Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    Before I decided to buy a Mirage I checked into the AKAI. At that
    time (1 year ago) it was close to $800 w/o disc drive.
    
    My impression is that this unit will probably be a bad investment.
    There doesn't seem to be a very large user base, or a whole hell
    of a lot of samples.
    
    Sampling is not a particularly easy task. Some of the new units
    like the S-50 are decidedly more friendly, but it's an option you
    pay (dearly) for.
    
    With the price dropping like a stone, I get the feeling they may
    be unloading them
    
    Good luck...
    
    Edd

    another thumbs down. Are you familiar withthe term 'multisampling'?
    This means that you take multiple samples and distribute them across
    the (remote) 'keyboard'.. a MUST for realistic reproduction.
    
    Well, this unit allows ONE sample to be distributed across 5 octaves.
    Are you familiar with the technical term 'munchkinization'?
    
    Of course, at THAT price youcould buy three, split your master keyboard
    three ways (3 MIDI channels) and STILL not approach the Mirage for
    sound or functionality.
    
    karl moeller

    
    Is there anything on the market between the SK1 (<$100) and the
    Mirage (>$1000) that has decent bandwidth (>10KHz) and more sample
    time than the .5 second you get in the SPX-90? I don't need a keyboard
    or multisampling, and a tape drive is fine for storage. It must
    be a rack mount unit.
    
    Ideas?
    
    CdH
    

    re -1.
    
    I hear the AKAI S612 is ~$400. Perhaps there's a note on it in this
    conference. As you don't 'need multisampling'. It even comes with
    a builtin floppy drive. Great deal for the price, if you can put
    up with a 1.5 octave usable range around the sample's center frequency.
    Beyond that it's Mickey Mouse time.
    
    You play bass, right?

    
    I play nothing anymore. I play 12" round vinyl discs. However, I've
    been dabbling with doing some remixing, and would like to use a
    sampler to take snapshots of pieces of songs and layer them into
    the original, using an 8 track machine.
    
    1 1/2 octaves around the center frequency sounds like too narrow
    a bandwidth for any decent fidelity.
    
    Thanks Karl,
    Chris
    

    nonononono.... major ambiguity... ya shoulda stated yer needs up
    front.
    
    Okay. What I meant by 'single sampling' is that a given musical
    sound, usually a single tone, is sampled into the machine.. then,
    based on its harmonic content, the sampler can be told to play the
    sound (at the CORRECTED pitches) on EACH key down, say, 8 notes (from
    center frequency) and UP say, five notes. Realize that the sampler
    does the work of dividing or multiplying the original frequency
    to match the actual key you're pressing. AND certain kinds of pitched
    sounds sound extremely strange played far outside their original
    recorded pitch. The dread 'munchkinization'.    

    HOWEVER ! This isn't what you're doing at all ! You wanna sample
    a chunk of a piece, and, at the ORIGINAL frequency, dump it out
    on command onto a multitrack deck. I feel the frequency range available
    on most commercial samplers is adequate for your needs. The actual 
    frequency range of most samplers is ~50hz-~10Khz.. your mileage may vary.

    So, having a keyboard is unimportant as long as you can trigger the 
    sampler to play on demand. As you wish to sample pieces of songs for 
    playback, then the REAL question you need to ask is, "What is the 
    maximum sampling time available on the AKAI S612?" Not having seen 
    the specs, I'm gonna SWAG about 2.5 seconds. 

    8AC9/karlunit

    Re: .5
    
    
    The '1.5 octaves around the center' phrase is a bit misleading.
    Without multi-sampling, the usable range of most sounds with anything
    but a gate-type envelope, gets too munchkin-y or darth vadered to
    be usefull. I believe Karl was refering to this effect.
    
    It doesn't imply any sort of deficiency in the frequency response.
    
    High-resolution one-shot samplers are still pretty expensive. Certainly
    more than $400.                                        
    
    Edd

    Re: .5
    
    Wouldn't it be cheaper to do it the old fashioned way?
    
    Record the song or song a couple of times onto the tape.
    Then get out the grease pen, razor blade and, and splice the
    tape up into the desired mix.
    
    Dave 

    
    Thanks for all the interest!
    
    Sliding the pitch up and down doesn't matter too much to me, at
    least for effects. 1.5 octaves should be ok.
        
    Insofar as manual editing goes, I'm *real* familiar with the process.
    Sampled sounds, punched in by keystroke, sound different than tape
    sections edited together. I'd probably have to run a sync track
    as well to keep things together, which sort of negates the cost
    savings if I need an autolocator or SMPTE box. What the sampler lets me
    do is punch the sounds/music/effects in on another track to be remixed 
    later. 
    
    Maybe I should clarify things. I don't play keyboards. I have an
    SK1 that's been a lot of fun to use in my performances. However,
    there are two major drawbacks to this little gem:
    
    1) You can only store one sample, it must be generated at performance
    time, and it goes away after 10 minutes if you don't press a key.
    I'd like a sampler with storage capability that can be created in
    the studio and loaded at performance time.
    
    2) You get $79 worth of bandwidth. I'd like some more.
    
    Thanks for all the input,
    CdH
    

    Figure_1: [uh, gag, {barf}, gulp, huh?, yikes!, whoa., wha?....]
    
    Dreher,babes, whatcha been smokin?
    
    See figure 1.
    
    have a spacial day.
    

    Chris:
    
    Casio has put out (or will put out shortly) an entire SK line of
    "consumer" samplers - SK-5, SK-8, SK-100, SK-200, SK-2100.
    
    List prices:
    
    SK-1 - $129
    SK-5 - $149.50
    SK-8 - $179.50
    SK-100 - $299
    SK-200 - $399.50
    SK-2100 - $699
    
    If you can do w/o MIDI, one of these may fit your needs.  Send me
    mail if interested in learning more.  I have the current Casio
    catalog...
    
    Todd.
         

    
    
    c-c-c-hris
    

    I have an S612 w/drive and I got it back when they were $1000 without
    the drive.  The times they are a changin... The thing sounds better
    and has less noise than any mirage I've ever heard, but I've only
    got one sound on board at one time..(I use my eight track a lot).
    If a drummer is looking for a one shot  sampler--this is it.  However,
    for a keyboardist, you should go for an Emax, or you could mortgage
    the house and buy a Fairlight.  If any S612 owners out there need
    any sounds--send me mail (SRFSUP::MORRIS) I've got tons of samples.
    
    Later
    
    Ashley

    
    
    Well I have a S700 which is compatible. What do you have on offer
    that is startling ?
    
    
    						Paul.