windows? Cheers.

you have to put some HP sauce on the blank disc first, so it burns it as a medium density disk.

Guys I really need to know how to burn ISOs to CD rom so I can get some samples into the sampler. Please can someone help. Cheers. :-)