s5000/ s6000 STEREO DIGITAL SAMPLER Software version V1.21 WARNING To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture.
Important Notice The material in this document is copyright to AKAI professional M.I. Corp., and may not be quoted or reproduced in any form without written permission from the company. LIMITED SOFTWARE WARRANTY POLICY All the software provided with, or purchased especially for, AKAI professional products has been tested for functionality. AKAI professional M.I. Corp. will make its best efforts to correct reported software defects for future releases subject to technical practicabilities.
s5000/ s6000 WARNING WARNING: WHEN USING ELECTRIC PRODUCTS, BASIC PRECAUTIONS SHOULD ALWAYS BE FOLLOWED, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING: WARNING The S5000/S6000 is designed to be used in a standard household environment. Power requirements for electrical equipment vary from area to area. Please ensure that your S5000/ S6000 meets the power requirements in your area. If in doubt, consult a qualified electrician or AKAI professional dealer.
s5000/ s6000 WARNING WARNING THIS APPARATUS MUST BE EARTHED IMPORTANT This equipment is fitted with an approved non-rewireable UK mains plug. To change the fuse in this type of plug proceed as follows: 1) Remove the fuse cover and old fuse. 2) Fit a new fuse which should be a BS1362 5 Amp A.S.T.A or BSI approved type. 3) Refit the fuse cover.
s5000/ s6000 WARNING FCC WARNING This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
WARNING s5000/ s6000 WARRANTY AKAI professional M.I. Corp. warrants its products, when purchased from an authorized “AKAI professional” dealer, to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 12 (twelve) months from the date of purchase. Warranty service is effective and available to the original purchase only, and only on completion and return of the AKAI professional Warranty Registration Card within 14 days of purchase.
s5000/ s6000 WARNING CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1 WELCOME ............................................................................................................................ 1 KEY FEATURES .................................................................................................................... 1 USER INTERFACE .......................................................................
WARNING s5000/ s6000 SELECTING MULTIS REMOTELY VIA MIDI ....................................................................... PART TOOLS MENU ........................................................................................................... PROGRAM LIST ....................................................................................................... QUICKLOAD ............................................................................................................. QUICKSAVE ............
s5000/ s6000 WARNING SAMPLE TOOLS ............................................................................................................... 171 GET INFO ............................................................................................................... 171 QUICKLOAD ........................................................................................................... 172 QUICKSAVE .......................................................................................................
s5000/ s6000 WARNING TEST TONE ....................................................................................................................... SAVE O/S TO FLASHROM ................................................................................................ SAVE O/S TO FLOPPY DISK ............................................................................................ LOADING OPERATING SYSTEMS ...................................................................................
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION WELCOME Congratulations on purchasing your new Akai sampler. The S5000 and S6000 represent the next generation of Akai’s already industry standard samplers with brand new technology, a unique and innovative new user interface and new functionality. Some of it’s key features are: • Unique removable panel allows you to place the S6000 functionality away from the rack and into your work area. • 128-voice polyphony on the S6000 S5000.
INTRODUCTION s5000/ s6000 • 26 powerful resonant filter types. • 2 x Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs) each offering 9 control waveforms. • 2 x hardware ADSR envelope generators allow ultra fast and accurate shaping of sounds. • A multi-stage auxiliary envelope can be used to create more complex envelope shapes. • Assignable Program Modulation allows you to route the LFOs, envelope generators, MIDI controllers, etc.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION USER INTERFACE Perhaps the most physically obvious feature of the S6000 is its large LCD and 16 soft keys giving rise to a unique new user interface.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION S6000 FRONT PANEL MAIN PANEL POWER Turns power on and off to the S6000. FLOPPY DISK This accepts 3.5” floppy disks. It may be used to load sound library but may also be used to boot operating systems. DISK OPTION SLOT This allows you to install a 3.5” removable hard disk such as Zip, Jaz, Syquest, etc.. Please consult your dealer or AKAI professional distributor for details of compatible drives.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION REMOVABLE PANEL (S6000 ONLY) ASCII KEYBOARD This will accept a PS2 QWERTY keyboard which can be used for naming. Underneath the LCD are the sampler’s operating modes. MULTI This is where you play programs either singly, layered or multi-timbrally. FX This is where you select and edit the effects you want to use in the currently selected MULTI. EDIT SAMPLE This is where you edit samples, the raw sound data used in programs.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION F1-F16 Function keys down either side of the LCD give direct access to parameters. Their actual function varies according to the selected page. DATA WHEEL This is used to enter data. CURSOR KEYS These are used to move the cursor left or right in parameter fields. This is particularly useful when editing parameters with long numeric values such as samples. These keys are also used in conjunction with the DATA wheel for naming.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION REMOVING THE PANEL (S6000 ONLY) To remove the S6000 front panel, turn the two chrome ‘thumb screws’ found top left and right of the panel counter clockwise until they feel very loose. Using the recessed finger grips either side of the panel, with a gentle but firm action, pull the top of the panel forward: Try not to use too much force. Now lift the panel up and out of the recess.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION S6000 REAR PANEL INPUT L/R These are the duplicates of the L/MONO IN and RIGHT IN inputs of the front panel - S6000 only. The inputs on the front panel override these inputs. MAIN OUTPUT L/R These are the duplicates of the main stereo L/R outputs (Outputs 1/2) S6000 only. They both output the same signal. OUTPUTS 1-16 These are the S6000’s outputs. They can be used as 8 x stereo pairs or as 16 individual outputs or any combination of the two (e.g.
s5000/ s6000 WORDCLOCK INTRODUCTION This BNC connector is used to synchronise the sampler to a studio’s ‘house sync’. This would be used in a predominantly digital studio to ensure that all digital devices (mixer, hard disk recorder, effects, etc.) are running at a common sampling frequency. The terminator switch should be ON when the S6000 is the last digital device in the wordclock chain. Otherwise, it should be OFF.
INTRODUCTION s5000/ s6000 S5000 FRONT PANEL Although laid out differently to accommodate the ergonomics of the S5000’s 3U panel, the keys and controls on the S5000 are almost identical to the S6000’s except that the S5000 omits the USER KEYS. Another difference is that the S5000 does not have rear panel analogue audio inputs so the ones found on the front of the S5000 are the main analogue record inputs. It is also not possible to install an optional removable drive on the S5000’s front panel.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION CONNECTING THE S6000 Main L/R outputs (Outputs 1/2) SCSI Outputs 3-16 HARD DISK, CD-ROM, MO, Jaz, Zip, etc.. MIDI IN DIGI I/O % MIDI OUT mx1000 Connect the MIDI output of your MIDI controller (in this example, an Akai MX1000 master keyboard) to MIDI IN A of the S6000.
INTRODUCTION s5000/ s6000 MOUNTING THE S6000 If you plan to rack mount the S6000, try to leave some ‘breathing space’ around it to prevent overheating. It is recommended you leave 1U of rack space above and below the sampler. If you are placing the sampler on a table, make sure that the table is sturdy and that the sampler is not positioned precariously. If you are using the S6000 with a hard disk device of any kind, the disk drive MUST be mounted horizontally.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION SWITCHING THE S6000 ON Before turning on the sampler, it’s a good idea to turn its volume down or to turn the volume down on the amplifier or the mixer channels as the power up ‘thump’, although very slight, could damage sensitive speakers, especially if the amp is turned up loud (this is good practice when turning the S6000 off as well). Now turn on the S6000.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION The S6000 then scans its SCSI buss to see what storage devices are connected and after a short period of time5 , you will see something like this screen: Connected drives will be shown. The disk icons are: Floppy disk Removable hard disk Fixed hard disk CD-ROM Your S6000 is now ready to use. Press any of the mode keys to continue.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION KEY CONVENTIONS The following are the different types of keys and parameters: This is a parameter down the left of the screen. This is a parameter down the right of the screen. To select them, simply touch the key to their left or right. When a parameter is selected, it becomes highlighted: The parameter is immediately available for editing and the whole range of the parameter (0-100) can be set in about three complete turns of the DATA wheel.
INTRODUCTION s5000/ s6000 Other parameter conventions are: The downward pointing arrow indicates that the parameter has a WINDOW function. When you land on the parameter for the first time, the parameter is selected and is immediately available for editing as described above. However, pressing the WINDOW key (or pressing the selected parameter’s key again - i.e. ‘double clicking’ on it) pops up a window revealing further ‘sub-functions’ associated with the selected parameter.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION The various function key types are shown below: This is a typical ‘go to page’ key characterised by the border within the key. This is a typical ‘do it’ key and usually generates a YES/NO/CANCEL type prompt. This is a function ‘toggle’ ON/OFF key. The the function is switched OFF. indicates ON. indicates This highlighted key is a ‘selected function’ or ‘radio’ key. The key (i.e. the function) will highlight when selected. This is a typical ‘scroll up’ key.
INTRODUCTION s5000/ s6000 POP-UP WINDOWS Throughout the user interface, you will encounter various ‘pop-up’ windows and prompts. These override the current page’s functions (which become ‘greyed out’ in the background) and use further function keys to decide the outcome. There are ‘alert’ and ‘warning’ prompts. For example... And there are ‘dialogue’ prompts: 18 Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION Progress bars are also used throughout the user interface to indicate status. For example, during off-line sample editing functions or during record (in fact, any process that takes time), you would see these progress displays.... Some progress displays (such as the sample processing window above) also show animated icons as a further indicator of activity. All off-line processing screens have an ABORT key so that you can cancel the process at any time if you want.
INTRODUCTION s5000/ s6000 TOOLS MENUS In most of the pages, you will find a ‘tools’ key on F9 that offers a drop down menu with further functionality. For example, in MULTI mode with a part selected, you have a PART TOOLS menu. Pressing this would cause this drop down menu to appear: In all cases, you will see that there is a certain consistency. • F9 is always CLOSE TOOLS. • F10 is always GET INFO and will show details of the selected item.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION NUMERIC KEYPAD This is used to enter numeric data as an alternative to the DATA wheel. It can also be used to enter numbers into a name. CURSOR KEYS Whilst cursor movement is kept to a minimum with the unique ‘touch and tweak’ user interface, there are times when you need to move a cursor, particularly in long numeric fields such as sample start and end times, loop parameters, etc.. These keys allow you to move the cursor around numeric parameters.
s5000/ s6000 INTRODUCTION Of course, a much easier and quicker way to enter a name is to connect a standard PS2 QWERTY keyboard to the ASCII KEYBOARD input on the front panel and type a name in from that. Use the keyboard’s cursor left/right keys to move around the name and press RETURN to finish the name (or ESC to cancel the process). NOTE: The following are illegal characters in .
s5000/ s6000 STRUCTURE S6000 STRUCTURE Before we go on to look at the sampler’s various operating modes, it would be a good idea to have a basic understanding of how sounds are made up on the S60006 . The raw audio data used in any sound is a SAMPLE. This is denoted by this icon: Samples may be extensively edited in the S6000 using a variety of different editing tools and functions such as TRIM, LOOP, NORMALISE, FADE UP/DOWN and DSP processes such as TIMESTRETCH, PITCH SHIFT, BPM MATCH and DIGITAL EQ.
s5000/ s6000 STRUCTURE Keygroups can also overlap: KEYGROUP 1 KEYGROUP 2 A program with two overlapping keygroups with a crossfade In this case, when keygroups overlap, a crossfade is automatically applied to make the transition smooth.
s5000/ s6000 STRUCTURE Once you have one or more programs in memory, these are then placed in a MULTI where they can be played either singly or in combination with other programs. The multi mode allows up to 128 programs to be played simultaneously. In the MULTI mode, the individual programs that go to make up a multi may be mixed, tuned, routed to individual outputs and/or the internal effects processor (if installed on the S5000).
s5000/ s6000 STRUCTURE VOICE ARCHITECTURE A single voice on the S6000 is not unlike any typical synthesiser and a simplified block diagram of one voice looks something like this: PROGRAM KEYGROUP Keygroup Zones Filter Amplifier Filter Mod APM APM Aux Envelope Amp Mod APM Filter Envelope OUTPUT PAN Output Mod Pan Mod Amplitude Envelope APM Keygroup Pitch Mod Modwheel APM APM APM Pitch Bend APM Aftertouch APM LFO 1 Keyboard LFO 2 APM Velocity APM Rate Mod Delay Depth Mod Mod Rat
s5000/ s6000 STRUCTURE ASSIGNABLE PROGRAM MODULATION (APM) Assignable Program Modulation is a concept that was introduced by Akai in 1993 with the release of the S3000 series samplers and subsequently in the S2000 and S3000XL range and now, of course, in the S5000 and S6000. Basically, APM allows you to route any of the controllers (128 MIDI controllers, LFO1, LFO2 and envelopes) to pitch, filter, amplitude and panning - even back to the LFOs themselves.
