Sampler shootout (13 hardware samplers!)
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Lets compare these hardware samplers, I tried to get the sampling rates as close as possible - they are all between 11 and 16kHz.
0:38 Source
0:47 Akai S01
0:55 Akai S20
1:04 Akai S3000XL
1:13 Akai S700
1:21 Akai MPC500
1:30 Boss Dr Sample SP-303
1:38 E-mu SP1200
1:47 Ensoniq Mirage
1:55 Korg Electribe ES-1
2:04 Korg Volca Sample
2:12 Yamaha SU10
2:21 Yamaha TX16W
2:29 Zoom SampleTrak ST-224
Time-stamps that "jump right in" to each sound without leftover audio from the prior source:
0:39 Source
0:48 Akai S01
0:56 Akai S20
1:05 Akai S3000XL
1:14 Akai S700
1:22 Akai MPC500
1:31 Boss Dr Sample SP-303
1:39 E-mu SP1200
1:48 Ensoniq Mirage
1:56 Korg Electribe ES-1
2:05 Korg Volca Sample
2:13 Yamaha SU10
2:22 Yamaha TX16W
2:30 Zoom SampleTrak ST-224
I also recommend using the "prevent timestamp scrolling for UA-cam" browswer extension for Chrome, Opera, etc. to prevent UA-cam from scrolling to the top of the page every time you click these time-stamps
thanks for the additional timestamps
It's impressive how different the Korg Volca sounds!
Yes, I was very surprised by this
Wow man, massive fair play for the level of effort it must have took to make this video. I recently bought a zoom sampletrak so hearing how it fairs compared to this list of samplers was fascinating. Also love the Sing Sing by Gaz drum loop, such a great sample! Keep up the good work my friend💪
Thanks for the nice comment, you’re welcome :)
I’ve been having a blast w Volca sample 2 - delighted to see it included on this list !
considered the Sp 202 or 303 (404 slightly out of price range atm)
These are all fun samplers. Pleased you like the Volca :)
My five cents for the algorithm...: I'm rather surprised how much more difference there was between Akai models than between various other brands. S3000XL and Mirage decided to stand out more by adding extra instruments; Volca was so astonished by how good the 22 year old Korg ES-1 sounded that it went to the back of the queue and timidly blurted out its own version from there; and TX16W just wanted to get it over with and go home by playing back faster 😄
This was very direct and informative - I hope you'd be able to do another one of these comparos with newer versions of hardware from the last decade. Well done and thank you for sharing!
Thanks Mack! Maybe I will another shootout video. I have bought and sold some units since this video!
Thank you for taking the time to make these comparisons, I've been using Cyclone which is a vst emulation of the Yamaha TX16W. Interesting to hear it against all the other classic gear.
It’s striking how different they all sound
That's a lot of samplers! "Hardware samplers. What's the point" - best intro ever.
p.s.
MPC500
Sp303
S20
TX16W
in no particular order.
That Ensoniq sounds dope too but.
:-D many people think that about hardware samplers!
Nice list!
@@gwEmbassy THEY ARE FOOLS
Great video, I was hoping to hear the asr10 but this has definitely opened my eyes to other options
Pleased you liked it. I’d like an ASR-10; maybe “some day”
Perfect comparison shootout execution, and super interesting.
Thanks Eric, happy you found it useful!
Great, I'd love an hour long documentary on this! There could be a comparison of software emulations too (dont hurt me)
Haha :) that would be interesting! Maybe someday
WOW I was Pulling my HAIR OUT Checking my wires for an hour... I was about to throw my MPC X out the window!
I sampled your video the "source" section and was comparing it to your samplers.
on the "Source" that Voice going "Chika" is there but the beads/Cabassa/Shakers sound that are clearly there on all your samplers isn't.
I thought my POS X was F'd until I sampled from your S01 Section and it was there. It may be YT compression that completely erased that beads sound in the "Source" section.
Anyways ....Great video.
I like to collect these type of videos and Build FX racks to try to emulate the ones I like on X. Its a good guide.
I've never had an old school sampler... I found a S01 for $80 I think Ima sang it seems simple to use and has more grit/flavor than a S5000 I think. It's prob going to live under my X and Ill sample into it and resample into X.
that shaker sound becomes a lot more pronounced as you add grit by reducing the sample rate.
The S01 is indeed very easy to use, and I think sounds great. would be a good choice :)
Very interesting how similar specs, sound so different between these devices. Also interesting, is how lower specs sometimes sounded better than higher specs, on some devices. What I really found interesting is the decay, or tail, that was added to the snare/clap, on the E-MU SP1200. Definitely something neat going on there. This is fantastic and thanks so much for sharing. I had no idea you own all of these devices! Wow! Too bad you didn't have any other EM-U samplers, as they certainly have a very rich, creamy, fat and warm sound to them. I will always love the early Akai S900-S2000, as they were the heart and soul of Jungle and Rave music, back in the early 90's.
I guess I should probably sell a few and optimise my selection a bit. But I do think they all have something good about them!
Awesome! That's a really great comparison on lo-fi sampling on hardware.
