S950
WARNING
Power requirements
Power requirements for electrical equipment differ from area to area. Please ensure
that your machine meets the power requirements m your area.
If in doubt. consult a qualified electrician.
120V. 60Hz for USA and Canada
220V. 50Hz for Europe except UK
240V. 50Hz for UK and Australia
What you should know to protect yourself
and the Akai S950.
Watch out! You might get an electric shock
Never touch the plug with wet hands.
Always pull out by the plug and never the cord.
Only let a qualified professional repair or reassemble the Akai S950. An
unauthorized person might touch the internal parts and receive a serious
electric shock.
Never allow a child to put anything, especially metal, info the Akai
S950.
Let's protect the Akai S950 too.
Use only a household AC power source. Never use a DC power
source.
If water is spilled on the Akai 5950, disconnect rt and call your dealer.
Make sure that the Akai S950 is well ventilated and away from direct sunlight.
To avoid damage to the internal circuits and the external surface,
keep away from heal (stoves, etc.).
Avoid using spray type insecticide near the Akai S950. It can damage the finish
and might ignite suddenly.
To avoid damaging the finish, never use denaturated alcohol, paint
thinner or other similar chemicals to clean the Akai S950.
Place the Akai 5950 on a flat and solid surface.
To enjoy the Akai S950 for long time, please read this operator's manual
thoroughly.
Should a problem persist, write down the model and serial numbers and
all pertinent data regarding warranty coverage as well as a clear description of the
existing trouble. Then, contact your nearest authorized Akai Service Station, or Akai
Electric Co., Ltd.. Quality Assurance Dept., Service Section m Tokyo. Japan.
The lightning flash with the arrowhead symbol superimposed
across a graphical representation of a person, within an
equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of
uninsulated "dangerous volts"" within the product's enclosure: that
may be of sufficient. magnitude to constitute a risk of electric
shack.
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle Is Intended to
alert the user to the presence of important operating end mainte-
nance (servicing) Instructions fn the literature accompanying the
appliance.
Precautions
FOR CUSTOMERS
IN THE UK
IMPORTANT FOR YOUR SAFETY
The flex supplied with your machine will have two wires, as shown m the illustration.
T
WO CORE FLEX
IMPORTANT
The wires in this mains lead are coloured in
accordance with the following code: Blue: Neutral
Brown: Live As the colours of the wires in the
mains lead of this apparatus may not correspond
with the coloured markings identifying the
terminals in your plug, proceed as follows: The
wire which is coloured blue must be connected to
the terminal which is marked with the letter N or
coloured black. The wire which is coloured brown
must be connected to the terminal which is marked
with the letter L or coloured red.
Do not connect any wire to the larger pin marked E or down
when wiring a plug.
Ensure that all terminals are securely tightened and that no loose strands of
wire exist.
Warning -- This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if
not installed and used properly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacture's
instructions, may cause interference to radio and television- reception. It has been
type tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class 8 computing device in
accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 FCC Rules. which are
designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference in a
residential installation. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not
occur in a particular installation. If this equipment dose cause interference to radio
or television reception. which can be determined by turning the equipment off and
on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the
following measures:
Reorient the receiving antenna
Relocate the computer wish respect to the receiver Move the
computer away from the receiver
Plug the computer into a different outleet so that computer and receiver are on
different branch circuits.
If necessary, the user should consult the dealer or an experienced radio/
television technician for additional suggestions.
The user may find the following booklet prepared by the Federal Communications
Commission helpful:
"How to Identity and Resolve Radio-TV Interference Problems"
This booklet is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office.
Washington, DC 20402. Stock No. 004-000-00345-4.
"This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits (a radio noise emissions
from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian
Department of Communications"
AKAI S950 SAMPLER MANUAL - INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Akai S950 Digital Sampler. This versatile instrument provides the
flexibility associated with more expensive machines yet is easy to use once you
become familiar with its operation. It took many months of intensive development
to produce the S950 and it will take some time and practice for you to master
this advanced instrument but the reward for your efforts will be the opportunity
to make creative and exciting music using the latest in sampling technology.
No-one can deny the impact sampling has had on the way we make music - it could
be argued that it is as revolutionary as the invention of the synthesizer itself.
The Akai S900 was the first sampler that brought affordable, studio quality
sampling in an easy to use and flexible rack mounting format to many musicians
and studios the world over becoming an industry standard by which all other
samplers were compared. The new S950 !s the successor to that sampler and
combines the benefits of improved technology with all the best features and
software updates of the S900 plus all those features that people wanted to see on
the S900 such as higher bandwidth, expandable memory, etc.. We are sure you will
enjoy using your S950 for many years.
But first, let's take care of the unit.
If the unit is going to be kept in a rack full of other equipment in a studio,
it's a good idea to make sure there is some ventilation around it if you can.
This can be done by leaving a 1U gap on top of the S950- which can be filled in
with a blank rack panel. This will prevent any overheating of the unit. If you
are going to be transporting the S950, especially if you are gagging with a band,
we recommend the use of a sturdy flight case to protect your investment. Once
again, if it's in a rack with other gear, leave a gap. If you don't have a flight
case, you can use the box the unit came in when transporting your S950.
When you are transporting the S950, ensure that either the supplied disk
protector or a blank disk is inserted in the disk drive to protect the disk
drive's delicate heads.
If the unit gets dirty, you can clean it with a warm, damp cloth and some mild
detergent but do not use any strong solvents or you will ruin the finish.
If your S950 develops a fault, there are no user serviceable parts inside so
don't open the unit up in the unlikely event of anything going wrong. This will
invalidate your warranty as well as potentially damaging the instrument further.
You may also get an electric shock. Please refer the unit to your local Akai
dealer who will have it repaired by an authorized repair center.
If any liquid is spilled into the instrument, turn !t off at the mains supply -
do not try to switch it off at the front panel as you may get an electric shock.
Do not open it up to try and clean it but take it to your local Akai dealer.
Under no circumstances open the unit up if it is connected to the mains supply
even if the unit is switched off as you may get an electric shock.
There are a variety of options available for the S950 which are discussed
later. To fit these, please take your instrument to your local Akai dealer
who will either fit them for you or will arrange for an authorized service
center to fit them. Trying to fit them yourself will invalidate your
warranty. Similarly, any modifications you might make to your S950 will also
invalidate your warranty.
To avoid damage to the internal circuits and the casework, ensure that the
S950 is kept away from heaters, radiators, stoves. etc..
Never let a child put anything, especially metal, into the S950. Also, keep
children away from the polythene bag that the unit is wrapped in.
