Akai S5000 User manual

WARNING
To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not
expose this appliance to rain or moisture.
Operator’s Manual
/
STEREO DIGITAL SAMPLER
Software Version 1.30 Addendum

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 O/S UPDATE
Page 1
Version 1.30 introduces new features and improvements and also includes many bug fixes.
NEW FEATURES
• Emu EIII sound library compatibility.
• Software activated disk eject function for removable media such as Jaz, Zip, CD-ROM, etc..
• DISK backup facility
• New RAMP START/END function in EDIT SAMPLE
• New looping options
• New MEMORY COMPACT function
• New PLAYSHEET function
IMPROVEMENTS/BUG FIXES
Apple Macintosh filename problem
The long standing problem with filenames when an S5/6000 disk is taken to an Apple Mac has
been resolved. Previously, filenames that shared the first 8 characters in their name (e.g. NEW
SAMPLE 1, NEW SAMPLE 2, NEW SAMPLE 3 or NEW PROGRAM 1, NEW PROGRAM 2,
etc.) would all be renamed to the same name when taken to a Mac and as the Mac cannot have
files of the same name in one folder, they would all ‘dissappear’ leaving just the one filename
displayed. The files themselves were intact but not displayed. This has now been fixed.
Faster screen redraws.
In previous versions, when the sampler was busy (e,g. during heavy sequencing), screen
redraws could be very slow. This is now fixed.
Improved MULTI, PROGRAM and SAMPLE selection.
In previous versions, when selecting a program (for example) whilst playing another, the
previous sound would be cutoff and nothing would be heard until you play a new note (at
which point you’d hear the new program you selected). Similarly, if a sound was playing
through its release phase (i.e. you weren’t holding the note but it was fading out through a
long release), selecting a new program would cut the release dead. This has been improved.
Now, when playing and holding a note (or if the sound is going through its release phase), if
you select another program, the previous program will continue to sound until you release that
note (or the release reaches its ‘natural’ end). The same is true of multis and samples.
Improved compatibility with older sound library (in particular, loops).
The S5/6000 requires there to be at least 15 samples between the loop end and the end of
the actual sample. This is to allow for the high quality interpolation process that takes place
when transposing samples up in pitch.
However, many samples from older sound library (especially those created using the CUT
S>LP function in TRIM on the S3000 series samplers) and samples made in PC/Mac wave
editors have the sample end exactly on the loop end. If such samples are used in the
S5000/6000, this can give rise to incorrect and buzzy or clicky loops particularly when
transposing samples up in pitch. This has now been fixed and the S5/6000 will now import
looped S1000, S1100, S3000 series samples and samples from wave editors more
successfully now.
Improved SYSEX functionality.
The SysEx is extended to allow editing of MULTIS and PROGRAMS and some front panel
operations. Please see the document on our website for the implementation details.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 O/S UPDATE
Page 2
Improved disk handling.
The disk system now does an auto re-scan of removable media after disk eject or insertion. So,
for example, if you eject your CD-ROM, the sampler will re-scan the SCSI bus and report back
that the disk has been removed and will show EMPTY DRIVE in the DISK LIST page (this ties in
with the ‘soft-eject’ feature explained later in these release notes).
Similarly, when a disk is inserted, the S5/6000 detects this and updates automatically.
The AUTO-SCAN can be switched ON or OFF ina new function found on the SYSTEM page in
UTILITIES (default is ON).
External Sync check
If you are attempting to sync the S5/6000 to external wordclock source and there is a problem
(e.g. the source is switched off or the cable has become detached), you will see this prompt:
This informs you if digital sync has been lost and provides the option of re-trying or locking to
internal 44.1Hz.
Auto repeat on waveform zoom keys.
Pressing and holding ZOOM IN/OUT in any of the sample editing pages will now auto repeat.
Separate load / save disks can be selected
Different disks may be selected when loading and saving. For example, you may be loading in
