Custom operating system · Akai S900
S900FX Play mode screen
The machine
The S900 is a 12-bit digital sampler released by Akai Professional in 1986, and the machine the S950 would be built from two years later. With eight voices, it was Akai’s first polyphonic sampler, and it brought full MIDI control and multi-sampling within reach of a working musician. Both machines are known for the punchy, gritty, 12-bit sound that dominated classic hip-hop and R&B production.
Why
Modern samplers have more features and much longer sample time, but with their higher fidelity they are often criticised for not sounding as warm as the vintage machines. But what if you could have the best of both worlds? There are plugins that attempt to replicate the sound of vintage samplers in software, and Akai's newer machines support a “Vintage Mode” to do just that, but they always pale in comparison to the original hardware.
What S900FX does
This OS turns the machine into a real-time signal processor.
The audio signal coming into the LINE input is continuously read by the machine's analog-to-digital converters at the configured sample rate, temporarily crunched into a 12-bit sample in RAM, and then immediately sent to the digital-to-analog converters and out the MIX output.
Place the S900 running S900FX anywhere within your signal chain — either on the way from your sample source into your sampler, or from your sampler into your DAW — and it will add the 12-bit grit that you crave. This lets you get that classic 12-bit sound while still making use of the extra features available in modern samplers. You can even pair two samplers together to support stereo sound.
No sample-time limit
Because S900FX is continuously processing the incoming signal and sending it to the output, it is not limited by RAM. It will keep processing for as long as the machine is powered on. You are no longer constrained by the S900's limited sample time and can make use of the full sample time available in your modern sampler. You can even change the sample rate, or apply the S900's legendary low-pass filter, and hear the effect in real time.
Nothing to install, nothing to undo
S900FX is not a permanent install. To load it you do not need to open the machine or replace ROM chips — you need only boot with the disk in the floppy drive or floppy emulator. To return to the original OS, remove the disk, power down, and power back up.
And it is free.
Demonstration
A demonstration of S900FX and S950FX running as a stereo pair.
Get the operating system
S900FX ships as a floppy image you write with any disk-image tool, or copy to a floppy emulator. Put it in the drive and power on.
Download — soonResources
Documentation and stock ROM images for the S900.