Category
Samplers · Models
Hardware samplers and production workstations centered on sample playback or sequencing.
8 models
-
Model
E-mu Emulator II
Sampler · United States
The E-mu Emulator II, released in 1984, is a sampling keyboard that improved on the original with longer 8-bit samples, analog filters, and a sequencer. Its warm, characterful sound features on many 1980s records.
-
Model
Akai S1000
Sampler · Japan
The Akai S1000, released in 1988, is a rackmount 16-bit stereo digital sampler that set a professional standard for sampling in the late 1980s and 1990s, with high audio quality, flexible editing, and wide library support.
-
Model
Akai S900
Sampler · Japan
The Akai S900, released in 1986, is a rackmount 12-bit digital sampler that brought professional sampling to a wider market. Its characterful lo-fi sound and MIDI control made it a studio standard of the late 1980s.
-
Model
Ensoniq EPS
Sampler · United States
The Ensoniq EPS (Ensoniq Performance Sampler), released in 1988, is a polyphonic sampling keyboard with up to twelve to twenty voices depending on sample rate, a 61-note velocity- and aftertouch-sensitive keyboard, an onboard sequencer, and disk storage, designed as an affordable performance-oriented sampling workstation.
-
Model
Akai S3000XL
Sampler · Japan
The Akai S3000XL is a rackmount professional digital sampler in Akai's S3000 series, offering high-quality 16-bit sampling, extensive editing, and broad compatibility for studio production.
-
Model
Ensoniq ASR-10
Sampler · United States
The Ensoniq ASR-10 (Advanced Sampling Recorder), produced from 1992 to 1998, is a 31-voice 16-bit sampling workstation that integrated sampling, resynthesis, onboard effects, and a sequencer into a single instrument. It shipped with a 61-note keyboard (88 weighted keys on the ASR-88) and became a favorite of hip-hop and electronic producers.
-
Model
Roland W-30
Sampler · Japan
The Roland W-30, released in 1989, is a music workstation that combined a 12-bit sampler, sample-playback synthesis, a built-in sequencer, and a disk drive, making it an integrated sampling and composing tool.
-
Model
Casio SK-1
Sampler · Japan
The Casio SK-1, released in 1985, is a small, affordable consumer keyboard that included a low-fidelity sampler, letting users record short sounds and play them across the keyboard. Its lo-fi charm made it a beloved tool for circuit-bending and experimental music.