sounds from a CD-ROM to use in a multi which you are saving back to a hard disk. Previously,
you would have had to select the CD-ROM, load the sounds then, in SAVE, go to the DISK
LIST, select the hard disk and save it, then back to LOAD for the next sound, go to DISK LIST,
select the CD-ROM, load... etc.. Now, you can select the hard disk to save to and the CD-ROM
to load from without having to switch back and forth between them.
Improved SAVE speed
The save speed has been improved slightly in Version 1.30.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 O/S UPDATE
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Problems loading MULTIS/PROGRAMS
There used to be a problem when loading multiple MULTIS or PROGRAMS that if an item was
not found (i.e. a PROGRAM or SAMPLE), then the rest of the MULTIS/PROGRAMS would not
be loaded. This is now fixed.
Problems after formatting a disk
In previous versions, you would get the prompt "Invalid session" after formatting an
‘unrecognised’disk. This is now fixed
Speed problems when memory has many items
Some users reported problems with the sampler becoming slow to use when the sampler had a
lot (i.e. several hundred) of items (multis, programs, samples) loaded in memory. This is now
fixed.
MIDI clock sync bug
There was a bug that if MIDI clock was received on both MIDI inputs A and B, the sampler could
hang. This is now fixed.
AUDITION SAMPLE in EDIT SAMPLE/QUICKLOAD
It is now possible to audition a sample in the EDIT SAMPLE/QUICKLOAD page. To exit that
page, use the EXIT key.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 4
EMU EIII SOUND LIBRARY COMPATIBILITY
The S5/6000 can now load Emu EIII sound library from Emu CD-ROMs.
No special operation is required - simply pop in the CD-ROM, select it in the DISK LIST page,
go to LOAD and load the sounds in the usual way.
Emu ‘banks’ are represented as folders and these contain the programs (‘presets’ in Emu-
speak) and samples. The normal load operations can be applied and you can load the entire
folder or just selected programs with or without their samples or just the samples. Samples may
be auditioned in the usual way.
Naturally you may save the programs back to your hard disk (or floppy) if you want but of course,
the programs will be saved as Akai format .AKP programs and the samples will be saved as
.WAV files.
NOTE 1: Whilst every effort has been made so that Emu sounds play correctly when used in
an S5/6000, because of intrinsic differences between the machines, absolute accuracy cannot
be guaranteed in all cases and so some tweaking may be necessary. Most sounds should
translate fairly well, however.
NOTE 2: Depending on your CD-ROM drive, you may find that loading Emu data is slower
than loading other data . This is due to the translation ‘fix-ups’ that are being performed during
the load process.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 5
‘SOFT’ DISK EJECT FEATURE
When swapping removable media and disks, it has been essential to use the UPDATE function
in the DISK LIST page and failure to do so has been responsible for many problems. In
previous versions, when a disk was ejected, its directory remained in the sampler’s CPU
memory. When a new disk was subsequently inserted, without pressing UPDATE, the sampler
had no knowledge that the disk had been changed at all and so any attempts at disk access
(saving, loading, playback of virtual samples, etc.) or even other operations could cause
problems because the sampler had a different directory to the one on the disk.
This has been radically overhauled in V1.30 and the DISK LIST page now looks something like
this:
Whilst it may look superficially similar to before, the EJECT DISK function on F12 allows you to
eject the disk from the sampler itself (much like ejecting a disk on a Mac by dragging it into the
wastebasket). In this way, the sampler ‘knows’ that the disk has been removed and the
directory is flushed from its CPU memory. When another disk is subsequently inserted, the
new AUTO SCAN feature detects the new disk and updates automatically.
When removable media is inserted into drives connected to the S5/6000, they are ‘locked’
(indicated by the padlock icon) and cannot be ejected from the drive’s own front panel (much
like on a Mac). To eject the disk, you must enter the DISK LIST page, select the disk you want
to eject and press F12. This will physically eject the disk from the drive. The sampler will then re-
