In the case of my z8 you connect the keyboard by Midi cable. You can
connect two keyboards -one to midiA and one to midiB and play separate
multi patches from them. While there is a usb connection I have not been
able to play the unit through it. If you have an Akai formatted disk (the
Pinder disk is) then you can download it directly from a Cd drive provided
that it is a drive the Akai recognizes. I have a Sony CRX1750U that works
fine for this purpose. You can edit the samples to some degree using the
Akai software in your computer and send it back and forth via USB. The
Akai has a fairly large hard disk- something like 50G so you may or may
not need to interface with your computer. The sound comes out analog
through a stereo pair of phone jacks.
Have you considered using a software based sampler like Kontakt? If you
are using a computer for recording and have an interface you could use it
live and as a plug-in as well . Personally, the Akai has been much easier
for me to set up for live and is much more versatile. It takes awhile to
figure out some of the bells and whistles but you can really do some great
stuff with it after a little investment of energy. TD
> I am not clear about this myself. I know nothing about samplers. I have a
> midi keyboard. I assume that the keyboard attatches via a midi cable to
> the sampler. I assume that the samples could be loaded from CD rom
> directly into the sampler ( my preferred option ) or via a USB cable from
> a computer. I assume that the output signal comes from the sampler and can
> then be sent to a mixer and powered speakers.
>
> Is that correct?
>
> Mark
>
> --- On Fri, 8/22/08, lsf5275@aol.com <lsf5275@aol.com> wrote:
> From: lsf5275@aol.com <lsf5275@aol.com>
> Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Off topic Samplers
> To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Friday, August 22, 2008, 10:27 AM
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> In a message dated 8/21/2008 5:32:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> i_am_zontar@ yahoo.com writes:
> Re:
> [newmellotrongroup] Off topic Samplers
>
>> I could also recommend the
> Akai Z4 or Z8. You can expand it up to 512 meg >which means you have a
> lot
> of sounds to play around with before you have >to load again from the
> hard
> disk. I find the architecture very easy for me >to use. You would have
> to
> connect an external CD drive or load sounds >directly from the computer
> via
> usb. The Akai interface software has been >easy for me to use
> also.
>
> i second the akai suggestion.
> the newer ones have:
> usb
> available for direct connection to a computer
>
> software [free] that
> utilizes that interface
>
> allows direct importing of .wav files for EASY
> importing of just about any audio file you might want to put in it
>
> i
> have an ensoniq asr-10 and an emu esi4000.
> they both have serious
> limitations that cannot be overcome.
> they are, in some ways, complimentary,
> and i use them both all the time.
> but... the recent akais have, to put it
> simply, removed all the limitations that make these others cumbersome
> difficult and restrictive. if i recall the s5000 and s6000 are both
> usb-capable as are the z-∗ series, but do verify this before purchasing.
> they
> are all available on ebay all the time.
>
> some people find the akai
> operating system unfriendly, but i think it's one of those things that
> the
> more you use it the easier it becomes, and just a small investment in
> time
> makes it all worthwhile.. .
>
>>I am thinking of buying a sampler,
> but I do not know much about them. I >would be buying second hand in New
> Zealand so it would probably be be 4-5 >years old and would be a very
> popular model. Being a small country there >is a very limited choice of
> musical equipment anything even slightly >unusual is not likely to be
> imported.
>>
>>It would need to be simple and load from CD rom and
> connect via usb to a >midi keyboard.
>
> can you please clarify this
> statement?
> midi and usb are, obviously, not the same, and not for the same
> purposes.
>
>>If anyone can help with advice and has the time to answer
> some questions, >please contact me off
> list.
>
>>Thanks
>>Mark
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> I thought the other guy was Zontar.
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> It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.
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