The Akai S1000 is a 16-bit, 44.1 kHz professional stereo digital sampler released by Akai in 1988. It was one of the first professional-quality 16-bit stereo samplers. It could splice, crossfade, trim, and loop sounds in 16-bit CD quality, which made it popular among producers from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s. The S1000 used 24-bit internal processing, had digital filters, and an effects send and return. It came with 2MB of RAM (expandable to 8MB, and 32MB after the introduction of the EXM008 RAM boards for the S1100 in 1990).

Version 2.0 of the S1000's operating system introduced primitive time-stretching, allowing a sound's pitch and length to be changed separately. This unique sound became popular in its own right and was used in songs such as "Higher State of Consciousness" and "RipGroove."

Variants

Several different versions of the S1000 were made:

• The S1000HD had a built-in 40MB hard drive
• The S1000KB was designed as a keyboard with space for an 80MB hard drive inside
• The S1000PB could only play back sounds, not record new ones
• The S1100, released in 1990, had more features than the S1000, including effects and a SCSI interface; its original price was $4,999
• The S1100EX (Expander) was a playback-only module that connected to the S1100 to increase the number of sounds that could be played at once, allow multiple musical parts, and add more effects. It did not have its own control panel. Its original price was $2,999.

Expansion cards

The following add-on cards can be used to improve the performance of any S1000 series sampler:

• EXM005 2MB RAM (You can add up to three of these cards to reach a total of 8MB of RAM)
• EXM008 8MB RAM, introduced in 1990 (You can install up to four of these cards to reach 32MB of RAM)
• IB 102 Atari / Supra hard drive connection
• IB 103 SCSI interface
• IB 104 AES/EBU digital interface

Legacy

The S1000 became the standard tool in music studios after replacing the S900. Many musicians working at home could create music using only an S1000 and a computer called an Atari ST to arrange the music. In the UK, this setup was widely used to make music in styles such as jungle and speed garage.

In an interview more than ten years after the S1000 was released, Michael Sandison of Boards of Canada said, "I own five or six samplers, but my favorite is still the Akai S1000. It is now an old machine, and its screen is faded, making it hard to read. However, I know how to use it very well. It is the most creative tool for making short musical ideas." On the other hand, Dave McDonald of Portishead described the S1000 as "a difficult device" because of its simple and hard-to-use design.

Notable users

Notable users are 808 State, Boards of Canada, Bomb the Bass, Butch Vig/Garbage, Cabaret Voltaire, The Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, the Future Sound of London, Michael Jackson, Jean-Michel Jarre, Meat Beat Manifesto, Moby, My Bloody Valentine, Gary Numan, Nine Inch Nails (S1100), Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Pet Shop Boys, Portishead, Primal Scream, The Prodigy, Public Enemy, The Sisters of Mercy, The Stone Roses, System 7, Tears for Fears, Tricky, Vangelis, and Vince Clarke.