street priceThe Akai S700 represents an important piece of sampling history from the late 1980s. Launched in the summer of 1987, this 2U rackmount sampler was part of Akai's follow-up to their groundbreaking S612 sampler and served as a smaller and cheaper sibling to the influential S900. The S700 marked the beginning of Akai's long tradition of gray&beige-colored sampling units that would eventually lead to legendary models like the S1000 and huge powerhouses S5000 and S6000.
Housed in a sturdy 2U 19-inch rackmount enclosure weighing about seven kilograms, the S700 features the bomb-proof construction characteristic of Akai's S-series samplers. The front panel presents a straightforward user interface with 19 buttons, a large data wheel, and a 16-character backlit LCD display that provides easy access to all functions.
Three physical knobs control recording levels, monitoring levels, and master volume. The front panel also includes dedicated quarter-inch jack inputs for both microphone and line-level signals, along with a 'Rec/PB Trigger' socket that allows sample recording or playback to be triggered via footswitch or audio signal.
The rear panel houses standard MIDI In/Out/Thru ports, an LCD contrast knob, a 'Program Up' jack for program navigation via footswitch, and notably, a 13-pin DIN socket that enables independent output of the S700's six voices. This DIN output was originally designed to connect with Akai synthesizers (AX60, AX73, or VX90) for processing samples through their filters and envelope generators.
The S700 offers six-voice polyphony expandable to 16 voices with the optional ASK70 expansion board, and samples in 12-bit mono. Its memory architecture is notably rigid, with RAM divided equally among the six available sample slots. At the highest bandwidth setting of 16kHz (corresponding to a sampling frequency of roughly 40kHz), each sample is limited to just 0.8 seconds in length. Unfortunately, this memory cannot be dynamically allocated, meaning users cannot combine slots to create longer samples.
To work around these time limitations, users can reduce the bandwidth setting — down to a minimum of 1.6kHz — which extends sample length to a more usable eight seconds per slot, though at the cost of significantly reduced audio quality.
Despite its recording limitations, the S700 offers reasonable editing capabilities. Samples can be trimmed, re-sampled, and even "overdubbed" to create layered textures without using additional memory. The looping functions are particularly noteworthy, with options for automatic loop point detection and several playback modes including conventional sustain loops, one-shot triggers, and the distinctive "alternate" looping (where sample data plays alternately forwards and backwards between loop points).
While the unit lacks a full ADSR envelope generator, it does provide adjustable release time for looped samples, with velocity sensitivity for more expressive playing. The S700 also includes a simple low-pass filter with velocity-sensitive cutoff control, allowing samples to sound brighter when played harder, though it lacks resonance for more creative sound design.
The S700 uses the now-obsolete 2.8-inch "QuickDisk" format for sample storage. These double-sided disks offer a mere 128KB capacity — barely enough for a couple of drum samples — and are virtually impossible to find today. This serious limitation makes computer-based sample management via MIDI sample dumps (using software like Steinberg's Avalon) the only practical modern solution for preserving S700 samples, along with USB FDD drives, if you're lucky enough to find the right one.
The S700's 12-bit mono sampling at maximum 16kHz bandwidth (effective 40kHz sampling rate) produces distinctly colored results with a reduced signal-to-noise ratio and limited high-frequency reproduction compared to later 16-bit or 24-bit samplers. However, this very limitation contributes to the unit's distinctive character, particularly at reduced bandwidth settings where it excels at creating warm, punchy, and delightfully lo-fi drum loops. Bass drums become more thumpy, hi-hats are reduced to dull ticks, and snares transform into crunchy explosions — perfect for vintage hip-hop productions.
Though severely limited, the Akai S700 remains valued for its distinctive sonic character, particularly for creating Lo-Fi drum and percussion samples with a warm, vintage quality that many modern producers still seek to emulate.
Country of origin / production: Japan
Recommend product to a friend| Usage area | |
|---|---|
| Sampler | |
| Usage Design/ Form Factor | |
| Rackmount, 2U | |
| Archetype | |
| Digital (D) | |
| Polyphony | |
| Voices | 6 |
| Multi Timbral Capacity | 6 part(s) |
| Tone Generator / Sound Synthesis | |
| Synthesis Method | Digital Subtractive |
| Filter | |
| High-pass Filter (HPF) | |
| Low-pass Filter (LPF) | |
| Modulation | |
| LFO Waveforms | |
| Sine | |
| Sampler | |
| Sampler Format | Linear |
| Sample Memory | 0.256 Mb |
| MIDI in/ out | |
| IN | |
| OUT | |
| THRU | |
| Display | |
| Display type | LCD |
| Color resolution | Monochrome |
| Resolution: Symbols Count | 32 |
| Computer Interfaces | |
| FDD | |
| Power | |
| Voltage | 230V |
| Voltage | 100V |
| Voltage | 115/117V |
| Power Supply | Built-in, internal |
| Dimensions | |
| Height | 88 mm |
| Width | 483 mm |
| Depth | 429 mm |
| Weight | 7 kg |
| Case/ body | |
| Metal | |
| Color | |
| Grey | |
| Production start | 1987 |
| Production ended | |
The Akai X7000 is a vintage analog synthesizer released by Akai in 1987. It was the first in the X series of synthesizers and featured 64 voices of polyphony and a variety of analog and digital sound generation capabilities. The X7000 was used by many...
The Roland S-220 is a digital sampling module released in 1987. It was one of the first accessible digital samplers on the market and was used by electronic musicians in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The S-220 was capable of sampling at 12-bit resolution and had a maximum sample rate of 30kHz.
