Akai S3000XL... Yay or Nay?

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d21

New member
I'm thinkin of buying a Akai S3000XL cos they're dirt cheap at the minute. Are they any good in comparison to Yamaha or E-mu samplers?

Also, is it possible to connect it to my PC and use my computer's hard drive to store my samples and manage/edit them? I've heard this is possible using MESA software. :confused:

Thanks in advance :)
 
my 2 cents? NAY


samplers got SO much more powerful in the past few years.. why would anyone get an S2K or S3K?

You can get an AKAI Z4 (yes the new new one) for pretty cheap (1200 or something?) and boost its memory to ... 512MB (!) for $100 or so.... And you have AK.SYS, a very very nice computer interface... and you get 128 notes of polyphony (or 256? have to check).

... and you dont have to buy any expensive scsi cdrom drive or hard disks (you just use yoru PC's ones)




I've been there, no thank you! (was an S6000 Studio, but BEFORE ak.sys was introduced... a nightmare).


Even emu makes ome very cheap ESI2000 and yamaha A4000 etc...
 
Unfortunately I'm not in the privileged position of living in the States where stuff is usually about 30% cheaper. I realise that there are better specced samplers out there but i've got the romantic notion that having a piece of equipment which has some technical limitations will inspire me to use it to the best of my abilities. And, like I said before, it really is bargain basement.

I'm not sure now... I'm gonna have to weigh up the pros and cons. And see if I can afford a Z4 (as if!) :cry:
 
d21 said:
i've got the romantic notion that having a piece of equipment which has some technical limitations will inspire me to use it to the best of my abilities.
Click to expand...


I hear you!

5 years ago I composed quite a few songs with just cakewalk 6 and reality... my speakers were very very bad and my soundcard was a SB32 :)

yet I produced a lot!

I understand what you mean. Though you should look into getting one of those cheap EMU or Yamahas... they really are good for the price and are more recent (thus they generally have more poly and ram).

IF you dont find anything else, go for the 3000xl, it is probably nice still.

good luck!
 
man! i am geting this new job,so i will buy an mpc4000...cant wait...it is so powerfull..got phat effects and even event editor...isn't it the best u can get?

u can play sounds direct from the hard disc and record cd,s...

its expensive but its so good!...its like a computer man...!:cry:

can't wait!!!
 
Tribulations ...

... for some reason I can't post as KasioRoks (as my IP is the same I know that I haven't been banned!) Anyway, here's my take on your question (which I wrote in another app - how clever am I?)
Yay:
nice big screen for editing samples
lots of outputs
similar functionality to the e-mu and yamaha samplers
yes you can use the Mesa software
Akai is the 'standard' format for samples

Nay:
filters not as good as the yamaha and e-mu samplers (unless you buy the extra filter board).
no onboard fx (e-mu E5000 has them on and the ESI2000 comes with them on the 'turbo' option, I think the yamahas come with them as standard)
Mesa software causes people a whole mess of trouble. You'll need a scsi card on your 'puter.
Limited to 32MB of RAM


Personally I find the E5000 much easier to negotiate than the S3000XL, but with it's large screen it has to be easier than the ESI2000 where you have to learn codes rather than just read a legend.

HTH
 
You can always pick up the akai and use it as an extrememly powerful drum machine ;)....onboard filters? head to your local used gear shop (or ebay) and look for a couple cheap multieffects (midiverbs, quadraverbs, etc etc)....and run either direct line outs into them or use your aux sends on a mixer for them (the prefered option for me)....i love my s3000 but you better beleive that at some point i'm going to pick up a s6000...i was kind of annoyed that my musicians friend catalog came a day late because they were liqudating the s6000s for $1200 and even if i didn't have the cash, i'd of used a credit card....

aka i called and the last one was sold the day before [sniffles]
 
Thanks for everyones input. I'm kind of tempted to go for an S5000 or an E5000 Ultra now. Theres no point being the richest person in the graveyard! The S5000 uses the wav file format and you can use ak.sys with it which would be great for easy editing but the E-mu filters sound a lot better. They're both about the same price so which one would you choose? I'm still tempted to go with Akai, simply cos I can mess up my samples with my computer. Whad'ya think?
 
my opinion

in the long run you'll save money if you buy the newer akais bcause you get everything except ram memory right out of the box, no need to buy extra fx or filters or hard drives....
 
An S5000 it is then! :D I just happen to have 3u free in my rack. I'm gonna be on this forum a lot learning how to use it tho! I'm sure my every problem will be solved with such helpful people around. ;)


Thanks for the help! :cheers:
 
It really is too much to spend for me. I'd love one but I can't justify that kind of expense. If only I lived in Japan or America. We get screwed over here all the time! :mad:
 
I agree with Mano, the Z samplers are way better than the S series which are more expensive if you want all the options, the S samplers OS is buggy too ...
maybe you should check out the Yamaha A4000 its a great sampler for the money (great sound, great efx)
 
I heard something about a dodgy OS on the S5000 and 6000 but I thought that had been sorted out?!
Should I just wait and save for a Z4? Why are they sooo much better than every other sampler?