STRUCTURE s5000/ s6000 Routing controllers to destinations on the S6000 is easy. Down the right side of many of the EDIT PROGRAM pages, you will see the modulation inputs. For example, the FILTER: OUTPUT, KG PITCH/AMP and the LFOs are similarly laid out for consistency between pages. In this example, VELOCITY is routed to MOD INPUT 1, LFO2 to MOD INPUT 2 and the AMP ENV to MOD INPUT 3.
s5000/ s6000 LOAD LOAD Probably the first thing you will want to do after booting up your sampler is to load some sounds (if you wish to record your own sounds first, then skip to the section that describes recording). When you press LOAD, you will see something like this screen: Here, you see a list of folders (or ‘directories’). These contain sounds or can contain further subfolders containing more sounds, etc.. Folders are selected using the SELECT keys on F15/F16 or via the DATA wheel.
s5000/ s6000 LOAD LOAD FOLDER When you press LOAD FOLDER, you will see this pop-up prompt window: The ‘check boxes’ on F6, F7 and F14 allow you to disable certain items from loading. For example, you may just wish to load only the programs and samples from a folder in which case, you could disable the loading of multis by pressing F6. You should press EXECUTE or CANCEL LOAD as appropriate. NOTE: If a folder contains sub-folders, the contents of those folders will also be loaded when you use LOAD FOLDER.
s5000/ s6000 LOAD LOADING MULTIS It is possible to load a multi complete with all the programs and samples associated with it. Simply select a multi and press LOAD MULTI. You will receive this pop-up prompt window: Again, a series of ‘check boxes’ appear and you can, if you wish, select all multis in the current folder if you wish and/or you may choose to load the multi(s) with or without the associated programs and samples.
s5000/ s6000 LOAD LOADING SAMPLES When a sample is selected, F14 changes to LOAD SAMPLE and if you press this, you will receive this pop-up prompt window: Using the check boxes, you may choose to load just the selected sample or all the samples in the current folder. The OVERIDE TYPE check box allows you to choose how the selected sample will load. With this key checked, F15 changes and you may select to load the sample as a ‘virtual’ sample or as a normal RAM sample.
s5000/ s6000 LOAD AUTOLOAD It is possible to create a special folder that will be automatically loaded when you switch the sampler on. This may be useful in a live situation where you could load your set automatically when you switch on. To use the AUTOLOAD function, simply create a new folder (in SAVE) and call it AUTOLOAD: The folder MUST be in the root directory and not buried in another folder. It can use any combination of ‘case’ and “AUTOLOAD”, “Autoload”, “AutoLoad” would be valid.
s5000/ s6000 LOAD OPEN/CLOSE FOLDER These keys allow you to open and close folders. In the event of you trying to open or close an item on disk that is not a folder, you will receive the following prompt: Similarly, should you try to close a folder that is already closed, you will receive this prompt: AUDITION SAMPLE The AUDITION SAMPLE key in the main LOAD page allows you to audition a sample to check it prior to loading.
s5000/ s6000 LOAD SELECTING DISKS If you have more than one disk drive attached, you may select the one you want to load from using the DISK LIST. This is accessed by pressing F8 in the main LOAD page and you will something like this screen: If a disk has partitions, you will see something more like this: Disks and their partitions are shown as ‘virtual’ drives giving you direct access to them thus making access to sounds very quick.
LOAD s5000/ s6000 DISK TOOLS Back in the main LOAD page, there are other functions you may use. The DISK TOOLS drop down menu on F9 shows this: DISK INFO This will display a pop-up giving information on the currently selected drive. For example: CLEAR MEMORY It is possible to clear the contents of memory using this key (the same function also appears at the LOAD prompt). VIEW ITEMS These keys allow you to view file sizes or the date and time they were saved in the file list.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI MULTI Once you have some sounds in memory, you will want to play them. This is done in the MULTI mode. Programs may be played singly or in combination and the MULTI mode has up to 128 ‘parts’ slots into which programs may be assigned and typically, this is used to sequence several sounds multi-timbrally by setting each part to be on a different MIDI channel.
MULTI s5000/ s6000 Assuming you have loaded a multi and its associated programs, pressing MULTI will show something like this: If you have more than one multi loaded, they are selected using F1 and the DATA wheel (or can be selected in the MULTI LIST). Down the left hand side in a large, easily read font are the programs assigned to the first six parts. However, you may select to view more parts if you wish by pressing VIEW 12 PARTS found on F8: 38 Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI Or you may view 18 parts: And you may revert back to 6 parts: Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI SELECTING PARTS Parts are selected simply by pressing one of the function keys F2-F7 alongside it. For example, pressing F2 would select Part 1 - DRUMS 1: The part’s parameters appear down the right hand side of the screen where you may set level, output assign, FX send level, etc..
s5000/ s6000 • MULTI When a part parameter is selected (e.g. LEVEL), the whole part box is highlighted: In this situation, you can use the SCROLL UP/DOWN keys to select another part if you wish to edit the same parameter for that part. For example, if, in the above screen shot, you wanted to balance the levels for Parts 6, 7, 8, etc., you could use SCROLL DOWN very effectively: Version 1.
MULTI s5000/ s6000 CREATING A MULTI If you have just switched the S6000 on (or you loaded only programs and samples in the LOAD mode) and no multis are loaded, pressing MULTI will show this screen: To create a multi, you must first press CREATE MULTI (F16). You will receive this prompt: A default name is provided by the S6000’s autoname function.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI ASSIGNING PROGRAMS TO PARTS If you already have some programs loaded into memory, these may be assigned to parts very quickly and easily. First, touch the key to the left of the part you wish to assign the sound to. E.g.. Part 1: Now press the CURSOR > key below the DATA wheel: The cursor moves to the program name field. Now simply rotate the DATA wheel to scroll through the programs that are in memory until the one you wish to assign to the part is selected.
MULTI s5000/ s6000 EDITING PARTS Once you have one or more programs assigned to parts, you may want to edit them. MULTI mode allows you to edit parameters such as part level, pan/balance, output assignment, tuning, effects send, MIDI channel, etc.. We will use the following multi as our example: Let’s imagine we want to edit Part 1. First select Part 1 by pressing the key to its left.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI For example, to set the part’s level, simply press PART LEVEL (F10): The parameter highlights and is immediately available for editing. You will also note that the whole of the part field is highlighted to show clearly which part you are editing. Other parameters are selected and edited in exactly the same way. The parameters are: PART LEVEL Sets the level of the selected part. OUTPUT Allows you to route the selected part to any pair of outputs or individual output.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI EFFECTS SEND This sets the effects send level of the part. NOTE: On the S5000, the EB20 effects processor needs to be installed. FINE TUNE This allows you to tune the part +/-50 ‘cents’ or +/-1 semitone. MIDI CHANNEL This allows you to set the selected part’s MIDI channel. You may set 116A and 1-16B. Those, then, are the key parameters for the parts. To edit them, simply select the part you want to edit, then select the parameter and turn the DATA wheel.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI WINDOW FUNCTIONS There are times when you will want access to further functions. These are available using the WINDOW function. Any part parameters have the ‘window’ icon ( ) in them indicating that further functions are available and these can be accessed by pressing the yellow WINDOW key. The window functions are as follows. PART LEVEL WINDOW The parameters are: PART LEVEL A duplication of the main PART LEVEL parameter.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI EFFECTS SEND WINDOW The parameters are: EFFECTS CHANNEL You may select OFF, FX 1, FX 2 (the two multiFX channels), RV3 or RV4 (the two reverb only channels). EFFECTS SEND This is a duplication of the main EFFECTS SEND parameter. NOTE 1: It is also possible to send individual keygroups to the FX. This can be useful in, say, a drums program where each individual drum can have its own effect type and send level. Of course, other types of programs may also use this function.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI FINE TUNE WINDOW FINE TUNE This is a duplication of the main FINE TUNE function. TRANSPOSE This allows you to tune the part in semi-tone steps. NOTE: You will note that the TRANSPOSE parameter is not a pitch shift function but a MIDI transpose function - this overcomes the problem of playing back samples out of their range.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI EDIT PART Whilst it is possible to edit level, pan, effects send, tuning and other ‘superficial’ program parameters within a part, sometimes you need to delve further into a sound. Maybe a string part’s attack is too slow and it’s not sitting well in the track or maybe its release is too long causing it to ‘blur’ the part. Maybe a piano is too bright or a synth bass has too much (or not enough) resonance. This level of editing is done in EDIT PROGRAM.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI MULTI TOOLS With the cursor on the multi name (i.e. press F1), pressing MULTI TOOLS on F9 shows this: The functions are: GET INFO Shows how many multis and programs are currently in memory and how memory is used/ available. The current operating system version number is also shown as the time and date: Version 1.
MULTI s5000/ s6000 QUICKLOAD In the MULTI TOOLS menu or in MULTI LIST, QUICKLOAD allows you to load multis quickly and easily. Pressing QUICKLOAD would show something like this: This is showing you all the multis in a folder called “MINIMOOG STUFF” which is on a removable hard disk called “S5000 DISK”. You may close the currently active folder and select and open a different one and/or you may also select another disk to load from using DISK LIST on F8.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI QUICKSAVE Pressing QUICKSAVE will show this screen: The currently active multi is selected to save. You see its name and the folder it will be saved to. You also have the option to save all the multis in memory if you prefer (or just the currently selected one) with or without the associated programs and samples.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI MULTI LIST Once you have some multis loaded, you may view them in MULTI LIST: The currently active multi is highlighted. You may select multis to play from this page. Simply scroll down to the multi you want using F15/ F16 and either press CLOSE LIST or press the main MULTI mode key. The multi you have highlighted in the MULTI LIST page will become the currently active multi. You may also rename, copy, delete, create and renumber multis in this page.
s5000/ s6000 COPY MULTI MULTI Pressing COPY MULTI will pop-up this prompt: The multi is given a default ‘autoname’ but you may enter a new name if you prefer in the normal way. DELETE MULTI Pressing DELETE MULTI will pop-up this prompt: You can use the check boxes to select whether or not the programs and samples associated with the multi will also be deleted.
MULTI s5000/ s6000 EXPAND MULTI This allows you to change the number of parts in a multi. Pressing this will pop-up a prompt and you have the option to expand the currently selected multi to 64- or 128-parts (or to cancel). If the multi already has 64- or 128- parts, you will be prompted accordingly. This is useful in the event of you accidentally creating a 32-part multi when in fact you wanted a 64- or 128-part multi or in cases where you reach the limit of the current multi and need to add more parts.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI Pressing SET ALL TO OFF will (not surprisingly!) turn all program numbers off. This way, you can clear all program numbers so that it is easier and clearer to renumber just those that will be affected by MIDI program change. When you press SET ALL TO OFF, you will receive a prompt asking you to confirm that you wish to proceed. Respond accordingly.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI SELECTING MULTIS REMOTELY VIA MIDI If you have numbered multis to select them remotely via MIDI, you also need to specify which MIDI channel will be used for the multi’s program change command. This is set in the UTILITIES mode in the MIDI page: First it is necessary to enable remote selection of multis by switching MULTI SELECT (F3) to ON. You must also set the MIDI channel you want the multi select MIDI program change commands to be received on using MULTI SLCT CH (F4).
s5000/ s6000 MULTI PART TOOLS MENU When a part is selected, F9 is labelled PART TOOLS and, like MULTI TOOLS, it is a drop down menu which offers further functionality. Pressing it displays this: The functions are: PROGRAM LIST This takes you to a page where you may see the programs currently loaded into memory: This is not unlike MULTI LIST and you may rename, copy, delete and create programs.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI COPY PROGRAM This pops up a prompt and you may copy the selected program: You may use the name automatically generated by the copy process or you may enter your own. DELETE PROGRAM You may delete the selected program: The SAMPLES checkbox on F14 allows you to select whether you also want to delete the samples associated with the selected program. With it checked, the samples will be deleted.
s5000/ s6000 PURGE MULTI This useful function deletes all programs and samples not currently being used by any multis in memory (these programs are referred to as ‘orphans’): You may end up with ‘orphans’ in memory when you load several sounds to try out. For example, when building up a multi, you may load in a few drums programs to see which one you like. Once you have settled on the one you want to use, all the others are redundant.
MULTI CONVERT -L/-R s5000/ s6000 This allows you to convert ‘old’ Akai -L/-R stereo samples into interleaved stereo .WAV samples. Pressing this pops-up this prompt: To continue, press YES (or NO to cancel). The process will examine the program and convert each -L/-R sample into a single stereo file. It will remove the original samples from the program (but not from memory) and will also make the appropriate adjustments to the keygroup zones to which they are assigned (i.e.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI **** NOTES REGARDING CONVERT -L/-R **** The process is looking for identically matching pairs. Because it is not possible to have separate start and end times of left and right loop points in an interleaved stereo sample, both samples have to have identical settings. This is normally the case with stereo samples as any difference in start times, loop length or position will result in the stereo imaging being inaccurate.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI CONV OLD MULTI This allows you to convert ‘old’ Akai ‘multis’ or layers into new, S5/6000 format multis. For newcomers to the S5/6000, to understand this function, a quick history lesson is required! On the S1000, S1100 and S3000, multis and layers were achieved by setting several programs to the same program number. In the case of multi-timbral setups, each program would be given its own unique MIDI channel or, in the case of layering, programs would share the same MIDI channel.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI You can confirm this by pressing RENUMBER: In either screen, you can convert such a setup simply by moving the cursor to any program sharing the same program number and pressing CONVERT OLD MULTI. You will receive this prompt: Press ADD TO CURRENT to add the selected program number to the currently selected multi or press CREATE NEW to create a new multi to add the program(s) to. If you create a new multi, its name will be that shown in the prompt (i.e. S1-3K MULTI 1).
