S700

Back in 1987, this Japanese-made gem kicked off Akai's legendary sampler line, treating samples like oscillators in a full-on synth setup—perfect for anyone chasing that raw, gritty 12-bit vibe.

Rackmounted in a sturdy 2U chassis measuring 483 x 429 x 88 mm and weighing 7 kg, it packs a 16x2 backlit LCD, data wheel, three knobs, 20 buttons, and a built-in Quick Disk drive for saving your sounds. Sample at rates from 1.6 kHz to 16 kHz (up to 40 kHz effective) for 0.8 to 8 seconds of audio in 128 or 256 KB RAM, with 6-voice polyphony expandable to 16 via the ASK-70 board. Per-voice highlights include a programmable analog low-pass filter (non-resonant, -12 dB/octave, velocity-sensitive with keytrack), a triangle LFO for pitch vibrato, and simple EGs for amplitude and cutoff—plus stereo ins/outs, MIDI, and a 13-pin DIN for individual voice outs or linking to Akai synths like the AX60.

Players love its punchy, characterful tone—think Chemical Brothers or Orbital tracks—and how approachable it feels despite the era's quirks, though Quick Disks can be a hunt today.