Akai S612 User Manual
Warning
Power requirements
Power requirements fo r electrical equipment differ from area to area.
Please ensure that your mac hine meets the power requirements in your
area. If in doubt, consult a qualified electrician. 120 V, 60 Hz fo r U SA
and Canada 220 V. 50 Hz for Europe except UK 240 V, 50 Hz for UK and
Australia 1 10 V/120 V/220 V/240 V, 50/60 Hz c o nvertible for other
coutries.
Voltage conversion
Models for Canada, USA, Europe, UK and Australia are not equipped with
this facility. Each machine is preset at the factory according to its
destination, but some machines can be set to 110 V, 120 V, 220 V or
240 V as required. If your machine's voltage can be converted: Before
connecting the power cord, turn the VOLTAGE SELECTOR located on the
beneath the sidewooden panel (right hand side) with a screwdriver until
the correct voltage is indicated.
Precautions
FOR CUSTOMERS
IN THE UK
IMPORTANT FOR YOUR, SAFETY
The flex supplied with your machine will have either two wires or three,
as shown in the illustrations.
TWO CORE FLEX
IMPORTANT
The wires in this mains lead are coloured in
accordance with the following code:
Blue: Neutral
Brown: Live
As the colo u rs of th e wir e s in th e ma in s lea d
of this apparatus may not correspond with
the coloured markings indentifying the
termina ls in your plug, proceed a s follows:
The wire which is coloured blue must be
connected to the terminal which is marked
with the letter N or coloured black.
This equipment conforms to EEC standa rd No. 82/499.
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 -= when
wiring a plug. Ensure that all terminals are securely tightened and
that no loose strands of wire exist.
The lightning flash with the arrowhead symbol
superimposed across a graphical representation of a
person , within an equilate ral triangle , is intende d to
alert the user to the presence of uninsulated
"dangerous voltage" within the product's enclosure;
that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a
risk of elec t ric shock.
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle
is intented to alert the user to the presence of
important operating and maintenance (servicing)
instructions in the literature accompanying the
appliance.
AKAI MIDI DIGITAL
SAMPLER S612
The Akai MIDI Digital Sam pler S612 is an amazingly sophisticated electr onic
instrument which enables you to record (sample) any kind of sound, and
reproduce it at any desired pitch or pitches. The following are only a few
examples of the many sounds that the S612 can sample.
1. Sounds of acoustic musical instruments (such as pianos,
strings or percussion instruments).
2. Sounds of nature (such as sounds made by animals, wind,
wild birds and rain).
3. Human voices, radio, television, CDs, analogue records, me
chanical noises, etc.
With the S612, you are able to perform musically with ease using a wide
variety of sound sources (only a few of which are listed above). The acoustic
instruments can be sampled and reproduced as realistically as the original
sound. Existing synthesizers, up to now among the most advanced electronic
musical instruments, are unable to sample and reproduce in this way.
The S612 offers entirely new and unique ways to express your musical
creativity.
Features
Realization of super high quality sound by 12-bit sampling technology.
6-voice polyphonic performance is possible in connection with MIDI
keyboards, synthesizers, sequencers and many others.
Realization of sampling time up to eight seconds.
A short sampled sound can be continuously played with no time
restrictions and without sounding awkward. The S612 contains an
advanced scanning mode system with "looping" and "alternating" modes.
The best splicing point for "looping" can be selected instantly by the
automatic splicing system.
A splicing point can be selected at any time by switching to the manual
splice mode.
Because the starting or ending point of the sample can be selected at
any time, it is possible to play the sound after elimination of an
undesired portion of the sample. It is also possible to reproduce the
sample in reverse.
It is possible to overdub samples and accumulate various sounds
infinitely.
The S612 is equipped with an L.F.O ., which ca n add vibr ato effects with
a delay.
The S612 is also equipped w ith continuous variable low-pass filters for
adding a milder touch to samples.
2.8 inch sample disks can be used for data files. "Save" and "load"
procedures are extremely quick. You can continuously build your own
tone sample library with the specially designed Sampler Disk Drive
MD280. (optional)
Any type of sound can be tuned to a designated pitch by transposing it
by a half step. This can also be d one by tuning ±100 cent. The sound
can then be stored on a disk.
The S612 is rack mountable (EIA/2U type) for excellent oper ation in the
studio as well as at live performances. It can be handled with ease and
offers astonishing performance.
Table of Contents
Controls
Connections
The S612 is a MIDI digital samp ler which will function only if input
information is received at MIDI-IN. Ensure that all the correct connections
have been made between the MIDI - IN and MIDI-OUT of t he S612 a nd a ny
keyboards (such as the Akai
AX80) or sequencers. Obviously, unless a sound is being input or a sample
has been loaded into the S612, it will not reproduce any sounds. The S612
will not "remember" any data after it has been switched off.
Sampler Disk Drive MD280
The Sampler Disk Drive MD280 (opt ional) is t he device which quickly and
accurately saves the sound data. The format of 2.8" disk makes the filing
space very compact.
Note: If the MD280 is to be used, it should be connect ed with the S612
before switching on the S612, Any sampled data in the S612 will
be lost if the MD280 is plugged in or unplug g e d while the S612 is
switched on.
y
Sampling
PREPARATIONS
Before Turning the Power On
Make sure the various connections with MIDI and audio equipment
have been completed before turning the power of the S612 on.