MULTI RENUMBER s5000/ s6000 This takes you to a new page where you may change the MIDI program number of the programs. Pressing RENUMBER will show something like this screen: Programs may be given a number 1-128 or OFF. MIDI program numbers are used in order to select programs within a part remotely via MIDI. For example, you may have a stereo acoustic piano sound in Part 2/MIDI channel 2 that you want to use in the verses of a song but which you want to change to an electric piano sound in the chorus.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI To renumber a program (or programs), move the cursor to the program you want to renumber and use the DATA wheel to set the appropriate number (or switch it to OFF). Once they have been renumbered, simply leave the RENUMBER page - the new numbers will be set. Pressing RENUMBER 1-XXX will renumber all programs sequentially 1-128 (or whatever the upper limit is of the number of programs in memory). The programs will be renumbered in the order in which they appear in the list.
MULTI s5000/ s6000 If you try any of the above routines and no programs are loaded, you will receive this prompt: You are offered the option to create one. To cancel the prompt, simply press NO (F8). 68 Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI QUICKLOAD QUICKLOAD allows you to load sounds from disk directly into parts. Imagine we want to add a new sound to Part 7 in our existing multi. First, we need to select Part 7: Next, press PART TOOLS followed by QUICKLOAD. You will see this screen display: Here you are taken to a variation of the main LOAD mode. In this example, we are in the ‘root directory’ of a disk called S5000 DISK. Let’s imagine we want to load in something from the folder SWM STUFF.
MULTI s5000/ s6000 Next, open the folder: The QUICKLOAD screen is much like the normal load page except that, because you cannot load samples or multis into a part, you only see the programs in the selected folder. You need to select the sound you wish to load (for example, VOXY PAD): Now press LOAD INTO PART (F14). You will receive this prompt: If you change your mind, press F8 - CANCEL LOAD but, assuming you wish to proceed, press EXECUTE. 70 Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI As the program and its samples are being loaded, you will see a progress display: You will see the program and its associated samples being loaded in turn. Version 1.
MULTI s5000/ s6000 At the end of the load process, you will be returned to this screen display: As you can see, the program VOXY PAD is now loaded into Part 7. A feature of QUICKLOAD is that you may immediately audition this sound by sending MIDI data on the appropriate channel. If the sound is not to your liking, you can repeat the QUICKLOAD procedure until you find a sound you like.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI By pressing F2, you may select the next part you wish to load into using the DATA wheel or +/keys on the numeric keypad: To move the cursor back to the list of programs to load (or folders to open), press SELECT DOWN (F16) to return you to the list then proceed as described above. If you want to load further sounds from the selected folder, then simply select the sound.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI NOTE REGARDING QUICKLOAD: It is possible to use QUICK LOAD even if you have not created a multi first. In the blank multi page, select the part you wish to QUICKLOAD into. Now press PART TOOLS followed by QUICKLOAD. Select the sound you want to load and press LOAD INTO PART. Because you have not yet created the multi, you will receive this prompt first: Pressing CREATE NEW will pop-up the name prompt: You should create the multi after which you can proceed with QUICKLOAD as described.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI QUICKSAVE Pressing QUICKSAVE will pop-up this prompt: The currently selected program is selected to save. You see its name and the folder it will be saved to. Using the check boxes, you also have the option to save all the programs in memory if you prefer (or just the currently selected one) with or without the samples.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI USING MULTI MODE TO PLAY SINGLE PROGRAMS A multi may contain just one program: The MULTI mode can be used to play single programs simply by assigning just one program to a part. In this way (especially with 128 multis available), the S6000 can be used as a simple playback module for playing single sounds. NOTE: If you only intend using the S6000 to play single programs, you can simply use EDIT PROGRAM if you prefer.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI USING MULTI MODE TO PLAY KEYSPLITS Using the LOW NOTE/HIGH NOTE function in the FINE TUNE ‘window’, you may set key splits: In this example, UPRIGHT BASS could be set to cover C1-B2 with JAZZY ROADS PNO set to cover C3-E5 with a handful of BRASS STABS on F5-C6. The same technique could be used in a string section setup to have cellos in the bottom octaves and violas/violins in the top octaves.
MULTI s5000/ s6000 PLAYING LIVE OVER A SEQUENCED BACKING TRACK As well as 32-channel multi-timbral operation, the two MIDI inputs also allow you to play one or more sounds ‘live’ from a keyboard or other MIDI controller through one MIDI input whilst the other input is fed by a sequencer to provide a 16-channel multi-timbral backing track.
s5000/ s6000 MULTI These are just a handful of examples of the flexibility of the S6000’s MULTI mode. No doubt you will find your own applications. NOTES FOR EXISTING AKAI SAMPLER USERS. The S6000’s MULTI mode replaces all other playback modes of Akai’s previous samplers. Previously, on the S1000, S1100 and S3000, S3200, multi-timbral operation, layers and keysplits were achieved by renumbering several programs to the same program number and then setting MIDI channels, levels, etc.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM Pressing EDIT PROGRAM will show this screen: This is ‘main’ EDIT PROGRAM page where you may select whatever it is you want to work on. Pressing any of the keys takes you directly to that ‘section’. We will look at these in turn. The program you wish to edit is selected by pressing F1 and turning the DATA wheel. EDIT PART It is also possible to edit a program within the context of a multi by pressing EDIT PART (F8) in the multi mode.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM As you can see, the ‘entry pages’ for EDIT PROGRAM and EDIT PART are essentially very similar except... • In EDIT PART, you hear the selected program within the context of the selected multi (in EDIT PROGRAM, you hear it in isolation). • In EDIT PART, you cannot select other programs to edit via F1 (in EDIT PROGRAM, you can select any program to edit). • In EDIT PART, PROG TOOLS is replaced by SOLO PART.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM OUTPUT Pressing this key (F2) will take you to the main OUTPUT page: This page sets parameters that affect the final output level and pan position of the program. The parameters are: 82 LOUDNESS This sets the basic working level of the program. 100 is maximum.
s5000/ s6000 AMP MOD 1/2 EDIT PROGRAM These two parameters allow you to set the level for the controllers assigned to these inputs. It is also possible to assign any of the sampler’s controllers (MIDI controllers, LFOs, envelopes, etc.) to the two amplitude modulation inputs. To set the modulation amount, simply touch the key to the right of the parameter you want to adjust and use the DATA wheel to set the value. The controller is selected by ‘double’ clicking the key alongside the parameter.
EDIT PROGRAM GOTO SOURCE s5000/ s6000 When the cursor is on either mod input field (controller or level) of any of the modulation inputs - for example: Pressing GOTO SOURCE will take you directly to that controllers page. In the above example, you would go straight to LFO2: Here, you may tweak and edit the LFO 2 parameters. 84 Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 GOTO DEST EDIT PROGRAM Pressing GOTO DEST in this page will pop up this window: You may return to the OUTPUT page (or any other destination) immediately. If the cursor is not on a valid modulation input (for example, if the LOUDNESS parameter is selected or the cursor is on, say, the program name) and you press GOTO SOURCE, you will receive this pop-up dialogue prompt: Similarly, if the mod source is one of the MIDI controllers (pitchbend, modwheel, keyboard, etc.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM MIDI/TUNE Pressing MIDI/TUNE in the main EDIT PROGRAM page will show this screen: The parameters are: PROGRAM NUMBER Sets the MIDI program number for the selected program. This allows you to select programs remotely via MIDI within a part in a multi. NOTE: You may also set the MIDI program number in the RENUMBER page in PART or PROGRAM TOOLS > PROGRAM LIST. This may be more convenient as you can see the program numbers for other programs simultaneously.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM EDIT USER Pressing EDIT USER shows this screen: Here you may tune each semitone. To return to the MIDI/TUNE page, press F16. To return to the main EDIT PROGRAM page, press MAIN (F8). If you edit the tuning of each semitone in this page, you will see the changes in the graphic representation of the keyboard in the MIDI/TUNE page. Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM PITCHBEND Here you may set pitchbend and other related parameters. Pressing PITCHBEND in the main EDIT PROGRAM page will show this: The parameters are: PITCHBEND UP This sets the limit for pitchbend up - the range is 24 semitones PITCHBEND DOWN This sets the limit for pitchbend down - the range is 24 semitones. BEND MODE You may select NORMAL or HELD.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM LFOS Pressing LFOs shows something like this screen: The parameters are: RATE Sets the speed of the LFO. The range is very slow (at a setting of 0, it takes over a minute to complete a full cycle) to very fast (around 100Hz). An average vibrato rate setting is around 45. DELAY This sets the time it takes for the modulation to fade in. DEPTH Sets the initial depth of the modulation.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM SQUARE A ‘bi-polar’ square wave that moves above and below the note you are playing. SQUARE + This square wave only moves above the note you are playing. It is suitable for trills and octave jumps, etc.. SQUARE This square wave only moves down from the note you are playing. SAW BI A ‘bi-polar’ rising sawtooth wave that moves above and below the note you are playing. SAW UP This sawtooth rises up to the note you are playing.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM MODWHEEL Sets the amount of modulation that will be introduced by the modwheel. AFTER TOUCH This allows you to introduce vibrato using aftertouch. GOTO DEST This pops up a list of destinations the LFO may be assigned to for quick and easy access to their pages. GOTO SOURCE When any of the mod input parameters are selected, pressing this key will take you directly to the controller’s page.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM SQUARE A ‘bi-polar’ square wave that moves above and below the note you are playing. SQUARE + This square wave only moves above the note you are playing. It is suitable for trills and octave jumps, etc.. SQUARE This square wave only moves down from the note you are playing. SAW BI A ‘bi-polar’ rising sawtooth wave that moves above and below the note you are playing. SAW UP This sawtooth rises up to the note you are playing.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM However, there are occasions when you want the LFO to be free running in the background. For example, on filter or panning sweeps where you want the effect to be gradual as you play, you will want to switch RETRIGGER to OFF to get this result: MIDI NOTE ON Here, the modulation waveform will ignore incoming note-on messages and will be rising and falling giving you a gradual sweep through whatever it is applied to.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM You may also set how many cycles there will be per beat and once you go back beyond 1 BEAT/CYCLE, the parameter changes to X CYCLES/ BEAT. Thus, a setting of 8 CYCLES/BEAT will give you (not surprisingly!) 8 cycles for every crotchet beat. **** NOTES ABOUT MIDI CLOCK SYNC **** • The MIDI clock tempo is actually a ‘global’ value that affects all programs equally.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM KEYGROUP So far we have seen functions that affect the program as a whole. The KEYGROUP pages allow access to edit the individual keygroups. Pressing KEYGROUP shows this screen display: The parameters are: MUTE GROUP This allows you to group several keygroups together so that they are essentially monophonic. The main reason for this is for drums where sometimes you want a sample to stop playing when another is played.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM OPEN HI-HAT (or triangle, etc) CLOSED HI-HAT (or triangle, etc) OPEN AND CLOSED HI-HAT WITH MUTE GROUP ON In the first diagram, the open hi-hat continues to sound even though the closed hi-hat is played. In the second example, however, the open hihat is shut off by the closed hi-hat thereby creating a more natural effect. This function may also be used to emulate the characteristics of older drum machines.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM OVERIDE FX This allows you to send individual keygroups to the effects by overriding the main program’s effects routing. The default will be MULTI (i.e. the routing uses the effects buss selection set when the program is placed in a MULTI) but you may also select OFF (i.e. the selected keygroup is not routed to the effects) or FX1, FX2, RV3 or RV4. FX SEND LEVEL This allows you to set the amount of effect for each keygroup.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM KEYGROUP ZONES Pressing KEYGROUP ZONES shows something like this display: The parameters are as follows: ZONE 1/2/3/4 Samples are assigned here. To assign a sample, simply press F2, F3, F4 or F5 and use the DATA wheel to scroll through the samples in memory. A zone can contain a mono or a stereo sample11 and samples assigned here can be normal RAM samples or ‘virtual’ samples.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM ZONE LEVEL This sets the level for the selected zone. PAN/BALANCE If the sample in the selected zone is mono, this parameter controls pan to move the sound around the stereo image. If the sample in the selected zone is stereo, this parameter works as a balance control. FINE TUNE This allows you to fine tune the selected zone. PLAYBACK This allows to select how the sample plays back. This overides the sample’s own playback parameters. The options are: Version 1.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 HIGH VELOCITY This parameter set the high velocity range for the selected zone. LOW VELOCITY This parameter sets the low velocity for the selected zone. For normal playback, you would normally set a zone to have a velocity range of 0-127. However, by assigning different samples to the zones and setting high and low velocity as appropriate, you can achieve velocity crossfade and switching.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM Like MULTI mode, the parameters down the right hand side of the screen have windows: ZONE LEVEL WINDOW The parameters are: ZONE LEVEL This duplicates the main ZONE LEVEL parameter seen in the ZONES page and is included here for convenience. PAN/BALANCE This duplicates the PAN/BALANCE parameter found in the main ZONES page. OUTPUT Here you may route zones to individual outputs.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 FINE TUNE WINDOW The parameters are: KEYBOARD TRACK Allows you to switch the keyboard off so that the zone plays at a constant pitch of C3. USEFUL TIP TO DRUM SAMPLISTS! Sample all your drums on C3 and assign them to any key you like in the program and simply switch KEYBOARD TRACK to OFF for all keygroups. They will now play back at exactly the pitch they were sampled at.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM PLAYBACK WINDOW The parameters are: VELOCITY START This parameter allows you to determine the way in which velocity affects the playback starting point for each sample in a keygroup. The higher the positive number, the earlier in the sample playback will start relative to the key velocity (i.e. a high key velocity will start playback earlier in the sample).