scan the SCSI bus to see what’s there and you you will see a dialogue window, after which the
selected drive will be shown as “Empty”. Assuming the DISK AUTO SCAN function is enabled
in UTILITIES/SYSTEM, re-inserting the disk (or another) will cause an automatic scan of the bus
and the sampler will automatically update the latest disk directory into it’s CPU memory.
As a result of these improvements, there is no need to press UPDATE (F11) every time you
swap disks around as this is taken care of automatically.
NOTE: The UPDATE function must be used when swapping disks if the DISK AUTO SCAN
function is switched OFF in UTILITIES/SYSTEM.
You will note that floppy disks are not affected by this function.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
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*** IMPORTANT NOTE ***
For those who still insist on hooking up their sampler to a Mac/PC via SCSI or for those having
two samplers sharing one disk drive (i.e. both cases have two SCSI initiators accessing a
common drive), the AUTO-SCAN is not infallible and some problems may still persist and you
should set the DISK AUTO SCAN parameter in UTILITIES/SYSEM SETUP to OFF in this
instance to avoid unexpected SCSI bus crashes. The reason being....
In the case of an S5/6000 connected to a Mac/PC, using the EJECT DISK function will, as
stated, eject the disk and flush the sampler’s CPU memory of the disk’s directory, do a re-scan
and report back to the sampler that the drive is empty but....
The Mac/PC has no knowledge of this change and as far as it’s concerned, the original disk is
still mounted. Any attempt to acces the disk on the Mac/PC in this state may cause unreliability.
Similarly, when using two samplers to access the one drive, the same principles apply. You
may use EJECT DISK on Sampler A but Sampler B has no knowledge of the change.
Accessing any disk functions on Sampler B may cause some problems.
This is a limitation of SCSI and not a failing of the S5/6000 OS.
Please refer to the documentation on our website for more details of the dangers regarding
multiple initiators on one SCSI bus (in other words, hooking a sampler and its drive up to a
another SCSI initiator):
http://www.akai.com/akaipro/downloads.html
or....
http://www.akai.com/akaipro/tips-samplers.html
Whilst it is ‘theoretically’ possible to connect your sampler to a Mac/PC or another sampler via
SCSI, given the many potential problems outlined in the documentation referred to above, it
cannot be recommended and Akai Electric Co., Ltd., cannot be held responsible for any
problems and/or data loss you may encounter should you continue to use the S5/6000 in this
way.
If you plan to use your sampler in this way, it is recommended you switch DISK AUTO SCAN to
OFF in the UTILITIES/SYSTEM page.
For ‘standalone’ operation, however (i.e. one sampler connected to removable drives with no
Mac/PC or second sampler attached), you should find that the new AUTO-SCAN function
improves reliability greatly when swapping disks.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 7
SCSI COPY
The UTILITIES page has several new additions:
One of them - SCSI COPY - allows you to make a mirror image copy of one disk to another.
Depending on your setup, pressing SCSI COPY shows this screen:
The source and destination drives are shown.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 8
You should select the drive you want to copy by pressing F4 and selecting it using the DATA
wheel (or entering the SCSI ID# directly from the keypad) and the drive you want to copy to
using F12 and selecting it using the DATA wheel (or entering the SCSI ID# from the keypad).
You may end up with something like this:
Pressing copy will initiate the process.
*** ALL DATA ON THE DESTINATION DRIVE WILL BE ERASED ***
Please be very careful when selecting the destination drive.
Akai Electric Co. Ltd. cannot be held responsible for loss of
data due to accidental misuse of this function.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 9
IMPORTANT NOTE 1: This function is just the first phase in the implementation of disk
copying/backup functions on the S5/6000. In V1.30, it simply makes a mirror image SCSI copy
of the source drive to the destination drive. As such, the destination drive has to be at least the
same size (or larger) than the source drive. If it is not, you will see this prompt:
IMPORTANT NOTE 2: You cannot copy a disk to itself. If you attempt to do so, you will see
this prompt:

