Akai S1000 Series Operator's Manual

Stereo digital sampler
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  • Page 2 AKAI S1000 Series Software Version 2.0 Manual for S1000, S1000HD, S1000PB...
  • Page 6 Version 2.0 89/11 Table of Contents - iii...
  • Page 8: About This Manual

    We at AKAI, and in particular the S1000 series development team, would like to thank you for buying a model of the Akai S1000 series, and hope that you will remain an AKAI player and user for a long time. As each unit is thoroughly tested and inspected before it leaves our factory, we are confident that you will enjoy years of service from this instrument.
  • Page 9 AKAI shall not be liable for coats involved is packing or preparing the product for shipping, with regard to time, labor or materials, shipping or freight coats, or time sad expenses involved in transporting the product to and from an AKAI Authorized Service Center or Authorized Dealer.
  • Page 10 Introduction Copyright notice The AKAI S1000 is a computer-based instrument, and as such contains and uses software in ROMs and disks. This software, and all related documentation, including this Operator's Manual, contain proprietary information which is protected by copyright laws. All rights are reserved.
  • Page 11 Introduction WARNING Power requirements for electrical equipment vary from area to area. Please ensure that your S1000 meets the power requirements in your area. If in doubt, consult a qualified electrician. 120V @ 60Hz for USA and Canada 220V @ 50Hz for Europe (excluding UK) 240V @ 50Hz for UK and Australia Protecting yourself and the S1000 •...
  • Page 12 Introduction As the colours of the wires in the flex may not correspond to the colour markings in your plug, make sure that wires are connect in the following way. The green-and yellow wire should connected to the terminal marked "E" or marked with the safety earth symbol ( );...
  • Page 13 Introduction FUR KUNDEN IN DER BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND Bescheinigung von AKAI Hiermit wird bescheinigt, daB das Gerdt AKAI S1000 / HD / PB in tYbereinstimmung mit den Bestimmungen der Amtsblattverftigung 1046/1984 funkentstbrt ist. Der Deutschen Bundespost wurde das Inverkehrbringen theses GerAtes ange zeigt and die Berichtignng zur Oberprdfung der Serie auf Einhaltung der Bestimmungen eingerliumt.
  • Page 14 Memory may be added in 2Mbyte boards to a total of 8Mbytes to give over 90 seconds of total sample time. There are three models in the AKAI S1000 series: the basic S1000, with a diskette drive, the 51000HD, with an integral 40Mb hard disk, and the S1000PB, which has a diskette drive, but none of the sample recording or editing facilities of the other models.
  • Page 15 Introduction matically loaded in response to MIDI Program Change commands. The SCSI interface may also be used for fast transmission of sample data to SCSI-equipped computers for editing, etc. The optional IB-104 digital interface board provides coaxial and optical digital links, for direct digital sampling at rates of up to 48kHz, and hard disk archive/restore to DAT for quick and easy storage of data.
  • Page 16 MIDI book, and read it before proceeding much further with your S1000. NOTE: This manual covers all models of the S1000 series - including the S1000PB (playback model). On the PB model, the CURSOR and DATA rotary knobs are replaced by two pairs of buttons (<= and =>...
  • Page 17 Introduction Keygroup The term for a collection of a number of parameters of up to four samples - their name, keyspan, filtering, envelopes, etc. Keyspan On the S1000, a keyspan is the range of the keyboard on which a sample can be played. Low Frequency Oscillator - an oscillator which operates at too low a frequency to produce an audible tone, but is used to modulate such parameters as pitch, pan position, etc.
  • Page 18 Introduction Sample Usually in the manual, the word sample will refer to a sound which has been recorded, digitized and edited, and can then be added to a keygroup (you might like to think of it as a "waveform" in analog synthesizer terms). However, when editing one of these sounds, the length and position inside this sample is also measured in samples.
  • Page 19 Introduction Volume As well as being the output level from the S1000, volume has another meaning a collection of programs, samples and drum settings which can be stored together on a diskette, on a hard disk or in memory. One volume can be stored in memory or on each diskette, and up to 128 volumes can be stored on a hard disk.
  • Page 20: Front Panel Controls

    Introduction Front panel controls This section describes the function of the controls on the front panel, and the general principles of operating the S1000. Reading this section now, and understanding the principles of the software user interface of the S1000 will probably save you a lot of time later on when you come to use the machine in earnest.