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM A positive setting is the normal selection and this effect is particularly useful for simulating percussion instruments (try it with a bass drum) because if you play hard, you hear the initial attack but if you play softly, you don’t. Thus you can add more or less attack and ‘stick noise’ to the sound using velocity.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM KEYSPAN This is where you set the note ranges of the keygroups to map them out across the keyboard as you want. Pressing KEYSPAN shows something like this screen display: A more complex program such as an intricately multi-sampled piano would look like this: You may set note ranges in two ways - manually or via MIDI. Via MIDI is by far the easiest. First, select the keygroup you want to set using F9 (typically, you will select KG1 to start from the beginning).
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM KEYGROUP CROSSFADE As well as ‘butting’ keygroups end to end, you may also set keyspan overlaps. Sometimes, when mapping samples out across the keyboard range, there can be abrupt tonal changes from one sample/keygroup to another. In such circumstances, you may overlap adjacent keyspan ranges. The S6000 will automatically crossfade the two keygroups for a smooth transition between the keygroups. E.g.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM KG PITCH/AMP Pressing KG PITCH/AMP in either the MAIN or KEYGROUP pages will show something like this: The parameters are: SEMITONE TUNE This allows you to tune the keygroup in semitone steps. FINE TUNE This allows you to fine tune the selected keygroup. KEYGROUP LEVEL This sets the overall level of the keygroup. The range is +/-30dB.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 FILTER The filter page looks something like this: The filter plays a key part in any sound and is responsible for some of the most dramatic real-time effects available on the S6000. Amplitude can change level and panning can move the sound around in the stereo image and, of course, you can add vibrato from LFO 1. The filters, on the other hand, can totally transform a sound (especially with 26 to choose from!).
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM These harmonics combine to create more complex waveforms or sounds and the rule of thumb is that the brighter the sound, the more harmonics it has (and/or, they are louder in respect to the fundamental frequency). By manipulating these harmonics with a filter, you can transform the tone or timbre of a sound. Another way of looking at a sound is shown below.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM Filters, therefore, can be used to remove harmonics from the sound (this is referred to as ‘subtractive synthesis’) but other filters can be used to boost or emphasise certain frequencies. The most basic filter is a LOWPASS filter, so called because it lets low frequencies pass though unaffected but filters out higher frequencies.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM A HIGHPASS filter is the opposite of LOWPASS in that it allows high frequencies to pass though but removes or attenuates the lower frequencies: L E V E L FREQUENCY This gives a characteristic ‘thin’ quality to the sound with the fundamental filtered out.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM Another aspect of filters, however, is RESONANCE. This emphasises the harmonics around the cutoff frequency so, in the case of a lowpass filter, you might have something like this: L E V E L FREQUENCY You can see that as well as boosting harmonics around the cutoff frequency, other harmonics are also attenuated.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM There is one further aspect to filters one has to consider, however, and that is ROLL-OFF. You will see filters referred to as 1-POLE, 2-POLE or 4-POLE - maybe even 6-POLE. A ‘pole’ is equal to 6dB of attenuation per octave. Thus, a 2-POLE filter offers 12dB/Octave roll-off whilst a 4POLE offers 24dB/Octave rolloff.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 FILTER MODE Here you can select from one of the 26 different resonant filter types. These are: 2-POLE LP This is a 12dB/Octave lowpass filter with resonance. 4-POLE LP This offers a 24dB/Octave lowpass filter with resonance. This does the same as the 12dB/Octave filter except that the roll-off slope is steeper.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM 2-POLE BP+ This is a bandpass filter with a 6dB/Octave roll-off slope either side of the band but with enhanced resonance. 1-POLE HP A 6dB/Octave highpass with resonance. This allows high frequency unaffected but attenuates low frequency harmonics as the cutoff frequency is raised from 0 to 100. 2-POLE HP A 12dB/Octave resonant highpass filter similar to the 1-POLE HP but with a steeper roll-off.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM NOTCH 1 A notch filter with a single notch that attenuates harmonics. The cutoff control sets the point of attenuation whilst resonance simultaneously increases the depth of the notch and narrows its width. NOTCH 2 A notch filter with a two notches spaced two octaves apart. Resonance increases the depth of the notches and narrows their width. NOTCH 3 A notch filter with a two notches spaced three octaves apart.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM PEAK 1 A peak filter with a single peak that can be used to emphasise a band of frequencies much like a single band of EQ. Resonance increases the intensity of the peak. PEAK 2 A peak filter with a two peaks spaced two octaves apart. Resonance increases the intensity of the peaks. PEAK 3 A peak filter with a two peaks spaced three octaves apart. Resonance increases the intensity of the peaks.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM PHASER 1 A phase shifter created with a notch and peak filter at around the same frequency. Resonance increases the intensity of the peak and the depth of the notch. PHASER 2 A phase shifter created with a notch and peak filter with offset frequencies that has a slightly ‘swirlier’ sound as the frequency is modulated. Resonance increases the intensity of the peak and the depth of the notch.
s5000/ s6000 VOWELISER EDIT PROGRAM This is a special filter configuration that is able to produce certain vowel sounds and articulations (EEOO, EE-OR, EE-AH and OO-AA, OO-EH, OO-OW) with certain settings (see the examples below). NOTE: Because of the way that the FILTER ENVELOPE interacts with the filter and the special way the VOWELISER works, it is recommended to set FILT ENV DEPTH to +000. Two examples of vowel filters to produce vowel articulations as described in their program names.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 CUTOFF FREQ Sets the initial cutoff frequency for the selected filter type. RESONANCE This allows you to sharpen the point at the cutoff frequency thereby emphasising the harmonics at that point in some way (the exact effect depends on the type of filter selected). The range is 0-15. NOTE: Because of the high amounts of gain boost that take place with resonance, high settings of resonance can cause distortion.
s5000/ s6000 GOTO SOURCE EDIT PROGRAM This will take you directly to the selected controller’s page. Of course, a mod input needs to be selected for this. Because each of the filter types have their own very distinctive characteristics, you may have to adjust CUTOFF, RESONANCE and MOD INPUT settings as you switch from filter to filter to get the best results.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 AMP ENVELOPE This is an ADSR envelope that is used to control overall amplitude: The parameters are: ATTACK This sets the attack time of the envelope. High values produce a long attack time (several seconds). DECAY This sets the time it takes for the amplitude to fall to the SUSTAIN level (see below). SUSTAIN This sets the level the sound will sustain at when holding a note down. RELEASE This sets the time it takes for the sound to die away after the note is released.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM AMP ENVELOPE WINDOW FUNCTIONS As always, behind certain parameters is access to lesser used functions: In the ATTACK window, parameters are: ATTACK Reproduced in the ATTACK window for convenience VEL>ATTACK This allows you to use velocity to control attack time. Setting a positive value here will result in heavy keystrikes making the attack time faster (and light keystrokes making the attack time slower). Negative values set here will produce the opposite effect.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 FILTER ENVELOPE Pressing FILTER ENVELOPE in either the MAIN or KEYGROUP page will show this screen: The parameters and window functions are identical to the AMP ENVELOPE described on the pervious pages except.... FILTER This takes you directly to the FILTER page. ENV DEPTH This sets the output level of the FILTER ENVELOPE. Set to +000, it will have no effect on the filter or on anything else it may be routed to in the APM modulation matrix.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM AUX ENVELOPE Pressing AUX ENVELOPE will show something like this screen: The parameters are: RATE 1 Sets the time it takes for the envelope to get to LEVEL 1 RATE 2 Sets the time it takes for the envelope to get to LEVEL 2 RATE 3 Sets the time it takes for the envelope to get to LEVEL 3 RATE 4 Sets the time it takes for the envelope to get to LEVEL 4 LEVEL 1 Sets the level for RATE 1 LEVEL 2 Sets the level for RATE 2 LEVEL 3 Sets the level for RATE 3.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM AUX ENVELOPE WINDOWS RATE 1 and RATE 4 have window functions: The parameters in the RATE 1 window are: RATE 1 RATE 1 is duplicated here for convenience. VEL>RATE 1 This allows you to use velocity to control RATE 1’s time. Setting a positive value here will result in heavy keystrikes making RATE 1 faster (and light keystrokes making the RATE 1 slower). Negative values set here will produce the opposite effect.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM CREATING PROGRAMS In the main EDIT PROGRAM page, F15 is CREATE PROGRAM where you may create a brand new, empty program. Pressing this pops up this screen: An auto numbered name is automatically assigned using the currently selected program name as a ‘seed’. You may, however, rename this if you want in the usual fashion either by using the CURSOR keys and the DATA wheel or more conveniently with an external QWERTY keyboard.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 PROG TOOLS MENU Pressing PROG TOOLS shows this drop down menu: The functions are: GET INFO This shows the sampler’s current status regarding memory and items loaded, etc.: 128 Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM PROGRAM LIST This takes you to a page where you may see the programs currently loaded into memory: Here, you may rename, copy, delete and create programs as well as perform other program related functions. These functions are: RENAME PROGRAM This pops up a prompt and you may rename the program: You can name the program in the usual way. Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM COPY PROGRAM This pops up a prompt and you may copy the selected program: You may use the name automatically generated by the copy process or you may enter your own. DELETE PROGRAM You may delete the selected program: The SAMPLES checkbox on F14 allows you to select whether you also want to delete the samples associated with the selected program. With it checked, the samples will be deleted.
s5000/ s6000 CREATE PROGRAM EDIT PROGRAM You may create a new program: This is the same as the CREATE PROGRAM function found on the main EDIT PROGRAM page. Version 1.
EDIT PROGRAM PURGE s5000/ s6000 This useful function deletes all programs and samples not currently being used by any multis in memory (these programs are referred to as ‘orphans’): You may end up with ‘orphans’ in memory when you load several sounds to try out. For example, when building up a multi, you may load in a few drums programs to see which one you like. Once you have settled on the one you want to use, all the others are redundant.
s5000/ s6000 CONVERT -L/-R EDIT PROGRAM This allows you to convert ‘old’ Akai -L/-R stereo samples into interleaved stereo .WAV samples. Pressing this pops-up this prompt: To continue, press YES (or NO to cancel). The process will examine the program and convert each -L/-R sample into a single stereo file. It will remove the original samples from the program (but not from memory) and will also make the appropriate adjustments to the keygroup zones to which they are assigned (i.e.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM **** NOTES REGARDING CONVERT -L/-R **** The process is looking for identically matching pairs. Because it is not possible to have separate start and end times of left and right loop points in an interleaved stereo sample, both samples have to have identical settings. This is normally the case with stereo samples as any difference in start times, loop length or position will result in the stereo imaging being inaccurate.
s5000/ s6000 CONV OLD MULTI EDIT PROGRAM This allows you to convert ‘old’ Akai ‘multis’ or layers into new, S5/6000 format multis. For newcomers to the S5/6000, to understand this function, a quick history lesson is required! On the S1000, S1100 and S3000, multis and layers were achieved by setting several programs to the same program number. In the case of multi-timbral setups, each program would be given its own unique MIDI channel or, in the case of layering, programs would share the same MIDI channel.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 You can confirm this by pressing RENUMBER: In either screen, you can convert such a setup simply by moving the cursor to program sharing the same program number and pressing CONVERT OLD MULTI. You will receive this prompt: Press ADD TO CURRENT to add the selected program number to the currently selected multi or press CREATE NEW to create a new multi to add the program(s) to. If you create a new multi, its name will be that shown in the prompt (i.e. S1-3K MULTI 1).
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM The multi will now contain all programs of the same number and the MIDI channels, levels, pan position, output assignments, tuning, etc., used in the ‘old’ multi/layer will automatically be set and the new format multi should play pretty much the same as the original would on an S1000, S3000 or whatever. NOTE: The function is not foolproof. For example, you may load in an old S1000-style ‘multi’ numbered, say, #3.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 However, a problem exists when you load these sounds into memory in that, for example, the STEREO PIANO sound you loaded could have MIDI program number #1 and the ELECTRIC PIANO sound could be program #6 (or they could be both program #1 or whatever depending on where they were loaded from). In other words, in order for them to be selected correctly via MIDI program change, you need to renumber them to the correct MIDI program numbers. However, another potential problem exists.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT PROGRAM KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE This scheme is far from foolproof and there are some problems associated with program change. Some are unique to samplers whilst others are common to all sound modules. These are listed here: • If two programs share the same program number and you select that program number via a MIDI program change command, the first program found will be selected.
