Real Talk: It doesn't really matter in the end of it all.

[Saint Pete Marriott]

The constant back and forth discussions about studio gear such as Analog Vs. Digital, FL Studio vs. Reason vs. Abelton Live vs. Cubase vs. Sonar vs. Logic vs Pro Tools. Synth based producers vs. Studio musician based producers vs. Sampled based producers and ever so annoying Mac based producers vs. PC based producers and my personal favorite the MPC/SP-1200 based producer vs Software producers.

Guess what everybody? That kid downloading your shit on illegal filesharing sites, or the woman buying music on iTunes, video gamers, radio listeners and TV watchers don't care how the music was made. All they care about is if they like it or not or if they can at least tolerate it.

How you make your music is a personal decision that you should feel comfortable with. It's about what works best for you and your sound and this is coming from someone who just purchased an Akai S900 about two hours ago from another producer's studio via Craigslist.

Why? Because that's the sound I'm most comfortable with, it's what I grew up on. But other people who'll hear whatever I create with my Vintage Digital Sampler with Analog outputs are not going to care either way. It's about what I do with it, not how I did! Forget these nonsensical arguments and make your music your way my Future Producers. Ya' Dig?

 

[nenapel]

Hey Pete.....

I know who you are (we never met or anything... but you have quite a "online" history, e-history? no? apart from your achievements in the real world of course)...

Here's a few questions for you :

1) Why the S-900 over let's say the S-950 (isn't that one more popular?) ? Or why the S-900 over other Akai S-XXX series???

2) Could you post before and after clips of samples run through the S-900 you just bought?

3) Have you ever found a plug-in that came close to the sound you can achieve with the S-900?

Thanks in advance,

Much respect.

 

[Saint Pete Marriott]

Hey Pete.....

I know who you are (we never met or anything... but you have quite a "online" history, e-history? no? apart from your achievements in the real world of course)...

Here's a few questions for you :

1) Why the S-900 over let's say the S-950 (isn't that one more popular?) ? Or why the S-900 over other Akai S-XXX series???

2) Could you post before and after clips of samples run through the S-900 you just bought?

3) Have you ever found a plug-in that came close to the sound you can achieve with the S-900?

Thanks in advance,

Much respect.

1. Both the S900 and the S950 are 12 Bit Samplers but the S900 has a lower sample rate thus serving a specific purpose for it which I much rather keep to myself. But what I will share with you is I'm looking very forward to utilizing all 8 outputs from the S900 to my Tascam M-2600MKII mixing console where the real magic will happen.

2. Being that I just recently obtained it and have to get re-familiar with it since it's been over 20 years I think it's safe to say it will be awhile before I can do that, pending if I feel up to it by then. No diss, I just rather use it for what I got it for and let you hear it in the music I release on my upcoming label.

3. You know there's lots of bit reducer plugins out there. Some are dope and some are wack but nothing beats the real thing, so when it popped up on Craigslist, I jumped on it right away. You have no idea how excited I am right now.

 

[nenapel]

Nice. Thanks for your answer Pete. I really hope you'll stay around on fp... I can only speak for myself, but your contributions are always appreciated.

1. Both the S900 and the S950 are 12 Bit Samplers but the S900 has a lower sample rate thus serving a specific purpose for it which I much rather keep to myself. But what I will share with you is I'm looking very forward to utilizing all 8 outputs from the S900 to my Tascam M-2600MKII mixing console where the real magic will happen.

I'm afraid the question is vague, but could you please elaborate on that?

Me, I think I know one thing :

I'm all digital... but if I had to buy indeed one single piece of gear then the S-900 or S-950...

These machines (900 more so than 950?) do something (nice) to drums that can't just be replicated by plug-ins (yet?). Is this the purpose that serves your S-900?

What about the Tascam M-2600MKII : what do you like about it?

---

UPDATE :

I did a little bit of research online and found out this :

"tape in on every channel" ? Is it something you appreciate ?

UPDATE 2 :

As a matter of fact, let me ask you this :

What's your experience with tape recording ? Overrated ? I mean : is it worth the hassle ? It's quite a long process compared to itb (in the box) mixing habits, isn't it ?

BIG thanks to you if you can answer all these questions.

 

[Xabiton]

3. You know there's lots of bit reducer plugins out there. Some are dope and some are wack but nothing beats the real thing, so when it popped up on Craigslist, I jumped on it right away.

