Akai S1100: installing a ZuluSCSI and a new MEANWELL PSU+ZULU SD card walkthrough

Akai samplers are massive in more ways than one

Akai S1000 and its successor, S1100, are the best Akai samplers ever. They deliver a nice and punchy sound with a pronounced mid range, making drum sounds (for instance..) sit preminently in a mix.

I am using them a lot these days, making beats-based music, preferring them over the S612 and S900 for the more focused character. I decided to install a ZuluSCSI SCSI hard disk simulator so that files are handled more easily than using floppy disks..

ZuluSCSI SD card installed and ready to go

Zulu SCSI: GETTING THE SD CARD READY

WHAT SD CARD to use in the ZuluSCSI? Easy. ANY new hi speed sd card. I purchased a 32 Giga Sandisk.

https://github.com/ZuluSCSI/EmptyFileCreator-win32/releases/download/1.0.0/EFIC.zip

FORMAT THE CARD: Download Translator 7 free from Chicken System’s website. You must be connected to the internet (ok it’s 2023 guys 👀) to use it.

https://www.chickensys.com/downloads2/translator.html

Do this:

ZuluSCSI SD card formatted in FAT32 ready

INSTALLING THE ZULUSCSI

ZuluSCSI: i purchased mine here:

https://www.ebay.it/itm/364149693353

Super helpful and connected seller, cheapest EU price and he’s got a direct shop that sells ZuluSCSI, accessories for the Zulu, quality LCD screens, new Meanwell power supplies for the Akai and other samplers here:

https://studio-services.de/en/

It is very important you get the dedicated flat cable from him too-this way you will not blow your Zulu if you plugged it reversed (there are reports online of similar horror stories!). On the Zulu there’s an indication for the two pins 1 and 2. On the Akai SCSI card inside the samplers theres no indication at all.. by the way the top two pins on the vertical mounted Akai card are 1 and 2.. still the connector has a nose that has to be fitting correctly to the receptacle to make a solid connection so you better take the right cable from the seller.

The ZuluSCSI gets power from the flat cable-you dont need any extra wiring. Although there is a micro usb and a male crimp connector, you dont need them for your Akai. Leave them alone. Just the flat cable is needed.

Red stripe=pin 1

Pins 1 and 2 are silkscreened on the ZuluSCSI RP2040 (top right)

Thats your SCSI connector inside the Akai.. plug the flat cable in. Pins 1and 2 are the top ones.

Switch on the old behemoth and he will duly see the new SCSI hard disk.

Press FORM to format the virtual hard disk

The hard disk will then check for bad tracks. Just SKIP-it’s a waste of time.

All done.. you can now use your virtual hard disk. You will notice saves are LIGHTNING FAST. So there are a few pros to living in this horribly commercial music junk era.

I placed the Zulu vertically just to the right of the floppy disk drive using a couple of plastic self adhesive spacers-but they also sell covers to lodge it in the floppy drive’s place: they are cute and they have a receptacle to switch out sd cards easily.

POWER SUPPLY REPLACEMENT FOR THE AKAI S1100

These units have been used extensively and intensively in pro studios so the power supply of my second hand sampler was in urgent need of replacement. Ok, i decided to change the power supply for a new, more efficient one.

WARNING/DISCLAIMER: in this article i am going to describe operations that involve working with high mains voltage that could be LETHAL. It could KILL YOU. Let a professional do this kind of service for you. This is not a guide for the unexperienced. A focused state of mind when I undertook any of the actions described herein has been vital, as well as mandatory precautions such as wearing an antistatic vest, working on the sampler only when switched off and with the mains cord disconnected as well as procedures like having myself physically static discharged were followed strictly, so please do not undertake replacing the power supply if you are not used to work with mains voltage electricity. Remember: IT CAN KILL YOU. I shall not be held responsible for any damage of your sampler or any death/ wounds/ hurt to people using this article as a walkthrough to repair/service their sampler. This is just how i did it, it’s a blog post, so DO NOT USE this article as a guide.

The S1100 uses three separate voltages: 12v for the analog section, and for the digital section 12v and 5v. This article shows how i went about replacing the digital section power supply using a new transformer going from mains voltage (220v via the iec three pronged terminal) to 12 and 5 volts: the Meanwell RD-85A.

Click to access RD_85_SPEC-1291492.pdf

👆🏻Meanwell RD-85A power supply spec sheet

First of all, i switched off the sampler, disconnected the mains plug, and watched inside.

I highlighted the parts that i was going to use to wire the new power supply in: on top, the two mains INPUT; the lower header of four wires are the OUTPUT voltages going from the power supply to the boards

Mains disconnected and unplugged it was time to remove the old power supply.

I unscrewed the bottom and the two left hand side of the chassis screws to let the old power supply and its tray free and removed it carefully without touching the bottom of the pcb or the capacitors.

