Prophet 2000

Following October's preview, Sequential’s new sampler gets the in-depth treatment from Paul Wiffen, who refuses to return the review sample.

containing your samples

Polyphonic MIDI Sound Sampler

A real advance in the field of accessible polyphonic sound sampling. Tim Goodyer finds out if the 612's beauty is more than price-tag-deep.

Midi Sound Sampler

polyphonic sampling for a grand

...while Tim Goodyer checks out the production version of Akai’s contender and cocks an ear in the direction of some factory sound disks.

S900 owner David Mellor receives a package in the post from Akai, which rekindles his enthusiasm in the sampler which was one of the first to combine a wealth of facilities with a reasonable price. Will the Version 2.0 software update bring the Akai into line with the latest samplers on the market or has it become old technology - just after its first birthday?

SamplerCheck

Paul Fishman gets weird — again

Akai's super-sampler carries on where their S612 left off. Paul Wiffen finds its ease of use belies its sophistication.

The successor to Akai's industry standard S900 hits the streets.

As musicians demand ever more from their samplers, Akai replace the studio-standard S900 with an enhanced machine. Vic Lennard samples the march of progress.

A fresh look at the production model of the Akai S612 MIDI controlled sound sampler by Steve Howell.

Polyphonic Sampling Keyboard

Put six S612 modules in a box, stick a keyboard on it, add some new features, and you've got Akai's contender in the budget sampling keyboard stakes. Simon Trask takes notes.

Akai are quickly becoming the name to look out for when it comes to hi-tech products (their hi-fi's not bad either!) and this keyboard-based successor to their S612 sampler certainly reinforces that opinion. Julian Colbeck checks out its attractions.

An all-British sound-sampling and drum-synthesising MIDI percussion machine with built-in sequencer gets an exclusive preview courtesy of David Ellis - there's even comment from the designers.

Roland S550/S330 Sampling Modules

David Mellor looks at Roland's flagship rackmount sampler, the S550, and its newly launched escort vessel, the S330. Are they squaring up to fire a broadside at the enemy's sampling fleet? Find out inside.

How To Upgrade Your Akai S900

What do you do when your 12-bit Akai S900 sampler starts to seem a little underspecified in comparison with the latest models? Upgrade it with a '16-bit injection' from Marion Systems. David Mellor reports.

Effectscheck

A simple delay pedal at first glance but Dave Burrluck discovers its true possibilities

A modest newcomer to the sampling arena is Boss' DSD2 pedal. Paul White finds out if it's capable of more intelligent iterations than 'hangover'.

Studio Test

RPQ-10 PREAMP/EQ, RSD-10 DIGITAL SAMPLER/DELAY Two hot new additions to the home-effects range. Tony Reed reports

New effects for the tiny studio