You have no idea how jealous I am right now. Like I said on Facebook thats a classic piece of history right there. I was looking at getting one a few months ago but said screw it I have an EPS Classic an Mpc 2000 non xl and a Cd3000i I really don't need another sampler lol But then again the sound u get from a real 12 bit sampler vs what software tries to do just dont match up. People say it does but when i play my eps loops at 20 khz vs the same sample treated with plug ins the difference is night and day. the pc one is still a lot cleaner it just has a fuzzy kinda sound almost like a filter on top of it

---------- Post added at 02:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:03 AM ----------

Nice. Thanks for your answer Pete. I really hope you'll stay around on fp... I can only speak for myself, but your contributions are always appreciated.



I'm afraid the question is vague, but could you please elaborate on that?

Me, I think I know one thing :

I'm all digital... but if I had to buy indeed one single piece of gear then the S-900 or S-950...

These machines (900 more so than 950?) do something (nice) to drums that can't just be replicated by plug-ins (yet?). Is this the purpose that serves your S-900?

What about the Tascam M-2600MKII : what do you like about it?

---

UPDATE :

I did a little bit of research online and found out this :

"tape in on every channel" ? Is it something you appreciate ?

UPDATE 2 :

As a matter of fact, let me ask you this :

What's your experience with tape recording ? Overrated ? I mean : is it worth the hassle ? It's quite a long process compared to itb (in the box) mixing habits, isn't it ?

BIG thanks to you if you can answer all these questions.

if u really want to look at a nice cheap 12 bit sampler also look into the Ensoniq EPS or the Roland W30. Personally I prefer the sound of the Ensoniq over the Akai but thats just me.

Oh and F*ck Tape it aint even worth the hassle imo. I learned to edit tape before going digital and that shit was a pain in the ass. It sounds a lot better though.

 

[nenapel]

if u really want to look at a nice cheap 12 bit sampler also look into the Ensoniq EPS or the Roland W30. Personally I prefer the sound of the Ensoniq over the Akai but thats just me.

Oh and F*ck Tape it aint even worth the hassle imo. I learned to edit tape before going digital and that shit was a pain in the ass. It sounds a lot better though.

Didn't know about the Roland W30. I'll make some researches. Thanks for the tip.

But as far as the "AKAI vs. Ensoniq" debate goes, it's, as you've put it, really a question of preference.

I mean : different sounds...

Having owned a ASR-10 (which I recently resold for a loss... bad look) I can say it was a pain in the ass to use... I'm FL spoiled so... my patience has its (short) limits...

BUT : the sound was real bass heavy... not in a fuzzy way... but a good... nice mellow way.

As a reference people can check Alchemist's early works... you don't hear that sound in his newer (mpc 2500) beats... I think?

While the AKAI sound... I think more of some of Pete Rock... especially his "crusty" yet not "hurting" (can anybody follow me? ) hi-hats...

But then again : maybe the Ensoniq EPS sound is different to that of the ASR-10?

 

[Zedekiah]

Preeeeeeechhh!!

 

[Saint Pete Marriott]

Nice. Thanks for your answer Pete. I really hope you'll stay around on fp... I can only speak for myself, but your contributions are always appreciated.



I'm afraid the question is vague, but could you please elaborate on that?

Me, I think I know one thing :

I'm all digital... but if I had to buy indeed one single piece of gear then the S-900 or S-950...

These machines (900 more so than 950?) do something (nice) to drums that can't just be replicated by plug-ins (yet?). Is this the purpose that serves your S-900?

What about the Tascam M-2600MKII : what do you like about it?

---

UPDATE :

I did a little bit of research online and found out this :

"tape in on every channel" ? Is it something you appreciate ?

UPDATE 2 :

As a matter of fact, let me ask you this :

What's your experience with tape recording ? Overrated ? I mean : is it worth the hassle ? It's quite a long process compared to itb (in the box) mixing habits, isn't it ?

BIG thanks to you if you can answer all these questions.

Whoa!...I'm glad I refreshed this page. LOL! okay let do my best to satisfy your questions without giving too much away of my complete process.

The Akai S900/S950 sample rates are adjustable so you can go from ultra dirty to a cleaner dirty if that makes and sense to you. Combine this with the on board filters and editing features and you can get a special sound many producers today either don't know about or ignore. You can attempt to do it in the Emu Emax which another great 12-Bit sampler but it won't sound the same. The Akai S900 is better suited for this because it has the lower sample rate.

