Hi every one, some one I know who lives in Germany saw an advert for an Akai S-3500 sampler...now neither of us is aware of such model so he contacted the guy who sent him a pic..which he then gave to me

Is this real or a photo shop fake and does any one have more info on it? I'm going to guess Hollowsun will most likely know something about this (or not)

Ooh ... yeah new to me. A prototype maybe? Or indeed a fake although I can't see any obvious evidence of Photoshop. Does look real. The control area is on a separate aluminium plate by the looks of it. Can't recall any S-series samplers that adopted that style. The plate looks quite roughly machined, no finishing on the corners. Evidence to support it's a prototype maybe?

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Original artwork and unique devices inspired by vintage technology http://www.thisisobsolete.com

Edited by jellyjim (12/09/10 07:27 PM)

it looks like its a 3200xl but with 3500 instead.

might be a prototype tho so must boost its price up by about 10p

A google search reveals nothing.

I call fake!

Either that or a prototype. Looks clean. How much he want for it?

ken

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I'm All Ears.

Quote jellyjim:

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Ooh ... yeah new to me. A prototype maybe? Or indeed a fake although I can't see any obvious evidence of Photoshop. Does look real. The control area is on a separate aluminium plate by the looks of it. Can't recall any S-series samplers that adopted that style. The plate looks quite roughly machined, no finishing on the corners. Evidence to support it's a prototype maybe?

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I thought it might be a prototype too but google didn't reveal anything and if google can't find it then it don't exist lol Plenty of hits on the MPC-3500 which was the MPC-5000 prototype.
Although I know hollowsun owns a very special Akai S-2800 which was the S-3000XL prototype and perhaps the only one out there but I'm not sure what the faceplate says.

All the big boy S series ha that aluminum plate i.e. S-3000, 3200 and 3200XL

Here is mine

@ Ken, I didn't ask how much he was selling it for


Edited by vinyl_junkie (12/09/10 08:19 PM)

Quote vinyl_junkie:

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All the big boy S series ha that aluminum plate i.e. S-3000, 3200 and 3200XL

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Oh yeah, couldn't place it in my mind in close up.

If it's fake it's a strange thing to fake! There's hardly a shortage of S-series samplers out there.

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Original artwork and unique devices inspired by vintage technology http://www.thisisobsolete.com

OK, I admit it, I tried Google and couldn't even get close.

It doesn't appear to be a fake or manipulated image, no artefacts I can spot. So we are in the realms of guesses, more or less informed.

It's a puzzle, and I like puzzles. But I wish there was more to go on than a pic. Could be a prototype, could be an early version of the S3200XL, could be a Japan only market version, could be an S3000 with all the options fitted.

What you need is a contact at Akai, or someone like Hollowsun with contacts. If you had the device itself you could get serial numbers.

But just by starting this thread you may have started the legend of the AKAI S3500. In years to come that might be something to be proud of.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

There was no such thing as an Akai S3500...

I was involved in the design of the S3000/S3200 - contributed to the UI and spec, etc., - and had the prototypes here on which I developed sound library for them and wrote the operator's manuals for them, etc.. Not a pleasant task given that the OS was in development and prone to buggering out before my endeavours were saved - the joys of working with protos! Aaaargh!

There was no S3500. Fact. Certainly no prototype with that name was ever built (that I am aware of ... and I had first dibs on protos for my work with Akai Japan). I was also (partly) involved in deciding product names for Akai Japan and worked with Akai's worldwide distributors on such matters. An Akai 'S3500' was never on the agenda of any meeting we held in Japan or Frankfurt or London.

I can verify this with Mr Tamaki, the ex-head of Akai R+D, and all my other friends at the 'old' Akai Japan if you want.

This is a clever (and well done) FAKE.

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

I, however, have an S2800XL here...



Never released with that model number.

This is a genuine prototype, hand built, and became, with a model number change, the S3000XL.

I influenced that model number change in that S2-something was less than S3-something and the S2800XL became the best selling S3000XL - i.e. that despite the 2U rack format, the S3000XL (Xtra Large?) was an improvement over the 3U S3000 ... which it was in many ways with the introduction of the 'multi' mode and other refinements.

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

How mysterious. But a fake to what end? It doesn't sound like the seller was selling it as a collector's item and I'm not sure an unusual S-series machine of that time would fetch much of a premium anyway. Other theories ...

