What about the Roland S330?

[pamplemousse_mk2]

Hello,

I'm looking for an alternative of the 12-bit samplers (Akai S samplers, SP1200, Emax, EPS, ...). I read about the Roland S330. It is cheaper than the other samplers. What do you think about its sound? Can I make good lo-fi drums and loops? I'm afraid that the sounds are too 80's, like what I heard in this video:


I'm looking for a hip-hop/trip-hop sound style. Or perhaps there is no secret and I really have to buy a Akai/Emu/Ensoniq sampler.

Thanks for any comments.

[D-Collector]

The point of a sampler is to sample, if you think a sampler sounds too 80s, it is because you use 80s sound libraries. Sample your own stuff and you can sound just the way you like.

[pamplemousse_mk2]

One sampler is not like another sampler. I use Ableton Live and sample sounds, make rythmes with the Live's drums. But these drums are too clean. It is hard to make them sound lo-fi and still great. I try to resample my drum parts at 22Khz, record them with a cassette tape recorder, and record the tape back to Live, but I still have a lot of tweaks and the sound is not yet what I want.

This is why I am attempt to buy a 12-bit sampler to make my drums more lo-fi. All people in the net say that a sampler like an Akai-S or a SP1200 add distorsions and make sounds fatter. I'm not sure S-330 can add this sort of degradations. I'm sure that 12-bit resolution is not the only reason which make punchy sounds. There are also the internal processing like compressions and EQ, which quality depends on the hardware you use.

[th0mas]

Personally I'd recommend try finding effects /VSTs to accomplish the sound degradation you're looking for.. using old samplers is so cumbersome. Either you have to find an ancient SCSI drive or deal with floppy disks which are increasingly rare and hard to find. I had an S-550 back a long time ago and it's sound is good, but the only real way to use it is with the TV interface and otherwise it's pretty much impossible to work with.

Or get something more modern that can still get gritty, like a roland SP sampler.

[pamplemousse_mk2]

VST vs hardware... I'm not sure. Your Mopho or a Moog sound surely better than any VST, aren't they? But it is true that VST are more confortable to work with.

But I have to think about it.

[nathanscribe]

I believe the S-330 shares its guts with the W-30. If so, it should sound punchy and full, with a good bottom end and yet retain something of an "older" sound. Hard to describe. Then there's the Mirage, which along with the Akai S-612 and original Emulators is about as lo-fi as useful samplers get. Or as useful as lo-fi samplers get, whichever take you prefer.

Low sample rates, aliasing and curtailed frequency response are all happy features of these old things, but don't expect to sound like Portishead just because you've gone 8-bit and can fit your stuff on a 5.25" floppy. Processing is still a major part of getting the right sound, but I would agree that using an old sampler is a step in an interesting direction. They're mostly so cheap these days it'd be silly not to try one if you feel like it.

[colmon]

^otm

there's so much more to the sound of recorded music than just the instruments used -- analog mixing desks, recording to tape, and mastering techniques are as much a part of the sound as 12 bit aliasing or whatever. remember that no matter what you record into ableton, once you've mixed and bounced down it's still gonna sound like it was recorded in ableton!

however there is much to gain from vintage hardware samplers, including of course that desirable low bitrate sound, but also the effect it has on your workflow. this i imagine could be a hinderance depending on the person, but for me, learning a vintage sampler has had a really positive effect on how i approach and think about making music. it's hard and often frustrating work, but i've found the new techniques i've learnt and the many "eureka" moments i've had equally as satisfying as that hallowed low bitrate sound. i mean, just the fact that i have to load and save stuff on a very limited amount of dd floppies means that i finish stuff way more often, as opposed to having a ton of half finished loops saved in logic

and not to sound like a stuck record but: yamaha tx16w yamaha tx16w yamaha tx16w

[madtheory]

and not to sound like a stuck record but: yamaha tx16w yamaha tx16w yamaha tx16w

+3. Probably beats the c**p out of most of the other 12 bit machines because of the Typhoon 2000 OS.

[pamplemousse_mk2]

Yes, I was afraid of the original OS of the TX16W. Didn't know about the Typhoon 2000 OS. I should look at it.

[tallowwaters]

Emax

[MarsHottentot]

Emax

My vote goes to Emax, too!

[pamplemousse_mk2]

Emax

My vote goes to Emax, too!

I think everybody is agree to say that Emax is better, but it is just by 4 the price of the Tx16W.

I think I will buy the Tx16W this week. I can find two currently sold at 100€. One has extended memory, the other no.

[madtheory]

You won't regret it. I guess I should out the library back up on my website...

Apart from the price- yes, the Emax sounds really great, it has actual proper filters, not the silly things the TX16W has. Not as easy to use though, not by a long shot. The Yamaha does the aliasing and low sample rate things much better, and the 8 mono outs are super for drum machine use.

[tallowwaters]

Jesus, have they really gone up that much in the past year? I remember when the most expensive part was the shipping...

[MarsHottentot]

Jesus, have they really gone up that much in the past year? I remember when the most expensive part was the shipping...

You can still get the Emax II for next to nothing, but those analog filters in the original Emax really jacked the price in the last few years.