The ubiquitous S1000.... many called it 'The Industry Standard'..... which may have been true in some areas, although Akai didn't dominate in the US as it did in Europe & the UK.... The S1000 was not the worlds first 16 bit sampler, but it was the worlds first popular 16 bit sampler with the FZ1 From Casio following close to it's heels....
The keyboard version of the S1000
Well, what can you say about these units...... Stereo in/out... 8 polyphonic assignable outputs...... 16mb ram max, 32 note poly, but totaly cruddy synthesis features.... like one filter I think, with no resonance.....
So.... a few things to bare in mind if you're after a cheap old-skool sampler and spy an old S1000 going cheap....
IF, multiple poly outputs is more important to you than synthesis, then check out one of these S1000 or S1100 (sister unit) models cos you'll get 'em as standard, whereas they are an option on the S2000..... BUT, if synthesis IS important... i'd go for either the newer S2000 or another make, cos from a creative synthesis point of view, an old Emax-1 will piss on the S1000 series no prob's......
Also.... make sure it IS fully expanded with Akai ram, or there is enuff for your needs at the price you're paying for the unit, cos these older S1000's used 'Special' Akai sample-ram boards that cost the fucking earth !!.... So get one fitted up fully, otherwise your memory upgrade are very expensive..... Apart from those things, if fully rammed up, you get the same polyphony & memory with the S1000 as the S2000....
Anyways... Here's the spec' for the good ol' S1000
| Sampling System | 16 bit linear |
| Sampling Rates | 44.1 kHz / 22.05 kHz |
| Memory | 2 MB (standard) / 32 MB (expanded) |
| Polyphony | 16 |
| Maximum Samples | 200 |
| Maximum Programs | 100 |
| Recording Gain | HI = -58 dBm / MID = -38 dBm / LOW = -18 dBm |
| Filters | Digital moving low-pass filter (-18 dB/octave) |
| Envelope Generators | 2 ADSR |
| LFOs | ?? |
| Hard Disk Recording | ?? |
| Effects | Not available |
| Display | Back-lit 40 x 8 characters (640 x 240 dots) |
| Help Pages | Not available |
| Storage Devices | 3.5-inch 2HD/2DD floppy disk |
| Standard Inputs | XLR (balanced) x 2, 1/4-inch phone jack (balanced) x 2 |
| Standard Outputs | 1/4-inch phone jack (unbalanced) x 2 |
| Assignable Outputs | 1/4-inch phone jack (unbalanced) x 8 |
| Effect Send | 1/4-inch phone jack (unbalanced) x 1 |
| Headphones | 1/4-inch stereo phone jack x 1 |
| Footswitch | 1/4-inch phone jack x 1 |
| MIDI | DIN-5P IN x 1, OUT x 1, THRU x 1 |
| SCSI | ?? |
| AES/EBU Digital In/Out | ?? XLR (RS-422 level) x 1 (optional with IB-104 interface) |
| SMPTE Reader/Generator | ?? |
Also.... Don't forget there was the rare S1000BP - (Play-Back).... a non-sampling version of the S1000 designed to act as a second playback module to accompany your original s1000 - they can be had well-cheap, and will load up S1000 samples till the cows come home..... With many s/w's now on the market that'll convert other format's to Akai, an S1000P may be a good option if you could ever find one...... oh yeah.... and also remember... the old S1000 Keyboard version.... not too common s/h, but they DO appear from time to time... and that's great with the added master keyboard you get with it !!....
Anyways... the S1000..... User comments please...
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