As for the Tascam M-2600MKII it has nice clean transparent sound and the parametric EQ is musical which is awesome when it comes to shaping my instruments sound before I print it to tape. Nothing beats tape in my book. Tape not only softens brittle edges and has depth of warmth but when you run it back through the console and back to the DAW where you can edit and automate then you get the best of both worlds and apply some real weight in the mix. I call The Tool Shed which is my studio a hybrid studio, I'm using software and hardware to achieve the sound I prefer which has the advantages of the era I grew up in and the here and present.

 

[nenapel]

Whoa!...I'm glad I refreshed this page. LOL! okay let do my best to satisfy your questions without giving too much away of my complete process.

The Akai S900/S950 sample rates are adjustable so you can go from ultra dirty to a cleaner dirty if that makes and sense to you. Combine this with the on board filters and editing features and you can get a special sound many producers today either don't know about or ignore. You can attempt to do it in the Emu Emax which another great 12-Bit sampler but it won't sound the same. The Akai S900 is better suited for this because it has the lower sample rate.

As for the Tascam M-2600MKII it has nice clean transparent sound and the parametric EQ is musical which is awesome when it comes to shaping my instruments sound before I print it to tape. Nothing beats tape in my book. Tape not only softens brittle edges and has depth of warmth but when you run it back through the console and back to the DAW where you can edit and automate then you get the best of both worlds and apply some real weight in the mix. I call The Tool Shed which is my studio a hybrid studio, I'm using software and hardware to achieve the sound I prefer which has the advantages of the era I grew up in and the here and present.

Excellent! Thanks a bunch.

Today was a good day on fp. Indeed.

Like I've said : I have never owned-used a S-900/950 myself...

Yet, somehow, this two tracks by a fellow Pete (Pete Rock that is) were always the definition for me of the AKAI S Sound...

Maybe I'm just tripping.

The best way to describe that sound would be "RINGING" I suppose...

You can clearly hear it on the hi-hats, sample and bass. That's where it's at.


S-900 dirty sound :

[video=youtube;6mYW6xju43s&feature=related]video[/video]

S-900 clean sound... maybe S-950 :

[video=youtube;E6f51V5C4Zs&feature=related]video[/video]

DAMN! Did y'all here this bass??? I never understood how Pete Rock got it to sound like that... I've tried filtering basslines with eq plugins... And came quite close to that sound... but it just wasn't IT : the "ringing" sound was missing and that means the "essence" (essential) was lacking. I wonder what Pete Rock's procedure is for bass...

Maybe the S-900 got a filtering function? Could it be?



SO... but what do you think of the videos I've posted? Is that the AKAI S900 sound? Or am I wrong Pete? S900/S950 users?

 

[Saint Pete Marriott]

Excellent! Thanks a bunch.

Today was a good day on fp. Indeed.

Like I said : I have never owned-used a S-900/950 myself...

Yet, somehow, this two tracks by a fellow Pete (Pete Rock that is) were always the definition for me of the AKAI S Sound...

Maybe I'm just tripping.


S-900 dirty sound :

[video=youtube;6mYW6xju43s&feature=related]video[/video]

S-900 clean sound... maybe S-950 :

[video=youtube;E6f51V5C4Zs&feature=related]video[/video]



SO... Am I wrong Pete? S900/S950 user?

Pete Rock who is one of my very favorites I believed made those particular beats past his MPC60/SP-1200/S950 days. I'm using earphones with my BlackBerry so I can't really call it right now. But what Xabition said about the Ensoniq having a deeper fatter sound is true. My dude Al Nazon and Eric Sermon used to use the W-30 and that joint was a beast I tell you!

 

[nenapel]

Well, I've made a breakthrough :

Petestrumentals (check the first video I've posted) was without any doubt done on :

SP 1200 + Akai S-950.

"And 60 000 records to choose from"... lmao (ditto Pete Rock)

I'mma be the next Pete Rock. now..

I'll pass on the sp though... The S-950 will be enough I think.

 

[Supreemwun]

Pete,
You're correct the end user really doesn't care as long as they enjoy the end product that you have produced.

I own an ASR-10 but don't use it at all since the floppy went bad(every once in a while as a midi keyboard). It won't format disk anymore. I figured out how to circumvent but it was a one shot deal I would just record and once I shut it off...poof! Gone. It forced me to go with the FL which I am very pleased with now. I also have experience with the E-MU SP1200 which was a staple back in the day. I made some pretty nice sh*t with the limited oh so limited sampling time.

 

[Xabiton]

Didn't know about the Roland W30. I'll make some researches. Thanks for the tip.

But as far as the "AKAI vs. Ensoniq" debate goes, it's, as you've put it, really a question of preference.

