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{\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.15.1507;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\f0\fs20 (The following article is reprinted with permission of the \par
publishers from the December 1986 issue of Electronic Musician \par
magazine. For more information on Electronic Musician, or for on-\par
line subscriptions, check out the "magazines" area of PAN's Synth \par
& MIDI section.) \par
\par
\par
Getting the Most out of the Akai S900\par
\par
BY STEVEN COX\par
The arrival of affordable samplers has opened up previously \par
unavailable sound textures to musicians, and Akai's recent \par
offering--the S900 Professional MIDI Digital Sampler--is a cost-\par
effective rack-mount expander module (retail $2999.95) for the \par
musician who wants to jump on the sampling bandwagon without \par
blowing the budget.\par
\par
The S900 is a beautifully designed machine; its level of \par
sophistication demands spending a little time in study and \par
experimentation in order to get the most out of your investment. \par
Good habits, in the form of proper computer and recording \par
procedures, will make it easier to develop a library of samples \par
that are as personal as your own fingerprints.\par
\par
This article assumes you already own an S900 and have started to \par
understand its possibilities via the operations guide disk and \par
practical examples in the manual. However, those who don't own \par
S900s can nonetheless apply some of these tips to any sampler. If \par
you are already familiar with personal computers in general, so \par
much the better; to a certain extent, all computers are similar \par
in concept and design. The S900 is simply a *dedicated computer* \par
designed to perform the task of digital manipulation of sound \par
(and related tasking). Like all computers, the S900 has an \par
*operating system* that ties together all the system elements, \par
and understanding how this operating system works will give you \par
maximum control of the instrument.\par
\par
THE VERSION GAME\par
After power-up, the S900 dutifully identifies itself and gives \par
the version number of the operating system ROMs (read only \par
memory) installed within. When this article was written, 1.2 was \par
the current version; there's a revised manual to go along with \par
this version.\par
\par
If you do not have version 1.2 software, then by all means obtain \par
it from your dealer. The earlier version, 1.0, is missing some \par
vital features (such as being able to turn MIDI program changes \par
on or off). Version 1.2 also displays the audio bandwidth of \par
existing samples in memory, something you had no way of knowing \par
before; and when switching from program to program, version 1.2 \par
can sustain one program while switching to another (up to the \par
limits of the 8 voices). After having to put up with the "klunk" \par
that many synthesizers make when you change patches, it is \par
wonderful to hear one program gently fade into (or sustain under) \par
the next without "glitches."\par
\par
By far the biggest new feature is the S900's newly acquired \par
ability to be played from drum machines. The note duration of \par
most, if not all, drum machines is much too short to allow the \par
attack, sustain, decay, release (ADSR) curve of the S900's \par
envelopes to "kick in." The new One Shot Mode, on page 14 of the \par
edit program section, insures that the sampler will respond to a \par
trigger of *any* duration by playing the entire length of the \par
sample (including ADSR, filter, warp, and so on). Thus, the S900 \par
can now be triggered from virtually any MIDI device.\par
\par
SAMPLING SAFARI (OR, BAGGING THE BIG SOUNDS)\par
Of all the electronic instruments you will ever play, the sampler \par
alone offers a grip on reality. It can not only sound like a \par
string section but in a very real sense it *is* those strings. It \par
is a near-perfect aural imitator and modifier--the ultimate \par
parrot. \par
\par
The ability to recognize a good potential sample when you hear it \par
is a technique that improves rapidly with practice. Take the time \par
to experiment with gathering new samples; this will teach you \par
more about the nature and structure of sound as well as expand \par
your library.\par
\par
When on a sampling safari, always try to capture more sound \par
length than you need, then edit later by using the S900's ability \par
to discard unwanted portions of a sample. It is also a good idea \par
to *save your memory to disk* before making drastic or \par
irreversible changes to programs and samples. As you forge ahead \par
and experiment, you don't want to burn your bridges behind you.\par