EDIT PROGRAM s5000/ s6000 QUICKLOAD This takes you to a simplified version of LOAD where you may load programs and their associated samples into memory quickly and easily: Being a ‘quickload’ function, it only shows the programs available for loading. To load a program, simply select it in the usual way using F15/16 (SELECT), press LOAD PROGRAM and follow the on-screen instructions. To leave the page, press EXIT.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE EDIT SAMPLE Whilst MULTI is where you can set superficial attributes to a sound such as level, pan, FX send, etc., and EDIT PROGRAM is where you have access to deeper levels of sound editing, EDIT SAMPLE is where you edit the raw samples that make up a sound. Pressing EDIT SAMPLE shows this page: The sample you wish to edit is selected by pressing F1 and turning the DATA wheel. On each sample edit screen, icons display information about the selected sample.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE MASTER This gives access to certain ‘general purpose’ sample editing functions: The sample’s waveform is shown at the bottom of the screen. The inverted/highlighted area is the sample’s loop. The parameters are: 142 ORIGINAL NOTE Here you see the sample’s original note - i.e. the note it was recorded on. This may be changed here. SEMITONE TUNE Here you may tune the sample in semitone steps. FINE TUNE This allows you to fine tune the sample.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE Pressing MAKE MONO will show this progress display: A progress bar will move left to right and a percentage of progress is also shown. An animated ‘waveform processing’ icon is also used to further indicate sample processing activity. At the end of the process, you will receive this prompt: Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE A new ‘autonamed’ sample will be created. You may rename this if you want in the usual way using the CURSOR keys and the DATA wheel or an external QWERTY keyboard (if connected). You can use PLAY ORIGINAL and PLAY NEW to compare the two samples. Depending on the results... * KEEP ORIGINAL will keep the original sample and will discard the new sample (this is basically an ‘abort’ function).
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE TRIM Pressing TRIM will show something like this screen display: Here, you can set start and end points and discard audio either side of them.
EDIT SAMPLE FIND START/END s5000/ s6000 Pressing either of these pops up a window: You should set a threshold level at which to find the start (or end) point. The above example is probably not a good one but in the case of a drum sound with a lot of ‘dead space’ such as the following, FIND START and FIND END is very useful. By setting an appropriate THRESHOLD, you can automatically set START and END points to aid you with your editing. 146 Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 PLAY TO EDIT SAMPLE This allows you to play to the currently selected edit point (i.e. with the START parameter selected, it will play to the start point; with the END parameter selected, it will play to the end point). An edit point must be selected for the PLAY TO function to work. PLAY FROM This allows you to play from the currently selected edit point (i.e. with the START parameter selected, it will play from the start point; with the END parameter selected, it will from the end point).
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE CHOP Pressing CHOP shows something like this screen: This is similar in many ways to TRIM except that edits are done within the START/END region and you may erase a portion of the sample (i.e. remove it and keep the gap) or you may cut a portion from the sample (i.e. remove it and close the gap). The parameters are also similar: START/END Sets the start and end points for the edit. NOTE: If the sample has a loop, you cannot move the START and/or END point within the loop.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE Pressing CHOP SAMPLE will show this pop-up menu: EXTRACT allows you to mark a section of a sample and extract it to a new sample. For example, this may be used to extract a snare drum or kick drum from a drum phrase. For example, you may have this drum phrase: Set the START and END points on the snare you want to extract: Pressing EXTRACT will remove the snare drum and create a new sample.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE CUT will remove the area marked by the START and END points and will butt the remainder together: E.g.: Original After CUT CANCEL will, of course, abort the action. Pressing EXTRACT, ERASE or CUT will initiate the selected function. You will see the usual “Processing sample” progress display followed by the PLAY/KEEP ORIGINAL/NEW/BOTH and RENAME prompt13 . 13 150 The process may be so fast that you may not see a progress display, especially on shorter samples. Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE LOOP Pressing loop will display this screen: The waveform display shown to the left of the screen shows an overview of the waveform and the loop points. The loop length is shown above this display14 . This display is not affected by ZOOM IN/OUT. The smaller waveform display shown to the right of the screen shows the ‘loop join’ point at the waveform level. You can use ZOOM IN to magnify this display in order to match the waveform more precisely.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE LOOP TIL REL This will play the sample and will loop for as long as you hold the key but, as soon as you release the note, the loop will stop playing and the rest of the sound (if any) will play through the release phase of the program’s envelope. NOTE: It is not possible to loop ‘virtual’ samples. and so it is only possible to select NO LOOPING or ONE-SHOT for ‘virtual’ samples.
s5000/ s6000 XFADE LENGTH EDIT SAMPLE This sets the length of the loop crossfade. What this function does is to crossfade a portion of the sound before and after the loop according to the time set in the XFADE LENGTH field. This will (should!) smooth out any glitches you may have. There are no rules and so some experimentation will be required. Having said that, although the process is not guaranteed, this can be very effective in getting smooth loops. The XFADE LENGTH also has a WINDOW function.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE ZOOM IN/OUT This allows you to view the right hand waveform display in greater detail when trying to match waveforms. AUTO FIND Pressing this will cause the sampler to look for the best match point for a loop. With simple waveforms, the results are almost guaranteed to be perfect.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE SETTING A GOOD LOOP The first thing to do is to set the START and END points, referring to the overview waveform on the left of the screen. You want to set the START and END at points which match in amplitude. For example: This would not be a suitable loop as it would give the following result: As you can see quite clearly, the loop will have very noticeable clicks and thumps because of the abrupt changes in level at the loop points.
EDIT SAMPLE s5000/ s6000 Example 2 may make a better loop as the waveforms are very similar. However, the small mismatch at the join would undoubtedly cause a glitch or clicks. Example 3 would probably provide a good loop as the waveforms match almost perfectly. However, even though you may get a good level match in the left hand display and a good match in the right hand waveform display, this is no guarantee that the loop will be free of clicks or other glitches.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE JOIN Pressing JOIN will display this page: This (and MIX described next) are the only two sample editing pages that don’t conform to the normal page layout due to the fact that you are working with two samples. Using F1 and F9, you may select the two samples A and B you wish to join. The JOIN process will splice them end-to-end with or without a crossfade. The parameters are: SAMPLE A/B FROM These parameters allow you to set the start point for the two samples.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE XFADE LENGTH This allows you to set the crossfade length. The longer the crossfade, the more the second sample is pulled back into the first. For example: No crossfade SAMPLE A SAMPLE B 6 seconds 1 Second Crossfade SAMPLE A SAMPLE B 5 seconds XFADE CURVE This allows you to select a crossfade curve. The choices are LINEAR, LOG and SINE. Pressing JOIN SAMPLES (F16) will pop-up the usual progress display followed by the PLAY/ KEEP ORIGINAL/NEW/BOTH and RENAME prompt.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE NOTE: It is not possible to join two samples that have different sample rates. If you do, you will receive the following prompt: There is nothing that can be done to overcome this. Even if you try to re-sample one of them to a different sample rate and try JOIN again, you will be prompted: Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE MIX Again, the MIX page does not conform to the usual page layout: As in JOIN, use F1 and F9 to select the samples you want to mix. The process will merge the two samples, effectively ‘layering’ them into one composite sample. The parameters are: SAMPLE A/B FROM These parameters allow you to set the start point for the two samples. SAMPLE A/B TO These parameters allow you to set the end point for the two samples.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE NOTE: If one or both of the samples is already stereo, you will receive this prompt should you press MAKE STEREO: Pressing MIX SAMPLES (F16) will pop-up the usual progress display followed by the PLAY/KEEP ORIGINAL/NEW/BOTH and RENAME prompt: However, as with MAKE STEREO, because there are two originals with this process, you have the opportunity to play each one before deciding to keep or discard them.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE FADE UP/DOWN Pressing the FADE UP/DOWN key will show this display: The parameters are: FADE UP/DOWN These parameters set the length of the fade. NOTE: If the sample has a loop, you cannot set FADE UP or FADE DOWN times within the loop. FADE CURVE There are two FADE CURVE parameters - one for FADE UP and one for FADE DOWN and both allow you to select from a choice of fade curves (LINEAR, LOG and SINE).
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE TIMESTRETCH Timestretch allows you to alter the length of a sample, shortening it or lengthening it, without changing its pitch. Before we look at how to operate the timestretch functions on the S6000, let us first look briefly at how timestretch works.
EDIT SAMPLE s5000/ s6000 A lot of these problems depend on the nature of the audio material being processed and settings that process the spoken word perfectly could make a right mess of a percussive dance track. The converse is also true.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE Pressing TIMESTRETCH shows this display: The parameters are: STRETCH AMOUNT This sets the timestretch factor. the range is 50% (twice the speed) to 200% (half the speed) with 100% being ‘no stretch’. Like any timestretch process, extreme settings may introduce unwanted artefacts but a range of +/-10% (i.e. 90%-110%) will yield excellent results most of the time.
EDIT SAMPLE s5000/ s6000 Furthermore, the PRESET parameter has a ‘window’ function that provides access to an ADJUST parameter. Sometimes, our presets may not quite satisfy your needs and some kind of ‘manual override’ is required. This is the ADJUST control. The ADJUST parameter gives access to the key parameters in any one preset and allows you to ‘tweak’ the preset with one, easy to use control.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE PITCH SHIFT Pressing PITCH SHIFT will display this screen: This process is a variation on timestretch. However, the ‘stretch factor’ in PITCH SHIFT is described in terms of transposition. For example, if you have a sample in the key signature of C which you want to use during a key transposition of a song where everything is transposed up a tone to the key of D, set a SEMITONE TUNE value of +02 semitones.
EDIT SAMPLE s5000/ s6000 BPM MATCH Pressing BPM MATCH will show something like this screen display: This is another derivative of the timestretch algorithm. The parameters are almost identical to the TIMESTRETCH function with the addition of the SOURCE TEMPO parameter. The BPM MATCH function allows you to stretch a sample to a new tempo. It works like this: You have a sample that you know is 123 BPM however, the track you are working on is 127 BPM. To match the tempo of the sample to your track, set 123.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE RE-SAMPLE Pressing RE-SAMPLE shows this screen: The RE-SAMPLE process allows you to change the sampling frequency of a sample. This can be used to conserve memory but can also be used to ‘creatively’ to reduce the quality of a sound. The parameters are: RE-SAMPLE FREQ This sets the new frequency of the sample. RESOLUTION You may change the ‘bit’ resolution here. Typically, this will be kept at 16-BIT but you may like to experiment with other settings for a ‘grungier’ sound15 .
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE EQ Pressing EQ shows this screen display: Here you have access to three bands of parametric EQ. Each band has variable frequency and gain and the ‘window’ function in the GAIN parameters down the right hand side of the screen offer further functionality.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE SAMPLE TOOLS In all pages (except JOIN and MIX), F9 shows SAMPLE TOOLS. Pressing this pulls down a menu of further options: The functions are: GET INFO This shows information about the currently selected item: . Version 1.
EDIT SAMPLE s5000/ s6000 QUICKLOAD This takes you to the sample QUICKLOAD function where you may load samples directly into memory: The screen only shows samples making loading very quick and convenient as you don’t have to wade through other file types. QUICKSAVE This allows you to quickly save the currently selected sample. Pressing it pops up a prompt: The currently selected sample name is shown as is the folder in which it will be saved.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE W/FORM This allows you to select the type of waveform you will see in the EDIT SAMPLE pages. You may choose between logarithmic and linear. A logarithmic waveform gives an indication of the signal’s ‘energy’ (in much the same way as PPM meters do) whilst a linear waveform shows a truer representation of the signal. Logarithmic waveform display The same sound with a linear waveform display Previous Akai samplers used a log waveform display only.
EDIT SAMPLE s5000/ s6000 Another example of where a LOG display is more useful is when looping a sound: With LIN selected, the waveform display in the loop view box to the right of the waveform overview is very small making precise looping difficult if not impossible.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE SAMPLE LIST This takes you to this page: Here you may rename, copy, delete and otherwise manage your samples. At the top of the display (next to CLOSE LIST) you will see the icons that show whether the currently selected sample in the list is mono or stereo and/or looped, etc.. RENAME SAMPLE This pops up a prompt and you may rename the sample in the usual fashion. COPY SAMPLE This pops up a prompt and you may copy the selected sample.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE CONVERT -L/-R This will convert ‘old’ S1000, S1100, S2000, S3000 and XL series ‘stereo’ samples that are appended -L and -R and will create a stereo .wav file with -S appended to the name. For example, STRINGS C3 -L and STRINGS C3 -R will become STRINGS C3 -S. To convert an old -L/-R pair of samples, select either of the two ‘legs’ of the stereo file (i.e. the -L or the -R sample) and press CONVERT -L/-R.
s5000/ s6000 EDIT SAMPLE STEREO AND MONO SAMPLES There is little or no distinction made between mono or stereo samples on the S6000 and stereo samples are treated as one ‘file’ thus you don’t even really need to know what you are editing most of the time. Mono and stereo files have an indicator after their name in all EDIT SAMPLE pages. Mono samples are indicated thus: A single speaker icon is shown. Stereo samples are shown thus: NOTE 1: Stereo samples use two voices of the S6000.
s5000/ s6000 RECORD RECORD Pressing RECORD will show something like this screen: The parameters are: 178 RECORD LEVEL This sets the record level. This is a software control which is used instead of a front panel control. You will note the icon in the parameter. Pressing the RECORD LEVEL key again allows you to set the gain sensitivity of the input and the choices are MIC, LINE and PRO.
s5000/ s6000 RECORD THRESHOLD This sets the threshold level for any of the THRESHOLD or AUTO options. MIDI TRIG CHAN Sets the MIDI channel when MIDI NOTE-ON is selected as the record trigger. RECORD TO Here you may select where the recording will go - in RAM or direct to disk (recording ‘virtual’ samples is described separately). RECORD SOURCE Here you may select the input source for the recording. These are: ANALOGUE Selects the front panel analogue inputs.