I mean : different sounds...

Having owned a ASR-10 (which I recently resold for a loss... bad look) I can say it was a pain in the ass to use... I'm FL spoiled so... my patience has its (short) limits...

BUT : the sound was real bass heavy... not in a fuzzy way... but a good... nice mellow way.

As a reference people can check Alchemist's early works... you don't hear that sound in his newer (mpc 2500) beats... I think?

While the AKAI sound... I think more of some of Pete Rock... especially his "crusty" yet not "hurting" (can anybody follow me? ) hi-hats...

But then again : maybe the Ensoniq EPS sound is different to that of the ASR-10?

The ASR10 is the upgrade to the EPS so while they won't sound too different but if you thought asr10 editing was a pain you wont like most 12 bit samplers. They are all very similar to how you edit samples on the asr. Imo the asr was very old school for its time compared to the newer samplers coming out when it did.

---------- Post added at 09:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:52 PM ----------

Whoa!...I'm glad I refreshed this page. LOL! okay let do my best to satisfy your questions without giving too much away of my complete process.

The Akai S900/S950 sample rates are adjustable so you can go from ultra dirty to a cleaner dirty if that makes and sense to you. Combine this with the on board filters and editing features and you can get a special sound many producers today either don't know about or ignore. You can attempt to do it in the Emu Emax which another great 12-Bit sampler but it won't sound the same. The Akai S900 is better suited for this because it has the lower sample rate.

As for the Tascam M-2600MKII it has nice clean transparent sound and the parametric EQ is musical which is awesome when it comes to shaping my instruments sound before I print it to tape. Nothing beats tape in my book. Tape not only softens brittle edges and has depth of warmth but when you run it back through the console and back to the DAW where you can edit and automate then you get the best of both worlds and apply some real weight in the mix. I call The Tool Shed which is my studio a hybrid studio, I'm using software and hardware to achieve the sound I prefer which has the advantages of the era I grew up in and the here and present.

props for still dealing with tape. I got I got tired of cutting myself with razors.

---------- Post added at 10:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 PM ----------

Pete Rock who is one of my very favorites I believed made those particular beats past his MPC60/SP-1200/S950 days. I'm using earphones with my BlackBerry so I can't really call it right now. But what Xabition said about the Ensoniq having a deeper fatter sound is true. My dude Al Nazon and Eric Sermon used to use the W-30 and that joint was a beast I tell you!

from what i read Pete never rocked a mpc 60. he was all sp 1200 and s950 and got a Mpc 2000xl around 2005 or so

---------- Post added at 10:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 PM ----------

Pete,
You're correct the end user really doesn't care as long as they enjoy the end product that you have produced.

I own an ASR-10 but don't use it at all since the floppy went bad(every once in a while as a midi keyboard). It won't format disk anymore. I figured out how to circumvent but it was a one shot deal I would just record and once I shut it off...poof! Gone. It forced me to go with the FL which I am very pleased with now. I also have experience with the E-MU SP1200 which was a staple back in the day. I made some pretty nice sh*t with the limited oh so limited sampling time.

The sp1200 is why i laugh at cats who say things like Reason is limited lol. Try rocking a 2 second sampler (which is even more limited than the sp that had 10) and then say somethign crazy like Reason is limited for not having access to vsts lol. Spoiled ass kids lol

 

[Saint Pete Marriott]

props for still dealing with tape. I got I got tired of cutting myself with razors.

---------- Post added at 10:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 PM ----------


from what i read Pete never rocked a mpc 60. he was all sp 1200 and s950 and got a Mpc 2000xl around 2005 or so

If I remember correctly Pete Rock at one point used to trigger the SP-1200 and the Akai S950 from the MPC-60 which is why his beats had that uncanny sound and feel. I could be mixing him up with someone but I'm sure I heard this before although I never really read much about him, I just listen to and spin his music.

 

[Deeyou]

[video=youtube;BYTlN6wjcvQ&feature=related]video[/video]




Watch it,,,,,, it's 55 mins and change... but watch it..

You will come away much less concerned with gear and 100% more motivated in your creative process.

A lot of the analog/digital and high end gear fuss is pure marketing propaganda.

 

[Saint Pete Marriott]

Actually I watched this a few months ago. But I concur, everybody here should watch that video.

 

[biggrome]

It doesn't matter what you use at the end of the day. A lot of people that make beats just try to avoid being called wack by other people that make beats... they forget the listening audience.

That's 90% of the reason why they say everything is wack on the radio. The people on the radio probably think not getting checks is more wack.