The Akai S900 is a 12-bit sampler, with a variable sample rate from 7.5 kHz through to 40 kHz. It was common in recording studios until it was superseded two years later by the
S1000.
An expanded version, the Akai S950, was released in 1988 alongside the higher end S1000. The S950 imported some of the S1000's improvements, including timestretching (allowing the user to change a sample's length and pitch independently of one another),
and it increased the maximum sample rate to 48 kHz.
Unlike the S1000 series, the S900 series allows a sample to loop alternating forwards and backwards.
Notable users include
The 45 King
Mark Howard James (October 16, 1961 – October 19, 2023), professionally known as The 45 King and also known as DJ Mark the 45 King, was an American hip hop producer and DJ from The Bronx, New York. He began DJing in the mid-1980s. His pseudon ...
(who named his hit "The 900 Number" after the sampler),
Juan Atkins
Juan Atkins (born September 12, 1962), also known as Model 500 and Infiniti, is an American record producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. ''Mixmag'' has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno." He has been a member of the Belle ...
,
Beatmasters
The Beatmasters are an English electronic music group who gained success in the UK in the late 1980s with four top 20 hit singles. They then went on to produce and remix records for other artists, including Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and Marc A ...
,
Black Box
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,
Ian Boddy
Ian Boddy (born 27 August 1959) is a British electronic musician and composer. In the early 1980s Boddy began experimenting at an Arts Council-funded studio in Newcastle. This period resulted in three cassette releases on the Mirage label, whi ...
,
Enya
Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (born 17 May 1961; anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan) known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. With an estimated equivalent of over 80 million albums sold worldwide, Enya is the best-selli ...
,
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...
(who nearly exclusively uses a pair of S950s),
Front 242
Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they influenced the electronic and industrial music genres.
History Formation
Front 242 were for ...
,
,
The Bomb Squad
The Bomb Squad was an American hip hop production team known for their work with hip hop group Public Enemy.
The Bomb Squad are noted for their dense, distinct, innovative production style, often utilizing dozens of samples on just one track. ...
,
Prince Paul,
Renegade Soundwave
Renegade Soundwave (sometimes shortened to RSW) were an electronic music group. Formed in London in 1986, the group originally consisted of Gary Asquith, Carl Bonnie and Danny Briottet. Their debut LP '' Soundclash'' was released in 1990 on Mu ...
,
and
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...
.
References
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