Although the S950 has been built to withstand the many rigours of the music
business, it is a precision instrument that must be treated as such. Look
after your new instrument and it will look after you providing you with years
of reliable service.
3
4
FIG. 1 Connecting the S950
Making sure that the amplifiers volume control is right down and the S950 is
switched off, insert one of the disks supplied with the S950 with the label
facing upwards. Push gently until the disk locks in place - the push tab will
pop out from below the disk drive when it has been properly inserted. Now
turn the S950's power on - the disk will automatically load. While that is
happening, you may like to adjust the contrast control to the left of the
display for the most legible display.
This should take around 40 seconds depending on how much data is on the disk
and the red light on the disk drive will be lit and you will hear some
clunking and whirring noises from the S950 as the disk contents are loaded.
This is normal so don't worry!!
GETTING
STARTED
You are probably impatient to hear your new sampler so let's connect it up.
Referring to Fig. 1, connect the MIDI OUT of a suitable keyboard to the MIDI
IN on the S950 using a standard 5 pin DIN cord. Preferably, to take full
advantage of the S950's expressive capabilities, the MIDI keyboard should
have pitch bend, modulation wheels and touch sensitivity but don't worry if
it hasn't. Naturally, we recommend the use of the Akai MX76 master keyboard
but any MIDI controller can be used including guitar-MIDI converters, wind
controllers such as the Akai EWI or EVI or a MIDI drum controller.
Now take a standard Jack-to-Jack lead from the MIX OUT socket on the rear of
the S950 to the LINE input of a mixer or amplifier. If you are using a
standard guitar amplifier, connect the lend to either the input on the front
of the amp marked 'HI' or, better still, have n look round the back of the
amp to see if there is an input marked 'AMP IN' which will bypass the
amplifiers preamp and so reduce the possibility of distortion. If you are
using a hi-fi amp, then you will probably need to use a hack-to-phono lead
and connect the S950 to the AUX input on the amp.
5
CAUTION: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MUST YOU REMOVE THE DISK WHILE THE RED LIGHT
IS ON AS YOU MAY DAMAGE THE DISK OR THE DRIVE. NEITHER MUST YOU TURN THE
S950'S POWER OFF WHILST A DISK IS LOADING.
After the disk has loaded, you are ready to play your S950 so turn up the
volume on the amplifier and play a few notes on the keyboard - you should
now hear a sound. To see what other sounds are in the S950, simply turn the
grey CONTROL wheel anticlockwise to scroll through the programs. When you
want to change the sound, simply type in the appropriate number using the
blue keypad. Repent that process to select the other sounds.
Once you've heard all the programs on chat disk, you can select another disk
so turn the amplifier volume down, take out the first disk you put in by
pressing the push tab below the disk drive and switch the S950 off.
Now insert another disk as described above and turn the samplers power back
on. After 40 seconds of more clanking and whirring, turn up the amplifiers
volume because you are ready to listen to the sounds on the second disk
scrolling through the different programs using the data wheel as described
above and selecting different programs by typing in the relevant program
number. You can repeat this whole procedure for the remaining two disks.
S950 - AN OVERVIEW
The S950 is a digital sampler that has 16-bit processing and 12-bit sampling
with a maximum sampling rate of 48kHz. As well as allowing you to use any of
the large library of S900 sounds you can also use sounds from the S1000 sample
library and double density or high density disks can be used for storing
samples. The S950 enables you to sample and play sounds with astonishing
clarity and dynamic range and because the bandwidth is variable up to 19.2kHz,
you can be sure that high frequencies are faithfully reproduced.
The basic memory is 750K (which is expandable to 2.25Meg) and the basic
sampling time is variable between over a minute at reduced bandwidth to ,lust
over nine seconds at full bandwidth. Furthermore, bandwidth is totally
variable allowing you to squeeze as much sampling time as possible out of your
S950.
The S950 also has 8 individual monophonic audio outputs which can be used with
drums. and percussion and other instruments for separate processing, EQ and
balancing of individual sounds on a mixer. There are also left and right
outputs for pseudo stereo effects.
The maximum number of samples you can have in memory at ones is 99 but that
depends on how long the samples are of course. You can also have as many as
198 programs.
No sampler would be complete without extensive editing facilities and the S950
is no exception. As-well as the usual looping facilities, the S950 has an
effective AUTOLOOP facility to take the drudgery out of looping end it also
has CROSSFADE LOOPING for obtaining smooth, glitchless loops. There are also
splicing facilities for merging two or more samples together and double speed
MIDI increases the communication speed of sample dumping over MIDI which is
invaluable if you feel the need to use a computer for visual editing of
samples.
There are- also extensive program editing facilities such as envelope shaping,
filtering; pitch sweep and LFO effects as well as a two positional velocity
switch function and positional crossfade functions.
Several new features include a 'load while play' function on the disk drive so
that you can be loading new sounds from disk whilst you play. The S950 is also
the first sampler in its price range to feature TIMESTRETCH which enables you
to lengthen or shorten s sample by as much as 999% without any change in
pitch.
Other features include PRETRIGGER RECORDING which allows you to sample sounds
without losing the all important initial attack transients and the AUTOMATIC
LOCATING OF START POINT function allows easier editing of a samples start
point.
Several options are also available for the S950 including an ATARI/SUPRA and
CD/DAT INTERFACE BOARD (IB105) which allows larger storage and faster disk
access and also enables sampling to and from a CD or RDAT machine for
increased audio fidelity. The internal memory can also be increased using up
to two MEMORY EXPANSION BOARDS (EXM006) which allow maximum internal memory
capacity of 2.25 Meg giving you a maximum sampling time of nearly 30 seconds
at full bandwidth and over three minutes of sampling at the lowest bandwidth
setting.
6
The most important thing about the S950 is that, despite the incredible
versatility of the instrument, it is very easy to use and won't interfere
with your music making. Naturally, you would rather play with your new
instrument than read a manual but please, read the manual sometime. Even if
you've been an S900 user for some time, there is still information in here
wh
ich will be new to you and there may even be a few surprises.
7
S9500
-
BASIC SAMPLING ARCHITECTURE
Before we explore the workings of the S950, let us first see how it functions
as there are n few things you need to know about which will make your
understanding of the instrument a lot clearer.
There are basically two things you can have in the S950 - SAMPLES and
PROGRAMS. A sample is a digital recording of a sound. The sound can be
anything from a car crash to a flute. Once you have a sample or a collection
of samples in the S950, you want to be able to play it from the keyboard (or
any other MIDI controller such as a MIDI drum, guitar or wind controller or a
MIDI sequencer). To do this, the sample<s> must be placed in KEYGROUPS and
these allow you to map the sample out across the keyboard within a PROGRAM.
