Anyone Experience of an Akai S900-950?

[Creativemind]

Hi All!

Anyone used an old Akai S900 or 950?

Not got one but just been trying to do an old skooly piano track and was having right trouble timestretching or getting a vocal sample to fit. Turned out it needed to come in not on the start of the bar but a 1/16th of the bar in but then had to work out it's bpm etc. It's really difficult sometimes and the vocal sample didn't immediately start either if you get me, like she was slow to sing the word coming in.

I wondered what the process was for anyone that's used an old Akai, how they must have painstakingly got it to fit.

Thanks!

[dioxide]

I used to have one, although I didn't use the timestretching function very much. Basically you cut the phrases up and rebuild them in the sequencer (maybe an Atari ST). If the vocal needs to move back or forward you move the MIDI note that triggers it. As you say getting the original tempo is difficult. Assuming you're using an old acapella you could sample a loop from the version that includes the music to make it easier to figure out and by how much you need to shift the pitch to match your tempo.

[Creativemind]

I used to have one, although I didn't use the timestretching function very much. Basically you cut the phrases up and rebuild them in the sequencer (maybe an Atari ST). If the vocal needs to move back or forward you move the MIDI note that triggers it. As you say getting the original tempo is difficult. Assuming you're using al old acappella you could sample a loop from the version that includes the music to make it easier to figure out and by how much you need to shift the pitch to match your tempo.

You might not have had the acapella and the version with the music but yeah, difficult, I'd say.