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 10
APOLOGY?!
As mentioned, the SCSI COPY function simply makes a mirror image copy of one disk to
another to create safety backups of important data. This erases all data on the destination disk
and, of course, requires the destination disk to be the same size as (or larger than) the
source disk.
We realise that ideally you want to just copy parts of one disk to a backup disk (for example,
selected folders) and maybe parts of another disk to the same backup disk but this is not
possible in this version. Subsequent releases will improve the backup capabilities and this ‘1st-
phase’ release which, whilst admittedly not ideal, is considered better than no backup at all or
the alternative of loading data into memory from one disk and saving it to a backup disk (which,
of course, is still possible).
The release option was “Should we disable this function until we have a full backup function
implemented or shall we release it as is?” and we decided on the latter as being better than
nothing at all .

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 11
NEW ‘RAMP’ FUNCTIONS IN EDIT SAMPLE
To eliminate the possibility of clicks and pops at that the start and end of samples, two new
functions - RAMP START and RAMP END - are introduced in EDIT SAMPLE - FADE
UP/DOWN:
With RAMP START switched OFF (i.e. ), the rise time of the sampler is instant (0
milliseconds). However, this may introduce clicks in some cases. If this occurs, switch RAMP
START to ON (i.e. ). The default is default is OFF ( ).
With RAMP END switched ON (i.e. ), a short fade (128 samples or 3 milliseconds) is added at
the end of the sample to help reduce the possibility of clicks and pops. With it switched OFF
(i.e. ), no fade is applied. The default is ON ( ).
Both functions are ‘real-time’ and can simply be switched ON or OFF according to your
preference.
NOTE: Previous Akai samplers apply a short fade up and down by default at the start and end
of a sample. This is also true of other sampler and most sound modules, soundcards, hard disk
recorders, etc., as it is good practice to apply small fades to reduce the possibility of clicks and
pops. However, when applied to the start of a sample, this can have the effect of ‘softening’ the
attack and/or missing important attack transient information. V1.30 gives you the option of
overriding these fades for optimum flexibility.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 12
NEW LOOP FUNCTIONS
Several new loop playback functions are introduced in V1.30 and are available in EDIT
SAMPLE - LOOP:
These are:
LIR -> RETRIG An abbreviation of LOOP IN RELEASE UNTIL RE-TRIGGERED. In
other words, once a sample has been triggered, it will loop endlessly
until the same note on the same MIDI channel is received.
So, for example, you may have a drum loop. Set it to LIR -> RETRIG
and assign it to (say) C1 in a program. You may do the same for another
loop on D1. You may do the same for E1. When you play C1, you will
trigger the first loop. It will continue to sound, looping round until you
hit C1 again whereupon it will stop (actually, it will loop through the
program’s release phase). Hitting D1 and E1 would do much the same.
Maybe a more specific description....
You have a drum loop of the verse on C1 set to LIR -> RETRIG. You
also have a drum loop of the chorus on D1 and a drum loop of the
bridge on E1 with both of these also set to L-R -> RETRIG. Hit C1 to
trigger the verse loop. It will play endlessly and you can improvise over
the top with other sounds. When you feel like it, hit C1 and D1
together - the verse loop will stop and the chorus loop will start.
Improvise over that. At any point, press D1 and C1 to go back to the
verse. At any time, hit C1 and E1 to go to the bridge. Etc.. Play with it
and and go figure!
This has been included not only to satisfy the needs of Playsheet
users (see later) but in response to requests for more ‘phrase
sampling’ functionality.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
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PLAY -> RETRIG This allows you to trigger a one-shot sample as before BUT you can
stop it at any time by sending the same note again. In other words...
You have a long sample (RAM or virtual). It is X length long and you
want it to stop at a specific moment (normally, ONE-SHOT would just
play to end with no means to stop it). With PLAY -> RETRIG, you can
trigger the sample and, at the required point, play the same note to
stop it.
This feature has been introduced primarily to satisfy those using very
long virtual samples and also PLAYSHEET users (see later).

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
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MEMORY COMPACT
Another of the features introduced in UTILITIES is MEMORY COMPACT:
Samples in memory need to be held contiguously but when deleting samples, this can
sometimes leave a gap in memory. Normally, the sampler does this in the background
automatically when you delete something (especially with short samples) but, under certain
circumstances (e.g. when memory is full and you delete some long samples), it is not always
possible to do this. The COMPACT MEMORY function is a manual means of de-fragmenting
memory to close any holes left by deletion. Pressing COMPACT MEMORY will show this
progress bar.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 15
It should not be necessary to use this new function regularly and the COMPACT MEMORY
should be used when, for example, memory is full, you delete one or more long samples in
order to free up some space for new data to be loaded only to find that the sampler tells you
there is no space free to load anything! In this case what has happened is that the holes in
memory have not been automatically de-fragmented.
The COMPACT MEMORY function will overcome this, shuffling the data into a contiguous
block and freeing up space for new data. E.g.:
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5 Sample 6
1.5Mb 1.2Mb 1.5Mb 1.2Mb 1.5Mb 1.1Mb
8Mb total (0% free)
Sample 1 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 6
1.5Mb 1.5Mb 1.2Mb 1.1Mb
Sample 1 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 6
1.5Mb 1.5Mb 1.2Mb 1.1Mb
After delete (no automatic de-fragmenting)
After COMPACT MEMORY 2.7Mb free

