Models
6 models
-
Akai S900
1986 12-bit professional digital sampler
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.
-
Akai AX60
Analogue synthesizer
Synthesizer · Japan
The Akai AX60, released in 1986, is a six-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer with a slider-based interface that could interface with Akai's samplers, offering warm analog sounds with MIDI control.
-
Roland TR-505
Cheap sampled drums with a real sequencer
Drum machine · Japan
The 505 put PCM samples and the TR sequencer into a plastic box at a price that made it a first drum machine for a generation, and it turns up on more early house and hip-hop demos than its reputation suggests.
-
Yamaha RX5
Sampled drums a programmer could reshape
Drum machine · Japan
The RX5 gave each voice envelope, pitch, and filter editing plus cartridge expansion, which made it less a box of drums than a small percussion synthesizer.
-
Korg DDD-1
Sampled drums with cartridge expansion
Drum machine · Japan
The DDD-1 combined sampled voices with ROM cartridges that added more, plus per-voice outputs and tuning — a machine built for a studio that wanted to change its drum sounds without changing machines.
-
Casio RZ-1
A cheap machine that could sample
Drum machine · Japan
The RZ-1 offered four seconds of sampling alongside its stock voices at a consumer price, which made user-sampled drums reachable years before that was normal.