EXS 24 Logic Sampler Users Group

> David,
> could you expand on the pros and cons of the S6000 versus the
> EXS24?  with respect to creating keygroups or zones, setting up
> patches, assigning outputs to individual sounds, etc.  any
> feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Paul, here is my reasoning:

IMHO, creating zones and keygroups is a big pain in whichever sampler you do
it in, but I don't personally find it any easier or harder on either
machine.

Moving rootnotes of zones and the placement of the zone is easier in the
S6000, but if you learn to use the key commands properly for the EXS, it is
no major hassle.

The output assignment is a big EXS drawback for some, but this will be
addressed within a couple of months so I don't see this as a sticking point,
particularly as I have just managed to do an enormous full orchestral
arrangement using solely EXS24's and just keep using extra ones when I want
extra mixing flexibility, although this does depend on the speed of your
computer.

The biggest advantages to the EXS are these:

1: Once discs are imported, the loading and saving of sounds is relatively
immediate.

I have often taken 7 or 8 minutes to load a full songs worth of samples into
my S6000 and this became a big deal.

2. Backing up samples.  Although with Aksys you can get samples to the
computer, it is a real pain and It has been really refreshing to just save
everything to my data dat system directly.

3. Use of VST or TDM plug-ins directly on the samples.

You can use effects much more easily with the EXS and by adding FX at the
output end (if you have enough room) you can use TDM FX if you are running
that system - As I am.

4.  Sample finding.

In the Akai, there is no real way to create a large sample database and use
a find function, but this is integral In the EXS and I use it on a daily
basis.

5. Sample editing.

It is just so much easier to edit samples in a DAW compared to inside the
sampler - You can bounce FX to the samples if necessary and generally it
allows more flexibility. This is also possible with the S6000, but requires
Aksys, which means having a couple of programs open and switching, and just
never really felt comfortable for me.

There are gripes with both systems - I really want to be able to timestretch
a whole program and it's associated samples, which neither system will do;
The EXS has limited outputs for the moment, but the Akai has terrible FX.
All in all, the main thing for me is how it feels to use and all I can say
is I have both systems in front of me, and for the work that I do I never
use the S6000 at the moment unless I have such a huge arrangement that I
need massive amounts of sampling.

Hope all this helps


David T