Dope Machines You Didn't Know Existed: AKAI S20 (Sampler)

Details: Category: Gear; Published: Tuesday, 19 May 2015 00:58

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Dope Machines You Didn't Know Existed: AKAI S-20 (Sampler)

There is always this trend. No matter the hobby or interest. A trend of "Tried and Proven"

Or people who see someone do something great with one thing, and have the (also common) misconception they will be great with it too (or sound like that person).

You really miss out on a lot playing follow the leader. You close your eyes to an entire world just to take what has been set in front of you without question.

So right here we have the AKAI S20!

   The first time I ever heard of the AKAI S20, was from this video of Mr Propo 88 of Da Shogunz

I was eating some cup noodles and put up Youtube to have something to watch while I eat, and in my video suggestions there was the video of Mr Propo88 and his AKAI S20. So I click it and get to eating.

Youtube auto-play is on. Next video is a guy called 'EVERYDAYBREAKS' so I'm sitting there listening then stop and I look up and start watching.

Something about the S20 really caught my attention. Not only did they look wicked to me, they seemed like a real blast. So I got ebay out of curiosity and saw how much they were going for. There were none. Except for one. Which was listed "for parts or not working" for £20.

I thought dang.. That's real cheap. I've looked before and seen them go sometimes for £100 all the way up to £200.

I figured a broken one is a perfect time to pick one up. I really wanted one too! Didn't come with anything, not even the power supply.

So I get on Amazon.com, buy a power supply for the Super Nintendo. Read the note below. The Super Nintendo power supply requires modification. Alternatively you can use the power supply for the Sega Game Gear, which is ready to be used, without any modification, and meets the exact specifications as called for by the manufacturer (minus the plug size is too big)

BUY THE SEGA GAME GEAR POWER SUPPLY!

The reason I used the power supply for the Super Nintendo, is because I could not find any Sega Game Gear power supplys for sale.

NOTE:

The Super Nintendo power supply does not actually fit. The plug is way too big. All the forum posts you read saying this, are lying.

The AKAI S20 requires the following power supply: 10V DC, 800mA, Center Positive.

The Super Nintendo power supply is 10V DC, 800mA, Center Negative

You will need to reverse the polarity of the Super Nintendo power supply (Make the center postive, and the outside negative) if the plug would fit. The plug does not fit. You can not simply just reverse the polarity.

The Sega Game Gear power supply is 10V DC, 800mA, Center Positive

To change the polarity of the Super Nintendo power supply and change the plug please follow this guide here:

http://star.edorbz.com/index.php/projects-diy/25-diy-snes-power-supply-for-akai-s20-new

ONLINE RESOURCES

With anything, one of the first things I do is check to see if there is an enthusiast forum. Typically when something comes out, you have someone who starts a forum for it. Sometimes not. Other times especially when older equipment, a lot of those forums don't exist anymore.

The only place that comes to mind is MPC-FORUMS where many users dabble in all things Akai. There is a sub-forum for "Other Samplers and Beat Boxes" where you can post and search for more information on the AKAI S-20:

http://www.mpc-forums.com/

You also have SOUND ON SOUND, whose website has the original articles they published when equipment first comes out.

For the January 1997 Article on the AKAI S20:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_articles/jul97/akais20.html

NOTE: The above article from Sound On Sound, has an error. In the article it states: "Power is supplied by a small 12V DC unit -- not a wall-wart type."

This is incorrect. The power supply IS a wall-wart type. And it is not a 12V DC unit. It's a 10V DC unit. What could be the case, altho I've never seen it, the AKAI S20 first of all was a budget machine. Looking inside the unit speaks to that..

So what could have happened, they may have had a unit that was made differently, using a different power supply. I don't know. It's a pretty heavy mistake to just miswrite, so there is a possiblity, that is what the person who wrote the article had.

Using a 12v DC power supply can blow the tiny SMD fuse.

MODS

LED DISPLAY

From first sight a few things do make it a bit of your own, is the display. It's a 4 digit LED display. Characters showing in Red. Because these are still used, especially in the electronics hobbyist community, you can find them in many colors. The trick will be, to find the right size.

Measuring the display, the dimensions are as follows:

x
x
x

Imagine one of these in your S20

LED's

First mod that comes to mind, is all the LED's on this thing. LED's both through hole and SMD (surface mount design) are easily swappable by desoldering the originals and soldering in new ones in their place. SMD requiring a bit more skill however.

So whatever color you can think of, you might find an LED for! In many cases however, there is a size requirement, and some LEDs have different shapes!

So the more obscure shapes and sizes might have less color options.

CARD READER SWAP

MANUALS

Official Operations Manual:

It took ages to find a site that hosted this fine, and I got nothing but an Scribd link that wanted me to pay to download. Well. I did. Now you won't have any trouble finding it.

Here it is without any signups or any other hoops to download

Akai-s20_Operator_Manual.pdf

Factory Service Manual: (Unavailable -- May not have yet been released online)

PHOTOS

VIDEOS

A pretty interesting video from Youtube user Tblv9300 sampling in and showing some instant ease of use action

Live jam from EVERYDAYBREAKS! He has some great videos of him getting down on the AKAI S20.

Afuraki playing around with some long used and more known of breaks and sounds.

Good video to see the S20 in action!