RECORD s5000/ s6000 SETTING RECORD LEVELS In the centre of the screen are two level meters. These are accurately calibrated to show level precisely. As signal is input to the sampler, so these meters will move. At the far right of the meters is a small box that indicates clipping. Above the meters, you can see the margin of headroom you have and this value is held until the signal exceeds it again.
s5000/ s6000 RECORD MAKING A RECORDING Once you have set the parameters described above as appropriate, press ARM (F8). You will see this screen: The sampler is waiting for the signal to exceed the threshold level (or receive a MIDI note on). You may start recording using MANUAL START if you prefer.
RECORD s5000/ s6000 If you keep the recording, a new autonamed recording will be created (if you renamed the sample from NEW SAMPLE N to one of your choosing, the name you chose will be used as the ‘seed’ name for all subsequent recordings or until you change it). If you press DISCARD, the recording will be abandoned and you will return to the main RECORD page with the previous name still shown.
s5000/ s6000 RECORD OVERWRITING AN EXISTING SAMPLE Using F1, you may select an existing sample to record over. If you do this, you will, of course, receive a prompt warning you of this. You should take the appropriate action. If you press NO, the process will be aborted and the existing sample will remain intact and unaffected. If you press YES, you will be taken to the “WAITING FOR THRESHOLD...” prompt. NOTE: If you press YES, this deletes the original sample.
RECORD s5000/ s6000 RE-RECORDING THE SAMPLER’S OUTPUTS One feature of the S5/6000 is its ability to re-record its own outputs. This allows you to re-record huge, stacked programs with effects (on the S5000, the EB20 needs to be installed). In this way, you can re-record big washes and layers to use as new samples. The benefit of this is that sounds that took several layers of keygroups in a program and/or stacked programs in a multi can be re-recorded as one single sample thus saving on polyphony.
s5000/ s6000 RECORD RECORD ERROR MESSAGES If you try to record using one of the digital inputs and nothing is connected to it, you will see this dialogue: You should either record via the analogue inputs or connect the appropriate digital device. If the sampler is synchronised to external wordclock (in UTILITIES / SYSTEM SETUP) but the wordclock is missing, you will see this dialogue: You should either set SYNC SOURCE (in UTILITIES / SYSTEM SETUP) to INT 44.
s5000/ s6000 FX FX This gives access to the S6000’s internal effects. The EB20 is a 4-channel effects processor. Two channels (MULTIFX1 and MULTIFX2) offer multieffects that include (simultaneously) distortion, ring modulation, EQ, modulation effects (such as flanging, chorus and phasing, stereo pitch shift, autopanning, rotary speaker simulations) plus delay/echo and also reverb. The other two channels are reverb only channels (RV3 and RV4) giving a total of four reverbs.
s5000/ s6000 FX In the multiFX channels, you also have control over the direction of the effects and the modulation and delay effects can be placed before the final reverb, in parallel with the final reverb or after the final reverb making it very flexible. Furthermore, RV3 and RV4 can take as their input source their own effects send or can be fed from the two multiFX channels. The effects are stored in the multi so that switching between multis recalls the correct effects settings and configurations.
s5000/ s6000 FX NOTE: If you try to enter the FX ‘mode’ when no multi is created (i.e. immediately after power up), you will see this prompt: You cannot access the FX pages without there being a valid multi. For S5000 owners, if you press the FX key when the EB20 is not installed, you will receive this pop-up dialogue: Says it all really! 188 Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 FX You can see the block diagrams for the two multi effects channels, MULTIFX 1 and MULTIFX 2 . Underneath those are the two reverb-only channels, RV 3 and RV 4. F4 and F5 allow you to set the input source for RV3 and 4 and you may select the following: RV3 SEND This feeds RV3 with any signals sent on the RV3 effects send buss. This is the default setting and allows four totally separate reverb channels.
s5000/ s6000 FX EDITING THE EFFECTS To edit MULTIFX 1 or 2, press F2 or F3; to edit any of the reverbs, press F10, 11, 12 or 13. Selecting one of the multiFX channels (in this example, MULTIFX 1), you will see this screen: Here you have access to the individual blocks in the chain. As you edit each effect type, it is highlighted in the block diagram shown centre screen. The ‘ticks’ above each effect type indicate whether it is being used in the chain or not.
s5000/ s6000 FX NOTE FOR EXISTING AKAI OWNERS This method of embedding the effects in the multi and setting them up with easy to use templates for each effect type in the chain replaces the old method of working with a single effects file that is shared by all programs and multis. Instead, each multi has its own unique set of effects and combinations which can be created either manually or using the templates.
s5000/ s6000 FX RING MOD/DISTORTION Pressing RING MOD/DISTORTION in the main MULTIFX page will show this screen: A ring modulator is a device with two inputs and one output. One input carries the audio source and the other a sine wave signal of variable frequency. The two signals are modulated to produce sum and difference frequencies.
s5000/ s6000 FX EQ Pressing EQ in the main MULTIFX page will show this screen: The EQ section of the two multi-effects channels is a four band EQ offering lowpass control over a low frequency, two bandpass mid frequencies and a highpass high frequency control. I.e.: LP GAIN BP1 GAIN BP2 GAIN HP GAIN You may set the centre frequency and the gain for each of the four channels (on the two mid frequency ranges, you may also set the width of the EQ effect). FREQUENCY G A I N LOW Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 FX The frequency of each of the four bands is variable and may overlap if you wish and you may selectively boost these frequencies if you wish to enhance certain aspects of the sound. Furthermore, you can modulate the frequencies of either of the two mid range sections to create auto-wah effects such as you find on a wah-wah pedal. It is also possible to create synthesiser filter sweep effects. The parameters are: LOW FREQ Sets the low frequency. This is variable from 16Hz - 500Hz.
s5000/ s6000 FX EQ MODULATION Pressing EQ MODULATION (F16 in the EQ page) shows this screen: The LOW MID and HIGH MID bandpass filters of the EQ are able to be modulated by their own independent LFOs. The LMID and HMID LFO RATE parameters set the speed of these LFOs and the LMID and HMID MOD DEPTH parameters set the amount of LFO modulation.
s5000/ s6000 FX MODULATION EFFECTS A variety of modulation effects are also available. Pressing MODULATION FX will show something like this screen. Using F2, you may select the various modulation effects. CHORUS The first of the modulation effects is CHORUS. This uses four very short delay lines all modulated at different phase angles of the modulating LFO to produce a rich, swirling stereo chorus effect. The parameters are: RATE Sets the speed of the chorus effect.
s5000/ s6000 FX PHASE The next modulation effect is PHASE. This uses a single short delay line to produce certain phase shifter effects. The parameters are identical to those found in the CHORUS and FLANGE effects. However, please note that stronger phase effects are created with the DEPTH parameter set to low values. Higher settings of the DEPTH parameter give effects more like simple flanging.
s5000/ s6000 FX ROTARY SPEAKERS The next modulation effect available is ROTARY SPKRS. SPEED 1 This sets one of the rotary speaker speeds. Typically, this will be used to set the speed of the slow rotary speaker effect but it may be used as the fast rotary speaker effect if you wish. SPEED 2 This sets the second of the rotary speaker effect speeds.
s5000/ s6000 CONTROL MODE FX Depending on the MIDI controller selected in the MIDI CONTROL parameter, you may select whether crossing a threshold level of 64 that will cause the speed change or a switch action that will cause the speed change. When LEVEL is selected, once the controller goes past a level of 64, the speed will change. When TOGGLE is selected, the selected controller will switch between speed 1 and speed 2 and vice versa. Confused? Read on! Let’s take a practical example.
s5000/ s6000 FX FREQ/AMP MOD The next modulation effect shows the following screen: This effect type allows you to modulate frequency and/or amplitude for a variety of vibrato, autopan, tremolo and Doppler Shift effects. The parameters are: FMOD RATE This sets the speed of the frequency modulation. FMOD DEPTH This sets the amount of frequency modulation. FMOD FEEDBACK This sets the amount of feedback from the output of the frequency modulator back to its input.
s5000/ s6000 FX PITCH SHIFT The next modulation effect type is PITCH SHIFT: This is a stereo pitch shifter with independent control over the left and right channels. The parameters are: LEFT SEMITONE Sets the left channel’s pitch shift in semitone increments. LEFT FINE Allows you to fine tune the left channel’s tuning. RIGHT SEMITONE Sets the right channel’s pitch shift in semitone increments. RIGHT FINE Allows you to fine tune the right channel’s tuning.
s5000/ s6000 FX PITCH+FEEDBACK This is the next and final modulation effect. It is pretty much the same as PITCH SHIFT except that there is a delay line in the feedback path: FBK L DELAY L SHIFT LEFT FBK R Audio in DELAY R SHIFT RIGHT The signal from the pitch shifter is fed back into itself via a delay line. If you can imagine it - the sound goes through the pitch shifter and, after a delay, the pitch shifted sound is fed back into the pitch shifter where it is further pitch shifted.
s5000/ s6000 FX RIGHT SEMITONE Sets the right channel’s pitch shift in semitone increments. RIGHT FINE Allows you to fine tune the right channel’s tuning. RIGHT DELAY Sets the delay time for the right channel’s feedback. RIGHT FEEDBACK Sets the amount of feedback for the right channel.
s5000/ s6000 FX DELAY FX Pressing DELAY FX in the main MULTIFX page will give you access to the various delay/echo effects. The delay line in the multi-effects is dual channel allowing you to create ping pong and many other stereo delay effects. It can also operate in a mono mode and this has the advantage of doubling the available delay time. MONO LEFT The first of these is a simple mono delay line: This takes its input from the left output channel of the modulation section.
s5000/ s6000 PING PONG FX This allows you to create stereo ‘ping pong’ echo effects that bounce back and forth from left to right. A setting of 00 creates a mono echo effect. A setting of +50 will create a ‘ping pong’ echo effect that goes from right to left and back again. A setting of -50 will create a ‘ping pong’ echo effect that goes from left to right and back again. Settings in between 00 and ±50 will give ‘asymmetric’ or syncopated ‘ping pong’ effects.
s5000/ s6000 FX XOVER L+R This is a ‘pseudo’ stereo effect that takes the left and right outputs of the mod effects sections and feeds them through separate delay lines, the feedback paths of which crossover and feed each other. The parameters are identical to those found in the mono delay effects except that because two delay lines are used, delay time is halved (to 335mS).
s5000/ s6000 FX REVERB EFFECTS The EB20 offers four channels of stereo reverb, RV1-4. RV1 and RV2 are associated with the two multiFX channels and these may be accessed in the main FX page by pressing REVERB 1 (F10) or REVERB 2 (F11) or via the main MULTIFX page. RV3 and RV4 are two ‘spare’ reverb-only channels accessed in the main FX page on F12 and F13 respectively.
s5000/ s6000 FX The parameters are: 208 REVERB TYPE You may select from seven different reverb types - LARGE HALL, SMALL HALL, LARGE ROOM, SMALL ROOM, GATED 1, GATED 2 and REVERSE (the parameters change slightly for the two GATED and the REVERSE reverb types - these are described separately). PRE-DELAY This sets the time between the original sound and the onset of the reverb. TIME This sets the time it takes for the reverb to die away.
s5000/ s6000 FX When either of the GATED reverb types are selected, the screens change slightly: The parameters for both gated reverb types are identical: PRE-DELAY Sets the time between the original sound and the onset of the gated reverb effect. REVERB DECAY Sets the length of the gated reverb effect. DIFFUSION Sets the density of the gated reverb effect.
s5000/ s6000 FX OUTPUT MIX (MULTIFX1 AND 2 ONLY) Pressing OUTPUT MIX in the main MULTIFX page shows this screen: Here you may balance the various multiFX sections. The parameters are: DIST/EQ LEVEL Sets the output level of the RING MOD/DISTORTION/EQ block of effects. DIST/EQ PAN Sets the pan position of the RING MOD/DISTORTION/EQ block of effects. MOD/DEL LEVEL Sets the level of the MODULATION/DELAY effects. MOD/DEL PAN Sets the stereo balance of the MODULATION/DELAY effects.
s5000/ s6000 PATH CONTROL FX This parameter allows you to set the flow or direction of the effects. Most multi-effects processors follow a ‘traditional’ path for the effects: DIST/EQ MOD FX ECHO REVERB However, there are times when you want to have the modulation and echo effects in parallel with each other or to be able chorus, flange or phase the reverb to add a shimmer or a ‘swoosh’ to the reverb decay.
s5000/ s6000 FX EFFECTS TOOLS F9 of every effects page shows FX TOOLS. Pressing F9 will show this drop down menu: Here you may selectively mute the effects channels. This can be useful when editing effects as it allows you to hear the effect you are working on in isolation by muting the other channels. To mute an effects channel, simply press the appropriate mute key. When muted, a diagonal line will appear through the speaker icon (as shown for FX2/RV2 in the above screen shot).
s5000/ s6000 FX COPYING EFFECTS It is possible to copy effects from one multi to another. In this way, if there is a particular effects combination you like, it can be used in another multi. On the main FX page, F16 shows COPY EFFECTS: This allows you to copy all four channels of effects to another multi.
s5000/ s6000 FX As well as copying all four channels of effects, you may also copy individual channels. For example, in the main MULTIFX page, F16 shows COPY MULTIFX1 (or 2 depending on the selected channel): Pressing this will show this prompt: You should select the multi you wish to copy the multiFX chain to and press YES (or CANCEL if you change your mind). 214 Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 FX Similarly, it is possible to copy individual reverbs from one multi to another. F16 in all the reverb pages shows COPY REVERB n: Pressing this will pop-up this prompt: You should select the multi you wish to copy the selected reverb to and press YES (or CANCEL if you change your mind). Version 1.