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
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PLAYSHEET FUNCTION
The Playsheet function has been designed specifically for theatre work following requests
from users in that application for a method to play multiple sounds without using a music
keyboard. Samplers are often used to replace tape or cartridge machines in theatres but the
music keyboard or other MIDI controller is not the ideal way for the production’s sound
engineer(s) to trigger sound effect, music cues, etc., live. That they do use MIDI keyboards is
more down to the fact that there has been no alternative. Well now, maybe there is!
A playsheet allows up to ten ‘cues’ to be laid out and triggered from the front panel keys. The
cues are actually programs and this has been chosen over playing back just raw samples as it is
possible to use all of the program editing functions (envelopes, filters, LFOs) as well as
stacking samples on top of each other for creative sound design. It also allows access to
routing cues to different outpus as well as enabling the use of the EB20 effects board (if fitted
on an S5000).
A playsheet is actually a multi and the playsheet mode is simply a means of presenting it
differently for triggering sounds from the front panel. For example:
The above would be a very typical example of a playsheet for a theatrical production where
sound effects are laid out to be triggered ‘live’ using F3-7 and F11-15 according to action
taking place on stage. Of course, these cues could equally be music cues or whatever.
Furthermore, you can have up to 128 playsheets in memory and switch between them using
F2 and F10. In this way, you can access all cues and playsheets from the one screen simply
using the soft keys down either side of the LCD with no other equipment required.
Also, playsheets can be organised into \scenes’ and you may switch between scenes using
F8 and F16. In this way, you can organise the sound effects/music for your productions very
efficiently.

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 17
For example, a ‘scene list’ for a production of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ may look like this:
SCENE LIST
Act 1 Scene 1
Storm
Act 1 Scene 2
Prospero
Ariel
Caliban 1
Ariel 2 & Noises Off
Act 2 Scene 1
Court music
Solemn Ariel
Act 2 Scene 2
Caliban 2
Act 3 Scene 2
Caliban 3
Ariel
Act 3 Scene 3
Nymphs and spirits
Act 4 Scene 1
Ariel
Nymphs & Reapers
Ariel
Caliban 4
Act 5 Scene 1
Prospero & Ariel
Ariel
Ariel & Caliban
Epilogue
Prospero
SCENE
PLAYSHEET

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 18
Each scene can contain any number of playsheets and each playsheet contains the sound
effect/music cues for each part of the play. Playsheets and scenes can be selected using
NEXT/PREV SHEET (F2 and F11) and NEXT/PREV SCENE (F8 and F16) in the PLAYSHEET
page. You will note that some playsheets in this example (“Prospero” and “Ariel”, for example)
are used over and over again throughout the production - where there is a basic theme for
certain scenes that keeps recurring, this is an economical way to make use of playsheets.
In this example, it is not absolutely necessary to split the playsheets into different scenes - you
could have just one scene (called “The Tempest” perhaps) that contains all 19 playsheets.
Of course, a production need not be so complex and one playsheet may be all that is required
for a simple production with just a handful of sound effects.
CREATING A PLAYSHEET
Because a playsheet is actually a multi, you must use MULTI mode to create playsheets and a
playsheet is made in exactly the same way - with the cursor on F1, press CREATE MULTI (F16).
You may give the playsheet an appropriate name if you wish (for example, “Storm”, “Prospero”,
“Ariel”, “Caliban 1”, “Ariel & noises off”, etc., as shown on the previous page). Once you have
created the multi, you can assign the appropriate programs to the parts in the usual way. These
components can be mixed, panned, tuned, sent to different outputs, etc., just like parts in a
music multi.
NOTE: A playsheet can only use the first ten parts of the multi so it’s not worth adding
programs to any parts higher than Part 10 as these will not be displayed in the PLAYSHEET
page.
CREATING SCENES
Once you have a series of playsheets in memory, you need to place them in a ‘scene’. This is
done by pressing SHEET TOOLS in the PLAYSHEET page. You will see this menu

VERSION 1.30 S5/6000 NEW FEATURES
Page 19
Pressing SCENE LISTS will take you to this page:
This screen shot shows an empty scene list - you could have many scenes such as the
example shown on Page 16: