Akai S900
1986 12-bit professional digital sampler / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Akai S900 is a 12-bit sampler, with a variable sample rate from 7.5 kHz through to 40 kHz. It was common in recording studios until it was superseded two years later by the S1000.
Akai S900 | |
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Manufacturer | Akai |
Dates | 1986[1][2] |
Technical specifications | |
Polyphony | 8 voices |
Timbrality | 8 parts |
Synthesis type | Digital Sample-based Subtractive |
Storage memory | 896KiB (768KiB for samples) |
Input/output | |
External control | MIDI |
An expanded version, the Akai S950, was released in 1988 alongside the higher end S1000. The S950 imported some of the S1000's improvements, including timestretching (allowing the user to change a sample's length and pitch independently of one another),[3] and it increased the maximum sample rate to 48 kHz.[3] Unlike the S1000 series, the S900 series allows a sample to loop alternating forwards and backwards.
Notable users include The 45 King (who named his hit "The 900 Number" after the sampler),[4] Juan Atkins,[5] Beatmasters,[6] Black Box, Ian Boddy,[7] Enya,[8] Fatboy Slim (who nearly exclusively uses a pair of S950s),[9] Front 242,[10] KLF,[11] The Bomb Squad, Prince Paul, Renegade Soundwave,[12] and Tangerine Dream.[13]