Thanks for tuning in and commenting :)
@@gwEmbassy No worries! Just picked up a Yamaha A4000 and I was hunting for sampler vids. While yours dosen't feature this one, it was a really wicked retrospective :)
Hi there. Just bought a TX16W after listening to this for an hour. Thanks for doing what I did wouldn't have been able to. I downloaded Typhoon 2000 somewhere in the late noughties. Now I just have to look for the disk lol.
That’s great!!! The TX16W is an awesome sampler :) :) I hope you enjoy it :)
what an incredibly valuable, compact little video. thank you for doing this! subscribed! i'm surprised by how much i love the 3000xl. would be cool if you could get some more MPCs in here too (but it's understandable if you lack a couple of those in what seems to be a truly epic gear collection).
also funny how the volca sample is just like "umm i'ma throw away some of these sounds for you."
I wish I could have more MPCs, but I just have my little 500, which I love :) thanks for viewing!
Thanks for test . Volca is surprise how good it sounds, now i understand why i did like some its articulation clearness and demos years ago , Volca and Akai s3000xl are doing fine , and others could go on sale .
Thanks for the comment! I guess this shows how different people prefer different sounds. The Volca was not well liked until now.
Wow man you got a lot of samplers Gwem!!! :O I think they all have a kinda unique character myself. I think the crunchiness of the Ensoniq Mirage was the most distinctive lol!!!
Yes! You can tell the Mirage in a moment :)
Hey man! Thank you for this video. Good to see some samplers that are not that famous in your comparison!
You’re welcome. It was my collection at the time. Have sold several since!
Very cool demo. Thank you.
You’re welcome Julio!
That was an interesting comparison! Some magic in some of these boxes.
Some of them definitely added extra magic sparkles :)
I bought an S01 after this video, 100 €. The great thing is, I don't need a floppy to start the sampler and it's very, very easy to use. I think the transpose function is very good, 45 / + 8 is the old song. You get a very cheap sampler that changes the signal significantly and that the sample pops, has a lot of pressure compared to my ST224. The heights are unfortunately somewhat lost in the sampler, there is an eq for that. You get a sample with its own character. I then put the same sample on top of each other (AkaiS01 + LP filter, ST224 for the high frequencies - SP1200 style), sounds very good. both samplers for 260 €. I am very pleased.
Used the sample than in my Digitakt🍻
The S01 and S20 both sound fantastic and are very easy to use. I’m pleased you like yours. And yes, they do have their own sound which is very good!
it's funny how you are right, all of the machines play back the sound slightly differently...i noticed serious aliasing on the Mirage, which is to be expected...but it's funny how your brain "fills in the blanks" and ignores the harshness of the sound and just hears the musicality of the sample. Well done. I
My pleasure, pleased you enjoyed it, thanks for tuning in!
SU10 is a very underrated sampler, probably due to its low polyphony, but in a modern setting it is better than some of the others to use purely as a sampler to sample from, small, easy to use and edit and a number of sample rates. Also using the realtime fx is kind of fun.
I think that sums it up Daren! It’s small, easy, fun, battery powered and sounds good too
@@gwEmbassy yes! Love the channel BTW mate, always interesting videos - and that you jam in your slippers sometimes with gear on the floor. Love it!
I love the comfort of my slippers ;) ;)
@@gwEmbassy essential kit mate ;)
I thought that I commented on this video before but apparently not.
I always come to check this video when I see a sampler that I want to buy. I check out the similarities and listen to find out if it's worthwhile. I was told that the S3000XL is the rackmount version of the MPC3000 but it doesn't really sound that way to me from what I'm hearing in this test. It does sound close to my Zoom Sampletrak ST-224 though. The XL had individual outputs which makes it desirable as a professional tool to pair with my MPC3000 and have up to 20 channels going to my mixer.
The Boss Dr Sample SP303 and the MPC500 sound pretty close in this test too. I'm thinking that the SP303 has better effects though so having both is worthwhile. I've just purchased a SP303 and I'm waiting on it to arrive.
The E-MU SP1200 and the Sampletrak ST-224 do sound close in this comparison. The SP sounds slightly more pronounced in the clap/snare but they are pretty close. The effects on the ST-224 are insane though. I don't think that I'll be buying the Rossum or the S2400 anytime soon.
the S3000XL is closer to the MPC2000XL I would say… definitely not the MPC3000 as you rightly say.
the effects are GREAT on the SP-303, but the great weakness is you can’t play samples chromatically
@@gwEmbassy So I would have to sample the SP-303 into another sampler like the MPC3000 to play the sample chromatically?
@RoomAtTheTopStudio yes, you would
@@gwEmbassy Thanks. Keep up the great work
Very nice! I loved them all. I think the Zoom SampleTrak ST-224 is actually 18-bit instead of 16-bit though 🤔
That’s interesting! Good knowledge there :)
It’s converters are 18 bit, stores at 16 bit.
The boss sp303, and 505 use 20 bit converters I believe, and also store in 16 bit.
@@MattmanAZ09 Thanks for the insight 🙌
Interesting that you used the break from Gaz - 'Sing Sing'. Keep up the good work your 'instructionals' are great!
Not sure why I chose that one! But it seems to be a good break for demoing.
