Studiotest

Akai's foothold on the musical gear market grows with a MIDI sampler package leading the new assault. Curtis Schwartz samples their sampler

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

polyphonic sampling for a grand

Akai S612 MIDI Sampler

Akai's first sampler - with its own 'Quick Disk' facility.

Midi Sound Sampler

Akai S612 MIDI Sampler

A reduction in price and the introduction of their Quick Disk make Akai's S612 MIDI Sampler an even more attractive investment. Paul Gilby was suitably impressed.

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.

containing your samples

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

Akai S900 Sampler

Akai's first foray into the sampling market, the S612, was a resounding success. Their new sampling system, aimed more at studios, is considerably more advanced yet still a respectable price. Eventually it will incorporate a multitrack event recorder and harmonic synthesis module, but just released is the first system component - the S900 rack-mount sampler. Mark Jenkins checks it out.

Akai S900 V2.0 & ASK90 and Steinberg Soundworks

Already a well-established sampler, the Akai S900 is on the receiving end of a series of software and firmware updates from Akai and Steinberg. Chris Jenkins boots them up.

Here is the news

Welcome to The Mix

Production Samples

To sample or not to sample, that is the question.

Samplercheck

Tony Mills samples Roland's first entry into serious user-n..n..nineteen-ing

Drums get beaten, synths tinkled and demos hammered in the encapsulated everything section this month

MDB Window Recorder

A specialised sampler for specialised tasks — but will the arrival of cheaper sampling keyboards diminish this rack-mount unit’s appeal? Annabel Scott finds out.

mixed-mode CD tracklist

The words behind the sounds on this month's CD and CD-ROM

The program that can turn your sampler into a synthesiser has added an FM synthesis string to its bow, yet doesn't promise to be a DX replacement. Mac addict Chris Meyer takes a look.

Hard Disc Sampler

standing for Hard Disc, as in rack mounted sampler. This device has so much memory, even Lemmy could remember what band he played for. Alastair Gavin indulges.

An Australian composer accepts a brief to provide music for an exhibition of pottery - the catch is that all the sounds should be sampled from the exhibits. Sandra McLean talks to the man who makes pottery sing.