The early 1990s represented a golden era for hardware samplers, with manufacturers pushing technological boundaries while trying to make sampling technology more accessible. While high-end units like the Akai S3000, E-mu E4X, and Roland S-750 dominated professional studios, some much more affordable alternatives emerged that delivered impressive capabilities at significantly lower price points. These samplers — the Roland S-760, E-mu ESI-32, and Akai S2800 to name a few — continue to offer tremendous value for today's vintage sampling enthusiasts, providing authentic 1990s sound character without the premium price tag of their more expensive counterparts.

Overview Comparison

Roland S-760

Key Features

• 24-voice polyphony
• 16-bit linear sampling with extensive set of variable sample rates up to 48kHz
• 2MB RAM standard (expandable to 32MB)
• Advanced digital filtering and effects processing
• Main stereo output + auxillary stereo output or 4 assignable outputs
• Small but readable 120x64 graphic LCD display
• Compatible with Roland S-700/ S550/ W30 series libraries
• Computer interface option with RGB monitor output and mouse control

Sound Character

The S-760 is renowned for its clean, transparent sampling quality and extensive editing capabilities. Its digital architecture delivers pristine audio reproduction with minimal coloration, making it exceptionally versatile across musical genres. The S-760's strength lies in its detailed editing capabilities and transparent sound quality, ideal for precision sampling work.

Modern Appeal

Today's producers appreciate the S-760 for its remarkably clean signal path and robust SCSI implementation, which makes data transfer relatively straightforward with modern SCSI-to-USB adapters. The ability to connect a monitor and mouse transforms this rack unit into an "almost" modern-feeling sampling workstation.

E-mu ESI-32

Key Features

• 32-voice polyphony
• 16-bit linear sampling with variable sample rates
• 4MB RAM standard (expandable to 32MB)
• Legendary E-mu Z-Plane filters (analog-like 6-pole) with resonance
• 4 outputs (+ expansion card)
• Compatible with Emulator III and Emulator IV sound libraries
• 2x40 character LCD

Sound Character

The ESI-32 carries E-mu's signature sound character, particularly through its renowned analog Z-plane filters. These filters give samples a warm, organic quality that many producers still seek today. The ESI-32 excels at imparting character and analog warmth to otherwise digital samples, with its filter section being particularly prized for transformative sound design.

Modern Appeal

Vintage sampling enthusiasts particularly value the ESI-32 for its balance of affordability and sound quality. In fact, this device could be purchased at the lowest price of all 16-bit professional-grade samplers. The analog modeling digital filter section continues to be a major draw, allowing users to achieve that distinctive E-mu character that shaped countless electronic music productions in the 1990s. The relatively straightforward interface makes it approachable despite its deep capabilities.

Akai S2800

Key Features

• 16-voice polyphony
• 16-bit linear sampling with variable sample rates
• 2MB RAM standard (expandable to 16MB)
• Digital filter with resonance
• Main stereo output + 2 individual outputs
• 240x60px graphic LCD
• Compatible with the vast S900/S1000/S3000 sample library

Sound Character

The S2800 delivers Akai's iconic punchy and direct sound character of the S3000 series that dominated hip-hop, R&B, and electronic music production throughout the 1990s. While not offering some options of its competitors such as advanced set of filters, its sonic signature is unmistakable — slightly compressed with excellent low-end translation that makes drums and bass particularly impactful.

Modern Appeal

The S2800's continued popularity stems from its immediate accessibility to the massive Akai sample library ecosystem and that distinctive "Akai sound" at a fraction of the price of an S3000.

Why These Samplers Remain Relevant

Despite technological advances in software sampling, these hardware units offer several compelling advantages for today's producers:

1. Distinctive Sound Character: Each sampler imparts its own subtle (or not-so-subtle) coloration to audio, providing a unique sonic fingerprint impossible to perfectly replicate in software.

2. Creative Limitations: The memory constraints and hardware interfaces encourage different creative workflows and decision-making compared to virtually unlimited software options.

3. Tactile Workflow: Physical interaction with hardware creates a different relationship with sound design and performance.

4. Price-to-Performance Ratio and Availability: These more affordable models offer much of what their premium counterparts delivered at a fraction of the original and current market price. Apart from this, they are still quite often available on the used gear market.

5. Hardware Reliability: Well-maintained units continue to function decades later, easily outlasting multiple generations of computers, software and newer samplers. Minor technical problems are primarily related to displays and power supply units.

Tips for Modern Integration

• Use SCSI-to-USB adapters for sample transfer (Roland S-760 and Akai S2800)
• Consider purchasing additional RAM to maximize sample time
• Explore third-party sound libraries still available to buy or download for free across the Web
• Incorporate into modern setups via MIDI interfaces or audio interfaces with multiple inputs
• Join online communities dedicated to these specific samplers for troubleshooting and sample sharing

Conclusion

The Roland S-760, E-mu ESI-32, and Akai S2800 represent an exceptional value proposition for producers seeking authentic 1990s sampling capabilities without investing in the more expensive flagship models. Each offers a distinctive approach to sampling with unique workflows and sonic characteristics that continue to inspire music production today. Their lower price points relative to their premium counterparts make them accessible entry points into the world of vintage hardware sampling.

P.S. Other rackmount samplers to consider

Despite the different price positioning and/ or feature set or even the epoch, you might be interested in one of the following machines (only those with 16bit ADC are included):

• E-mu E64
• Akai S01
• Yamaha TX16W