\par
One way to get started is to take samples from existing \par
recordings. This may not be the most original route, but it \par
provides excellent training in the art of sampling. While the CD \par
player is the medium of choice due to both sound quality and ease \par
of cueing, phonograph records or even high quality cassette tapes \par
will do almost as well. The libraries of most colleges and large \par
metropolitan areas carry a selection of classical music CDs and \par
phonograph records that are available for rental at very modest \par
fees. (Note: the copyright implications of sampling from existing \par
recordings are not clear; *EM* does not endorse sampling or \par
recording any copyrighted material. You should consider the moral \par
and ethical implications of taking sounds from others' recordings \par
regardless of whether or not you apply creative input to them.)\par
\par
When sampling complex sounds such as loud, full orchestral \par
textures from pre-recorded material, the quality of the playback \par
medium is not so important. However, delicate textures (such as \par
light strings, oboes, etc.) almost *require* that the actual \par
instruments be played directly to the sampler, or sampled from a \par
CD, due to the inherent noise levels of tape and vinyl.\par
\par
When it's time to hook your system's stereo output to the S900's \par
mono line input, adjust your mixer or balance controls for a 3 dB \par
(or greater) difference between the left and right channels. This \par
prevents phase cancellation from messing around with your high \par
end and/or hollowing out the bottom. Also, watch your recording \par
level very closely. If your meter reaches those six dots at the \par
far right of the LCD record display, you have introduced digital \par
distortion into the signal. You may not notice anything amiss at \par
first; however, if you listen to the sample played an octave or \par
more below its original frequency, the "garbage" will become \par
evident.\par
\par
I've found the best single instruments to sample are those with a \par
fairly linear and consistent attack and decay envelope. The \par
amplitude envelope for a flute or piano doesn't have to change \par
with every note to still sound natural to the ear, even in a \par
solo. But guitars or saxes exhibit a high degree of fluctuation \par
in sound, especially in their attack, and they tend to sound much \par
less natural when played from a sampler--especially when used "up \par
front" in a mix. It can be amazing how much a perfectly sampled \par
recording of a sax can sound just like an accordion when you try \par
to work with it on some ranges of the keyboard. That effect could \par
be good, but only if you're after an accordion sound! (What works \par
for me is to record the guitar or sax sound as "straight" as \par
possible--no pitch bend or vibrato--then add modulation and \par
pitch-bending with real time controls such as wheels--Ed.)\par
\par
For great orchestral samples, check the point of climax in a \par
phrase or section of music. Endings are also excellent places to \par
find chords and "hits." Besides classical selections, soundtrack \par
recordings are often ripe with musical textures that sample well \par
and loop easily. And keep in mind that students of traditional \par
instruments at nearby colleges and universities are often \par
available for sampling sessions; sometimes all you need to do is \par
put a notice on a music department bulletin board. There are no \par
rules on where to look, only suggestions.\par
\par
Drums and related percussion samples are everywhere! Beyond the \par
obvious capability of sampling traditional drum sounds, \par
practically *anything* can be used percussively if handled \par
creatively. For example, sampling the sound of a screwdriver \par
tapping a table with gated reverb produces an incredible \par
explosive punch. Played an octave or so below the sampled pitch, \par
the effect sounds huge! Coughs, chair squeaks, firecrackers, door \par
slams, grunts, animal noises and even laughter can effectively \par
"dress up" an otherwise routine drum kit. (Incidentally, a gated \par
reverb effect is simplicity itself: sample the drum sound with \par
reverb, then truncate the end to suit--Ed.)\par
\par
With the 11.878 seconds of memory available at its maximum \par
bandwidth of 16 kHz, the S900 can even be used for simple \par
manipulation of vocal or instrumental parts within a song. Just \par
sing or play that difficult phrase into memory and "presto," from \par
then on you perform the entire phrase at the press of a single \par
key whenever you need it in the song. Totally acceptable guitar \par
samples can also be made with the bandwidth narrowed to around 9 \par
