akai s20: slept on so hard!

[ormo]

@wax

yeah this thing is super dope for pitch and other stuff like getting acurate tempo calculations for samples and loops and it also allows you to loop the end of a sound like just the tail of a piano and so on.

and it let's you have loop start points that are further in from the begining of the sample than the loop repeat point. like the sample can starton a snare but then loop back around to the first kick.

since I made this post I've switched to a 606 and s20 setup and it's even better than the 505 setup I was using.

the s20 also has a reverse button that allows for like a live scrubing of audio back and forth if you press it rapidly. this can then be sampled in to your sp.

it also has a roll function using the tap button and the +/- keys to make it faster or slower.
and it has one mute group!

[wax inspektor]

it has a mute group?! alright that made it... thanx ormo.
i was between the st224 and the s20 but i guess the decision's done...

[ormo]

yes its a feature called mono trigger. samples that have mono trigger turned on will cut each other off.

the only downside of the s20 is its volume is not very loud.
at least by sp standards (loudest yet).

but i just run the output to my 606 and its loud enough

[sampling_percussion]

whats the sequencer like on the s20. how many tracks/patterns/songs?

[ellaguru]

whats the sequencer like on the s20. how many tracks/patterns/songs?

4 tracks, but no patterns, no banks, no metronome, no songs...it was a '96 "primitive" sampler as akai remix 16 or yamaha su10...it has a sequencer made just for build ideas than all...

[Mr36]

Hello all. I'm wondering if one of you can help me...

I have just bought a REMIX 16 and one of the main things I was convinced I'd be able to do with it seems to be impossible.

It is to sample the audio input while samples play back. However, once I have a sample recorded in, as soon as I press record again to sample again to another bank, the playback stops. I wanted to use it as a live looper and I really don't see how I can do that now...

Anyone? If it can't do this, I may well have to try to sell it on.

Thanks in advance.

[jbl]

I just got one (the remix88 version). couple of questions; 1. can I resample? 2. Is there any way to check memory available in the box. a 72 pinn strip has been added but it doesn't say 16 or 6 mb on it anywhere.

edit
1. I see it says it on the front. I'll just figure it out. 2. I got the 16mb upgrade. oh yeah!

[ellaguru]

Hello all. I'm wondering if one of you can help me...

I have just bought a REMIX 16 and one of the main things I was convinced I'd be able to do with it seems to be impossible.

It is to sample the audio input while samples play back. However, once I have a sample recorded in, as soon as I press record again to sample again to another bank, the playback stops. I wanted to use it as a live looper and I really don't see how I can do that now...

Anyone? If it can't do this, I may well have to try to sell it on.

Thanks in advance.

i think this is not possible with the remix16, however it isn't with mine

I just got one (the remix88 version). couple of questions; 1. can I resample? 2. Is there any way to check memory available in the box. a 72 pinn strip has been added but it doesn't say 16 or 6 mb on it anywhere.

edit
1. I see it says it on the front. I'll just figure it out. 2. I got the 16mb upgrade. oh yeah!

jbl, pay attention to the "resample" word written to the front, 'cause the "resample" thing by akai is different from the "resample" thing by boss/roland...in the first case it's just the fact that you can only make samples (just one pad) from 32hz to 16 hz or 8hz or 4hz...it's just to have some sort of lofi samples...so ,for ex, you cannot make loops with more than one pad with this akai "resample" thing...

[dorfmeister]

So what is the going rate on an S20 these days?

[Cheenergies]

bought mine of ebay for about £40 with 16mb memory installed.
i've messed around with it and I really like the way it makes drum samples sound hard like bricks. the pitch is really good and its nice when linked up to a midi keyboard. the lo-fi sampling is a really good effect and i'm gonna use it with my maschine and sp404(or an sp303 if I win this bid on ebay)

[* warrika *]

there isn't any way to convert a mono sample to stereo?

i read the whole manual through, didn't see anything, but maybe there's a trick someone may know. i need to use both outputs so i can effect only certain samples.

if there isn't a solution i'll probably end up recording the samples to the sp202 then back into the akai, that might be interesting i could mess with the speed...

[7th CITY]

i have not had a sampler for a while now. i haven't made a beat in about a year, tonight i bought a Akia S20 and now im back in the game!

i have owned a S20 two different times and pumped to get back into making music again with this sweet sampler!

[Headphones]

Just picked this up at my local GC for $50. Didn't come with any manual or floppies. The manual I'm going to print up at work tonight, and floppies I managed to locate at a computer recycling place for .15 cents each. What I have found out about using it is, you have to do most of your samples in mono if you want to fill up the pads, because the stereo samples is what sucks up the memory, and you'll be lucky to be able to get more than a pad or 2 if you must sample in stereo. I can see why so many of you find a SP and the S20 such a great combo, so that you get the lo-fi sound of the S20, with the easier/longer stereo time available to you with a SP. This is making me think of getting a 202/303/404/505 to use with this, but I might want to get a Behringer Tweakilizer and a Stanton CDJ at my local pawn shop to use with this thing first. Just get a dj mixer with 3 or 4 channels, and you could bang/sample/scratch all day with that setup.

For now, I'm sampling directly from my laptop, and it's okay, but kind of a pain in the butt to sample in bed, and accidently knock out a cable or by accident turn the power off and lose what I just sampled (before I could save it), but when I discovered how slow(and deep) the pitch bend was, I knew I didn't lose $50 on this thing. I'll have to practice some more with the sample editing, once I read the manual through. I wish it had some effects, but there are things like the Tweakilizer and Korg Kaoss pads for those.

Would I recommend this thing to anybody? Depends. If you're poor like me, can live with it's limits, and don't expect it to do much that a sp is better at, then sure. If you need lots of sample time, waveform editing, effects, and all the bells and whistles, then no, go get a SP505/606/808, or a MPC, or a laptop and some software. But because it's so old, it forces you to think about what you'll sample/chop, and to use your ears more than look at a perfect wave file. You're either going to love this thing, or give it to your kid brother. (Or sell it on eBay)

[Headphones]

I finally printed the manual last night after work. I never knew you could downgrade the sample rate to 8 bit until I started going through it! I was using it on vocal samples, so to me it just sounded like a weird hybrid of AM/FM signal. I had to sign up with Scribed.com for free for 30 days, but I just plan to cancel that now that I have a physical copy of the manual now.

[Headphones]

Just ordered a new power supply for the S20, because my old one was super unreliable. Power would sometimes shut off & I would lose any of the samples I forgot to save. I bought a power supply for my DR202 as well, and my Electribes. With that out of the way I can focus on just making tunes.