
Get the sound of early digital crunch in your DAW
Norman Cook was a prolific user of Akais now classic S950.
The second-hand prices of vintage samplers like the Akai S950 and E-mu SP-1200 have shot up lately, and its safe to say that has nothing to do with their memory specs! Countless music genres, from hip-hop to happy hardcore, were built around the use of early hardware samplers, which typically had low bit depths (the classics operated at 12-bit) and low sample rates that severely restricted their frequency responses.
Those early A-D and D-A converters imparted a distinctive gritty sound on samples, and its that sound that plug-in makers Beatskillz have emulated in their new plug-in, SampleX. Beatskillz say it can reproduce the sound of almost any digital sampler, and to that end it allows you to adjust the audios bit depth (from 24 to a crunchy 4 bits!) and sample rate (as low as 2kHz).
Without the luxury of headroom that modern converters provide, users of early samplers had to drive the inputs pretty hard - and thats something else that SampleX emulates. An on/off switch lets you simulate the sound of an Akai S900s input stage being pushed to its limits.
Other controls include Shift, which lets you tune the aliasing cause by the reduced sample rate. This lets you emulate the old trick of sampling records at high speed to save on memory, then pitching them down in the sampler to keep the original pitch and duration - only with rather finer control.
The plug-ins input and output levels can be adjusted independently, while separate Wet and Dry sliders let you apply processing in parallel to taste.
Finally, SampleX has a virtual analogue filter, which aims to recreate the sound of the 24dB/octave low-pass filters found on Akais S-series and MPC samplers. Like on the originals, this filter can be coerced into self-oscillation by turning the resonance all the way up.
All those parameters will be welcome to those who like to fine-tune their tone, but if you simply want the sound of a classic sampler, SampleX has you covered too: it ships with a generous selection of presets that cover specific hardware models, including the Akai S612, S900, and S950; and E-mus SP-12 and SP-1200.
SampleX is available now for the introductory price of $39 (normally $69). Click the video below to hear it in action.
Video of SampleX - Sampler Emulator ( Sound Demo )
https://www.beatskillz.com/samplex
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
16/04/2026
At Spotify, we want your experience to feel intuitive and personal across every moment of the day. Whether you're streaming your favorite playlist while you...
16/04/2026
Vintage broadcast experts release second plug-in
Telsie T is the second plug-in to be released by SonicWorld, a German audio company who specialise in servi...
16/04/2026
Compact unit offers hands-on plug-in control
Softube have just announced the launch of their latest hardware unit, the Flow Studio. Housed in a compact desk...
16/04/2026
Use any VST3 plug-in on immersive audio
Fiedler Audio have just released a powerful new plug-in wrapper that brings full VST3 processing to Dolby Atmos and ...
16/04/2026
Analysis plug-in gains enhanced frequency readouts
Nugen Audio's real-time analysis plug-in has just received a significant update that introduces some ...
16/04/2026
Recording & Music Technology Show
Sound On Sound are pleased to announce a new recording and music technology exhibition taking place in London on Saturday ...
16/04/2026
Bookish is created, written by and starring Mark Gatiss, with series one available on Sky, Virgin Media and NOW
Daily Mail - 5****
The I - 4****
Daily Telegr...
16/04/2026
Fox Corporation Names Amazon Web Services its Preferred AI Cloud Provider New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA - April 16, 2026 - Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, F...
16/04/2026
The search for Ireland's newest country music star takes place live on Frida...
15/04/2026
From immersive storytelling to laugh-out-loud comedies, podcasts are booming in ...
15/04/2026
Books have always moved with us, whether tucked in our bags or humming in our he...
15/04/2026
For many artists, independent venues are where music careers begin and fan communities take shape. Independent venue operators work hard every day to keep local...
15/04/2026
From gripping thrillers to poignant memoirs, the 21st century has had no shortage of unforgettable books. To celebrate the standout storytelling of our modern e...
15/04/2026
Vintage broadcast experts release second plug-in
Telsie T is the second plug-in to be released by SonicWorld, a German audio company who specialise in servi...
15/04/2026
Includes eight free UAD plug-ins
Universal Audio's latest bundle brings together a selection of their renowned plug-ins and virtual instruments, and is ...
15/04/2026
Maximum uptime for broadcasters: Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S BroadcastShield at...
15/04/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, announces the market launch of the ACCE...
15/04/2026
April 15 2026, 13:34 (PDT) EVO Entertainment to Bring Dolby Vision Atmos Across Its EVX Auditoriums
Integration would cover 17 screens across Texas, New Mex...
15/04/2026
Wednesday 15 April 2026
Introducing Smart Home from Sky, a simple way to stay c...
15/04/2026
Wednesday 15 April 2026
The Burbs confirmed to return to Sky and NOW for a second season
Mystery-comedy series, The Burbs, will continue its exclusive resid...
15/04/2026
With new broadcast standards evolving all over the world and OTT streaming striving for the pole position in media consumption, both next-gen video and audio co...
15/04/2026
Harmonic's XOS Media Processor Delivers Exceptional Video Quality to More th...
15/04/2026
Five Decades of Box Office Intelligence: Comscore Celebrates 50 Years of Movie M...
15/04/2026
Two Cities Television and Keeper Pictures to produce six-part series in association with Screen Ireland for RT and ITV Studios
RT has commissioned Two Citie...
15/04/2026
RT 100
RT unveils The Signal' a specially commissioned 60-second film
...
14/04/2026
ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 P...
14/04/2026
Captures a trio of renowned polysynths
The latest software to join AIR Music Tech's extensive catalogue captures the sound of three sought-after polysyn...
14/04/2026
Free offering includes 10 powerful plug-ins
United Plugins have announced the launch of a new bundle that brings together 10 of their pro-audio plug-ins, an...
14/04/2026
Julian Coryell joins virtual session player line-up
Announced at NAMM 2026, Celemony's Tonalic kits DAW users out with real performances by world-class ...
14/04/2026
FOX Advertising Unveils New Brand Strategy and Identity Turn Passion into Perfo...
14/04/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Brian Doheny as President and Chief Revenue Of...
14/04/2026
X-Rite Pantone Color Academy Grand Opening in Shanghai
On March 27, 2026, X-Rite Pantone, the global authority in color standards and color science, held the...
14/04/2026
14 Apr 2026
VEON and JazzWorld Receive Competition Commission of Pakistan Appro...
14/04/2026
Tuesday 14 April 2026
Nicola Coughlan and Aimee Lou Wood to host next two episo...
14/04/2026
Lead writer and executive producer Jack Lothian joins alongside lead director Je...
14/04/2026
Wuppertal April 14, 2026
Thomas Riedel Acquires Premium Manufacturer ARRIStrategic Alignment With the Riedel Group for Innovation and Growth
Thomas Riedel, f...
14/04/2026
New Service Simplifies Integration of AI Applications with Exceptional Reliabili...
14/04/2026
Luxembourg, April 14, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, today annou...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAir Composition Builder 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: The Composition Builder 2026 application for macOS enables TV stations and Live Event broadcast...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAr just:live pro 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: just:live pro 2026 is a Multi-Channel Live Production Playout solution for video and static or real-ti...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAr just:play pro 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: just:play pro 2026 is a Multi-Channel automated 24/7 Master Control playout solution with SD, HD and U...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAr live:cut 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: live:cut is an option to just:in mac pro 2025 and enables multicamera production workflows for up to 16 cam...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite NDI 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite NDI application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specific...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specifically for...