  • Page 21 Introduction S1000PB front panel Though the S1000 is a highly sophisticated sampler, you may feel that there are surprisingly few controls. However, each button on the front panel serves more than one function, and together with the 40 character x 8-line LCD display (also used for graphic displays), allow you to perform a wide variety of editing and other commands easily.
  • Page 22 Introduction Insert the disk with the metal shutter first, and the label to the right Insert the disk until it clicks into place. To eject a disk, press the black rectangular button at the bottom of the disk drive. When the S1000 is reading or writing a disk ("accessing"), an LED on the disk drive will show this.
  • Page 23 The S1000 should automatically load the disk version of the operating system. If it doesn't, something's gone wrong. Repeat the process again using another new disk, and if all else fails, call your AKAI dealer. Headphones (S1000PB) A stereo headphone socket (1/4 inch) is provided on the front panel.
  • Page 24: Editing Controls

    Introduction REC GAIN (not S1000PB) This is a 3-position slider switch (LOW, MID, HIGH) used for matching the level of the input source to the recording amplifier of the S1000. Fine adjustment should be carried out with the REC LEVEL control on the front panel. Ideally, you should set the REC GAIN so that the REC LEVEL is set about 2 o'clock.
  • Page 25 Introduction "Function" (blue on white). A soft key legend like this means that pressing the appropriate button will bring up another page of the display. In this manual, this type of legend and the soft key pressed to access this function will be represented like this: LOAD "Action"...
  • Page 26 Introduction non-numeric values, turning the knob will display all the options in order. Normally, there is no other entry procedure - simply displaying the correct value of a parameter using the DATA knob selects and stores it into the S1000's memory. When editing numeric parameters, some of the values can be quite large, and it would be necessary to turn the DATA knob thousands of times (literally) in order to go through the whole range if the value was only changed by 1 for every click of the DATA control.
  • Page 27 Allows transposition and master tuning of the whole keyboard, as well as allowing a user-defined temperament to be set up. DRUM When used with one or two AKAI ME-35T audio/MIDI trigger units, the S1000 is capable of controlling them, making the S1000 the basis for a very sophisticated electronic percussion setup.
  • Page 28 Introduction OPTION This button is currently unimplemented. In line with the "open" design of the S1000, future updates to the operating system software may bring enhancements to the capabilities of this unit which will use this button. MARK/JUMP These two grey buttons to the right of the number keypad are used in conjunction with each other.
  • Page 30: The Rear Panel

    A mono effect send and stereo effect returns (all unbalanced 1/4" phone) are provided for use with an external signal processor such as the AKAI AR900 digital reverb processor. A global ambient reverb could be added to "dry" drum samples prior to sending them to the mixing desk, for example.
  • Page 31 Introduction HEADPHONES OUT (not S1000PB) A stereo headphone socket is provided on the back panel of the S1000 series except the S1000PB (where it is provided on the front panel). The volume from this socket is controlled by the MAIN VOLUME knob.
  • Page 32 S1000 if putting it in a rack (a lU space is adequate). For now, you’ll probably want to connect a MIDI controller, such as the AKAI MX76 master keyboard. Connect a MIDI OUT of the controller to the S1000's MIDI IN connector.
  • Page 33 This section deals with the sampler functions of the S1000. If you are unfamiliar with the terminology used by AKAI for their samplers, or the general method of operation, and you have not read the Glossary or descriptions of the controls, go back and read these sections now. It will save you a lot of time later on.
  • Page 34 Sampler functions SELECT PROG Unlike a synthesizer, you cannot play the S1000 straight away - you must load samples, keygroups and programs from disk first. Getting started and checking out - playing supplied factory samples When the operating system message has cleared from the bottom line of the display, you will be in the main SELECT PROG page (the will be lit).
  • Page 35 Sampler functions This is where your creativity comes in. The hard work of assembling a string section in a top studio and recording them playing one note has been done for you . A powerful (and useful) feature of the S1000 is its ability to continue sounding a sustained note of a program, even when another program has been selected.
