Wikipedia

E-mu SP-1200

The E-mu SP-1200 is a sampling drum machine[4] designed by Dave Rossum and released in August 1987 by E-mu Systems.[2]

SP-1200
E-mu SP-1200 sampler
ManufacturerE-mu Systems
Rossum Electro-Music (2021 reissue))[1]
Dates1987–1990, 1993-1998,[2][3] 2021–present
PriceUS $2,745[2]
US $3,999 (2021 reissue)
Technical specifications
Polyphonypolyphonic 8 voices
Synthesis type12-bit samples, 26.04 kHz[3]
FilterSSM2044,[2] SSI2144 (2021 reissue)[1]
Storage memory10 seconds sample time, 100 user patterns, 100 user songs[3]
EffectsIndividual level and tuning for all sounds
Input/output
Keyboard8 hard plastic touch-sensitive[2][3] buttons
External controlMIDI, SMPTE
original E-mu SP-1200 (1987)

Like its predecessor, the SP-12, the SP-1200 was designed as a drum machine featuring user sampling.[5] The distinctive character of SP-1200's sound, often described as "warm" and "gritty,"[1][2][3][6] and attributed to SP-1200's low 26.04 kHz sampling rate, its 12-bit sampling resolution, and its SSM2044 filter chips,[2] has sustained demand for the SP-1200 more than thirty-five years after its debut, despite the availability of digital audio workstations and samplers/sequencers with superior technical specifications.[2][3]

The SP-1200 is strongly associated with hip hop's golden age.[3] It enabled musicians to construct the bulk of a song within one piece of portable gear, a first for the industry,[7] reducing studio costs and increasing creative control for hip-hop artists. According to the Village Voice, "The machine rose to such prominence that its strengths and weaknesses sculpted an entire era of music: the crunchy digitized drums, choppy segmented samples, and murky filtered basslines that characterize the vintage New York sound are all mechanisms of the machine."[6]

Features

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The SP-1200 can store up to 100 patterns, 100 songs, and has a 5,000-note maximum memory for sequences.[3] The sequencer enables musicians to create patterns using both step programming and real-time recording of performances using the touch-sensitive[2][3] front panel buttons (and via external MIDI note input). Patterns can be easily organized into songs, and swing, quantization, and tempo and mix changes can be applied. SP-1200 can both generate SMPTE, MIDI, and analogue clock signals and synchronize its tempo and sequencer to them. Users can also tap the front panel Tap / Repeat button or an external footswitch to program the tempo. "[8]

Selecting between banks A, B, C, and D gives the user easy access to each of the 32 sounds. Eight sliders are used to set sounds' pitch and volume parameters. Large buttons located directly below each slider are used to play or to select sounds. Using a piezo sensor on the circuit board listening for the button’s impact, a technology invented by E-mu co-founder Scott Wedge, enables dynamics to be performed.[2][3]

SP-1200 uses a 12-bit linear data format and the same 26.04kHz sample rate E-mu previously used in Drumulator and SP-12.[2][3][9][10][11][12] The sample rate was chosen early on in Drumulator’s development as a compromise between bandwidth and sampling time.[2][3][13] A reconstruction filter was deliberately omitted, resulting in a brighter sound due to imaging (sounds above the sample rate).[3][10][13]

Differences from the SP-12

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The SP-1200 retained all of the capabilities, inputs, and outputs of its predecessor, the SP-12, minus the cassette output and connectivity for the 1541 Commodore Computer 5.25" floppy disk drive.[3] In their place, SP-1200 features an integrated disk drive for storing and loading sounds and sequences.[2][3]

Unlike the SP-12 and Drumulator, the SP-1200 does not use any ROM-based samples; all samples are stored in volatile RAM and loaded from 3.5" disk.[2][3] Maximum sampling time was doubled from the upgraded SP-12 Turbo, to 10 seconds, but the maximum single sample was 2.5 seconds.[2][3]

SP-1200 provides additional unfiltered versions of the signals from its first six channels (not available on SP-12) using TRS connections for each individual output, providing the option to use unfiltered signals from all eight channels / voices. [10][11][13]

Technique

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The limited sampling time of the SP-1200 was overcome within the late 1980s hip hop production circles by sampling 33⅓ rpm records at 45 rpm, with an additional pitch increase, then replaying the sample from the SP-1200 at a much slower speed (by the use of Multipitch and/or tune/decay edit functions). This expanded the total sampling time while at the same time decreasing the resolution. By the early 1990s, nearly every working hip hop producer had adopted this technique as industry standard until the advent of newer samplers such as Akai's MPC60, which provided higher sampling rates and more sampling time.[3]

Reissue

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In 2021, Dave Rossum announced that he would be reissuing the SP-1200 through his company, Rossum Electro-Music.[1] The Rossum SP-1200 provides 20 seconds total sampling time, equal to twice the original SP-1200's 10 seconds.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Mullen, Matt (4 November 2021). "Reissue of the classic SP-1200 sampler announced by Dave Rossum". MusicRadar. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Keeble, Rob (September 2002). "30 Years of Emu". Sound on Sound. SOS Publications Group. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Hyland, Simon (2011). SP-1200: The Art and Science. 27Sens. p. 35-37,61-63,82,86,116. ISBN 2953541012.
  4. ^ Vail, Mark (2014). The Synthesizer. Oxford University Press. p. 73-75. ISBN 978-0195394894.
  5. ^ Rossum, Dave. "For whom was the SP-1200 originally designed?". youtube.com. Rossum Electro-Music. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b Detrick, Ben (6 November 2007). "The Dirty Heartbeat of the Golden Age". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  7. ^ Swash, Rosie (12 June 2011). "The SP-1200 sampler changes everything". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  8. ^ The Emulator Archive
  9. ^ E-mu Systems Drumulator Service Manual. E-mu Systems. 1983. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Davies, Steve (1985). SP-12 Sampling Percussion System Service Manual (PDF). E-mu Systems. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b SP-1200 Sampling Percussion System Service Manual. E-mu Systems. 1987. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  12. ^ "SP-1200". Rossum Electro-Music. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  13. ^ a b c Rossum, Dave. "Why do SP-1200 channel outputs feature different filters?". youtube.com. Rossum Electro-Music. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
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