1) Hollowsun was too flirty at the Akai Christmas party one year with the bosses daughter and he was kept out of the loop on this one

2) It's some kind of factory second/error

3) It's an after market mod that someone thought it'd be fun to do as they'd max'd out there 3000/200/XL. Are the faceplates silk-screened or are they decals?

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Original artwork and unique devices inspired by vintage technology http://www.thisisobsolete.com

Quote jellyjim:

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1) Hollowsun was too flirty at the Akai Christmas party one year with the bosses daughter and he was kept out of the loop on this one

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Ha! I wish! There was some lovely totty at Akai Japan HQ but I was 'gaijin' (i.e' outsider') so ....!

Quote jellyjim:

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2) It's some kind of factory second/error

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Nope!

Quote jellyjim:

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3) It's an after market mod that someone thought it'd be fun to do as they'd max'd out there 3000/200/XL. Are the faceplates silk-screened or are they decals?

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The panels were silk screened. However...

With the release of the S3000/3200, we had all sorts of loons suggesting features for the 'next generation' samplers. As it happens, they were taken seriously and materialised in the S5/6000. But maybe this was some attempt at tempting Akai for a 'next generation' with an artist's impression ... or something.

I can only speak as I see it and I was in Akai Japan's 'inner sanctum' as it were (I lived there for a while, learnt to speak J and all that and was 'accepted') and - to my knowledge at least - there was never an S3500 ... I'd have known about it, I am sure - I was privvy to greater company secrets than this.

I am calling 'fake' on this with almost 99.9% certainty!

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

Can you check the exact specifications of the sampler with the seller? Looks like a S3000 era sampler. But normally the model number is to the left side of the sampler and not above REC and Volume pots on the right. The only model I know of with the model number on the right is the S3200XL.

Maybe the name was changed for a specific market, like Akai did with the S2800, that sometimes was called S2800i (with SCSI) or the S2800 Studio (SCSI plus more RAM if I recall correctly). Is it a fully kitted out S3200XL?

There seems be one S3500 for sale in Japan: http://page10.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m78822913?ySiD=phqOTBXWiyENa ajsL_KG

and it is a S3200XL.

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TritonExtrMOSS/EX800, NordRack2, ATC1, D550/XV5080/MKS70/MKS7/MKS50/MKS80/S550/JP8080/Ju60/JD990, Blofeld, Mopho, TG77/An1X, ESQM, Emax, Esynth, AkaiS5k/MPC1k, Indigo2, Rogue, Machinedrum, ProOne

Look at the bottom pic. Says 3500 on the rear too? Mysterious!

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Original artwork and unique devices inspired by vintage technology http://www.thisisobsolete.com

The plot thickens.

I wish to change my mind to: Real!

Its a proto 3200XL.

ken

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I'm All Ears.

Quote hollowsun:

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I am calling 'fake' on this with almost 99.9% certainty!

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0.01% wins?

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I'm All Ears.

Quote DePulse:

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There seems be one S3500 for sale in Japan:

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and it is a S3200XL.

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The 'Modular Editing System by Akai' silkscreen top left above the panel is a vital clue in solving this and indicates to me that this is a prototype (which I never knew about) of the S3200XL. Akai Japan were keen to push the MESA editing software thing (as well as putting as many meaningless words on the front panel as they could think of!!) with the 3000XL-series but were talked out of it by the distributors for various reasons so that silk screening was dropped from production models.

I was sure that the other S3500 was a fake job assuming it was supposed to be a production model - an S3500 was never released to the great unwashed. And Japan must have changed their mind about the name before it even came up for discussion.

I can only imagine that these S3500s were once 'owned' by Akai people working on the samplers (like myself and my S2800XL here) and they've slipped out onto the market somehow. This would make them (like my S2800XL and 'Boreas') pretty rare because only two or three would have been made (they were very expensive to make as one-offs).

Worth mentioning if anyone's interested in buying is that these protos would not have been subject to the usual international safety testing procedures. They're probably fine (possibly better than the mass produced models) but worth bearing mind perhaps. Also worth bearing in mind is that the components inside might not be the same as the production models and so maybe trickier to repair if anything went wrong.

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

Quote ken long:

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Quote hollowsun:

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I am calling 'fake' on this with almost 99.9% certainty!

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0.01% wins?

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It does indeed!

Not one I have heard of. As mentioned above, they must have changed their minds on the name before it even came up for discussion (but after they had built a few protos). I spoke to someone else involved in these and they had no recollection of an S3500 prototype.