  • Page 36 Sampler functions Sampler functions Sampler functions Sampler functions Play response From the main SELECT PROG page, press the button. This allows you to make RESP "instant" adjustments to parameters for which you might otherwise have to do a lot of button-pressing.
  • Page 37 Sampler functions of this program is the next setting. The high and low points may be keyrange " " displayed as either MIDI note numbers or as note names. To toggle between the two types of display, press RESP. When editing notes, if the display is in the note name mode, highlighting only the first part of the name will increment or decrement the value by one semitone for each click of the DATA knob.
  • Page 38 Sampler functions Note- you delete a program from memory, make sure that you really do not Need that program in the future, or that you have saved it to disk first. In some cases, as explained below, deleting a program will also delete samples. Make sure these really are unwanted, or have been saved to disk before proceeding.
  • Page 39 Sampler functions The other option, , allows you to load a program and all associated samples (free memory permitting). To do this, highlight a program using the CURSOR knob, and press . The program, and its associated samples, will be loaded into memory. If the samples required by this program already exist in memory, they will be loaded anyway, but they will overwrite the memory samples.
  • Page 40 Sampler functions Recording samples NOTE for S1000PB users: The following sections do not apply to the S1000PB. Please ignore these sections, and resume at the section headed "SELECT SAMPLE (S1000PB only)" (page 49). When you start sampling, you must have a clean area of memory to do it, and enough memory to work in.
  • Page 41 Sampler functions button will delete the sample from memory. When you press the button, you will be prompted to either GO ahead with the operation, or it. This is a "safety-net" to help ABORT you avoid accidental deletion of precious samples. Now is a good time to connect your sample source.
  • Page 42 Sampler functions Under the " " parameter is a message telling you how much memory is monitor free, both as a number of 16-bit words, and as a percentage of total memory available. If you have followed the instructions so far, this will read 1048064 words are equal to 2 megabytes for obscure "1048064=100%".
  • Page 43 Sampler functions ED.1 Enters the first sample editing page. ED:2 Enters the second sample editing page. DIGI When fitted with the optional digital interface board QB-104), the S1000 is capable of recording and transmitting samples through a digital interface, either optical or electrical. However, unless this board has been fitted, there is little point in your using this button (unless you want to see what you're missing by not having a digital interface!).
  • Page 44 Sampler functions tim: (time) (Time) Again, you can choose the total amount of time for your new sample. This field can be set to the nearest one-hundredth of a second, and the number of bytes and the percentage of total memory used will be changed accordingly. SOFT KEYS The soft keys in this page are how you actually perform sampling.
  • Page 45 Sampler function Press the button and select CURSOR ITEM ONLY for "type of save:”. Then move SAVE the cursor over the sample you've just made, and press . The sound will be safely stored on disk. If you're doing multisampling of one source, or making a lot of samples at one time, carry on recording and saving to disk.
  • Page 46 Sampler functions Editing samples This is where things really start to get interesting. From the main page, press the EDIT SAMPLE ED.1 button to get to the first editing page. This is the TRIM page, where you can cut off unwanted parts of your sample.
  • Page 47 Sampler functions To further assist you, there are a number of soft keys assigned which are also found in other pages. This is a good time to examine the function of the (zoom in) and (zoom out) buttons. As you press the button repeatedly, you will notice the ZOUT volume/time display become higher and higher resolution until it eventually is displayed at...
  • Page 48 Sampler functions LOOP: First select the loop number that you want to set (top left). Unless you set the loop time to HOLD, loops will be repeated in numerical order. It is not possible to set a loop inside a loop. time: Next, set the time (in milliseconds) that you want the loop to repeat for.
  • Page 49 ::::: Sampler functions lgth: (length) The actual length of the looped portion (as opposed to the length of time that the loop will repeat) is set in the next field. As you adjust this parameter and the " " parameter, you will see two vertical lines move in the left part of the display, giving the approximate position of the start and end points of the loop.
  • Page 50 Sampler functions As well as the level being the same, the overall direction of the two curves (as shown in the right side of the display) should match (ie both should be rising or both falling). If you're trying to sustain a note using a loop, make sure that the pitch of the note is steady within the loop, otherwise there will be strange jumps in pitch.
