KVR Audio

chanjay · Post by **chanjay** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 2:39 am

Hi,

I'd like to get a hardware sampler for mocking up ensemble orchestra for classical music. I love the sounds of the S-760 but then the Emu ultra has better features like: sequencer, 128MB memory, etc.and people said it has warm sound.

Any suggestion?

Thanks.

hc.

planetearth · Post by **planetearth** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 5:06 am

chanjay wrote:Hi,

I'd like to get a hardware sampler for mocking up ensemble orchestra for classical music. I love the sounds of the S-760 but then the Emu ultra has better features like: sequencer, 128MB memory, etc.and people said it has warm sound.

Any suggestion?

Thanks.

hc.

I'm a fan of the sounds of older hardware samplers too, but the S-760 doesn't appear to have as nice a sound as the S-770 (or-750): http://www.vintagesynth.com/roland/s770.php (This page doesn't specifically mention it, but another page on the site does.)

Also, at 24 years old, the S-760 has many sample editing and storage limitations you wouldn't face with free (or even relatively inexpensive) software samplers.

Another thing to consider with the older hardware samplers is finding RAM, SCSI drives (if they accept them) or CGA color monitors (for the S-760). These items are relatively rare now--and rather expensive if you can find them.

If you have your heart set on an older hardware sampler, you might want to make sure you can get all the parts for it before you choose one or the other.

Good luck!

Steve

electro · Post by **electro** » Sat Jun 18, 2016 4:27 am

Consider WIVI ITB
http://wallanderinstruments.com/?mode=products&lang=en

S-760 max RAM is 32MB

XV-5080 max RAM is 128MB and reads native S-760 patches. S-770 is supposed to have the better sound over S-760 but again RAM limits.
http://www.donsolaris.com/?p=756

RobGee · Post by **RobGee** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 1:52 am

I've never used any of the Roland samplers but have heard great things about them. I have owned various Emu samplers (E6400 Classic, E6400 Ultra, E4XT Ultra and E4 Platinum).

I use them primarily for synth based sounds, they sound great and have awesome modulation options.

You will have no issues purchasing memory or storage options for the Emus (most likely the Roland) too from eBay.

DJBuddhaBear · Post by **DJBuddhaBear** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 12:29 am

I loved the Roland samplers but ended up only keeping the S-550.

I still have my E-Mu samplers and you can't go wrong with an Ultra.

But you might also consider an Akai S-5000. It can take up to 256mb of ram, reads standard wave files just like the Ultra, has 128 voice polyphony, has 8 outs plus digital I/O standard, and 2 channels of MIDI In/Out/Thru. Replace the floppy drive with a floppy-sized SD card reader and you can get samples into this beast easily without having to use SCSI or Zip disks.

A maxed out Ultra will probably cost you a bit more for some of the things that are standard on the S-5000/S-6000 series plus you get the extra 128mb of ram. If I didn't already own both and was looking for a hardware sampler, I would go with an S-5000/S-6000 first.

Roland s-760 vs Emu ultra sampler