FIG. 1 Basic sampling architecture of the S950 - samples into keygroups
mapped out across the keyboard range within a program
The simplest program you can create is to have one sample that spans the
entire keyboard range. Alternatively, you could assign that one sample to dust
one key or you could have any number of keygroups assigned to individual keys
with separate samples in each of them. You could also have a program which
uses two samples, one spanning the bottom two octaves, the other spanning the
top three octaves. It is also possible to have two samples in one keygroup
each of which are sounded using keyboard dynamics where soft keystrikes plays
the one sample and hard keysstrikes play the other - this !s known as VELOCITY
SWITCHING.
Having done that, each keygroup can have its own envelope shaping, filtering,
fine tuning, vibrato and pitch sweep effects, individual output assignment and
each keygroup can have its own MIDI channel and even the simplest sample can
be radically transformed within a program. Furthermore, because any changes
made to an individual samples keygroup within a program do not affect the
actual sample data itself but are only sound processing functions, you can
have many, many variations of one sample to create an even greater range of
sounds which can be recalled at the touch of a button.
But, how does all this work? Let's find out.
8
USING THE S950 - THE BASICS
There ere 8 basic modes on the S950 which are selected using the 8 buttons
that run underneath the display. These are PLAY, REC, EDIT SAMPLE, EDIT
PROGRAM, MIDI, UTILITY, DISK and MASTER TUNE. These are all fairly self
explanatory and their basic functions are as follows:
PLAY - This selects the program you wish to play. Different programs can be
viewed using the large grey CONTROL wheel and selected by typing in the
appropriate number on the blue keypad. Alternatively, programs can be
recalled via MIDI from the connected MIDI keyboard.
REC - This is where you do your sampling. There are a number of 'pages' in
this mode which you can scroll through using either the CONTROL wheel, the
keypad or the PAGE UP/DOWN buttons to the right of the blue keypad. In this
mode you can name a sample, set sampling time and bandwidth and set the key
onto which the sample is to be recorded.
EDIT SAMPLE - This also has a number of pages which are similarly selected
using the CONTROL wheel, the keypad or the page up/down buttons. This is the
mode where you can tune a sample, edit the start and end of a sample, reverse
the sample, loop a sample, splice two samples together and stretch or
compress samples. In this mode, also, you can copy, delete and rename
samples.
EDIT PROGRAM - This !s the mode-in which you can map out your samples across
the keyboard as well as add envelope shaping, filtering and fine tuning. You
can also add a special pitch sweep feature called WARP and, in this mode, you
can set things like LFO,. MIDI channels, individual output assignments, etc..
You can also copy, rename and delete programs. This mode, too, has a number
of pages which are selected as above.
MIDI - As you would imagine, this allows you to set the 'global' MIDI
parameters of the S950 such as its basic receive channel, pitch bend and
other MIDI related parameters.
UTILITY - This allows you to program an Akai ME35T audio/drum pad-MIDI
converter for triggering samples.
DISK - This allows you to select different disk drive operations such as
loading and saving.
MASTER TUNE - This allows you to fine tune the S950 to other instruments.
The other controls on the front panel of the S950 include the large grey
CONTROL knob. This is used for a variety of purposes depending what mode you
are in. It can be used to scroll through displayed programs or it can select
pages in the different modes. It can also be used for data entry and for
naming samples and programs.
There is also a large 0-9 keypad which can be used to input data whilst the 8
buttons to the right of .the keypad enable you to move the cursor around the
screen using the ARROW/CURSOR < and > buttons, to select pages using the PAGE
UP/DOWN buttons. There are two ON/OFF buttons which also double as +/- keys
for certain applications and there are two keys to allow you to name samples
and programs. Finally there the ENT button which 'is used to enter data and
the PB or 'playback' button which can be used to play back a sample without
the need to use a MIDI keyboard or controller.
GETTING ROUND THE S950
Behind the deceptively simple control panel of the S950 lies a wealth of
features. As we have seen, the main functions of the S950 are accessed simply
by pressing the required button. After that, each mode (with the exception of
PLAY and MASTER TUNE) have n number of 'pages' or sub-modes which give you
access to further functions.
Accessing any of these pages is simple: select any of the page driven modes
you wish to work in (i.e. REC, EDIT SAMPLE. EDIT PROGRAM, MIDI, etc.) by
pressing the appropriate button underneath the main LCD display. To go to
another page, you can either press the PAGE DOWN button located to the right
of the blue keypad or you can scroll through the pages using the CONTROL
knob. In EDIT SAMPLE, EDIT PROGRAM. MIDI, UTILITY and DISK, because the pages
are actually numbered, when the cursor is in the top left hand corner of the
LCD display (i.e. flashing on the page number), you can type in a two digit
number on the blue numeric keypad which will take you straight to the page
you wish to work on. To further help you with this type of page access, there
is a chart underneath the mode buttons which list the most commonly used
pages in EDIT SAMPLE, EDIT PROGRAM and DISK. As you become more familiar with
the S950, you will be skipping back and forth between pages almost
instinctively.
To further help you with programming and editing, there is a button marked
'Space' to the right of the keypad. This has two functions. In the 'letter'
mode, it is used to enter a space into a name (see ENTERING NAMES) but, when
you are in any of the main modes of operation it allows you to switch between
two positions very quickly. This is done by going to a page-in any of the
modes and making some form of data entry.' Now move to another page and make
another data entry. By pressing the space button, you will be taken back to
where you made your first data entry and pressing the space button again will
take you to the place where you made your second data entry.
Data entry in all modes can be made in any number of ways. Some functions
require a numeric input - this can be done using the CONTROL knob or the blue
0-9 keypad. Some functions allow only keypad entry of data whilst others
require that you use the ON(+)/OFF(-) buttons. To get to any of the data
entry fields in any of the pages, you use the CURSOR > button located to the
top right next to the keypad to move -left to right across the LCD display.
You can also use the CURSOR < button to move back a field (i.e. right to
left). When you are in the field in which you want to make your change, you
enter data using any of the methods described above.
Don't worry if this all seems complicated as this manual will take you
through these functions step by step and soon you will discover how easy it
is to create your own samples and programs on the S950.
10
Of course, there's more to it than that and so we will take you through each
mode, control and function in greater detail so that by the time you have
read through all this, you will have a greater insight to the fantastic
creative possibilities offered to you by the S950.
11
USING THIS
-
MANUAL
This manual has been written to provide you with all the information you need
to fully exploit the facilities on your S950. The sections are not dealt with
in any operational order but deal with the eight basic modes of operation as
the buttons appear from left to right. Of course, this may not necessarily be
the order in which you wish to use the S950 so simply refer to the mode you
wish to learn about.
At the end of the manual are 'KWIKREF' charts. One is summarized step by step
guide to using the most commonly used pages in the various modes for quick
and--easy reference, the other is a guide to optimum bandwidth settings for
sampling. There is also an ADVANCED APPLICATIONS GUIDE for more advanced uses
of S950 functions. For newcomers to the exciting world of sampling and MIDI,
there are also brief explanations of these principles.
Let us now look at the various modes of the S950 and their respective
functions.
12
ENTERING NAMES
You will need to name samples and programs when you begin to create your own
sounds. The S950 allows you to name sounds of up to 10 upper case characters
using ell letters in the alphabet. Numbers 0-9 can be used in a name as well
and you can also include certain symbols such as #, + and -. It is also
possible to insert spaces in a name.
You will need to name a sound in the REC mode (i.e. when you create a new
sample), in EDIT-SAMPLE and in EDIT PROGRAM. In the REC mode, you must give
a new sample a new name otherwise the original sample will be overwritten.
In EDIT PROGRAM, you will need to copy an existing program to use as the
basis of a new program so you will need to enter a new name in this mode as
well. It is only in EDIT SAMPLE that the need to write new names is not so
necessary as the sample name is usually defined in the REC mode. Having said
that, it is often desirable to rename a sample.
So, how do you enter names on the S950.
You will notice that there is a button to the right of the keypad called
'Letter'. Pressing this button turns the S950 into a simple typewriter and
you then use the CONTROL knob to scroll through the alphabet. The CONTROL
knob also gives you access to the numbers 1 to 9 although numbers are more
easily entered using the blue numeric keypad. You can also enter a space in
the name using the CONTROL wheel but there is also a button marked 'Space'
which does this more easily. You can also use the two buttons marked ON(+)
and OFF(-> to enter + and ° signs whilst the CONTROL knob allows you to enter
a # symbol as well.
To enter a name in any of the above modes, you hit the 'Letter' button and
choose the first character of your name as described above. You then hit the
CURSOR > button to advance the cursor to the next character where you select
your new character. Press the CURSOR right button again to move to the next
character and choose a new character and repeat this whole process until you
have entered the name you have chosen. When you have done this, hit the ENT
button to enter the name into the S950's memory.
If, at any time, you make a mistake, you can backstep through the name using
the CURSOR < button and change the character.
13
PLAY MODE
This is probably the easiest mode to get to know and as good a point to start
as any. Basically, it is the mode where you can see what programs-are in the
S950 and it is where you can select any one of them.
To view all the programs, simply turn the large grey CONTROL wheel - this is
called 'scrolling' and will effectively move the programs in memory across
the display. You can now select the required program by typing in a number on
the blue keypad or via MIDI. When you select a program, the program is
shifted to the far left of the display and the cursor flashes at the selected
program somber.
If there are more than 9 programs in memory, the display will prompt you to
type in a two digit number, even if the program you wish to select is
numbered less than 10. For example, if you want to select program 4, type in
04 and if you want to hear program 13, type in 13 - it's as simple as that If
your S950 has less than 10 programs you only need to type in the one digit.
If you wish to select programs from your keyboard using MIDI, simply press
the required program number on the MIDI keyboard. For example, if you want to
hear program 12, press memory location button 12 on the keyboard's front
panel. All being well, program 12 will be automatically selected on the S950
on the screen.. Naturally, if you select program 64 on your keyboard but
there aren't 64 programs in the S950, nothing will happen. and the S950 will
stay on the last selected program.
Note: It is possible to glue a program any MIDI program number you wish In
EDIT PROGRAM. In other words, even though a program may be number 3 on the
S950's display, It !s possible to assign a MIDI program number of 46 to that
program so that recalling program number 46 on. the MIDI controller will call
up program 3 on the S950. For further information refer to EDIT PROGRAM.
14
TROUBLESHOOTING
There can be occasions where something you do on the S950 does not select
the required program. This can be for a number of reasons.
For example, it could be that you have ten or more programs in memory and
you only typed in a one digit number in which case the S950 will stay on the
last selected program.
It could be that you select a program correctly but there is no sound. This
can be for a number of reasons. Firstly, the S950 may be switched to MIDI
OMNI OFF and the program itself may be on a different MIDI channel to the
one you have selected on the keyboard. To get round this problem, you can
either press MIDI on the S950 and switch OMNI to ON so that the S950
responds to all channels (for more information refer to MIDI FUNCTIONS) or
you could change the transmitting channel on your keyboard. Alternatively,
you could edit the programs MIDI channel in EDIT PROGRAM (for more
information see EDIT PROGRAM).
It may be that selecting a different program number on your keyboard has no
effect on the S950. This can be for two reasons. Firstly, your synths
ability to transmit program change information has been switched off.
Alternatively, the S950 has been set not to respond to program changes in
the MIDI mode. In' either case, switch the program change facility on the
controlling keyboard or the S950 to ON (please refer to the section MIDI
FUNCTIONS to find out how to do this on the S950).
Another reason for this is that the program has been assigned a different
MIDI program number in EDIT PROGRAM (see above). To change this, please
refer to EDIT PROGRAM.
Finally, if everything has been set up correctly but you are still not
getting a sound, please check the following:
Is the audio lead from the S950 to the amplifier or mixer alright?
Is the amplifier volume turned up - is the amplifier actually turned on!! It
can happen, even to professionals!! Alternatively, if you are using a mixer,
is the mixer channel fader up or is the correct mixer channel fader up? Are
the master faders up?
Is the MIDI keyboard switched on and is the MIDI lead connected properly? Is
the MIDI lead broken? If the MIDI keyboard and the MIDI connections are
working properly, the little red MIDI monitor LED to the right of the main
display on the S950 will light whenever !t receives any MIDI.
Does your keyboard transmit MIDI volume controller number 07? If it does, it
could be that it has been inadvertently turned down which has remotely
turned the S950's volume down. If this is the case, you will have to turn
the keyboards MIDI volume control up (note: this is not to be confused with
the keyboards master volume control - MIDI volume will more then likely be
present on the controlling keyboards date entry slider). Once you have done
this, go to the MIDI function on the S950 and turn the function marked
VOLUME to OFF to prevent it happening again (please refer to MIDI
FUNCTIONS).