I think this video is brilliant , useful, short, and an awesome deadpan intro. Big Thumbs Up from me :)
kinda like the Zoom and YamahaTX16w the best!
Hi Misha! Appreciate you watching :)
The TX16W and the Zoom do sound really good. They have lots of cool features too, both of them under-appreciated I think.
The TX16W was probably my favourite
Nice choice!
me too and i have an sp
Afaik, the only 12-bit stereo sampler ever? Much over-looked, so still cheap.
I think that’s actually correct!
I've had tons of samplers over the years and personally I dont see the point in a lot of them anymore. I'm not talking about newer stuff like an Octatrack or Digitakt or even a Volca or Electribe... I'm talking about racks. Yeah, some of those machines do have a little bit of magic pixie dust in them but its not worth paying the typical going rates nowadays, much less dealing with floppy disks and a cumbersome ui. If you're a casual home producer any daw with clever use of vst effects can replicate just about any sound you could ever want. THAT SAID in my opinion the best sounding samplers are the ensoniq eps16+ and the asr10. The eps16+ is my personal favorite when it comes to character with the asr only a millimeter behind.
Thanks for the comment Vincent, good to get your thoughts on the matter!
I don’t know about DAW being t END All to the HW Sampler. I think there is a usefulness, with the right setup. I write exclusively using the ASR & EPS16 as a workstation. They are magnificent machines, quite capable & stylish in execution. Concerning sound? The ASR10 & EPS16 are pretty identical. The difference for me is that the EPS16 forces you create in a box with less tools. & I mean that it the best way. I’ve been on a writing tear in the 16, as of late. It forces something different out of me. Regardless, the EPS Classic is always a big part of my sampling sound. The EPS Classic really is the “Beast” for me. #13bit
It's a matter of taste I guess. I have a many samplers, most are vintage nowadays, sold the Octa.
The EPS16+ get still used a lot indeed, last famous example is RTJ4 by Run The Jewel, it's all over the album.
I have it, like it, not my favorite but it doesn't matter.
It has an enjoyable character, it delivers, it definitely has its space, literally, thinking of its glorious internal effects and sadly needs its space too, given the size.
That's maybe the biggest downside I can think of old samplers, physical dimensions.
Floppies, cumbersome interfaces, I can deal with that, maybe because I'm used to it. The Mirage was my first one, still feels like home.
All in all they are tools, like brushes or colors for the painter, if they fit your vision and workflow why not?
I feel generic computers tend to sound too plain no matter what I do and I used them a lot more than samplers in recent years but working for others with the usual time constrains I mostly didn't even tried.
Even though last year someone speaking with me at the phone told me "you know, the best version of the song is the one with the video, the one you did. How did we record those drums?". I dint remember at all and checked, it turned out we didn't really record, I sampled single hits with my humble SU10, then it all came back and we remembered laughing. Anecdotal, I know.
Prices? A used Octatrack probably gave me at least the double of what every other sampler would have given me.
Not that it didn't worth it, it has more of everything, it is smaller, gig ready, cards, etc...
Actually I sold it some years ago, it was the first model and there wasn't a second yet, so maybe I'm not update to current rates but still.
The least defensible (as far as being obsolete because of software) sampler I've ever owned is the Akai S5000, which has VERY clean for 1999, CD-quality converters and really shouldn't offer much over a VST in terms of raw sound. But even if I take a 16/44.1 WAV file, copy it directly onto the hard drive of the S5000 so that it's a bit-perfect copy of the original source when it's loaded into an s-5000 program, patch it straight to my interface, and play the sample back at the original pitch and level without any filters or anything engaged, it still sounds different in a subtle but nice way - almost like there's a very slight presence boost and the transients are a little bit more forward. The first adjective that came to mind when I first heard it was "glassy."
Also, zero latency is nice (I'm sure there's a fraction of a millisecond but definitely nothing perceptible).
that is really interesting. I guess you still are using the good D2A in the Akai
nice vid. i got the 224. its a real beast! prefer it to the sp303, in a way.... the TX16W, mirage sound dope, love the akais in the begining too. i think you didnt do much justice on the zoom... its all about the ring when you it pitchdown on Standard, but you just sampled on the lofi setting, which is kinda lame if compared. also had an Su200 which is like the offspring of su10 and sp303
I have sold the 224 now but it was very good. It’s a good tip to pitch down on the standard, I will try it if I ever get one again.
I would like to try and SU200, people say it’s bad but I like the SU10, and it can it really be so terrible?!
great video , to the point without all the blah
Glad you liked it!
the S700 sounded better than i was expecting. I have the S900 but it sounds harsher to me than the S700. i have a yamaha tx16w and i am familiar with that sound. that is my favorite. everyone chasing the Sp1200 sound however. Nothing comes close.
The S700 has an extremely cool sound. It has a sound engine which is closer to the S612 than the S900.
The TX16W rocks as well!
Thanks for watching the video and commenting :)
@@gwEmbassy hi espen Kraft reckons the s700 and s900 are identical .. what you reckon
@@gwEmbassy it’s hard to say, you’d need the s900 on their too for an A/B comparison
Yes, I would need one to compare. I wouldn’t like to make a statement without being certain.