Looks like i'll have to take up safe cracking! :D
 
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d21 said:
Should I just wait and save for a Z4? Why are they sooo much better than every other sampler?
Click to expand...

. 512MB of RAM
. total integration with your PC/MAC with USB cable
. lots lots of polyphony
. no more of this expensive and complicated SCSI\
. compact
. cheaper!

:)
 
If your to be using the sampler in conjunction with a computer running an application like Logic Audio, Cubase VST, Digital Performer, etc.

Then I would recommend using a Software Sampler. The Emagic EXS24 is wonderful. Also a company called Native Instruments is coming out with a great software sampler called Kontact. Also Sampletank is a great "Sample PLAYER"

The timing on these Softsynths/Samplers ROCK! Also N. I. reports that Kontact will be able to run instances in excess of 200 note polyphony. THAT'S POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:dj:
 
I do use Cubase VST, but using a software sampler would also incur the cost of a new soundcard as I only have a SB Live! and it only has relatively poor quality, budget A/D convertors whereas a dedicated sampler is built specifically for sampling. I want to do some live stuff eventually aswell and I don't think i'd trust my PC to do that!

I'm gonna wait a month or two and see if I can afford a Z4 then. You never know, it might even go down in price!


Cheers all.
 
Dude, TRUST ME! Use the Money that your are planning on spending on the Akai to get A GREAT sound card and a FAST Computer. The benefits out ways the Hardware sampler in every aspect.

Remember this..... A good soundcard with low latency means, good audio Quality, high trackcount, and most importantly the ability to run VSTi Softsynths with low latency. These Softsynths have the potential ability to replace our Racks all together. Check out Native Instruments stuff.

Did I mention Plugins? The VST/DX plugins that are available today rock! Checkout the WAVES stuff. Also TC works are really good.

A fast AMD processor and a new Mother Board would be say ($300) for the pair. Spend another few dollars ($100) and load it up with hi quality Ram. Then get a Great soundcard for say $400-$500. That would transform your current computer into an audio powerhouse. Check out RME hammerfall. They make great stuff. Also Echo Audio makes a Great soundcard.

Keep this in mind when designing a PC for audio.
ALWAYS DESIGN THE COMPUTER AROUND THE SPEC's OF THE AUDIO CARD YOU INTEND ON USING.

Personally I'm a Mac user, However I do own and operate a PC to run various tasks in the studio. I use an Echo audio MONA card with it. When designing my system I basically choose the components (i.e., processor and chipset) for my new computer around ECHO audio's SPEC's. Now let me be clear, I am no PC whiz (in fact just the opposite, I can make a G4 PURRRRRRRR). When you have all your computer parts have a friend put it together or worse case take it to COMP USA or some other kind of computer professional. This will end up costing about $150 to throw it together but well worth it.

All this stuff is basically just preference. One person could like the use of a hardware sampler and a bunch of keyboards, While the other one won't, and prefer doing most of the work in the computer. As far as I'm concerned I use both. Never will I set down my beloved VIRUS or Kurzweil. But on the same tip the EXS24, FM7, and Absynth are all indispensable tools.

Do some research and find out what works best for you. I just thought that you should at least be aware there's another world of music production tools out there.

:dj:
 
What is your primary use for the sampler? if you are looking for something to use outside the "studio" (aka live shows) wait and see if you can afford one of the Z series samplers.....those have some really nice specs and look like they'll integrate nicely with a computer.....

now if you aren't thinking of ever using this sampler outside of the "studio," then i'd suggest going one step further than Jeremy is recommending....you use Cubase VST, so get/build another machine around a solid sound card (i'm presonally going to pick up one of those motu 828s) and when Steinberg puts out the VST System Link, you'll have the ability to do the audio stuff on your new machine, and let your older machine carry some of the load of some VSTs.....i don't care how smoking a system you've got, at some point the processor or the system buss is going to get bogged down and choke on you.....that's my main motivation for using a combination of computer based and hardware based gear....and besides right now you can picked up used G3's for around $750 and used G4's for about $1000.....

whatever you decide to buy, keep one thing in mind....the day after you buy it someone somewhere is going to release something that makes you drool even more, possibly reduce the price of what you just bought, and make you kick yourself for having not waited just one more day.....

gear lust is a sickness, but i love it....picked up a roland jp-8000 used for $450 a week ago and i deffinitely don't regret it at all :)
 
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