If you wanted easy...you bought the wrong sampler...especially if you're using it on it's own. If you got a SCSI card on your PC and use an editor (MESA)...then it's a little bit easier...but that has it's own set of issues.
Anyways, I can't tell you how to chop samples on it...I do that with a wave editor. As far as loading samples...you can obviously record them in or transfer them from a computer. If you don't have a SCSI card, you can use a program called Akai Disk to write samples to Akai formatted floppies.
Then you need to set up a program. A program is a group of samples (like a drum kit, or 10 chops from a sample, or a multi-sampled piano). It's much easier to do with an editor...but you can do it from the front panel too. BTW, stereo samples will be split into 2 samples.
Here's a tutorial I made when I sold one a few years ago. How to build basic programs....
1. After your samples are loaded, go into Single mode...you'll see a blank program called "Test Program". (Manual page 74)
2. Press Edit. If you want to name the program now, press Name (F2), then change the name to what you want and press Rename (F1). (page 74)
3. Use the Page Down key to get to the next menu. Here you'll set the MIDI channel of the program. That will be whatever channel your drum machine will be sending on. (page 74)
4. Use the Group Down key to go down through menus until you see "NO OF KGRPS". That will be the number of samples you have. BTW, if you have stereo samples those will be one keygroup...even though it's 2 samples. Press Copy (F2) to make as many keygroups as you need. (page 84)
5. Use Page Down to get to the next menu. Here you set up the span of each keygroup. You can have a sample play on just one key (pad) or you can it have play on a group of keys so you can play melodys or basslines or whatever. Either way, you set the low and high ranges for each keygroup here. (page 86 - 87)
6. Use Group Down to get to Zone 1 Assign. Here's where you assign samples to keygroups. If you have stereo samples, one of them is assigned here...the other will be in Zone 2. (page 91)
7. Page Down to go to the Tuning menu and then the Level menu. There you can change the volume and pan. For stereo samples, you'll be panning one of them hard left and the other hard right. (page 91)
8. Page Down to get to Kbd Track. If it's "Track", then the sample will change pitch depending on what note it's played at. "Constant" means the pitch doesn't change. (page 93)
9. Page Down to Loop Type. If it's "As Sample", then the sample will play all the way through regardless of how long you hold down a pad. "Lp til R" means the sample will only play for as long as you hold down a pad. (page 93)
10. Page Down to get to Zone 2 Assign to set up stereo samples.
11. Save your program. (page 40)
For some of these menus...especially Kbd Track and Loop Type...you're probably gonna be using the same settings for all keygroups. Instead of changing those for each keygroup, you can edit all keygroups at the same time. Just change it from KG1 to ALL.