I sold my Yamaha SU-10 a decade ago and obviously regret it now. The thing was it could sample for a minute or so in total and there was no way to expand the memory. It does have great effects though.
I like my SU-10 as well. It sounds nice and it’s fun to use, despite its quite big limitations. I’m sure you could pick one up again, if you wanted!
Thank you 👏👏👏
🙏🙏
I have the Akai Remix16 which is an 8,16,and 32bit sampler very similar to the Akai S20 but in a DJ mixer style layout. It has pitch control, reverse, and transform buttons. The sound is incredible ❗😱🎵🎶
That Remix 16 looks like a fascinating unit. I’ve often wondered how it is to use in a live context.
I actually really like the sound of that s01, which is sad because it's the only sampler I've ever owned that I actually sold (too deep to fit in the rack case I had, and I wasn't making sample based music at the time; I got it free so it was $50 pure profit but I should have kept it).
EDIT: not counting the broken s950 I had for a while and gave away because I never successfully repaired it.
the S01 sounds fantastic. I just wish it had multiple outs
Tough to choose 1, there's something unique to each of them, but it's also curious how close the Akai S20 and the SP1200 sound so close with such discrepancy in their specs!
The Mirage is definitely the harshest! I was also surprised with Korg ES1 performance , considering the sampler and all its features, it might be one of the cheapest piece of gear from this list in the 2nd hand market today.
I like the Korg ES1 and think it’s a good unit. I wouldn’t be surprised if those first generation Electribes are quite valuable in the future.
Fun box that can have surprising results..break beats sound great thru it but harmonic sounds are it’s strong point ..I’ve found it to be amazing atmospheric drone machine also
It's interesting, I had an SP-1200 for years, released records with it and toured with it. When DAWs arrived I paired down to an AKAI S20 just to sample grit. Cutting the sample the right way clips the kick and snares with a wild attack and just can't be replicated with a DAW.
The S20 was my first sampler, I like it a lot. It’s fast and sounds good :) You are right nothing is like a hardware sampler!
The S20 is so slept on!
I started off recording music in the 90s with hardware (ENSONIQ EPS + KURZWEIL K2000 + E-MU e6400). Starting in 1998, I slowly transitioned to software, until by 2004 I was using 100% software. It was quick & easy to set up. No more plug & cable spaghetti, no more ground hum or bad cable noise issues, no more dealing with hardware component failure. You could have multiple instances of your instruments & FX. Over time, I began to grow increasingly dissatisfied with the sound I was getting. I was using KONTAKT, BATTERY, REASON, ABLETON etc. with high-end audio interfaces (RME, MOTU). it didn't matter, there was something missing. The drums weren't punchy enough, everything sounded flimsy and 2-dimensional. Hardware samplers have a 3-Dimensional sound, the drums are punchy and have presence.
Haha fellow sampler obsessive/enthusiast. We are are strange, ornery breed (with sharp hearing!) My argument about using these machines is this: most analog subtractive synthesizers share the same basic architecture and signal path: 2 OSC + NOISE into a MIXER thru a VCF and VCA w/ ENV + LFO modulation of VCO, VCF, VCA. So all hardware and software synthesizers should sound the same, right? Of course not. Every component within these machines affects the sound - some in a subtle way, some in a not so subtle way. I will admit that it's easy to go overboard and start GASSING, but that goes for anything & everything in the world of music gear. They do make a good investment at this point, so you can justify acquiring them by telling yourself or the wifey that they are sure to appreciate in value over time. 👍 😉 😎
That’s a very good way of explaining it! I also really like the workflow of certain samplers, I find it gets the creative juices flowing!
@@gwEmbassy Absolutely! I especially love the ENSONIQ EPS/ EPS 16+/ ASR-10 keyboards and Kurzweil K-series. Totally self-contained workstations. They have a distinct workflow and I am fluid with them (after years of use). I find them incredibly inspiring in ways that I could never experience on a computer. The workflow, design, and visual aesthetic of these machines inspires me and shapes my creative output in ways I would never experience with a computer. The main thing is the sound, of course. No matter what I am doing on the computer, even with the best audio interfaces (RME, MOTU, APOGEE), the sound is flat and 2-dimensional compared to what I hear coming from a good hardware sampler. The hardware sounds 3-dimensional, vibrant & alive. I can visualize the sound in my mind's eye so much more clearly than samples coming from a DAW or software sampler.
Yes, you don’t need to do any layering to thicken up the sound for example, like people do on a DAW
Awesome. Thanks
And thankyou for watching :)
nice, same test with modern samplers would be great ;) cheers
feel free to send me some to test :)
They'd all sound the same, lol. All software, no actual electronics.
i wondering, they're allmost software engine.. all of them ? no more electronic component, good dac convertor etc.. elektron, teenage not little fat ? cheers
@@djgalawak All software and emulation.
Great video, do you believe that HW samplers can earn a spot in modern studios today? And how? All the best
I think hardware samplers still have their uses today. The convenience isn’t there compared to a computer, but the character of the sound is the thing. Those good D to A converters and crunchy pitch algorithms.
Mirage and s700 sound best to my ears.
