Contents

Akai S1000

1988 16-bit professional stereo digital sampler

Akai S1000
Akai S1000 MIDI Stereo Digital Sampler
Manufacturer	Akai
Dates	1988 - 1993
Price	$5,999 Original MSRP
Technical specifications
Polyphony	16 voices
Timbrality	16 parts
Oscillator	16 total, 1 per voice (Saw Down, Saw Up, Sine, Square)
LFO	3 LFOs[1]
Synthesis type	Digital Sample-based Subtractive
Filter	18dB/octave non-resonant digital
Storage memory	2MB (expandable to 32MB - originally 8MB maximum)[2]
Effects	None
Input/output
Keyboard	61-key (S1000KB only)
External control	MIDI

The Akai S1000 is a 16-bit, 44.1 kHz professional stereo digital sampler, released by Akai in 1988. The S1000 was among the first professional-quality 16-bit stereo samplers.^[3] Its abilities to splice, crossfade, trim, and loop sound in 16-bit CD quality made it popular among producers in the late 80s through to the mid 90s. The S1000 used 24-bit internal processing, had digital filters and an effects send and return, and came with 2MB of RAM (expandable to 8MB, and 32MB after the introduction of the EXM008 RAM boards for the S1100 in 1990).

Version 2.0 of the S1000's operating system introduced primitive timestretching, allowing a sound's pitch and length to be altered independently of one another. Far from seamless, this distinctive sound became popular in its own right, featured on songs such as "Higher State of Consciousness" and "RipGroove".

Several variations of the S1000 were produced:

• The S1000HD included an internal 40MB hard disk
• The S1000KB was built into a keyboard, and included room for an internal 80MB hard disk
• The S1000PB was a playback-only version that couldn't create new samples^[4]
• The S1100, released in 1990, was an expanded and enhanced version of the S1000 including effects and SCSI interface, original MSRP $4,999^[3]
• The S1100EX (EXpander) was an playback-only polyphony expander rack module unit for the S1100 without its own fron panel interface, also increased multimbrality and effects, original MSRP $2,999.

The following expansion cards are available to upgrade the abilities of any S1000 series sampler:^[5]

• EXM005 2MB RAM (additional three can be fitted, for 8MB RAM in total)
• EXM008 8MB RAM , released in 1990 (up to four can be fitted, for 32MB RAM in total)
• IB 102 Atari / Supra hard disk interface
• IB 103 SCSI interface
• IB 104 AES/EBU digital interface

The S1000 quickly displaced the S900 as the studio standard sampler. Many bedroom producers could make music using little more than an S1000 and an Atari ST to sequence it, and in the UK this combination was a popular way of producing music in genres from jungletospeed garage.

In an interview taken over ten years after the S1000's release, Boards of Canada's Michael Sandison said "We have five or six samplers, but my favorite by far is still the Akai S1000. It's an old tank now, and the screen has faded so that I almost can't read it, but I know it inside out. It's the most spontaneous thing for making up little tunes."^[6] Conversely, Portishead's Dave McDonald simply called it a "horrible thing" due to its primitive interface.^[7]

Notable users include 808 State,^[8] Boards of Canada,^[6] Bomb the Bass,^[9][10] Butch Vig / Garbage,^[11] Cabaret Voltaire,^[12] The Chemical Brothers,^[13] Crystal Method, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, the Future Sound of London,^[14] Michael Jackson,^[15] Jean-Michel Jarre, Meat Beat Manifesto,^[16] Moby, My Bloody Valentine,^[17] Gary Numan, Nine Inch Nails (S1100),^[18] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,^[19] Pet Shop Boys, Portishead,^[7] Primal Scream,^[20][21] The Prodigy,^[22] Public Enemy,^[23] The Sisters of Mercy, The Stone Roses,^[24] System 7,^[25] Tears for Fears,^[26] Tricky,^[27] Vangelis, and Vince Clarke.

• Shapiro, Peter. Modulations: A History of Electronic Music. New York: Caipirnha Productions Inc., 2000.
• "Akai S1000". Music Technology. Vol. 2, no. 12. October 1988. p. 16. ISSN 0957-6606. OCLC 24835173.
• "Akai S1000". Music Technology. December 1988. pp. 32–6. ISSN 0957-6606. OCLC 24835173.
• "The New Standard?". Sound On Sound. November 1988. pp. 48–52. ISSN 0951-6816. OCLC 925234032.
• "Akai S1100". Music Technology. May 1991. pp. 34–8. ISSN 0957-6606. OCLC 24835173.
• "Akai S1000". Future Music. No. 62. ISSN 0967-0378. OCLC 1032779031.

• Vintage Synth Explorer: Akai S1000