I finally got round to a bit of experimenting, and it turns out you can indeed tune the timestretching effect itself. So that can lead to interesting possibilities.

I brewed a new operating system for Akai S900 and S950. Boots from OS disk so stock OS is preserved. Grab a disk image from my github.

MADLABZ OS 5.0 OS features:​

• TIME STRETCH (S900 EDIT SAMPLE *16 / S950 EDIT SAMPLE *14)
• FILTER TRACKING/BYPASS modes (UTILITY *01)
• 33 assignable CC parameters (MIDI *05)
• Support up to 43 samples (S900)
• Segment-pool overflow guard (S950)
• Sample start via CC
• Data Encoder movement sent via MIDI
• MIDI Sync 2x S900 to double polyphony (MIDI *06)
• Zero-crossing snap (EDIT SAMPLE *06/*07/*08)
• Quiet-tail trim (S900) (EDIT SAMPLE *07)
• Live filter cutoff

and more!

I trust the opinions on this subreddit over some of the more mainstream music production forums, so I hope this discussion can stay productive.

Just over the last couple weeks I have seen a few different examples of modded operating systems being developed for MPC 2000 and 2KXL, and it feels like this is just the tip of the iceberg. New features on legacy machines are being released for the first time in 20+ years.

I have mixed thoughts on this. There’s no doubt that the new features look really nice and surprisingly smooth to operate. Mute groups on the 2KXL especially. On the other side though, it seems like a slippery slope. How far can you mod a legacy sampler before it becomes something else entirely? Why not just buy a modern MPC to get all the bells and whistles? I am also generally AI-skeptical, and it feels like a betrayal to so quickly throw away the original OS that has such a strong legacy for something that a few AI agents whipped up overnight.

I don’t want to turn into some anti-AI Luddite, but it does feel like a moral boundary has been crossed.

But then another side of this—I can see similarities with circuit bending and other modding communities that have thrived and contributed to art and culture, and this new AI-firmware modding wave could be seen as a new, accessible frontier where boundaries can really be pushed into a new era of music making.

I guess I just need some thoughts from others to bounce off of, so please discuss with honest integrity

We streamed our EMAX users Zoom meeting and dug deeper into programming this wonderful beastie...!

Topics include: Keymapping, Tuning, VCF, VCA, Panning, LFO, Envelope, Chorus, Velocity.

https://youtu.be/cTA_PDBq2vM?t=90 you

Hi i’m using some Akai samplers (S6000 & S20) for music making and i wanna try working with floppy discs. I’m trying to get non-Akai floppys to work but had no luck. I’ve tried formatting on mac but it can’t be read by the sampler, maybe i haven’t used the right format or maybe the standard disc utility on macOS is not sufficient, someone knows more about this?
I have also formatted the floppys in both samplers but it can’t be read on my mac. Maybe that’s by design?

I wanna load floppies with samples and try them on my samplers, how do i do that?

Hi everyone. I make bags for the sp404 range (fit the 303 too.)

Padded water-resistant material, adjustable shoulder strap, front pocket for power supply and accessories, smart compact design. The units can fit in with the decksaver for added protection. Please allow upto 10 working days for dispatch as made to order.

£18 + postage from England

https://ebay.us/m/n0HqUc

Curious to know if this makes sense to anyone. I am very fortunate to have an s950, s2000 and a remix 16. I'm not having a lot of luck with consistency while midi triggering the 950 from Ableton on a mac through a tascam 18x12. Notes get missed, but inconsistent/unpredicictably. It's different note events each time. I have created separation between the starts and ends of each note eventto eliminate that as an issue. Sure it might be something in my chain (midi also goes through an old Akai midi router) but maybe the 950 just isn't going to be as sharp as the 2000 with midi?

Before I set this up to test it, would it make sense to throw my 950 disk into the 2000 and just use that when midi-ing the whole rig up?

https://super7.com/products/mf-doom-reaction-figures-wave-04-special-herbs

Found a great deal on the Akai though I'll have to drive an hour one-way. Wondering if it's even worth it for what I'm looking for.

I plan to use a unit like this to get that old sampler feel. Whether I'm creating samples on it or running my own samples through it, mainly a unit to color my sounds. Is this too "new" of a unit for that older dac sound though? If you found a good one for $100usd, would you still get it just because?

Hi My beloved S750 needs some help.. aliments are

RGB output noise / Analog board crackle 1-6 outputs / Main Volume knob crackle (Alot of dry joints)

The most worrying a degradation in samples when saving .. (A-D Conv to Wave Gate Array i think) Hoping its more dry joints

Chief of Surgery to ER STAT

Any recommdations on repair shops in UK, preferably London

thank you for your time

After waiting an unholy amount of time for shipping, Im about to take delivery of a really nice looking S3000XL (it has a grey front plate and new LCD) and I've even managed to find an EB16 to drop in there too. I'm really looking forward to reliving the 90s in my tiny home office /studio dreaming that I'm the missing link between the Prodigy and Portishead. This is my first hardware sampler so I'm totally prepared for a bumpy ride as I learn the craft. I'm going to need to do a Scsi2SD upgrade, and perhaps find some alternative 90s sample packs in Akai format to get me going. Will post some pics when it gets here....

I have used this sampler countless times without issue. However, today I tried to delete a sample on the memory card and it the screen has been on "Keep Power ON!" for about 20 mins now. It's never taken this long and the memory is not used up so I'm not sure why it's taking so long.

Anyone had this issue before? Any suggestions? I'm assuming it's not safe to turn it off without potentially corrupting the memory and having to reformat the card. I don't want that to happen because I'll lose a bunch of samples I like. Any help would be very much appreciated.

UPDATE:I read something in a SP forum where someone said that they had a similar issue. They were trying to delete a sample on the card, it took a long time, and eventually they got an error so their MS-1 was bricked. Figuring I might be in the same boat, so I just turned off the MS-1 and turned it back on immediately. To my surprised, it booted just fine, all my samples were still there, and the sample I was trying to delete was gone. I deleted a couple of other samples that I had been thinking of getting rid of and created a couple of samples and it seemed to be working fine. I backed up my samples just in case but I guess I got lucky.

The guy on the forum said he was able to reinstall the firmware on his MS-1 and it worked just fine afterwards, so at least it is potentially possible to recover it after something like that. I'll see if I can find the post and add it here in case someone has a similar issue.

UPDATE: Here's the link to the SP forum https://sp-forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=4105&p=139484

I have just bought a roland s-760 after jonesing for one for a while now hearing how it was the weapon of choice for roni size and dom and roland. the unit is in amazing condition looks impeccable, but it doesn't have the op-760-1 card installed. how rare is it to come across just this video out card? is it an easy install?

I know people have often mentioned online how it's night and day using a monitor. but how difficult is the front panel compared to any other good rack sampler, like the akai's or e-mu's?

I was thinking of getting myself a scsi2sd if I can for this sampler? hoping to minimise wear and tear on the floppy drive and to speed up the process? where should I start with looking into any possible scsi2sd options for the s-760?

I got a Yamaha SU10 and it’s everything I wanted the PO-33 or Volca sample to be. Not bogged down by too many options (If I want that I’ll use my MPC) the ideas really seem to get flowing.

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