Akai CD3000xl or others still good?

N

nrand

Guest
The audio Gods seemed to have frowned on my original idea of using a Roland groove box with an external EMU sampler. Both ebay sellers changed their respective minds and I am back to square one.

Fortunately I did find a Yamaha RM1x for cheap now I need a sampler to go with it. I have Logic Pro on my Mac but after a long time of frustration, it is still over my head, and I am hoping to use some hardware to help me learn.

I have read the EMU Ultra 6400s are still good and also wonder about the Akai above or others folks might recommend. I want to giuve myself a solid year to see if I can get on top of the electronic music genre, otherwise I'll just go back to folk music and sell this stuff.

There is some music I want to make but its not coming out very easily with the software interface.

Recommendations are welcome.
Cheers
 
I have a cd3000 I like it but I didnt like having a standalone sampler that much. To me having a sampler with keys or pads that sequences and does everything was a better option for me vs sampling into a rack that i sequence and later track into a daw. That being said the Ensoniq EPS series go for about the same price as the Akai boxes. Find one buy it use it love it
 
Thanks for your reply
I am trying to minimise my outlay for the time being. I also have a Korg X5D which I have not found that user friendly. So basically I have My Mac, a US144midi/audio interface, the Korg, and the Yamaha RM1x plus a sampler. Is there a better way?
 
The music I will be making will have something of a ambient world music feel and looped with vocals over the top for chilling/meditation. I have a collection of my own melodic ideas that should be suitable for looping.
 
Thanks for your help
What software sampler would you suggest for ease of use, one that will still give me the best quality sounds? Cost is an issue but I can save for a little while if needed.
I will still try to find an inexpensive hardware unit to help me get my head around some of the sampling parameters via my fingers.....
 
I second the software sampler.....get reason and recycle...use nnxt as your sampler. There's no need to have a dedicated box for playing sounds thats not a computer. And if you're concerned about quality, getting a nice 24 bit interface would be your best path.

EDIT - didn't realize you were already working with Logic. Kontakt comes to mind as a good vst sampler. Try some freeware stuff before spending money though. Definitely stay in the computer with your sounds.
 
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Cheers
Hopefully I will have something for folks to hear soon.
EDIT
The Komplete 7 intro version is due out Sept 1 at $119.00 - seems like a sensible 1st step.
 
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MellOo said:
I second the software sampler.....get reason and recycle...use nnxt as your sampler. There's no need to have a dedicated box for playing sounds thats not a computer. And if you're concerned about quality, getting a nice 24 bit interface would be your best path.

EDIT - didn't realize you were already working with Logic. Kontakt comes to mind as a good vst sampler. Try some freeware stuff before spending money though. Definitely stay in the computer with your sounds.
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my reasoning has more to do with the amount of sampling he is doing. hardware samplers are pretty big devices. now if one is using a lot of samples and doing more sample oriented music i would definitely recommend a hardware sampler unless they want to work totally in the box
 
Xabiton said:
hardware samplers are pretty big devices. now if one is using a lot of samples and doing more sample oriented music i would definitely recommend a hardware sampler unless they want to work totally in the box
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Firstly I am a pretty big guy so I like big stuff, but seriously, My thinking is that this will be mostly electronically generated music with a small amount of 'me generated' sound with guitar and/or vocals.

I went for the idea of the Emu Ultra originally in part because while I understand the Yamaha RM1x to be a pretty good sequencer, its sounds are not as well regarded as the Roland groove-boxes for example.

With my folk music background I have not worked a lot with rhythm sections so I felt a drum box of some sort would help me, at least in the beginning.

I had heard the Emu has a pretty good reputation as a set of filters for drums and bass as well so I was thinking it would also help out a bit there.
 
Im a big guy too so I understand working with big things. the thign is when u r samplnig in the sense that you will be doing you are dealing with a lot of sustained loops which imo are a pita to do on a hardware sampler. For that reason id rather have a software one
 
Thanks for all you help with this. I will definitely get the Kontakt.
 
I use a roland groove box with an emu ultra, peep the signature.

I say continue your quest for those 2machines. And also get a pocket recorder and sample/record everywhere you go (from footsteps to everyday noise and traffic etc). Since your trying to create weird and unique textures it makes sense to have one.
 
I actually managed to find a Yamaha RM1X and an ultra with all the bits and pieces including a scsi cd rom drive for not much cash and I am still looking for a best price for the Kontakt software. I am not sure what the upgrades are on the EMU machine I bought - the seller did not know. I know that 128m Ram is easy to get but the rest is something of a mystery. Do you know if I will be able to upload the various upgrades available via the CD RoM or must I use the floppy drive? My main computer is the newer Mac pro Xeon.
 
Cheers
[curious - I was just warned for using the word 'cheers' by some compter filter - maybe an angel will help :bat:]
 
Yamaha Rm1x and SU700 in tandem?

Solacerodgers said:
man if you have and like the rmx1 get the yamaha su700 the thing is a beast and much slept on sampler.
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I just got the RM1x so I don't yet know how well I like it. Do these two work well together? I'd be interested to know how others use these in tandem.

As I said at the beginning of the thread I want to work hands on for a while before I go back into my software music deeply - I have heard that if I can learn to get along with the RM1x I may become happier with some of my more complex tools like Logic.
 
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