E-mu SP-1200
The E-mu SP-1200 is a sampler created by Dave Rossum that was released in August 1987 by E-mu Systems.
| SP-1200 | |
|---|---|
E-mu SP-1200 sampler | |
| Manufacturer | E-mu Systems Rossum Electro-Music (2021 reissue) |
| Dates | 1987–1998, 2021–present |
| Price | US $2,495 US $3,999 (2021 reissue) |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | polyphonic 8 voices |
| Synthesis type | 12-bit samples, 26.04 kHz |
| Storage memory | 10 seconds sample time, 100 user patterns, 100 user songs |
| Effects | Individual level and tuning for all pads |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | 8 hard plastic pads |
| External control | MIDI, SMPTE |
Like the product it was meant to replace, the SP-12, the SP-1200's intended use was as a drum machine and sequencer for dance music producers. However, its use as a phrase sampler produces a "gritty" sound due to the machine's 26.04 kHz sampling rate, its SSM2044 filter chips and its 12-bit sampling resolution. This distinctive sound, often said to capture the "warmth" of vinyl recordings (because both formats attenuate significant amounts of bass and treble), has sustained demand for the SP-1200 more than thirty years after its discontinuation, despite the introduction of digital audio workstations and samplers/sequencers with far superior technical specifications, such as the Akai MPC.
The SP-1200 is strongly associated with hip hop's golden age. Its ability to construct the bulk of a song within one piece of portable gear, a first for the industry, reduced studio costs and increased 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."