I wish you would have included the SK-1, just for fun.
You are welcome to donate an SK-1 :)
The Mirage is special
I vote for the Roland MV-8000 🤫
I’m not sure I tested that one ;)
The Akai s01 :)
Yeah, that sampler is slept on! Has a great sound
Nice! I have a Casio FZ1 and an Akai S950 if you wanted to hear how they sounded? There is couple if tricks with FZ's that can add nice artefacts.
Nice samplers! I’ve always wanted to try an FZ1. I like Casio gear of that era.
@@gwEmbassy The FZ1 is super gritty. If you like that mid to late 90's Wu-Tang sound it's perfect for that
I love that early period Wu Tang sound!! Maybe I should check one out :)
Thanks for the comparison!
What would be the best multisample-oriented box to stay DAWless, while playing realistic sounding pianos, orchestra, and other nonsynthesizer instruments?
Thanks Chonker. A lot of these will do that, but the S3000XL might be a good way to go as it has a lot of memory for that sort of thing.
Maybe even newer Akai boxes like the S5000/6000 or Z4/Z8, as they can read wav files and have USB which makes them more easy to use
TX16W can sound so hifi at the same time so lofi
And it’s really nice to use with Typhoon 2000 on it too :)
Some of those sample rates seem wrong. For instance the sp1200 at 16k? Are you arring at those numbers though some equation of pitching,
yes, I considered the amount of pitching I did in the those numbers
The Yamaha SU10 sounds way better than it should (closest to the akai s700 to my ears)!
Yeah, it does sound good! And it’s fun to use :)
Emu E6400 ultra, sample a synth sound and play it all across the keyboard. Don’t multi sample but sample just one. Nice and gritty
I’ve never tried an E6400, from your description it sounds cool though.
In lo-fi category Mirage kills them all!
There’s nothing quite the same!
@@gwEmbassy Amazing how all sound quite different on low sample rates. Great video, BTW. Cheers!
Appreciate your watching :)
Nothing touches the s950, tx16w, MPC 60, MPC 3000 or the sp12. All I need now is an sp1200 and the little s20!!!
The little S20 sounds so nice :) Underrated!
Some of the KHZ settings seem to be misrepresented. The SU10 doesn’t have a 16khz setting, it has 11, 22, 32 and 44. And the mpc500 is fixed at 44.
I did the ‘pitch trick’ on them to get the lower rates. Pitch up, sample and then pitch back down on the sampler
@@gwEmbassy Doesn’t it depend how the pitch algorithm works? I know the sp1200 changes the pitch by changing the sampling rate, but don’t more modern pitch algorithms work differently?
Yes, each pitch algorithm does work differently and some are smoother than others. But at the same time you are always losing information and audio quality when you do the ‘pitch trick’
@@gwEmbassy Thanks for the explanation, and for making the video in the first place! How much did you pitch the samples up by? I’d like to get that same sound on my mpc500.
On the MPC500 it’s even easier. You have the resample feature. Resample 2 or 3 octaves higher and then play it at a lower pitch. Nice grit 👍
nice video buddy. Too bad its not akai mpc 2000 and 4000 and ensoniq 16 plus and asr 10 in this , but good comparission.
Thanks G, I would love to add some more samplers in here, but that’s all I could get my hands on :)
S3kXL sounded sloppy in this clip. But in a full-scale multitimbral production, with high bandwidth, it comes to its full right. Made to be a workhorse.
Yes, it’s not so good when you do the octave up trick. At full bandwidth is where it shines as you say!
Really hard to do a fair comparison of these things, but I tried my best :)
The Akai S20 was one of the most surprising to me, but overall kinda disappointed by the Akai samplers. The Volca sounded the strangest and maybe the worst but it does sound dull without the analog isolator which I assume you kept off for the demo. my favorite was the SP-303 as that's what I have :P, but for real it kept up with all the others imo and in Lofi Mode no-less!
The Akai S20 was my first sampler and I still love the way it sounds. I did indeed leave the isolator off for the Volca :)
I like most Yamaha and E-mu from that list. Worse is S3000XL ( the one I had...)
The Yamaha is great :)
@@gwEmbassy should I get one with Typhoon? I am dumb with menus... ua-cam.com/video/mJ4V9pXZt60/v-deo.html From that list best are: SP 12, EPS 16+ , ASRX, yamaha and S950. It seems I bought a mediocre one... you can hear how all lose a lot of bass while the ensoniq or the sp 12 even boost it.
Yes, get one with Typhoon!
@@gwEmbassy I am obsessed with samplers as I was obsessed with analogues in the 90´s. My choices after i ordered an s 950. Asr 10 rack, EPS 16+ rack, asr x or brand new isla 2400 ( when I could afford circa 2000e after customs)... or yamaha one? is cheapo, tons in Spain and sounds good. But the Ensoniq seems the ideal to sample TR sounds and do my own similar ones, best for low end bass. Can the Yamaha be installed a reader of memory cards or something, by any way I will use disquettes. I had the pirate SNES 3,5 disquette honk kong machine and played everything at that time, so got hundreds of disquettes. Hate that. Best mate, maybe one day could do some lives as Speedy j does almost daily with other producers in other parts of the world. check this: ua-cam.com/video/mJ4V9pXZt60/v-deo.html
Hello nice video. Hi Im a dj and was using serato dj pro with a macbook laptop to dj with. on the serato dj pro software it has an onboard sampler of 8 slots to playback samples. it can be any sample but I use it mainly to playback sound effects such as a siren, horns, etc,...and Im trying to figure out a way to playback sound effects drops on a separate small sampler. since I now switched to djing with the denon prime go. the denon prime go works with engine dj inside of the unit but the problem i have now is that the denon prime go doesn't have on board sampler slots for me to playback those party noise sound effects. it does have an aux line and i was thinking of buying a novation circuit rhythm sampler groovebox to hook it up to the aux line and playback the samples that way. do you think i should buy a better sampler?
The Yamaha SU10 is a basic unit, but it’s perfect for playing back sound effects.
The Novation does *a lot* more though
@@gwEmbassy ok so you say the novation can playback those sound effects. I ask this cause I recently bought the novation circuit rhythm but havent messed with it yet cause i was busy with work.Now that im not as busy I want to use the novation for this purpose.
It should be able to yes
Akai S700
I love that sampler
@@gwEmbassy I've never got my hands on one, but have heard the S700 and S950 side by side through a PA. The filter in the 700 sounded sweet and overall had a better sound to my ears. I guess the storage is an issue, I hear!
That’s an interesting story about the PA comparison. The S700 does have an analogue filter which must help.
I was a techno producer, almost all analogue. The Akai S 3000 robbed the low end, was a crap. But gave some interesting excitation on hats. Do you know if the 3200 also robbed the low end? I am thinking to get one, or maybe a 12 bit one?
I’ve never tried an S3200. Plenty of low end on the earlier models though.
@@gwEmbassy thanks. A friend sells me his s 950 bought new on the 90s, he asks 1000e, I counteroffered 500. is it ok?
@@gwEmbassy I have seen your other videos, so you might like my old school, no midi recorded live, all XOX, jp8, mc 202, sh101, ms 20, sq10 . 1999 www.discogs.com/es/Frantik-Frank-Maximal-Minimal-EP/release/883296
1000 is much too high, 500 a little too low. Somewhere in between will work :)
I will check out your stuff :)
You know that "Beams..." was done with an S3000XL? :)
I had no idea :) Cool!!
@@gwEmbassy Unfortunatly I sold it when I was in a desperate situation.
Too bad :(
Gimme a tx16w and I'm chufti. If it goes gammy, I'll find another for 100 quid. Never find an akai for that, is it? Korg impresses me, though. Always.
Very true. Some of the Akais are quite cheap, but not the 12bit ones!
That Volca sounds like an absolute turd mate, the TX16W on the other hand sounds amazing and like lofi heaven.
Yes, the Volca was not good. I have since sold it! TX16W really nice to use as well.
Korg Volca sounded bad to me, I own Akai 3000XL but I liked sound of Yamaha TX16W on this video.
The TX16W is a good sampler, I like to use it! Thanks for watching :)
MPC500 kills them all. I wonder if the 1000 is even better?
Maybe the same? Would be interesting to back to back compare
Mirage
It’s good right?
S700 for this sample & what it changed. Did the Yamaha pitch up?
TX16W
I was able to sample directly into the TX16W at 16KHz
@@gwEmbassy it was probably just the dynamics making it sound a little faster. Always interesting to hear side by sides. Thanks
nice test ! but how did you get some of the samplers to sample at 16Khz if its not an avaliable option and some of them have fixed rates ?
I used the pitch trick. Sample the sound playing faster than you end up replaying.
@@gwEmbassy that's what I thought, thanks for reply. I do run some sampling rates tuning speeds and what not between my S950 , MPC3000, MPC2000xl , MPC1000, Akai S5000 , Sp12/ SP1200 , SP303 SP404mk2 Sampletrack ST224 and they all sound slightly different at different sample rates or at a combo of sample rates and pitch up / 1 octave 2 octaves 3 octaves. The all deal with pitch slightly different or drastically different like S950 SP1200 Sampletrack add more artifacts when pitching up and down . Resampling / downsampling to 12bit - 26Khz or 22.5 Khz or even better 8bit 22.5 Khz on MPC2000xl sounds much better and closer to vintage 12bi-ish ( S950 ) sound though Akai S950 is the best at sample rates and pitching down algorythms it can very quickly downsample in half rate any sample that is inside it. MPC 1000 not bad either although its downsamoling algorythm is more rough and not natural compared to MPC2000xl . SAMPLETRACK is quite amazing punchy and clean or super crunchy with it pitching and different sampling rates . Sp303 is great on quick and dirty fast sampling ' crunchy breaks on its "Long" sampling rate 16bit / 22.05 Khz . Just my 2cents . Keep making music ! Peace , Jazz
Hello Gwem’s, i want to connect my Yamaha su-10 with my Novation Circuit but i don’t know how. I have all the midi cables but i don’t no the settings for it. Please help me.
Hi Marc, that sounds like a good combination. Unfortunately I’ve never seen a Novation Circuit myself, so I don’t know how to operate one :(
On the SU10 side it’s very flexible to assign MIDI notes to samples.
Thank you for your answer, i will try and let you know if it is working.
Good luck Marc!
How did you get the volca sample to sound so bad ? What happened to the bass on it ?
I did the pitch trick. Sampled it one octave up, pitched it one octave down in the Volca.
Does kHz represent the audible frequency (ie.) 16khz =32khz sample rate?
Also I had a mpc 500, and to achieve lowering the sample rate you needed to pitch up then resample. Is this what you did?
Would also like to hear these samplers overdriven, and tuned down a few semitones.
The sampletrak has excellent aliasing using the mid grade, but I’m not sold on how well it sounds overdriven.
Would be interested how an overdriven sp1200 sounds in comparison.
My guess is that 12 bit converters handle being overdriven with more punch, and compression.
I have a Casio sk5 that samples at 8 bit and 9.38hkz. It sounds amazingly punchy, and compressed when slightly overdriven.
No, the 16KHz represents the sample rate, not the audible bandwidth.
I did the pitch up trick on the MPC500 and a few others.
I might do some more sampler tests in the future :) Thanks for watching!
@@gwEmbassy are these all old devices? As 16KHz is pretty low 🤔
Surprised they sound so different. Does the Volca really sound that bad?
The Volca certainly sounds different, I would not necessarily say bad. I don’t like it either but some people do
sounds like all of these demos were in mono, no matter the bit rate.
That’s correct
S01 sounds soooo good!
I love the sound of it too :)
Yeah quite punchy eh.
Wow, interesting how the volca seemed to drop a lot of the musical content. I think I was expecting the volca to sound lo-if but full of character. Instead it just sounded kind of flat to my ears. I think the S3000 was my favorite. It seemed to introduce some artifacts that really added some pleasant thickness to the sound.
I agree about the Volca. The S3000 sounded way different with the pitch trick than I expected.
No Octatrack 🙃😂🤪 ps I sold mine was horrendous
Loving the volca actually
Interesting! I always wanted to try an Octatrack.. but I can’t have all the samplers.. maybe this is one I can do without then.
@@gwEmbassy do yourself a favour and don't bother !
Que tal es la calidad del yamaha su10 para realizar muestras?
Me gusta, pero no es de la más alta calidad. Lo usé en modo "long".
Por lo que pude leer que en modo HI graba en alta calidad en 44,1hz
@@williamrojas2779 si, eso es correcto
How You set up kHz on MPC 500 or SP-303? Or S3000XL - I though that Akai S3 series have limit to 20kHz
Yes, but you can do the trick where you pitch up an octave and back down in the sampler. Or two octaves in the case of the MPC500.
@@gwEmbassy aaah ok I read description where You are between some range of kHz. Ok I get it, thanks!
Wait a second, there is no pitch on SP-303!
It has LoFi mode though :)
I think all de samples are edited in pc... 😜
Errr….
Liked Subbed 👍
Thanks a lot for the sub!
The volca seems to really thin out the sound, were the 'analogue isolator' filters both set to neutral?
Yes they were, I was surprised too. I think it’s because I did the ‘pitch trick’ to reduce the sample rate and it’s to do with the resampling algorithm.
@@gwEmbassy yeah i think Volca's internal sample rate is already below nyquist; I can imagine any extra SR reduction would do some damage. Did you do the pitch trick with the other samplers though?
Would be great if someone could mod the firmware/hardware to bypass one or both of the filters, they don't seem to be doing the unit many favours...
dean cerumen I did do the pitch trick on a lot of them, if they didn’t offer a native rate between 11 and 16kHz. For example, the 3000XL sounds very different to usual.
The Sp 303 and Mpc 500 sounded best.
The Volca Sample was really bad.
Thanks for your thoughts Mareike. I like the MPC500 too, it’s amazing how often this machine is overlooked.
@@gwEmbassy Hello Gwem, yes the 500 is very underrated.
Was my first Mpc (I still have the 2500se) and the 303 and 606 from Roland, the 303 was my very first sampler (my first love)! When I wanted to buy an MPC back then, I compared the 2500, 1000 and 500 to see what they had in the same functions and connections.
The 2500 was financially unattainable for me at the time. So only the 500 and 1000 remained. I then compared the specs and noticed that the 500 just doesn't have a chop shop, 1 slider less, a smaller display (no waveform display possible), 1 less midi output and no separate mixouts and has 4 less pads. Otherwise, the two machines are identical in their functions. But somehow hardly anyone has understood that until today. laugh
Since I knew that I would definitely buy another 2500 sometime later, I then of course decided on the 500 that I bought for 360 euros, it was definitely one of the last in Europe that was new because I honestly had about 20 pages on Searched Google suggestions and wrote to several dealers until I finally found a new 500. And that too with the German Akai distribution (I think it was called Just Music) Who should have known that! laugh
Find your channel very good because you know a lot about machines and I don't seem like these would-be musicians hording all the devices who have no real idea about techniques, machines and the history of machines. Greetings from northern Germany
I'm Ben, this is my girlfriend's UA-cam profile. ;)
Moin Ben!