  • Page 51 Sampler functions JOIN This page (accessed by pressing the button from the TRIM page) allows cutting, JOIN mixing or joining samples or parts of samples to each other. If the mood takes you, it is possible to join a chord from a Beethoven symphony onto the end of a reversed cymbal sample.
  • Page 52 Sampler functions You can adjust the relative volumes of A and B by +25dB, using the "scale" parameters. However, if you put these too high, you may get a distorted sound, so use these with care. When you've set up the start and end points for both samples, you can them together or splice them ), press the appropriate button.
  • Page 53 Sampler functions The next parameter allows you to alter the original pitch at which the sample was recorded, so that when you replay it on the keyboard, it will come out at the correct pitch. Further fine tuning (in semitones and cents) can be done with the next parameter. The next parameter determines the way in which the sample will be played back.
  • Page 54 Sampler functions Select the sample to be stretched on the top line of the page, and then move down a line to select the part of the sample that you want stretched (" " and " "). stretch zone When you have selected the part of the sample to be stretched, you can listen to this part of the sample by pressing the button.
  • Page 55 Sampler functions The next parameter to set up is the time factor by which the original sample is to be stretched (from 25% to 2000%). As this is altered, the length and time of the new stretched sample (and the percentage of memory it will occupy) are displayed. Make sure that these figures do not exceed the amount of memory available.
  • Page 56 Sampler functions First select the sample to be re-sampled using the DATA knob or the + / < - / > buttons. You cannot resample a sample to itself, so you must give the resampled data a new name, using the button.
  • Page 57 Sampler functions functions functions functions SELECT SAMPLE (S1000PB only) NOTE: This section applies to the S1000PB only. If you are using another model in the series, this section does not apply. Please resume reading at the "EDIT PROG" section, page ??. From any page, press the button, and you are in a position to get information SELECT SAMLE...
  • Page 58 Sampler functions The next setting, NO LOOPING, does what its name suggests - it plays the sample through without loops for as long as the key is held down. As soon as the key is released, the sound will start to decay. PLAY TO SAMPLE END is useful for drum trigger units such as the ME-35T and the like.
  • Page 59 Sampler functions EDIT PROG When you press the button, you are now in the PROGRAM EDIT main page. This EDIT PROG is where you set up the way in which the samples you have recorded, trimmed, looped, etc, will be replayed from a keyboard or other MIDI controller. You can set layer samples, create velocity splits, keyboard splits, and assign envelopes and filtering to the basic sounds.
  • Page 60 Sampler functions To save you work when editing a program with a large number of keygroups, the next parameter allows you to specify whether editing changes to the keygroups will take place over all keygroups, or just the one which has been selected. If you choose ALL in a mufti-sample program, it is then relatively easy to go back and "fine-tune"...
  • Page 61 Sampler functions SPAN button allows you to set the keyspan of any keygroups in the program. On the SPAN left of this page are up to four diagrams of a keyboard with a keyspan underneath the keyboard (represented by a horizontal bar), and to the right of this are displayed the corresponding keygroups with their HIGH and LOW ranges.
  • Page 62 Sampler functions FILTER The FILTER page ( ) allows you to apply a 18dB/octave low-pass filter to modify the FILT sound of samples within a keygroup. Essentially, the parameters on this page are what you would expect to find on an analog synthesizer (though the S1000's filter is digital). The top line of the page allows you to select the keygroup number and ALL/ONE, or to alter the program which is currently being edited.
  • Page 63 Note On velocity. Though many keyboards do not accept or transmit this, assuming a mean value of 64, all AKAI keyboards provide a full implementation of this function. The speed with which the key is released can be used here to affect the release rate (positive values mean that a fast release lengthens the release rate, and vice versa).
  • Page 64 Sampler functions parameter (+50 to -50) allows you to control the amount by which " " key >DEC&REL the key position affects the decay and release rates. Setting this to a negative value means that the higher the note played on the keyboard, the shorter the decay and release times (similar to most acoustic instruments).
  • Page 65 Sampler functions Pressing the button will bring up the samples to be included in a keygroup. As with SMP1 other pages in the EDIT PROG mode, the top line of the page allows you to specify the keygroup number, ONE/ALL or the name of the program being edited. Additionally, the first line also allows you to specify the keyspan of this sample.