(Refer to the chapter concerning connection with external
equipment on page 6.)
When using the specially designed MD280 Sampler Disk Drive,
ensure that the correct connections between the MD280 and the
S612 have been made.
Note: Connecting the MD280 whi le the S612 is swi tched on will
result in the loss of sound data sampled in the S612.
Connections to Input
Connect the sound source that you want to sample to the MIC or
LINE INPUT jacks.
Adjustment of Recording Level
Set the recording level by the REC LEVEL control. To obtain the
best results in sampling, bring the level close to "+3" on the REC
LEVEL indicator.
Table 1
Equipment to tie connected. Input Input Sensitivity.
Equipment or devices, such as
guitars or microphones, have low
output levels.
Audio equipment, such as
televisions, cassette tape decks, CO
players, tuners or preamplifiers, or
musical instruments, such as LINE -27 dB
synthesizers or electric keyboards
have higher output lev els (lin e leve l).
Note: When both the MIC and LINE INPUT jacks are connect
ed, the MIC jack overrides LINE jack.
MIC
-63
dB
Monitor Level
Use the MONITOR level control when monitoring the sound source
to be sampled. When using a microphone, feedback may occur if
the monitor level is too high.
Designation of the Sampling Frequenc
This brief outline may help to clarify some different aspects of
sampling technique:
Are you trying to reproduce (a) high or (b) low frequency sounds?
(a)To faithfully reproduce high frequency sounds, a faster
(therefore, s horter) sampling time will be required .
The S612 can be "instructed" to accept a wider bandwidth
sample by pressing a higher note on the MIDI keyboard prior
to making the sample: see Table # 1.
(b)The reproduction of lower frequency sounds, typically much
longer in dura tion, will require a longer sampling tim e .
The S61 2 can be "instructed" to accept a long sample by
pressing a lower note on the MIDI keyboard prior to making
the sample; see Table # 1.
(c) For accurate reproduction (pitch) of a sampled sound it is
necessary to first press the same note on the MIDI keyboard
as that being sampled.
This process can be extended to allow for pitch transposition if
required.
Example: Press A2 (lowest A) on the MIDI keyboard, then
This technique can be used to transpose from 1 /2 stops thro ugh to
several octaves if required.
Note: If the MIDI keyboard or the S612 have just been
Key No. C2
MIDI Note No. 36
Sampling
frequency
Sampling Time 8 sec. 4 sec. 2 sec. 1 sec.
Note: Although only four ( 4) ke ys ar e de pi c te d, oth er ke ys ma y
play (sample) A3 (A string) on a guitar. Now when
A3 is played on the MIDI keyboard the actual
pitch of the reproduced note will be A4: The pitch
has been transposed up by one octave.
switched on and no key has been pressed before sampling, the S612 will automatically designate C4 as the
desired pitch.
4 kHz I 8 kHz ' 16 kHz 32 kHz
be selected if intermodiate frequencies are desired.
C3 C4 C5
48 60 72
Sampling
1. Once you have adjusted the recording level and designated the desired
sampling frequency, you are ready to sample. Press the NEW button.
The LED indicator will light. This indicates that the unit is standby for
sampling.
2. Using a microphone, make a sample. Say "ahh..." for example. The LED
indicator should start blinking from the moment you begin speaking into
the microphone. After blinking for the length of time of the designated
sampling frequency, the LED indicator will go out automatically. This
indicates the completion of the sampling process.
Automatic Trigger
Because the S612 contains an automatic trigger circuit, it will the sampling process may not begin because the sound level
automatically start the sampling process when the sound is not high enough to trigger the circuit. In which case, after
level reaches a certain preset level. You will notice that the increasing the recording level, reset the unit by p ressing the
unit may start off the process prematurely by picking up sur- NEW button again to get it into the standby mode, then start
rounding noise when the sampling is done through a microph- sampling.
one. On the other hand, when the recording level is too low ,
Cancelling the Sampling Standby Mode
To cancel the sampling standby mode, press the NEW button again. The LED
will go out.
3. Thus, sampling has been completed. This sampled sound
data will be maintained until either the power is turned off, the
process is repeated for another sampling or other sampled
data is loaded from the disk (tape).
If necessary, save the sound data for later use with the
specially designed Sampler Disk Drive MD280 (optional).
Refer to page 22.
4. You should now be able to enjoy six-voice polyphonic, veloci
ty touch sensitive sounds, from the S612, by playing MIDI
keyboard instruments.
Note: All six voices may not be able to be heard when music
Is played mostly on the keys around the fifth octave (the
highest octave range for the AX80). This is not a defect
in the unit.
5. After connecting the MIDI keyboards, if sampling is done with
out any keys being pressed down, the sampling frequency
will be set at 16 kHz with a sample time of 2 seconds.
Cautions when Designating the Sample
Frequency
1 . Because th e last key to be pressed down will determine the sampling
frequency, if connected with MIDI keyboards, make sure to press down
the key to designate the frequency before going through the sampling
process.
2. The range of the keys to which a sampling frequency can be designated
is between MIDI key number 36 (C2) and 72 (C5). The keys out of this
range are invalid.
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