or 10 kHz, thus providing over 21 seconds of sampling time.\par
\par
CONCERNING THE DISK DRIVE AND RELATED COMMANDS\par
First and foremost, *be very careful!* The S900 (version 1.2) has \par
no "double checking" to see if you really want to erase that \par
file, memory, or disk, and that could spell trouble if you push \par
buttons first and ask questions later. The advantage, of course, \par
is that veteran samplers can save time by not having to answer \par
those "Are You Sure?"-type questions. But always think before you \par
act, since many pages in the S900 put you just one keystroke away \par
from some form of annihilation.\par
\par
You *can* avoid most serious mishaps by getting into the practice \par
of consistently making backup disks of your most treasured \par
samples, and write-protecting your "keeper" disks. Remember, a \par
disk never fails until the most important session or performance \par
of your life--so keep backups handy.\par
\par
Another S900 disk operation quirk concerns the "return to home" \par
error response. For example, if an error occurs when trying to \par
save to a write-protected disk, the machine "locks up," blinks \par
all its LEDs, and tells you the problem (and its solution) with a \par
cute little message "OOPS! Disk is write protected. Take it out \par
and close the switch in the corner." What the LCD *doesn't* \par
mention is that upon recovering from the error by pressing the \par
Disk button to unfreeze the machine, you are now in the Load From \par
Disk option on page 1 (the exact opposite of what you wanted). \par
Pressing the enter key at this point would cause the unit to \par
*erase its memory* and attempt to load from the disk, thus \par
throwing your hard work from memory into data oblivion! Always \par
check that you have selected the right function before attempting \par
to re-save.\par
\par
Also note that in version 1.2, the S900 does not verify data \par
after writing to the disk. If by chance you do save to a \par
defective disk, you have no way of knowing that until you try \par
unsuccessfully to load it back into memory at some later time. \par
Hopefully, a verify feature will be available as a later upgrade \par
(hint, hint), but meanwhile, once again the solution is to make a \par
backup any time you dump memory to disk. The odds against two bad \par
disks in a row are pretty great, unless you spilled coke on them \par
or something equally as devastating!\par
\par
Speaking of devastating, I recommend that you don't even think \par
about using Single Sided/Double Density (SS/DD) disks! They mess \par
up regularly--and when you least expect it--when used in a \par
double-sided disk drive like the S900. You are not saving money \par
by buying SS/DD disks, you are buying aggravation and \par
frustration. Use *only* Double Sided/Double Density disks \par
(DS/DD).\par
\par
The S900 allows up to ten characters for program and sample \par
filenames. Take advantage of this and give your samples \par
descriptive names; this will make it much easier to locate them \par
and swap sounds around from disk to disk. Naming the original \par
sample pitch within the filename (e.g. FLUTE D3, TAH DAH C1, \par
etc.) can also be a big help, especially when constructing \par
multiple samples of the same instrument. It makes it much easier \par
to assign the split points later when working within the program \par
edit section, and also gives the sample an identity independent \par
of the program that plays it.\par
\par
LEARNING FROM THE COMPETITION\par
Akai was faced with the traditional "cart before the horse" \par
quandry when they made the big decision to release the S900 \par
*before* developing their own extensive library of sampled \par
sounds. However, the factory collection already has some \par
breathtaking selections and it is still growing. Get in touch \par
with your dealer every now and then, because new factory disks \par
are expected to be released periodically. \par
\par
I feel software support is very important. In fact, I attribute \par
much of the staying power of E-mu's famous Emulator line of \par
samplers to the vast amount of user-generated samples generated \par
by the factory, and also by their very active users group. E-mu's \par
support of their users goes so far as sponsoring sound swap \par
parties. In my opinion, if the Akai S900 Digital Sampler is to \par
thrive in today's hyper-competitive "here today and gone \par
tommorrow" electronic music marketplace, it will need the support \par
of its own users group actively backed by none other than Akai \par
itself. Meanwhile, the S900 is quite a machine--especially once \par
you learn its operating system well enough for it to do your \par
bidding.\par
}