It makes sense that there's one in Japan but Germany? No-one in Germany was working on them - it must have made its way there from Japan.

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

Quote hollowsun:

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(as well as putting as many meaningless words on the front panel as they could think of!!)

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Yeah, they're good at that those Japanese!

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I'm All Ears.

I hope you don't take offense HS, but that 2800 is grimy. You a smoker by any chance?



ken

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I'm All Ears.

@ Hollowsun

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I was also (partly) involved in deciding product names for Aka

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Something ive always wanted to know.

Why was the S2000 called just that when the earlier S2800 was arguably better.

It always seemed out of place to me.

Quote ken long:

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I hope you don't take offense HS, but that 2800 is grimy. You a smoker by any chance?

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I am but that S2800XL is also 16 years old and has seen some pretty serious action!

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

Wooo thanks to every one that has contributed to this post, I honestly thought it was a fake until now.

Any chance you can snap a pic of the inside of that S-2800XL? Just wondered how it differed from the production model internally.

S2800 name makes sense as it's almost a S-3000 but yes S-2000 is a bit strange...perhaps S-2500XL? LOL it's almost a S-3000XL...well actually it is pretty much a 3000XL but very cut down graphical user interface, still a very successful sampler though.

One question on my mind though why on earth were they all fitted with those annoying EL displays that fade and those wining inverters...surely there were better LCD's about using LDE's for illumination or a better inverter part that is less buzzy with age

Yup, I too saw some pretty serious action 16 years ago!



Smoker too, btw.

ken

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I'm All Ears.

Hello there, I'm the owner of the Akai S3500 and it's not a fake and it's not photoshopped. I used to work in the syntheiszer departement at musicstore germany and they had this thing in the 2nd hand departement. I was raving about and I got for stupid 150€. I just added some photos under www.myspace.com/rabbiat , goto the studio section, there are more pics of it.
Regards Fred the owner of the S3500

I never said that I want to sell it, if you have 1000€ then maybe.
If you guys still don't believe me go to myspace.com/rabbiat and then to the studio section of the photos I recently uploaded more pics of it. It has Modular Editing System by Akai printed at the left side about the sreen, but it seems to be the sucessor of the S3200xl, but it don't have the filterboard, nor the EB16. I just bought a S3200xl to do comparisons.

greetz frederic

PS I can make a video if the photos weren't satisfying.

Please go to myspace.com/rabbiat and to the studio-fotosection, then you will see more pics, though my camera isn't the best.

Goddamnit it's not fake, go to myspace.com/rabbiat and then to the studiosection. I wouldn't have anything from faking fotos. I will shortly upload a video if you don't believe me, even the akai hq don't know this thing, what is a bit akward.

Quote frederic Sammer:

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Goddamnit it's not fake, go to myspace.com/rabbiat and then to the studiosection.

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Calm down, I think we've already ascertained that it's for real.

Hello Fred

It's Ok! We believe you Why did you post four times in a row each with increasing urgency?! Are we missing some posts?

Nice unusual find. Is it any different from S3200 or do you think it's just some kind of re-badging? What does the OS report it's version as?

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Original artwork and unique devices inspired by vintage technology http://www.thisisobsolete.com

Frederic.

It's been established that it's a very early prototype of the S3200XL.

From the first photo, having been involved in the development of those samplers with Akai Japan and never having heard of an S3500, I assumed (wrongly) that it was a fake but that item in Japan on eBay (with 'Modular Editing System by Akai' on it) established that it's a prototype S3200XL.

Akai HQ won't know about it. I was involved with the series' development and *I* didn't know about it, nether does a colleague I spoke today to who worked on that series as well.

You have an S3200XL proto. I am curious how it ended up in Germany because, as mentioned, only two or three would have been made and never released. I can understand one or two of those protos turning up in Japan but German?

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

Quote kolakube:

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Why was the S2000 called just that when the earlier S2800 was arguably better.

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You've kind of answered your own question there, Kola!

The S2800 is 800 better than the S2000!

It wasn't the best naming convention, it has to be said, but it worked - the S2000 was the world's best selling hardware sampler ever, beating even the S900.

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

Well it says OS 1.5. The Akai S3200Xl that I ordered will arrive in a week I think, so then I'll do a comparision functionwise and soundwise, even if I doubt that ther's a significant difference between it and the 3200XL. I saw the auction and it's the same one that I have, but mine works with european voltage. It also have this S3200XL chip built inside, I will open it up for guys and take some photos from the inside. Mine has the serial 000013, so I guess there are about 20 of those made.