The old psu.. had to go.

Next, it was time to get down to the actual business.

These go from the mains voltage to the power supply input.. CAREFUL!

Push the tab underside to free the header to dislodge the mains input

I decided to use the wires already on board, so i marked them with stickers for reference of what goes where..

OUTPUT wires from the Meanwell to the boards. For colourblind people: on top, the red is the 5v, the lower, orange wire goes to 12v.

Mains voltage INPUT: N is white, L is red.

Reference pic indicating the actual terminals on the Meanwell.. DO NOT mix the input mains voltage red wire L with the output 5v wire.

I snapped the wires as close to the crimped header as possible and put some terminal friendly lugs, insulated with heatshrinking tubes.

I screwed the wires to the terminals.

All grounds are to be linked, bridged together, and they all go to the chassis ground. Since the main chassis ground is a secure, glued screw whose nut is unmovable, i decided to use a metal spacer and couple of screws to create another chassis ground, and checked for continuity with the the other stubborn dude using the multimeter’s buzz feature.

Alternate chassis ground, checked for continuity with the official one, that sits at the bottom of the machine in parallel with the IEC mains terminal, bolted to a nut.

Blurry pic of the main chassis ground point.. note the green glue.

Because the power supply needs a minimum load to operate correctly, two resistors are needed across the voltage and ground of 5v and 12v, as mentioned in this tread on Gearslutz 👎🏻

https://gearspace.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/1132743-recap-powersupply-your-vintage-synths-samplers-akai-s1000-blowup-3.html

These resistors are put one each between voltage and ground at the 5v and 12v terminals. Please note how i bridged the leftmost COM to the main GND on the Meanwell: all grounds are in common.

Massive looking 50 Ohms 50W resistors: USELESS

For my first test, i used a couple of 33 Ohms 10W to apply a minimum load as suggested on Gearslutz but one of them was BURNING HOT; i tried 50 Ohms 50W too and still one was overheating, so i replaced both with a 47k 5W (you will see the picture down below): MUCH BETTER!

FIRST CHECK: voltages. Without connecting the outputs, i had to see how the psu was working.. Now i had the resistors in place, i checked for continuity between all grounds and the chassis grounds, and plugged the mains, turned the power on (the IEC is connected to the sampler on off switch) and took some readings of the psu, loaded only with two resistors across the output voltages.

Checking the 5v output: nevermind the 33R resistor, read above

Not too bad

Checking the 12v output

Looking good..

The trimmer on the right hand side of the Meanwell terminals can be used to adjust the two voltages (5v and 12v).. it’s a give and take science between the two outputs but in the end i had some good results.. 12v measured 12,6v and 5v measured 4,6v-the sampler works great with no overheating resistors inside!

A final test had to be carried out with the outputs in place. The moment of truth. I connected the 12v and 5v outputs to the Akai.

Thats it.. the whole shebang.

Upon switching the Akai on, all went well with some minor adjustment to be done using the trimmer: the load had changed the voltage readings sensibly, but thanks to the two resistors all went down as expected.

Next it was time to switch everything off, unplug the mains and find a way to fit the new power supply in the case.. i used the power supply original tray to hold it in place using the same screws on the bottom and side of the unit, and some wire holders, wrapped between the psu grille and some of the tray holes.

You can just about see the wire holders (green) at the bottom there.

Fender Dimension IV Oil Can Vibrato

Schematic

The Fender Dimension IV is a unit that has been manufactured for about a year (1968-1969) by the CBS acquired guitar staple (along with other musical devices) in an effort to break the pedals/effects market.

It is a slapback+vibrato box, cometically similar to a mini amplifier, tolex covered, the metal front panel fashioned to suggest a motion effect. At the back, 4 RCA male plugs allow to connect the device to the spring reverb loop of a guitar amplifier.

Front plate

Facing the front plate, we find an on/off switch with dedicated pilot lamp, and a commuter to choose either the vibrato effect or the amplifier’s own spring reverb. Inside, there is a 2 Megs pot that sets the effect strenght over the dry signal.

The unit uses an oil can as its core “memory” device-this fascinating electro/mechanical invention was created by Tel Ray (later Morley) and licensed to a few other brands, used internally in organs and amps, as well as guitar pedals.

How does it sound? Like a very haunting, fast revolving Leslie. my guitar playing friend told me it’s very surf-y, another guy who’s into electric blues told me hit sounds eerie-like something out of a Halloween kids’ record!

How does it work? Let’s break it down very easily: inside a can theres a spinning disc that gets “written” by means of a special oil, and three (sometimes four) heads read and cancel the data stored.

As you can tell from the very simple schematic above, the electronic components are very few, basically just a resistor and a lamp to take care of any input overload (the lamp is described as a generic, 120v neon lamp) but the mechanical side can be tricky to restore: the disc is irreplaceable, and it can get damaged if it spins or moves in a dry can. Shipping these units is not recommended.