SAVE s5000/ s6000 SAVE Once you have done work on multis, programs and samples, you will no doubt want to save them. This is done using the SAVE key. Depending on what you are working on, pressing SAVE will show something like this screen: In this example, you were working on the multi BACKING TRACK 2 when you pressed SAVE. This is therefore the item selected to save. Had you been working on a sample or a program, the appropriate item would be shown to be saved.
s5000/ s6000 SAVE The window shows you the contents of the root directory or the currently open folder and you can use OPEN and CLOSE FOLDER to navigate your way around your disk to set where the item (multi, program or sample) will be saved. For example, opening SMF FOLDER: The selected item will be saved to that folder. Alternatively, you may also create a new folder to save to using NEW FOLDER. If the selected disk is not the correct one, you can use DISK LIST to select another disk to save to.
s5000/ s6000 SAVE Pressing EXECUTE will pop-up a progress display: Assuming you chose to save the programs and samples as well, you will see these being saved. When saving an item, assuming CHECK NAMES is switched on and something of the same name exists in the currently selected folder, you will receive this prompt: Pressing YES will replace the item on disk with the item you are saving. Pressing SKIP will keep the original on disk and will not save the new item.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES UTILITIES Pressing UTILITIES shows this screen: As for EDIT PROGRAM and EDIT SAMPLE, the main page gives direct access to further functions. These are: SYSTEM SETUP Pressing this shows this screen: The parameters are: TRANSPOSE Sets the overall tuning of the sampler in semitones. Please note that this is a MIDI transpose function and not a tuning function as such.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES MASTER LEVEL Sets the overall output level of the sampler. NOTE REGARDING MASTER LEVEL: The default setting for this parameter is -12dB, the reason being that, unlike DAT or other stereo digital recorders which record at 0dB and playback at 0dB, the S6000 records at 0dB but has to play many voices simultaneously (the other recorders only need to play exactly what they recorded).
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES SET CLOCK Here you may set up the S6000’s internal clock. Pressing it displays this screen: The time you entered this page is captured in the centre of the screen (the actual time the sampler was previously set to keeps ticking away in the top left corner). You should set the various parameters accordingly to set the time and date and, at an appropriate moment, press SET (F16) to actually set the time. The clock is used to date stamp files when you save them. Version 1.
UTILITIES s5000/ s6000 PREFERENCES This allows you to personalise your sampler’s settings. Pressing PREFERENCES shows something like this screen: The parameters are: NOTE DISPLAY This allows you to choose whether to display notes as MIDI numbers (i.e. 0-127) or as names (C 0 - G 8) in all displays where notes are shown. LOOP DISPLAY This allows you to select whether LOOP LENGTH is displayed in time (i.e. 1 sec) or samples (i.e. 44100). SCREEN DISPLAY This allows you to invert the screen display.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES MIDI SETUP This sets up how the S6000 will respond to MIDI. Pressing MIDI SETUP shows this screen: The parameters are: PROGRAM CHANGE This applies to remote program selection of programs via MIDI within parts. It may be switched ON or OFF MULTI SELECT This allows you to select whether MIDI program change or MIDI bank change will remotely select multis. Multis may be given MIDI program numbers in the RENUMBER MULTI page.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES EXT APM CONTROL You may select any one of the 128 MIDI control parameters to be used as a controller in the APM matrix (see Appendix A for a full listing of these). AFTERTOUCH This is a ‘system-wide’ parameter that allows you to select whether the S6000 responds to CHANNEL or POLYPHONIC aftertouch. With channel aftertouch, pressing harder on one note will affect all notes that are held. With polyphonic aftertouch, pressing harder on one note affects only that note.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES FX IN/OUTS Back in the main UTILITIES page, pressing FX IN/OUTS will show this page: It is possible to use the EB20 as an effects processor for external signals fed into the sampler’s inputs (the EB20 is an option on the S5000). An effects channel may share an external input AND internal sounds. For example, you may route some parts to FX channel 1 which also has an external input routed to it.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES DISK UTILS Pressing DISK UTILS will show this screen: This is not like LOAD to look at except that F13 allows you to rename the selected item and F14 allows you to delete the selected item. RENAMING ITEMS ON DISK To rename an item, move the cursor to the item you want to rename and press RENAME. You will get this prompt: You should enter a new name and press F16 (or press F8 - CANCEL - if you change your mind).
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES DELETING ITEMS FROM DISK To delete something from disk, move the cursor to the item you want to delete. F14 is used to delete the item and, like load and save, its label changes according to the item selected. So, for example, if the cursor is on a folder, the key will be labelled DELETE FOLDER and if it’s on a MULTI, it will be labelled DELETE MULTI. The same would be true for programs and samples.
UTILITIES s5000/ s6000 FORMATTING DISKS It is possible to format hard disks to MS-DOS format in the DISK UTILS page in DISK LIST: To select the disk to format, press the soft key alongside it. Now press FORMAT DISK (do not press SELECT DISK on F8). You will see this prompt: You should select whether you want to perform a QUICK FORMAT or a FULL FORMAT using the check boxes on F6 and F14.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES Pressing PROCEED pops up this prompt: You should respond (with caution) as appropriate. ***** WARNING ***** PRESSING YES AT THIS STAGE WILL CAUSE ALL DATA ON ALL PARTITIONS ON THE DISK TO BE COMPLETELY ERASED. Please proceed with caution and abort now (press NO) if you have the slightest doubt. Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES Assuming you proceed, you will see this progress display: An animated icon in the top right of the prompt shows activity and you should also see disk activity LEDs on your hard disk flashing (or if it is fitted internally, you should hear some disk activity) as the process takes place. Because a half formatted disk would be totally unusable (and may not even be able to be reformatted), the S6000 does not offer an abort function during format - you’ll just have to sit it out.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES At the end of the formatting process, you will be returned to the DISK UTILITIES page: You will see a blank directory list. The free space (correctly shown as 100Mb for this Zip cartridge) is shown at the top of the page. The disk is now ready for use. NOTE: The S6000 will divide the selected drive into 2Gbyte partitions. Thus if you try to format a 4Gb drive, it will have two x 2Gb partitions.
UTILITIES s5000/ s6000 UNLOCK DISK If ‘virtual’ samples are loaded from a removable disk medium such as Jaz, Zip, Syquest, MO, etc., the disk becomes locked and you are unable to eject it from the drive’s own front panel without first unlocking it in the DISK UTILITIES/DISK LIST page: This is because it is impossible to play ‘virtual’ samples without the disk being present. If the disk were to be ejected leaving just the ‘noses’ of the samples in memory, they would not play correctly.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES MEMORY TEST Pressing this shows this pop-up: After a while, you will see something like this dialogue: This test is mostly for service engineers for diagnostic purposes but you may find it useful to check how much memory is in your S6000 (especially if you have just installed some SIMMs and want to check they are correctly seated and recognised by the system).
UTILITIES s5000/ s6000 SHOW HARDWARE This is a useful utility for checking what hardware is and isn’t installed or connected. Pressing it shows something like this screen: After which.... At a glance, you can see how many voices are available to you, how much memory is installed, whether the effects processor EB20 is installed (S5000 only), whether the ADAT option is fitted, whether the keyboard is attached and what drives are connected.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES SET PLAY KEY Pressing this shows this screen: The parameters are: PLAY KEY MODE NOTE 1 - 4 This allows you to choose from three ‘play’ modes for the ENT/PLAY key. These are: SINGLE Pressing ENT/PLAY will play the selected sound at C3 (or whatever NOTE 1 is tuned to) ARPEGGIO This will play NOTES 1 - 4 in succession. This may be useful to check multi-samples and sounds across the keyboard’s range when away from a MIDI keyboard.
UTILITIES s5000/ s6000 SAVE O/S TO FLASHROM This allows you to save the system settings and preferences to FlashROM or floppy disk. Pressing SAVE O/S will pop-up this prompt: By saving to FlashROM, your sampler will boot with your settings every time. Pressing SAVE TO FLASH will show a progress display. This is slightly different to the normal progress displays: Followed by.... 236 Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES As the FlashROM is erased (to make room for the new OS), you will see a series of dots move across the display followed by “OK”. Then the O/S will be written to FlashROM: A series of dots fill up the prompt line by line and the display will scroll up the prompt window as the O/S is written to FlashROM. At the end, you will be returned to the original SAVE O/S prompt.
UTILITIES s5000/ s6000 SAVE O/S TO FLOPPY DISK You may also use SAVE O/S to create a ‘boot disk’ so that starting the sampler up with this in the floppy drive will boot the sampler up with your personalised settings. Creating a boot disk may be useful to back up your settings but also if you are likely to be using another S6000 or S5000 and you want it to have the same system settings and preferences as yours.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES LOADING OPERATING SYSTEMS There will be occasions when you want to install an operating system. This may be to re-install a backup O/S created using SAVE O/S described on the preceding page or to install a new operating system as they are released. To load an operating system, with the sampler switched off, simply insert the floppy disk into the disk drive and power on. The screen will be blank and all the mode keys will illuminate. You will also see the floppy disk drive working.
UTILITIES s5000/ s6000 If you respond YES, you will see this sequence of screens and progress displays: As the FlashROM is erased (to make room for the new O/S), you will see a series of dots move across the display followed by “OK”. Then the O/S will be written to FlashROM: A series of dots fill up the prompt line by line and the display will scroll up the prompt window as the O/S is written to FlashROM. At the end, you will be returned to the main UTILITIES page.
s5000/ s6000 UTILITIES NOTES REGARDING SAVING AND LOADING THE O/S USING FLOPPY DISKS • You can only use DOS formatted floppy disks. Pre-formatted disks are readily available from any computer store. Some music stores also sell them. If you wish to format your own floppy disk, then you will need to use a PC or a Mac running either PC Exchange or a W95/ 98 emulator because it is not possible to format floppy disks on the S5/6000.
VIRTUAL SAMPLES s5000/ s6000 VIRTUAL SAMPLES A major feature of the S5/6000 is the ability to record and playback what we call ‘virtual’ samples. Virtual samples are, in fact, recordings made to and played back directly from disk. They may be used in pretty much the same way an ‘normal’ samples loaded into memory except, of course, their length is not restricted by how much memory you have installed.
s5000/ s6000 VIRTUAL SAMPLES HOW DOES IT WORK? The problem with playing back recordings from disk has always been disk speed as it takes a finite time for the disk heads to actually find the data to play back (known as the seek time). Fixed hard disks are relatively fast.
VIRTUAL SAMPLES s5000/ s6000 Some guidelines as to the number of virtual samples you can expect to play simultaneously from different drive types are shown below: TYPICAL MODERN HARD DISK DRIVE JAZ CARTRIDGE MO CARTRIDGE ZIP CARTRIDGE 12-16 mono samples 10-12 mono samples 8-10 mono samples 6-8 mono samples NOTE: Halve the figures shown above for stereo. However, this is in no way a definitive statement or promise of what to expect and Akai Electric Co., Ltd.
s5000/ s6000 VIRTUAL SAMPLES RECORDING VIRTUAL SAMPLES To record a virtual sample, select DISK in the RECORD TO parameter (F6): However, before you make a ‘virtual’ recording, you need to select where on the disk you are going to record to.
VIRTUAL SAMPLES s5000/ s6000 Once you have selected where the new recording will be placed, return to the main RECORD page (press RECORD SETUP - F14 - or the main RECORD mode key), set the record parameters as appropriate and record as normal.
s5000/ s6000 VIRTUAL SAMPLES LOADING VIRTUAL SAMPLES No special distinction is made when loading virtual samples. If you load a multi that contains programs that use virtual samples, they will load as you would expect and as saved. If you load a program that contains virtual samples, it will load as you would expect and as saved. If you go to load a virtual sample, you will see the usual prompt: The OVERIDE TYPE check box allows you to choose how the selected sample will load.