  • Page 66 Sampler functions remain at the constant pitch of the edited sample, no matter what key is pressed, This can be useful if you want to add a constant pitch percussion sound to a pitched instrument, for instance. The second sample page lSMP2) In the second sample page, you can set further parameters relating to each sample SMP2...
  • Page 67 Sampler functions is the same as the ED.2 PLAY TO SAMPLE END. The ability to reset the playback: parameters of a sample allows you a lot of flexibility - the same sample can be used in different ways in different programs. The third sample page (SMP3) This page is only accessible from the SMP2 page (press ), and has only one...
  • Page 68 Sampler functions NOTE that the channel on which Program Change information is received may be selected in the MIDI mode to be OMNI or any other channel, so that program changes can be made independently of this MIDI channel setting. The S1000 is capable of playing up to sixteen notes (samples) at one time.
  • Page 69 Sampler functions The next parameter allows you to set the overall volume of the program (00 to 99) relative to any other programs being played. The three parameters following affect the volume of the sound as controlled by three keyboard parameters: velocity, key position, and aftertouch (pressure). The first, can take values from +50 to -50.
  • Page 70 Sampler functions "ster . pan" controls the overall pan position of the program in the stereo image, interacting with the individual pan settings in the SMP2 page. This parameter can take values from L50 through MID to R50. Of course, this parameter will have no effect on the output from individual outputs.
  • Page 71 Sampler functions The depth of the pitch modulation LFO can be affected by three real-time performance parameters: the modulation wheel the aftertouch applied ("modwheel"), ("pressure") to the keyboard, and the speed with which. the key is hit. All these ("velocity") parameters can take values from 00 to 99 - the higher the number, the greater the depth of the pitch modulation LFO when these performance parameters increase.
  • Page 72 MIDI 3 MIDI The MIDI mode allows you to setup various parameters relating to the S1000. Of course, MIDI receive channels, etc, can be set up from the EDIT PROG mode, but this mode gives you control over some more "global" parameters. BASIC MIDI When you first press the button, the BASIC MIDI CHANNEL CONTROL page is...
  • Page 73 MIDI FILT This is another filter, but this one has no effect on the sound. Instead, it filters out specific MIDI information. When you enter this page, the cursor will be at the top left of a grid of "+" signs, in a long rectangular box. As you turn the CURSOR knob, the cursor will move to the right and then go down a line.
  • Page 74 MIDI This page (accessed with the button), has no parameters. Instead, it provides a real-time PPMs display of all Note On information received on the 16 MIDI channels. The higher the bar on the display, the greater the velocity of the received note. This page is called " "...
  • Page 75 MIDI MIDI data dumps Samples can be transferred between the S1000 and other samplers via MIDI. If you do this, you must make a MIDI loop (MIDI OUT of the S1000 connected to MIDI IN of the other sampler, and vice versa). This is necessary because of the way in which MIDI sample dumps are performed (in computer terms, a handshake protocol with error detection/correction).
  • Page 76 MIDI connections, and set the SCSI IDs for both the S1000 and the other SCSI device. The other SCSI device can be another of the S1000 series or a personal computer (equipped with the appropriate software). Values for SCSI device IDs can be from 0 to 7. The two values must be different, otherwise no communication will take place.
  • Page 77: Disk Operations

    Disk operations 4 Disk operations button allows you to perform a number of disk-related operations, over and above DISK those which you can perform from the SELECT PROG mode. Loading from disk The S1000 allows you to load samples, programs, programs together with their associated samples, drum settings and operating systems from disk.
  • Page 78 Disk operations The parameter under the message can take a number of values. These are "type of load:-" described below. When you have selected the appropriate value, you can press will delete all programs and samples from memory, and then load the chosen file(s) from disk.
  • Page 79 Further updates to the operating system may become available. We suggest that you keep in touch with your AKAI Professional dealer to find out when these updates are available and what benefits you will get from them.
  • Page 80 Disk operations 3) Disk volumes have a limit to the number of files which may be stored on them (samples, programs, drum settings, etc). It is unlikely that you. will exceed this limit (64 files), but it is possible (for instance, a Latin percussion setup may use many samples, and have many different multi-timbral programs associated with it).
  • Page 81 Disk operations When you have entered the new name, press to rename the volume (or diskette), or highlight a file with the CURSOR knob, and press to rename the highlighted file. FILE With a hard disk fitted, , MIDI Program Change messages may be used to load volumes. Use the "...