And if all this is beginning to sound difficult, don't worry as we shall
take you through all these other functions very soon. Besides, if you are
only using the disks supplied with the S950 and loading them as described in
GETTING STARTED, you shouldn't be experiencing any of these problems.
15
SAMPLING ON THE S950
-
USING THE RECORD FUNCTION
This is the mode where you actually sample your own sounds into the S950.
Many people are frightened by the process of sampling but it is not very
difficult as you shall see.
To sample on the S950, plug either a microphone into the MIC input or, if you
are using a line level signal such as a synthesizer, another sampler, a tape
or cassette deck or electric guitar, use the LINE Input. Now press the button
marked 'REC'.
The first page you have when you press REC displays:
NAME OF SAMPLE TO BE RECORDED
If there are no samples in the S950 the display will rend:
NAME OF SAMPLE TO BE RECORDED
TONE
If other samples are present, the display could read any one of those sample
names:
When you are sampling, you must always give the new sample a new name that is
different from any other samples name currently in memory. Failure to do this
will result in existing samples being overwritten.
To name a sample, press the button marked 'LETTER' which is to the right of
the blue keypad. You can now enter a name for your new sample scrolling
through the alphabet and numbers 1-9 using the grey CONTROL knob. Spaces can
be inserted using the SPACE button to the right of the keypad and you can
also use '+' and '-' characters in a name by pressing the ON(+) and OFF(->
buttons. When you have done that, hit the button marked 'ENT' next to the
blue keypad to enter the new samples name.
Note: It is good practice to include useful Information in a samples name such
as the pitch of the sample or, if it's one sample of several similar samples,
to give a numeric value. An example would be: VOICE 1 C3 or PIAN04 F2. In this
way, when you are editing a sample, you know exactly what it is.
Now move to the next page by pressing the page down button found to the right
of the blue keypad. The display will read:
NAME OF SAMPLE TO BE MONITORED
Monitor
This page allows you to hear the sound you are sampling through the MONO MIX
output on the back of the 5950. It is also possible to monitor the new sample
in context with an existing program. This will be covered in more detail in
the ADVANCED APPLICATIONS section.
Now go to the next page pressing the page down button. This will display:
AUDIO SOURCE: Analog input
(1),
Digital fibre optic (2), Phono (3) #
where '#' Indicates the current input source selection.
16
The default setting for this page is 1 - Analogue input (l. e. the MIC or LINE
input socket on the front panel of the S950). If you are using the IBI05 HARD
DISK/CD DAT INTERFACE board, you can select 2 or 3 which will allow you to sample
directly from the CD or RDAT's digital or fibre optic output (please refer to the
IB105 documentation for information on this).
Using the 'page down' button, go to the next page which will read:
DIGITAL AUDIO
CD 44kHz (1), DAT 32kHz (2), 48kHz (3) #
where '#' is the current selection.
These parameters relate entirely to the IB105 option so please refer to the
interface's documentation for more information on using this page.
Now move to the next page using the page down button. The display will read:
AUDIO BANDWIDTH (3000Hz to 19,OOOHz) ##,###
where '##,###' is the selected bandwidth.
Here you can set the bandwidth for the sound you are about to sample. You can
enter a number directly from the keypad by typing a 5 digit number or you can use
the CONTROL knob although this is a lot slower. Higher bandwidth settings will
give the sound better high frequency response aid the sound will be brighter but
this also takes up more memory than lower bandwidth settings. To conserve memory,
use the minimum bandwidth necessary for an acceptable sound quality. You may like
to refer to the OPTIMUM BANDWIDTH 'KWIKREF' chart at the back of the manual for a
guide to particular instruments optimum bandwidth.
Having set the bandwidth to your requirements, press ENT to enter the data. Now
move to the next page where the display will read:
RECORDING TIME (250mS to ##,###mS) ^^,^^^mS
where ##,### is the maximum sampling time allowed by the remaining memory and
where ^^,^^^ is the currently selected amount.
Note: the maximum sampling time available (##,###) depends on the bandwidth
selected in the previous page end on how much memory has already been used for
other samples.
To set the sampling time, enter a 5 digit number using the keypad and press ENT.
You can also use the CONTROL knob but, again, this is a lot slower. Use the
minimum time possible to capture the whole of the sound you wish to sample.
Note: if you have the memory expansion board fitted, it is possible to enter e 6
digit number as the maximum sampling available is much larger.
Once you have entered your sampling time, you can move to the next page. This
will read:
PITCH OF SOUND BEING RECORDED: ##
where ## is the currently selected value (the default value is C3).
17
You can now change this parameter if you wish by simply pressing the
appropriate note on the connected MIDI keyboard or controller. You can also use
the CONTROL knob but keypad entry is not possible.
When you have done this, go to the next page which will read:
START SAMPLING WITH - Any key (1)
Footswitch (2), Audio level (3)
where # indicates the current selection (default is 3).
Here you can use the keypad to enter a number as follows:
1 = sampling begins when you hit any key on the keypad.
2 = sampling begins when you press a footswitch connected to the S950's
REC/PB footswitch input on the front panel.
3 = sampling begins when the incoming signal exceeds a threshold level set
on the next page.
The most commonly used mode is 3 - Audio level and, as the default is set for
this, you do not normally need to change anything so you can go to the next
page which will read:
KNOB SETS TRIG LEVEL. ANY KEY WHEN READY
T .......
In this page, the lower half of the display now serves as a bar-graph input
level meter to indicate the incoming signal level. The 'T' Is the THRESHOLD
level and is set using the CONTROL knob. The idea is to set the threshold
relatively low so that, as soon the incoming signal exceeds the level set by
the 'T', sampling begins but be careful not to set it too low so that sampling
is falsely initiated by background noise or whatever. Similarly, do not set it
too high as you may miss part of the sounds attack, especially if the sound has
a slow attack.
You must now set the record level. To do this, play the sound you wish to
sample and adjust the REC LEVEL control on the front panel. You ideally want to
set it so that the bar-graph display is just touching the series of dots in the
bottom right of the display. These dots indicate overload and driving the
signal too far into this region of the display will cause distortion.
To hear the incoming signal, adjust the MONITOR LEVEL control on the front
panel. (NOTE: YOU WILL ONLY HEAR THE INCOMING SIGNAL THROUGH THE S950 IF THE
MONO MIX OUTPUT IS USED.)
Once you are satisfied with the incoming signal level, hit any key on the blue
keypad and play the sample. As soon as signal level exceeds the threshold,
sampling will begin. When you do this the display will change. The top half of
the display will be filled with arrows as sampling time elapses. Note that the
'T' also changes to a '#'. Once the sampling is completed, you will be returned
to the above display.
