Favorite old sampler thread

[Gothboy]

     With all this Morgana talk referencing old samplers I thought I'd start a thread about old low bit resolution hardware samplers that we know and love.  I myself use a 16-bit Yamaha A3000 but I remember when I was deciding what to buy I was considering an Akai S612.  It's a 12-bit sampler that I first saw in a picture of Alan Wilders' studio and is a picture of simplicity.  Imagine this: it can only play one sample at a time but was the very first akai sampler.  I still want one and will buy one someday if I can find the MB280 that was once available as a backup device.

http://www.synthmuseum.com/akai/akas61201.jpg

     Has good old fashioned knobs on it!

[Claude]

We've got a bunch of favorites. I personally have an Ensoniq Mirage which I love for it's gritty character, a Korg DSS-1 which actually has an amazingly refined and mellow synthetic character, and an E-mu Emax II which has some cool synthesis abilities and some really excellent digital filters.

I'll also be adding an SP-1200 to my arsenal soon, I'm really looking forward to that. 

Those S612s are hard to find! Good luck with that.

[Claude]

Er...I just decided this should probably go in the lounge, since it's not really about Morgana. But hey, now you get to be the OP for the very first thread in the lounge!

[Gothboy]

    Oh boy! You have an Emax ll!  They were used by Depeche Mode as stage rigs form '87 to about '93 or so but I've never seen one up close, is it the keyboard version?   They must be good if DM used them.....despite having perhaps the worlds smallest LCD screen.

[Claude]

I've got the rack version, with 4Mb or 6Mb memory (I actually can't remember!) and a 540Mb hard drive (the biggest which will fit!). As old samplers go, it's pretty awesome - yeah, easy to program, too. E-mu had a good UI even without using a big LCD. I used to have an E-mu command station (which I wish I still had) and it had a tiny LCD too but it was easily the most user-friendly and flexible MIDI sequencer I've ever used.

[catandpillars]

I have a Casio SK1, which is a fun instrument. It can record a second long sample. It can do a harsh bass sound, when I sample my acoustic guitar.

I admit though, that some of the previously mentioned instruments may be even more fun. But I refuse to collect gear until I live on my own and have space.

[Claude]

The Casio SK-1 is a legend! The thing about it is, if you can make real music with an SK-1 you're set, everything else is just gravy. Don't pigeonhole yourself into thinking it's just a toy, because there's still a lot of untapped potential in there even today. That's not to say you don't absolutely need Morgana of course...because well, you do!

[Hide]

I was having Ensoniq Mirage and ESP, those are great Lo-Fi sampler keyboards.
I just am missing their sound now...