Greetz Fred

My chief told me, that a japanese guy who worked for AKAI made a present to music store professional, but they(the owner of the 2nd hand store) didn't want it to sell. But I convienced him of selling it to me than instead having it collecting dust. So I am a proud owner of a real rarity. I thought about buying the other one from japan, but my japanese knowledge is little to nothing, perhaps someone could help.

Does all this mean my über rare S3000i is worth more than £50 then? Hurrah!!

Paul

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Paul

S3000i and rare, gotta be joking...

I'll give ya 50P ferret, deal?

OS 2.0 sucked imo on the 3200XL unless you wanted to use MESA or was it Re-Cycle that needed 2.0 can't remember now. Still use v1.50, on 2.0 had that annoying bug where you couldn't use the FX through feature and some other minor things locked it up.

My main annoyance with the 3x series was how the S1100 and S1000 imo sounded better or should I say nicer, the other thing I would of liked to see in the OS is for it to make a new name every time you sample a new sound like on the MPC-2000XL

Quote jellyjim:

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Why did you post four times in a row each with increasing urgency?! Are we missing some posts?

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He was replying to each poster in turn!

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I'm All Ears.

Quote frederic Sammer:

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S3000i and rare, gotta be joking...

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Of course I was joking. Just like you were joking about getting €1000 for your S3200XL, sorry, S3500

Paul

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Paul

Quote frederic Sammer:

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My chief told me, that a japanese guy who worked for AKAI made a present to music store professional

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Hmmmmm. Not sure about that largely because, as mentioned, they wouldn't have had any of the usual electrical safety tests. I was under strict instructions not to lend or sell any of my protos.

Quote frederic Sammer:

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I thought about buying the other one from japan, but my japanese knowledge is little to nothing, perhaps someone could help.

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Could someone who loves hardware samplers use this?

There is some damage due to ageing but proportionate to its age. YuPack will be shipping - cash on delivery. I cannot offer any return.

We can't offer technical support for the successful bidder.

We have checked out this model but there is so little information on this sampler. It is rare so we are thinking it was expensive.

The model number is shown as S3500 in the photo but inside, it seems to be an S3200XL.

Basic operation is ok but not everything has been checked. The backlight works and '16MWords Fitted' is shown on the display during start up.

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

Not sure why you would want another S3500 or be prepared to pay the cash to import it from Japan when you already have one and they are not even the nicest samplers on the market.
They make nice affordable workhorses but if I wanted to treat my self on a sampler it sure wouldn't be Akai but more like EMU, Roland, Ensoniq or Kurtzwiel

HS have you thought of writing a book or something about your time with Akai? They were very important samplers imo, if the Queen gave sampling awards Akai would sure be one of them hahah
It was like the model T Ford to pro samplers, ever since I was a kid I lusted at one after seeing them in every musician's rack but could only afford them when they were less popular.

Here is an amusing documentary on the S-1000 done by CH4 I think...must of been around 2000 shame the one with the DX-7 is gone...I am one of those strange people who actually likes that board

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCZEF5O4FOI

Edited by vinyl_junkie (13/09/10 08:53 PM)

Who was that tosswipe of a (ahem) 'music journalist'? Somebody Tope. Tit!

Typical bloody journalist - just talking made up bollocks!

They didn't introduce new laws because of samplers - they used existing ones of copyright, etc..

He's on other videos from the same bloke who put that vid up ... he just talks through his arse on those too, his journalist chum as well.

How can a man so blissfully ignorant of the subject on which he supposedly 'reports' have a job AND be used as an (ahem) 'expert'?

Anyway... that is all. As you were!

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

Quote hollowsun:

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How can a man so blissfully ignorant of the subject on which he supposedly 'reports' have a job AND be used as an (ahem) 'expert'?

Anyway... that is all. As you were!

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No, no! Don't stop.

I saw that series of documentaries at the time. It was cool of C4 to bother including them in their programming but they were pretty lame and came out well after the fact.