You can now play the sample by playing a note on the connected MIDI keyboard or
controller. If you don't have a keyboard or controller connected, you can go to
the next page which will display:
HIT ENT TO PLAY
and pressing ENT will cause the sample to sound for its entire duration.
You have just successfully sampled a sound.
18
You will have noticed from all this that most of the pages are set up with
the most sensible option as the default setting. You always have to give a
new sample a new name but, apart from that, the only main things you will
probably need to change are bandwidth, sampling time and the pitch at which
the sample is to be recorded. In this way, you can sample your own sounds
quickly and easily, often ignoring many of the pages.
TROUBLESHOOTING
There isn't much that can go wrong when in the REC mode but anything is
possible!
For example, it could be that you do not get any level from the sound you
wish to sample when you adjust the S950's record level control. This could be
for a number of reasons.
1. Check that the input source on the S950 is correctly set. If you are using
the MIC or LINE inputs, make sure that you are not switched to '2' (Fibre
optic) or '3' (Phono) but that the display reads '1' (Analog).
2. Is the lead connected to the mic or line input alright? Change it if in
doubt.
3. Is the microphone switched on or is the volume from your line level sound
source turned up?
4. Is the REC LEVEL control up?
It might also be possible that you cannot monitor the incoming signal through
the S950. This could also be for a number of reasons.
1. You can only monitor the incoming signal through the MONO MIX output. You
will not be able to monitor anything if you are using either the LEFT, RIGHT
or INDIVIDUAL outputs.
2. Is the MONITOR LEVEL control up? Is the amplifier on or turned up or are
the mixers channel or master faders up?
Once you've sampled a sound, you may find that it is not playing back
properly or even at all. If this is so:
1. Check that the MIDI keyboard or controller is connected properly and that
the MIDI lead is o. k. Also check that it is on the same MIDI channel as the
S950 (see TROUBLE SHOOTING In PLAY).
2. Check that the output audio from the S950 lead is alright and that the
amplifier and/or mixer is working properly.
3. If the sound is muffled, check that the bandwidth was set sufficiently
high before you sampled the sound. If it wasn't high enough, change the
bandwidth and resample the sound.
4. If the sound is at all clipped or too short, check that the sampling time
was set sufficiently long enough.
19
5. If the sound is distorted, check that it wasn't overloading the S950. This
can be done by returning to the functions that dealt with level setting and
play the original sound again to check levels.
6. If 5 checks out o. k., !s the S950 overloading the mixer and/or amplifier
or is the amp overloading the speakers? Of course, to check for distortion,
remove any effects such as EQ, echo or reverb that may be present on the
mixer and/or amplifier.
All being well, you should not experience any of these problems and so you
can now edit the sample you have dust taken.
20
EDIT SAMPLE
The next button along is marked EDIT SAMPLE and. not surprisingly, this is
the mode in which you edit your samples and where you can change the start
and end points of a sample, reverse the sample, loop the sample, splice two
samples together and compress or stretch a sample. You can also copy, rename
and delete a sample as well as tune a sample and change its basic pitch. This
is all' accomplished using a page driven system as in the REC mode.
The first page you encounter when you press EDIT SAMPLE reads:
>01 #Select. Copy ##########
SAMPLE #Rename, Delete (-) #############
where ########## is the currently selected
sample name.
This page allows four options and you can select a sample for editing, copy a
sample, rename a sample and delete a sample.
To select a sample, press the 'cursor >' button (found to the right of the
blue keypad) once so that the cursor is flashing on the top line on the first
letter of the sample name. Using the grey CONTROL knob, you can scroll
through the samples present in the S950's memory. Once you have found the
sample you wish to edit, press ENT.
To copy a sample the cursor must be at the same' place as above and all you
need to do is press the LETTER button and name a sound as described in REC
and ENTERING A NAME. Once this has been done, press ENT.
To rename a sample, select the sample to be renamed as described above and
press ENT then, by pressing the 'cursor >' button once, move the cursor so
that it is flashing on the first character of the sample displayed on the
bottom line of the LCD display (this should be the same as the sample name in
the top line). Now press LETTER and give the sample its new name as described
above. When you have done that, press ENT and the top line will change to
display the new samples name.
To delete a sample, making sure the cursor is on the too line; first select
the sample to be deleted and press ENT. Now move the cursor to the bottom
line using the 'cursor >' button and press the '-' button followed by ENT.
This will delete the currently selected sample from memory. (Note that this
procedure is destructive and unless you have saved the sample to disk, this
sample will be lost forever. We suggest that, unless you are absolutely
positive about deleting the sample, you save it to disk before deleting it
from the S950's memory just in case.)
You can now move to the next page using the 'page down' buttons. The next
page will display:
>02 Select program Monitor
This is the same as the page we found in the REC mode and it allows you to
monitor either the sample directly or in context with a program. The most
common mode is 'monitor' but, if you want to edit the currently selected
sample in conjunction with the program in which it is placed, press the
'cursor >' button to move the cursor one position and scroll through the
programs using the CONTROL wheel (refer to the ADVANCED APPLICATIONS GUIDE
for more information on this).
21
Move to the next page using the 'page down' button. It will display:
>03 #Loudness #Nom pitch #Fine pitch
+00 C3 60 +00
This page allows you to adjust a samples level, its basic pitch and its fine
tuning.
LOUDNESS: This is where you can adjust the level of the sample so that it
matches the level of other samples taken. To change the value, move the
cursor one position using the 'cursor >’ button so that the cursor is
flashing on the + character and use either the CONTROL to enter a new value
or type in a + or - value using the ON(+) or OFF(-) key in conjunction with
the keypad.
Note: This value is a velocity based parameter. If you set the value to +50,
there will be no change in level with varying velocity dynamics. Similarly,
with the setting at -50, velocity dynamics will be extreme... Note also that
these values do not represent dBs but are purely an arbitrary volume unit.
NOM PITCH: This value was set in REC and represents the note on which the
sample was placed in REC. To change it, move the cursor one position to the
right using the 'cursor >' button so that it is flashing on the first
character and use the CONTROL knob to raise or lower the pitch in semitones.
You can also use the keypad for data entry here.
Note: If you are using the PB button to playback the sample, a higher note
number will actually produce a lower pitched sound and vice versa. This is
because as the sample gets higher in pitch, the PB button sends out the same
note lC3) and so the sample will actually get lower in pitch.