VIRTUAL SAMPLES s5000/ s6000 CONVERTING SAMPLE TYPES Using the OVERIDE TYPE key described on the previous page, it is possible not only to load virtual samples as normal RAM samples for more convenient editing but you may also load RAM samples as virtual ones. • To convert a virtual sample to a RAM sample, simply press OVERIDE TYPE and select LOAD AS RAM on F15. If you save the sample, it will be saved as a RAM sample and will subsequently load as a RAM sample.
s5000/ s6000 VIRTUAL SAMPLES EDITING VIRTUAL SAMPLES There is no distinction made between normal RAM samples and ‘virtual’ samples. However, there are a few things to be aware of when editing ‘virtual’ samples. • You may experience some delays in playback when editing, particularly when setting start and end points for ‘virtual’ samples. For example, you may move the START point quite some way into the sample - in this case, you may experience a small delay in playback .
s5000/ s6000 SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFICATIONS Model Name : MIDI Stereo Digital Sampler S6000/S5000 Sampling Data format : 16-bit linear encoding Sampling rates : 44.1 kHz 48 kHz Sampling time (unexpanded memory) : 1 minute 23 seconds - mono Fs = 44.1 kHz 1 minute 16 seconds - mono Fs = 48 kHz 39 seconds - stereo Fs = 44.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX A MIDI CONTROLLER LIST The following is a list of the controllers that may be used as an EXTERNAL controller within a program. The selected controller is set in EXT APM CONT field in the MIDI page in UTILITIES. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14-15 16-19 20-31 32-63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75-79 80-79 84 85-90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102-119 120-127 Version 1.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX A S5000/S6000 MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART Version : V1.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX B NOTES ON USING HARD DISK DRIVES SCSI CABLES Always use high quality SCSI cables. Using cheaper SCSI cables may seem an attractive proposition, especially if you have a tight budget but low quality cables can give rise to data errors. Cheap cables are also not always properly grounded which could give rise to unpleasant noise ‘leaking’ into your audio system during disk activity (i.e. saving, loading or playing ‘virtual’ samples). The S6000 uses 50-pin high-pitch SCSI connectors.
APPENDIX B s5000/ s6000 SCSI IDs All SCSI devices MUST have a unique SCSI ID otherwise there will be contention on the SCSI buss which will almost certainly cause problems. The SCSI ID is normally set via switches on the rear of the unit. Most drives allow you to set a SCSI ID from 0-7 though some devices only offer a choice of two IDs. Some, however, have fixed SCSI IDs which cannot be changed. Again, please consult the documentation that came with your device.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX C TRANSFERRING DATA BETWEEN THE S6000 AND A PC Because the ‘native’ file format for samples is .WAV and because the disk format for the S6000 is MS-DOS, it is possible to take a disk from an S6000, take it to a PC and work on it there. This offers the ability to organise your sound library efficiently into folders and sub-folders more conveniently simply by dragging them around in Windows Explorer. For example, you may have several folders of orchestral sounds on your S6000 - e.g.
APPENDIX C s5000/ s6000 Other benefits are... • You can use commercially available or shareware sample editing applications to edit the samples on an S6000 disk on your PC. These can be saved and then transferred back to the S6000 where they may be loaded as normal. • You can run commercially available disk utility applications for de-fragmenting, repairing, analysing and rescuing disks. • Standard .
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX C TRANSFERRING DATA BETWEEN THE S6000 AND A MAC Because the Mac can read MS-DOS disks as well as its own HFS (Hierarchical File Structure) or HFS+ format disks, it is possible to take S6000 disks and hook them up to an Apple Macintosh. You could have something like this on your Mac desktop: Here, a disk containing S5000 sound library has been taken to a Mac and opened on the desktop. This contains a variety of folders that contain multis, programs and samples.
APPENDIX C s5000/ s6000 You may create folders on the Mac desktop to place your sound library in and of course, folders can contain sub-folders (for example, the WOODWIND folder in ‘ORCHESTRAL’ could contain further folders CLARINETS, FLUTES, OBOES, etc.). Files and folders can be dragged, moved, copied, renamed exactly as you want in the usual Mac way. Furthermore, items can be dragged into the wastebasket for deletion. Items can also be moved onto the desktop.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX C IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING TAKING DISKS TO A MAC For the Mac to read MS-DOS disks, it is necessary for the PC EXCHANGE control panel to be installed and active (which is the usual default following a MacOS installation). However, there are a few things to bear in mind. The S5/6000 allows support of long filenames (i.e. greater than eight characters). PC EXCHANGE only supports long filenames in MacOS 8.1 (or higher) using PC EXCHANGE V2.2.x (or higher). PC EXCHANGE 2.2.
APPENDIX C s5000/ s6000 Please also note the following: • Whilst it is possible to move and copy files around on the Mac in the usual fashion, please note that the S6000 does not recognise aliases to files. • If you want to play .WAV files on your Mac, you will need a suitable .WAV player. QUICKTIME will be able to play them but for more flexibility, shareware such as D-Sound Pro (http:/ /ourworld.compuserve.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX C SHARING DISKS BETWEEN AN S6000 AND A MAC/PC By far the safest way to transfer material between your S6000 and a PC/Mac is to have separate systems with a compatible removable disk format (e.g. Zip, Jaz, Syquest, MO): Fig. 1 - Sharing compatible drives By equipping both systems separately with the same removable drive, cartridges can be exchanged easily and conveniently.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX D CONNECTING THE SAMPLER TO A MAC/PC VIA SCSI It is theoretically possible to connect your sampler to a Mac/PC and share the disk drive as follows: However, great care must be taken because you can potentially damage your drive and lose data irretrievably. As a result..... THIS SETUP IS NOT RECOMMENDED.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX D The kind of ‘real-world’ things that can go wrong are........ A. You delete some files on the disk using the sampler - they are deleted, the sampler’s disk cache is updated, the files don’t appear in the LOAD filelist and everything is fine. However, the Mac/PC’s disk cache has not been updated and so it doesn’t know anything about these changes - as far as it’s concerned, the files are still there and so it will still display the deleted or renamed items.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX D ***** DISCLAIMER ***** There is nothing stopping you sharing a drive with your sampler and your Mac/PC in this way. With care, you may be lucky and have no problems. However., there is a huge potential risk of irreparable data corruption. As such.... Should you choose to share a disk drive between your sampler and your Mac/PC via a direct SCSI connection as described on the previous pages, please be aware that you do so at your own risk and AKAI professional M.I. Corp.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX E SOUND LIBRARY COMPATIBILITY The S6000 can read data from the S1000, S1100, S2800, S3000, S3200, CD3000, S2000, S3000XL, S3200XL and CD3000XL samplers. However, due to differences in the hardware and the operating system, it could be that some sounds may not sound exactly as they did on the sampler they were created on. For example, the filters on the S1000 and S1100 were 18dB/Octave lowpass with no resonance.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX E As you can see, there is a conflict with some output assignments which will need some intervention (in this case, maybe assign Parts 1, 6 and 8 to outputs 9/10 or maybe give each of those parts their own outputs now that you have more to play with!).
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX E Of course, the S5/6000 can also read .WAV files. However, some considerations need to be borne in mind. Many .WAVs are only intended to be played at nominal pitch (i.e. the pitch they were recorded at). Very often, they were never intended to be transposed up and down and, if they were, they either have a limited transposition range and/or use a crude form of interpolation to do the transposition.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX F INSTALLING EXTRA MEMORY (To Service Technicians) To install extra memory, you must remove the top of the case. ** IMPORTANT NOTE ** Consult your AKAI professional dealer regarding installation of any options (including memory) to the S5000 or S6000. Self-servicing or user installation of memory boards and/or options may cause malfunction of components or the instrument itself.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX F There are many different types of SIMMs available. The S6000 uses 72-pin SIMMs and both ‘fast page’ and EDO memory can be used, even in combination. Parity or non-Parity can be used. NOTE: SIMMs from S2000, S3000XL and S3200XL can be used in the S5000 and S6000 so if you are upgrading, you may like to retain the SIMMs from your S2000 or XL to use in your new sampler. SIMMs come in various sizes and any combination of 4Mb, 8Mb, 16Mb, 32Mb and 64Mb boards may be installed.
APPENDIX F s5000/ s6000 NOTES REGARDING INSTALLATION: If you plan to install memory, please be aware that memory chips are sensitive to static electricity so observe the following precautions: • Isolate the S5000/6000 by disconnecting it from the mains or your mixer/amp/whatever before installing the board(s). • The SIMMs may come with a special wrist strap to discharge static electricity. It is highly recommended that you attach the strap to the S5000/6000’s case and to your wrist.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX G WHAT IS SAMPLING? Sampling is a process where we record sound digitally. All natural sound comes in the form of variations in sound pressure. Using a microphone, we can convert those changes in air pressure into rising and falling voltages. Once they exist in that format, we can process them through ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL CONVERTERS (ADCs) to turn those voltages into streams of digital data. Once they exist as digital data, we can edit them with alarming precision.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX G In order to make them last longer so that long notes can be sustained, we need to loop them. This involves selecting a portion of the sound that will repeat over and over again when we hold our finger(s) on the keyboard.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX G A program is where you assemble your raw, edited samples for playback. In the SAMPLE mode, the samples are unprocessed by envelopes, vibrato, etc.. If they have been looped, it is quite possible they have lost some their dynamics - all of this can be overcome in a program. Furthermore, because of powerful synthesiser functions, the S6000 can be used to play and process samples much like an analogue synth.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX G After that, of course, it’s anyone’s guess what the next level may be but it could be something like this: Here we have 17 keygroups in one program - some are assigned to individual keys whilst some span an octave or so. Hopefully, you can now get a feel for how flexible the keygroup assignment can be. But there can be more to it than that. Within each keygroup, you may assign up to four samples in what are referred to as ZONES.
s5000/ s6000 APPENDIX G So far we have seen keygroups side by side. This is usually fine for most applications but there are sometimes occasions where the abrupt transition between one keygroup and another can be a bit obvious. For example, in a strings program where you maybe have five string samples each at the G of every octave, the transition between B2 and C3 may sound a little strange.
APPENDIX G s5000/ s6000 Each part may be routed to one of the four effects channels and more than one part may be routed to any one of the effects channels so that programs may share effects. Each part has its own effects send level. NOTE: The effects are optional on the S5000. However, you may prefer to use the S6000 with external effects processors via a mixing console.
s5000/ s6000 INDEX A D (APM) 26, 27 Active Switch (Delay FX) 206 Active Switch (Distortion/RMod) 192 Active Switch (EQ) 194, 195 Active Switch (Mod FX) 203 Active Switch (Reverb) 206 Adjust (BPM Match) 168 Adjust (Pitch Shift/Edit Sample) 167 Adjust (Timestretch) 166 Aftertouch (LFO 1) 91 Aftertouch (MIDI Setup 224 Aftertouch (Pitch Bend) 88 AMP ENVELOPE Page 122 Amp Envelope Windows 123 Amp Mod 107 Amp Mod 1/2 83 Arpeggio (Play Key) 235 ASCII Keyboard 5 Assigning Programs to Parts 43 Attack (Amp Env) 1
s5000/ s6000 INDEX F (Cont) L Fine Tune 49 Fine Tune (FX-Pitch Shift) 201 Fine Tune (Keygroup) 107 Fine Tune (Pitch Shift/Edit Sample) 167 Fine Tune (Sample) 142 Fine Tune (System) 219 Fine Tune (Zone) 99 Fine Tune Program) 86 Fine Tune Window 49 Fine Tune Window (Zone) 102 FineTune (Zone) 102 Flange FX) 196 Floppy Disk 5 Formatting Disks 228 Freq/Amp Mod (FX) 200 FX 186 FX INS/OUTS Page 225 FX Output (FX) 225 FX Send Level (Keygroup) 97 L/R Direct Signal (FX) 225 Length min.
s5000/ s6000 INDEX M (Cont) P Mute Effects 212 Mute Group 95 Mute Part 47 Play To/From (Chop) 148 Play To/From (Trim) 146 Playback Mode 104 Playback Modes (Zone) 99 Playback Window (Zone) 103 POP-UP WINDOWS 18 PREFERENCES Page 222 Preset (BPM Match) 168 Preset (Pitch Shift/Edit Sample) 107 Preset (Re-Sample) 169 Preset (Timestretch) 165 PROG TOOLS MENU 128 Program Change (MIDI Setup) 223 Program List 59, 129 Program Number 66, 86, 137 PROGRESS DISPLAYS 18, 143, 218 Purge 61, 132 Purge Samples 175 N NA
s5000/ s6000 INDEX R (Cont) REVERB 2207 Reverse 144 Reverse Reverb 209 RING MOD/DISTORTION 192 Rotary Speakers (FX) 198 RV1-4 207 RV3/RV4 Input 189 S S5000 FRONT PANEL 10 S5000 REAR PANEL 11 S6000 FRONT PANEL 5 S6000 REAR PANEL 8 S6000 STRUCTURE/TERMINOLOGY 23 Sample A/B From (Join) 157 Sample A/B From (Mix) 160 Sample A/B Level (Join) 157 Sample A/B Level (Mix) 160 Sample A/B To (Join) 157 Sample A/B To (Mix) 160 SAMPLE LIST 175 SAMPLE TOOLS Menu 171 Save Multi 216 SAVE O/S (Utilities) 236, 238 SAVE Page
s5000/ s6000 INDEX Z Zone Level 99, 101 Zone Xfade 100 Zones 102 Zones 1/2/3/4 98 Zoom In/Out (Chop) 148 Zoom In/Out (Fade) 154 Zoom In/Out (Loop) 151 Zoom In/Out (Trim) 147 Version 1.
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