I love the old machines, but they have one function : which is to make music :)
The new boxes are just as good let’s be honest, but I just don’t have a feeling of excitement when using them.
The 500 has one killer feature none of the others have : battery operation!
I don’t get either why this machine isn’t more popular. It’s cheap and super powerful.
Congratulations on your MPCs, I hope you make lots of good music with them!
@@gwEmbassy Moin Gwem, Have you ever been to Hamburg or somewhere else in Northern Germany or how do you know the way of greeting each other here? Very sympathic
Yes, I like the old machines too. Last year I bought Behringer Rd6, Td3, Rd8, Ms1, Model D, hopefully in the next few months finally the Rd9 and the Td3 MO. And then I finally have the old classic drum machines and synths that my role models used. Thank you Uli ;)
Liam Howlett is my musical role model, which doesn't mean that I make the same music as him, it's that he's unique. Liam, Kraftwerk, Underworld, Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk, Ritchie Hawtin, Goldie, Aphex Twin and and and..... are my musical references.
I'm on the road with Dawless and I just want to make Music that are just as good as the people whose music I love so much. And that with the equipment and resources that they had at their disposal or could have used at the time. Except for exceptions like the 2500se instead of the Mpc 2000 which e.g. Underworld used for sequencing, or the Volca FM as a DX7 clone.
I can only recommend the Volca FM if you don't already have it. If so use it with the unofficial update 1.0.9 that adds midi velocity otherwise an FM synth doesn't really make much sense either.
Liam is my biggest influence probably. It’s very difficult to emulate his production style though, getting blend of rave, techno, punk and hip hop just right.
I have spent quite a bit of time in Germany and know a little of the language. I like it a lot there.
I have the Model D and the MS-101 and they are good synths. Much more affordable than the real deal and sound every bit as good. I have different feeling when they copy products still made new though.
kinda liked the 700 and a few others...next time use more variation,please..That Volca one was trash,although i am sure someone likes it..
I have bought and sold a few samplers since this video. Maybe soon time for another one indeed
Hey, I noticed that you say the the Korg ES-1 is 16khz. It samples at 32khz. how did you get to 16khz or is that a mistake?
Yes, correct. I did the pitch trick, sampled it one octave up and pitched it down in the sampler.
@@gwEmbassy Oh, so when you do that it sounds like it was sampled at a lower sample rate. But it doesn't actually change the rate. Or dose it?
It depends on the sampler. But I think on the ES-1 it will just sound like it changed the rate
@@gwEmbassy Hey, Thanks for the info I just subscribed to your channel.
I also have a TR-707. But the bass drums and the low tom are distorted. Have you ever heard of that problem on 707's?
@@kimmills688 I've not that this problem on mine. Are you are you are running the 707 on 12v?
I've been getting back into DAW based production since it's cheap and it drives me nuts how much longer it takes to make samples sound the same as they would out of a sampler into desk. By the way, what's the sample CD you used? It's in one of my favorite tracks ua-cam.com/video/f-lwK3CdVec/v-deo.html
Those DAWs are nice, cheap and convenient. I won’t criticise anyone for using one, but you are right it doesn’t sound the same.
Sample CD was called “All The Breaks Vol.1.2.3”
@@gwEmbassy Thanks so much man!
You’ll soon get bored of the daw like I did I now have a rack of these samplers and there’s no going back .. it’s an experience vs convenience
I’d understand if you were getting paid for your productions with busy schedules etc ... but if your making music as a pastime then samplers all the way just way more fun
As a blind musician, I can't use sampling software so hardware is my only option. I dream of a 32 mini keys good sounding easy to use sampling keyboard nut such a thing does not exist.
What about the Korg Microsampler? www.soundonsound.com/reviews/korg-microsampler
You can use samples but cutting and editing samples might be tricky. Most midi keyboards would allow you to play samples, having them spread across a few octaves. Maybe the Yamaha DJX keyboard would be worth checking out. You can play sample loops and turn on and off elements of a groove like bass lines or synth sounds. You can control the root notes of the pattern and still play accompanying lead lines by using split keyboard functions. So half the keys control root nots and the other half does melody. Otherwise I might look to a digital workstation. Seems like a computer might have more options to help visually impaired people interface with software. Using an auto chopper makes quick work of breaking down a sample. Honestly though this is something I never think about. I’m a dj and I have damaged my hearing over the years and if it gets too bad I’ll just go back to painting. If I went blind I’d probably stick to spinning records and put Braille on the center sticker spot to help identify them. I could ramble further, hope you find tools that work for you! Peace
@@sheepkillindog Thank you so much!
Where is the E-mu? 50% of samplers in video is "toy". I'm waiting for 30 sampler comparision :)
The SP1200 is an E-mu ;)
You are welcome to send me some more samplers to try!
This was interesting, but NOT useful. None of the samplers, really, are what people are using. Instead, test the Digitakt, Octatrack, Circuit Rhythm, SP-404, 1010 Blackbox, MPC One/Live/X, Maschine, etc.
You are very welcome to send me these units for test. Hit me up on Twitter.
Just tools.
Also true!
wow the volca is garbage
It didn’t work well with the pitch trick did it?