FINE PITCH: This is used to fine tune samples and can be effective if you are
taking a lot of samples from instrument such as piano so that you can ensure
that all samples are in tune with each other. To fine tune your sample, move
the cursor so that it is flashing in this field using the 'cursor >' button
and change the data using the CONTROL knob or a + or -value using the ON(+)
or OFF(-) buttons and a numeric entry on the blue keypad.
The next page will display:
>04 #REPLAY MODE One shot (1)
Looping (2), Alternating (3) #
where # is the current selection (default for new sample is 1).
A sample may be played back in three ways. ONE SHOT plays the sample from
start to finish and will then stop. LOOPING will play the sample from start
to finish and wi11 then repeat a part of the sample as set on Page 8 for as
long as a note is held down on the keyboard. ALTERNATING is similar to
LOOPING except that the looped portion of the sound will play back from
beginning to end and then from end to beginning - this can be useful with
rich, ensemble sounds where there will sometimes be glitching. This
backwards/ forwards looping can help to smooth them out. In both loop modes,
the loop length can be as long as the entire sample or as short as one single
cycle of the waveform. For more information on looping, see the section ABOUT
LOOPING later on. in this section.
22
To select the mode, move the cursor one position right using the 'cursor >'
button and make your selection using the CONTROL knob or the keypad.
Now go to the next page using the 'page down' button. This will display:
>05 #TIME DIRECTION
Normal (1), Reverse (2) #
where # is the current setting (default is 1).
This page allows you to set whether the sound is played normally or
backwards. Try setting it to '2' to hear the sound reversed. To do this,
press the 'cursor >' button once and then press 2 on the keypad.
Now go to the next page by pressing the 'page down' button. It will read:
>06 START POINT #Coarse #Fine #AUTO
( 0 - ##,###) 0,000 01
where ##,### is the maximum position to which the start point can be
adjusted.
This page allows you to edit where the sample begins its playback.
Sometimes, it is desirable to remove part of the front of a sample. This can
be due to unwanted noises or too slow an attack or possibly a delay between
the time .when the sampling was initiated and the time the sound was sampled.
To change the start point, move the cursor one position to the right using
the 'cursor >' button. It should be flashing on the first character displayed
under 'Coarse'. By moving the CONTROL knob, adjust this value and, by playing
a repeated notes on the keyboard as you make your adjustment, listen to the
results - you will hear the attack being removed with higher settings. The
next field, 'Fine' which can be selected by moving the cursor one position to
the right using the 'cursor >' button is for fine adjustment of the start
time. In both coarse and fine fields, the data can be input using the CONTROL
knob or the keypad.
The AUTO field enables the S950 to automatically search for the start point
of a sample and the numeric value represents the signal level threshold of
the start point. To use the AUTO function, simply move the cursor to the AUTO
field, enter the start point level you wish the S950 to search for (01 is the
default and will find the lowest start point signal level whilst setting 99
will search for the highest start point signal level) and press the ENT
button.
23
Assuming you have edited the start point to your satisfaction (remember,
however, that it is not obligatory to change the start point - if the sample
sounds good, leave it alone), you can now move to the next page which will
reads
>07 END POINT #Coarse #Fine
(000,100-###,###) 0,000
where ###,### is the maximum position to which the end point can be adjusted.
This is very much the same as page 6 except that here you can edit the end of
a sample. This can be useful in getting rid of any noise that may be present
at the end of a sample as well as being useful for saving memory. The 'Coarse'
field allows you to cutoff the end of the sample in large increments whilst
the 'Fine' field allows finer settings of this value.
To edit the end point, move the cursor to the 'Coarse' field and, playing
repented notes on the keyboard, try editing the end point and listen to the
results. You will hear the sample getting shorter and shorter as you decrease
the numeric value. Again, data entry can be via the CONTROL knob or the keypad.
For finer resolution of end point editing move the cursor to the 'Fine' field
and make your adjustments in the usual way using the CONTROL knob or the
keypad.
Before we move to the next pages, we must first discuss some of the
intricacies of looping.
ABOUT LOOPING
Because any sample you take on the S950 only lasts a finite amount of time,
there will be occasions where you want to sustain that sound longer than the
actual sample - this is especially true if the sample is only a second or so I
ong as will often be the case. This is further compounded by the fact that a
one second sample played en octave up will only lest half a second and, an
octave up from that, It will only lest a quarter of a second. To get round this
problem, a sampler uses a process known as looping. This is a technique where
part of the sample is played over end over again for as long as you keep your
finger on the keyboard. For example, say you have a one second sample of a
flute. Using looping, you can instruct the S950 to play the sample through to
the end and then, while you keep your finger on the keyboard, It can repeatedly
play the last half second of the sample. In this way, you would get the breathy
attack of the flute followed by a smooth sustained tone. Well, that's the
theory - In practice, it can be more difficult.
You see, many sounds, especially acoustic sounds, can have quite varying
amplitude levels and these can be difficult to loop because the loop will be
,dumping abrubtly from one level to another giving rise to unpleasant clicks or
'glitches' as they are called in sampling terminology (see Fig. 1). The length
of this loop is set using, not surprisingly, a parameter called LOOP LENGTH.
24
The art of looping is to find two points in the sample which ere of a similar
level so that the end of the loop and the start of the loop are matched (see
Fig. 2) - this 1s called a ZERO CROSSING POINT. Sometimes, this can be easy
to achieve, sometimes it is impossible. To help you with this sometimes
tedious task, the S950 has an AUTOLOOP function where the S950's computer
will automatically look for a good zero crossing point and loop the sound for
you. Sadly, there is only so much a computer can do in the case of a
difficult sound end so the S950 has two looping modes which we looked at
above on Page 4 of EDIT SAMPLE. Mode 2 - LOOPING - will loop the sound as
described immediately above - i.e. the sound will play from start to finish
and then ,lump beck to the point in the sound defined by the LOOP LENGTH
parameters. Made 3 - ALTERNATING - rill cause the sound to play beck to the
end and then, instead of ,lumping beck to the start of the loop, It will play
the loop backwards and then it will play it the right way round then
backwards then forwards then backwards, etc., for as long as you keep your
finger on the keyboard. This is also known as a BACXWARDS/FORWARDS loop and
can certainly help in looping sounds that would otherwise be difficult to
loop using ,lust the normal looping mode. Figs. I and 2 show the difference
between the two modes and you can see how the alternating loop has smoothed
out the loop portion of the sound. In conjunction with the AUTOLOOP function
described above, good loops ere often easy to ttain. But even this is
sometimes not enough to loop certain sounds, especially harmonically rich and
varying sounds so the S950 has one further old in the search for the perfect
loop celled CROSSFADE LOOPING.