  • Page 82 NOTE Though digital tape streaming offers many advantages in terms of speed, convenience, and price of media, AKAI does not guarantee the integrity of data backed up in this way. It is -therefore strongly recommended that for archive copies of your data, you use diskettes.
  • Page 83 If you keep retrying and this message continues to appear, contact your AKAI dealer. Head parking is not a luxury - it is a necessity if you intend moving your S1000.
  • Page 84 Disk operations 4014byte hard disk Partition size as indicated 301.lbytes 40Mbytes 5014bytes 60mbytes on display Partition A 3837 5117 5925 5925 Partition B 2085 8014byte hard disk Partition size as indicated 30t4dytes 40Mbytes 50Nbytes 601•lbytes on display Partition A 3837 5117 6397 7677...
  • Page 85 MASTER TUNE 5 MASTER TUNE button accesses a few basic jobs, primarily concerned with tuning. MASTER TUNE Tuning and transposing The 51000 can be transposed by +9 semitones and fine tuned by +50 cents (one semitone) to enable easy playing in difficult keys and to match tuning with other instruments. When you first press the button, two scales indicate the current transposition and tuning.
  • Page 86 MASTER TUNE SOFT This page contains two parameters which affect the way when a "soft pedal" (MIDI controller 67) is depressed, and a Note On command is received. The first parameter determines how the volume will be affected (0-99). The higher the number, the greater the amount of volume reduction.
  • Page 87 The S1000 is capable of acting as a highly sophisticated percussion synthesizer, using the AKAI ME-35T audio/MIDI trigger interface unit to produce MIDI trigger signals from a variety of sources. Two such units may be connected, and programming of them may be carried out from the S1000 rather than on the more limited displays and controls of the ME-35Ts.
  • Page 88 DRUM page, press EDIT OPTION The OPTION button is not currently implemented. However, in line with AKAI's policy of continuous product improvement, later releases of the operating system may use it. Version 2.0 89/11 Page 80...
  • Page 89: Technical Specifications

    2Mbyte memory expansion board (up to 8Mbytes may be fitted) IBI02 Atari hard disk interface IB-103 SCSI interface IB-104 AES/EBU digital interface BL1000 3.6 inch blank diskettes (MF2HD) For details of internal hard disks, please consult your AKAI dealer Version 2.0 89/11 Page 81...
  • Page 90 APPENDICES MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART for S1000 series RECOGNIZED REMARKS FUNCTION TRANSMITTED Basic Default without disk Channel Changed o 1 - 16 memorized (disk) Default Mode 3 without disk Mode 1-4 memorized (disk) Mode Messages OMNI On/Off. P/M Altered ************** Note...
  • Page 92 APPENDICES S1000 PROGRAM CHART (!'his chart is provided as an example of how to record the program settings you create for the S1000. Feel free to make copies of this page for your own use) Disk Name Sequence disk Date Size Session Producer...
  • Page 93 ARertouch DRUM button See 'Pressure' Assigning keygroups EDIT PROG button Attack hold EDIT SAMPLE button Audio/MIDI interface (ME-35T) Editing numbers 19, 20 Audio connections Effect END/RETURN Autolooping Effects Connections Backup to DAT Programs Balanced sample sources EGrelease rate sad Note Off Recording connections EG release rate sad Note On Bandwidth of samples...
  • Page 94 INDEX Keygroups Keyrsnge OMNI override Keys Operating software Kepapan 10, 53 See 'Operating System" 10,14 Operating System Copying LCD display Loading Sample display Loading/saving with hard disk Zooming in and out Optical transmission of data OPTION button Pan position 34, 35 Original pitch of samples Pitch desync 45, 49...
  • Page 95 INDEX Sample coherence Stereo Sample level Stereo names 32, 49 Selecting program Time-stretch Selecting samples Trigger level Sustain of sound during program change 27 Ttimmin8 Tuning of samples 63, 68 Velocity switching Zooming the display Saving files to disk Velar Saving samples to disk and volume offset Saving samples to disk...
  • Page 96 INDEX volume (memory) Warranty Zooming in and out Version 2.0 89/11 Index - iv...

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