I don't consider the sampler as being the catalyst that created dance music. That accolade falls to two drum machines and a bassline synthesiser who's names I barely need mention. There was undeniably crossover but really it's

808+303+909 = house/techno
808+linn drum+sampler+vinyl = hip hop

the sampler BECAME important in all genres of dance music but it wasn't there in the beginning, not in so far as it determined the structure of the music, sure people were dropping in vocal snippets and what not but the majority of early acid house tunes were not sample heavy by any means

one of the few advantages of being nearly 40 is that i know this because i was there listening to them ... in a damp archway in east london ... sweating ... gurning ... telling strangers i loved them ... etc

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Original artwork and unique devices inspired by vintage technology http://www.thisisobsolete.com

Edited by jellyjim (13/09/10 10:17 PM)

Hey don't most people in the media talk through their anus? I thought it was a standard requirement especially a high quality outfit such as CH4

I think the TB-303 video the narrator calls it the TR-303 or something wrong...but we are just geeks

In music..especially dance/electronic music most people I have found have no clue what they are talking about hahah no offense to the good people out there and I know there are a few

Worth nothing too the really early chicago house was mainly Casio RZ-1 and Roland TR-707's Armando's Land Of Confusion as an example and of course that pesky silver acid box heheh
For some reason the 707's really back in fashion at the moment.

The way I see house music is just a evolution from Disco..I mean this is disco but at the same time (to me any way) it could be house
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYBHBPd3nI0
As is Luv Dancing

I'd call this house from 1983
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUtZWik0XVc

bla bla bla it's late one last one hahah Steve Silk Hurley WBMX mix from 1985 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26K89VK2KAw man oh man the tunage then

Quote vinyl_junkie:

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Hey don't most people in the media talk through their anus?

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They do and the sooner we all wean ourselves off believing the steady drip, drip, drip of meeeeeeeja bollox, the better because it is irrelevant noise with little or no basis in reality.

Even the basic tenet of that video was not strictly accurate because it was the S900 that started it all, especially (in Europe at least) in conjunction with the Atari. The S1000 was a significant product but it was the S900 that was the catalyst for sampling techniques people still use today.

And even that was preceded by the Mirage ... although it was the S900 that captured the Zeitgeist by being (essentially) an £1,800 Fairlight (rather than an £18,000 Fairlight!).

In the US, it was different - it was the MPC60 that kicked off phrase sampling. Akai couldn't give 'em away in Europe (which was dominated by the S900/Atari combo) but the US Akai distributor couldn't sell MPC60's fast enough - they were flying off the shelves!

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

First off, nothing Akai do surprises me. They have a couple of decent blokes working for them but when it comes to management and directors, well, lets just say they are one of the worst companies to deal with both in terms of support and how they treat potential project partners.
Steve's one of the good blokes though.

However, this thread reminds me of the time when I was doing some work for Roland beta testing a new module they had made. It was the 303 rack called the M303R. I had one of, I believe, 6 units ever built although I can't even find info on them.
The unit they sent to me for testing had the most unstable engine and the oscs would actually emit RF and the processing path would create the strangest and interesting sounds. I never ever got a bass sound, or any sensible waveform, out of the unit. BUT, I loved it because of that. Needless to say Roland ditched the project and I got to keep the unit.
I sold it years ago and got more money for it than my 303s.
The dude that bought it also had the famous Fizmo (I worked on the rack too but that's another story), so he appreciated randomness and mayhem.

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

Quote Zukan:

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Steve's one of the good blokes though.

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Where do I send the tenner!

Quote Zukan:

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However, this thread reminds me of the time when I was doing some work for Roland beta testing a new module they had made. It was the 303 rack called the M303R. I had one of, I believe, 6 units ever built although I can't even find info on them.
The unit they sent to me for testing had the most unstable engine and the oscs would actually emit RF and the processing path would create the strangest and interesting sounds.

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I have had protos which were more like Meccano kits with exposed components and mains rails, etc.. I have had to keep people out of my lab on grounds of health and safety!

Great fun as well when using a really early OS that has more bugs than a roach infected tenement building and you have to build the factory library and/or write the manual! and describe features which haven't yet been implemented!

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

Quote:

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The dude that bought it also had the famous Fizmo

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ive been looking for one of them for sale for years and not found 1

It was a huge failure but has developed a real cult status.

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

While I've got the attention of all the Akai fans, has anyone got a recommendation for a quiet replacement backlight inverter for the S1000? I've bought two resin-filled ones from Germany and they are as whistley as the knackered 22 year old Akai part!

I've had one recommendation of a Hantronix one but they're only available in the USA so with postage they're not that cheap.