FIG. 1 - Normal looping. Note the abrupt level changes giving rise to
'glitches'
FIG. 2 - Alternating or back wards/ forwards looping of the same sound. Note how the
level changes are smoothed out gluing a glitchless loop.
25
CROSSFADE LOOPING allows you to fade out the glitches that may be present In
a loop. Basically, when you employ crossfade looping, the sound plays to the
end of the sample and then, instead of the sample jumping back to the start
of the loop, the sound begins to fade away as the start of the loop fades in.
At the end of the loop, the loop again fades away whilst the start fades in
(see Fig. 4) - In this way, the nasty clicks end thumps caused by abrupt
amplitude changes at the loop points are faded out enabling a much smoother
loop to be created. This mode is certainly the best for attaining a perfect
loop end even difficult sounds such as thick strings, brass end vocals,
amongst others, can easily be looped and you won't spot the join!
FIG. 3 - Crossfade looping where the start of the loop crossfades with the end
of the loop eliminating glitching.
Utilizing all the various looping modes such as AUTOLOOP, ALTERNATING LOOP and
CROSSFADE LOOPING, the otherwise arduous task of looping a sound is made a lot
easier for you. having said that, some sounds will still be difficult to loop
but this Is not a falling of the S950 or yourself but the sound. On occasions,
even the wealth of technological assistance That the S950's looping functions
offer can encounter sounds that remain stubborn but, as we shall see 1n the
ADVANCED APPLICATIONS GUIDE, there are ways to mask the effect of an awkward
loop.
Bearing ell this In mind, then, we can now move to the next group of pages
which deal with the looping functions on the S950.
Page 08 will display:
>08 LOOP LENGTH #Coarse #Fine #AUTO
<# - #,###) ^,^^^ (ENT)
where '#' is the maximum loop length possible and '^' are the current loop
length setting (default on a new sample is 2,000).
Note: To loop a sound, we must first go back to Page 04 of EDIT SAMPLE using
the 'page up' button and select either 2 (LOOPING) or 3 (ALTERNATING). You can
now return to Page 08 using the 'page down' button.
26
The various functions in Page 08 are as follows:
'Coarse' allows you to set a rough loop length and 'Fine' allows you to set a
finer resolution of loop length. The autoloop function is selected using the
ENT button when the cursor is in the AUTO field.
To set a loop, first move the cursor to the Coarse field by pressing the
'cursor >' button once - the cursor will flash on the first number underneath
Coarse. You can now set a loop length as long as the figures displayed
underneath LOOP LENGTH using either the keypad or the CONTROL knob. To set a
finer resolution of loop length, move the cursor one position to the right
using the 'cursor >' button and, again using the keypad or CONTROL knob, you
can change the data displayed. You might now like to try and play the keyboard
to see how it sounds. You should find that the sound will play through to the
end and will sustain for as long as you keep your finger on the keyboard but
the sustain portion is possibly clicking or thumping or generally glitching.
You can now move the cursor to the AUTO field using the 'cursor >' button and
by pressing the ENT button, the S950 will search for a better loop. You will
note that the loop length you set gets smaller. Try playing the keyboard again
and see if the loop has improved. If it hasn't, hit ENT again and the loop
length will get smaller as the 950 looks for a better loop. Keep repeating this
process until you end up with a satisfactory loop.
Note: It is a good idea to make either a mental or written note of loop lengths
that the autoloop may select as the next choice it makes might not be as good
as the last and you will be able to return to that loop length 1ater.
It could be, as mentioned. above in 'ABOUT LOOPING', that the autoloop function
may not be able to find a smooth loop due to the nature of the sound so it
might be wise to try using the ALTERNATING mode instead. If all else fails, you
can try using CROSSFADE LOOPING described below.
Let us now move to the next page using the 'page down' button. The display will
read:
>09 CROSSFADE LOOP. #Name NEW SAMPLE
X-fade length 32000 #Execute Mem 0%
In this page you can execute a crossfade loop.
To do this you must first make a copy of the sample to be crossfade looped so,
using the LETTER button, create a new sample name and press ENT. You can now
move the cursor to the X-fade length field using the 'cursor >' button. Data
can be input using the keypad or the CONTROL knob. Once you have set the
crossfade loop length, move the cursor one position right using the 'cursor >'
button and hit ENT. There will be a pause while the 5950 calculates the
crossfade loop. To hear the fruits of your labours, hit EDIT SAMPLE to take you
Page 01 and select the new sample with the crossfade loop. By playing a note on
the keyboard or by pressing the PB button, you should find that your loop has
been smoothed out considerably. If it hasn't, delete this sample, go back to
the original and then repeat the crossfade loop procedure selecting a different
loop length.
27
Note: Because the crossfade loop function requires that you create a new
sample, if the S950 already has a memory full of samples, this may not always
be possible and the display will tell you that memory space is full. If this
occurs, delete some samples (ensuring that they hove first been saved to
disk, If necessary! so that you make room for the new crossfade loop sample.
The field marked MEM on Page 09 will tell you how much memory the S950 has
available for the creation of a new sample.
The next page displays:
>10 #Resample at half bandwidth (ENT)
#Discard before start, after end (ENT)
This page allows you to make economical use of the S950 memory. The top line
allows you to resample the sound at half the original bandwidth and this will
free up more memory although the tonal qualities of the sound may suffer. To
use this function, simply move the cursor to the ENT field using 'cursor >'
and hit ENT - after a short pause, the sample will be available but at half
its original bandwidth.
The discard function is similarly executed. Move the cursor to its ENT field
using the 'cursor >' button and hit ENT. Anything you have edited out of the
sound in Pages 06 and 07 will be erased from memory, thereby freeing up more
memory space.
Note: Both of these are destructive functions end there is no way of
retrieving the original sample after they have been carried out so it would
be wise to save that sample to disk before using this function in case the
results are not satisfactory.
The next few pages allows you to merge two samples together to create
interesting composite sounds.
Moving to the next page using the 'page down' buttons, the display will read:
>11 SPLICE #2nd sample name SAMPLE 2
X-FADE #New sample name NEW SAMPLE
The top line of the display allows you to select which sample in the S950
memory is going to be used as the second sample in the splice whilst the
bottom line allows you to name the new sample that will contain both samples
- like the crossfade looping function, splice crossfade. requires that you
create a new sample so make sure you have enough free memory in the S950.
To select the second sample in the crossfade splice, move the cursor to the
SAMPLE 2 field using the 'cursor >' button and scroll through the samples
using the CONTROL knob. When you have chosen your second sample, move to the
NEW SAMPLE field and name the new sample in the usual way.
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