Jun 1, 2001 12:00 PM, BY ALEX ARTAUD

Believe it or not, it's been three years since Akai unveiled its two flagship samplers. Now, with Version 2.12 software and some of the great options covered below, the S5000/6000 provides a stable, powerful and intuitive option for musicians and engineers. And, while the S6000's detachable front panel and programmable user keys are unique to the instrument, the tips covered here are applicable to both units.

START ME UP!

One unique S5000/6000 feature is the ability to have a folder full of sounds load up automatically on power-up. To do this, simply save your work to a folder called Autoload. Switch the sampler on, and that folder's contents loads automatically. This is especially useful for live work.

GOING LIVE

Assuming you have enough memory installed to handle your entire set, prepare everything at home using the ak.Sys software suite or the front panel. When you're happy with everything, save it all to the Autoload folder. At the gig, all you need to do is turn up and turn on, and while you're at the bar getting a beer, the sampler is automatically loading up your set.

Also try using the Setlist feature to play your backing tracks at gigs. This feature not only allows you to associate MIDI song files with the correct Multis for backing tracks, but it will also set the order in which they play.

LIGHTS, CURTAIN…SAMPLER!

For theatrical applications, the Playsheet mode allows multiple sound effects or music “cues” to be triggered without requiring a MIDI keyboard. A playsheet allows up to 10 “cues” to be laid out and triggered from the front panel softkeys on either side of the rather large display. The cues are actually programs that can contain a variety of different samples or even samples that have been layered.

Up to 128 playsheets can exist in memory at one time, with easy switching between them. Playsheets also can be grouped into “scenes,” allowing you to easily organize your sounds for playback. Each scene can contain any number of playsheets, and even allows the same playsheet to be addressed multiple times at different locations within the same scene. While multiple scenes can be useful, it's not required. If desired, you can create a single scene with all of the playsheets for a single production.

Different playback modes accommodate every possibility that may be required in production. You can program the samplers to play the entire cue and stop, loop a cue while you hold a key, loop a cue until you press the same key again, or play a long cue and stop it at any time by pressing the key a second time.

ALL AK.SYS

If you don't have the ak.Sys software with the USB card, get it. This software can manage almost every aspect of your sampler (except the unit's Sample Editing feature) and provides almost all of the advantages of a computer-based sampler, but with less processing horsepower requirements, because the majority of the processing is native to the sampler. This means that ak.Sys can coexist nicely with your other audio applications, and it uses USB, so SCSI problems aren't an issue.

Using your computer's disk management tools (Windows Explorer or Finder) offers a fast, efficient method of managing your sample library, and PC users are already in native format for the S5000 and S6000 samplers. If you're a Mac user, then ak.Sys will convert samples from .WAV to .AIFF on-the-fly. It's even possible to manage the files from the drives connected directly to the sampler.

LOOPING

If your work involves a lot of loop production, ak.Sys provides compatibility with Propellerheads Recycle! software. Use Recycle! as normal, but instead of sending the results to the sampler as you would with an earlier Akai unit, you can export the files in Sample Cell format to your Mac/PC desktop using the Sample menu in Recycle! Within Recycle!, you can export just the samples or the samples with the MIDI song file, although the MIDI song file generated by Recycle! is not supported directly in the S5000/S6000 sampler.

To do this, create a new folder on the Akai to export the files from Recycle!. Next, simply export the files into the new folder and drag the entire folder onto the Memory icon in ak.Sys, and all of the samples that were processed within Recycle! will be loaded into memory.

More tips can be found at www.akaipro.com.

Alex Artaud is an Oakland, Calif.-based sound engineer and writer.

Mix Books

Modern Recording and Mixing

This 2-DVD set will show you how the best in the music industry set up a studio to make world-class records. Regardless of what gear you are using, the information you'll find here will allow you to take advantage of decades of expert knowledge. Order now $39.95

Mastering Cubase 4

Electronic Musician magazine and Thomson Course Technology PTR have joined forces again to create the second volume in their Personal Studio Series, Mastering Steinberg's Cubase(tm). Edited and produced by the staff of Electronic Musician, this special issue is not only a must-read for users of Cubase(tm) software, but it also delivers essential information for anyone recording/producing music in a personal-studio. Order now $12.95

Newsletters

MixLine

Delivered straight to your inbox every other week, MixLine takes you straight into the studio, with new product announcements, industry news, upcoming events, recent recording/post projects and much more. Click here to read the latest edition; sign up here.

MixLine Live

Delivered straight to your inbox every other week, MixLine Live takes you on the road with today's hottest tours, new sound reinforcement professional products, recent installs, industry news and much more. Click here to read the latest edition; sign up here.