How much oil should you put in the oil can? Two teaspoonfuls of the special oil are needed (it’s called Ucon LB-65) to make it work. 15-20 ml to be exact.

In my case, there was some oil residue that looked brown! I drained the bad oil using a syringe, and using a clean cotton rag i wiped the can dry-in a slow and very careful manner to avoid touching the disc.

Mine had issues, as it arrived can dry and needing help from a seller in South Carolina that assumed, it would be working with a bit of oil.. good grief.. The motor was running but the small spindle and the larger wheel’s treads were a bit greasy, a common fault considering most of these units are stored upside down or sideways up-a position that can potentially damage the innards by oil spill.. mine had a saggy, worn rubber belt so traction was sloppy-i used cotton tips and toothpaste to restore the grip of these metal parts.

I swapped the rubber belt with a 7cm one i found on one of those assorted diameters Amaz*n tape rubber belt packs-all i had to do was to carefully remove one side of the pulling spring, slide the new rubber belt in, and screw the spring back in, keeping in mind its correct angle.

The 22K resistor was way off so i soldered a new one in.

Since i dont have a Fender Reverb amp handy, i used the preamp of my Fisher Space Expander to drive the Dimension IV..

It’s a great effect, i can only suspect Fender came too late in the game-this wet, surf guitar effect must have sounded a bit passé by 1968!

Rough n ready demo.. Check the video.

Links: Geofex page about the technical side of oil can devices – Tel Ray Oil Can Addicts a very helpful group keeping the flame alive on these devices – Schematic Page of the Fender Dimension IV

Novation SL Zero mkII Editor – uploading – saving template

Since all the download links seem to be down and this product is not supported anymore by the folks at Novation’s, i thought i’d share with you a link where you will still be able to download the (beta version, please note all the apt disclaimers that apply to betas) SL Zero MkII Editor program, that will allow you to program a template for the midi controller (this is not the Automap program, mind you).

Editor for Windows

…hoping Novation will not take this link down too…

And a quick video on how to upload your template from your pc to Novation’s controller-no fancy stuff.. no screen capture sorry-phone shot. Rough and ready. It’s more of a reminder for me on how to do it lol.. personal reference.

Here:

Altec 1592B repair, 1588B module, XLR pinout output etc

Recently i got a nice Altec 1592B mixer.

Each input requires a dedicated preamp/transformer module, for microphones there’s preamp, 1588B or preamp+12v phantom power, model 1588C.

I had to do a massive recapping job on the 1592B- the original caps values were all over the place-and i mean not only electrolytics-the only ones that were still measuring ok were the tropical fish and some of the lower values disc caps- though most of the electrolytics were good quality, Mallory or West Germany made, ROE (Roederstein). I replaced them all with Elnas (they seem to be the standard nowadays).

Also, the resistor after power transformer 7818 (that feeds part of the tone section, so if you have an unit that powers up but does not produce a sound, check for +18v at pin 6 of the tone board, that is linked to the power board after (out) the aforementioned 7818) was burned-clear sign that some damage had taken place. The schematic calls for a 10 Ohms resistor-i decided to put a 100 ohms substitute, much better.

Sounding good, i decided to recap also the 1588B module i have here (more are on the way, and when factory new, they were fitted with 3 modules).

After using a small screwdriver to pry the enclosure open, i took a look at this interesting blog (check it) for the schematic-i also took the time to sub the carbon comp resistors with metal film and yes-noise went down.

For your reference, here’s the resistors network:

Q1 and Q2 pinout:

Troubleshooting:

If the preamp is not working, check carefully the resistors-they break easily. One immaculate looking (inside and out, the spongy filler still in good soft condition, no leakages on the plastic screen etc) 1588B i have had a resistor broken at its base, and since the components are so squeezed together it was impossible to see it-i decided to test the transistors (thats why i took the q1 and q2 pics above) since everything was looking proper-and there-i spotted the broken resistor! The preamp would still burst in noise if i knocked the mic gently on the capsule, yet it wont amplify it properly. Thats the resistor connected to ground on the white wire-a pain to desolder too.

If you must desolder stuff, be patient-these boards wont take a 300 degrees hot iron-the circuit tracks will lift if you heat them up too much-use care.

Since someone over at the Tape Operator forum has raised the warning that the power supply may have been ill designed, i am powering it using an external psu (using the battery option), 24v dc.

Terminal: from left, my battery (external psu) connections (- and +) and pinout to wire an XLR balanced jack to the output: hot, cold and ground… in the mess between high and low impedance i went with, 600 ohms, good for any mixer or recorder input. PLEASE note 2 and 3 terminals are bridged (connected) at the terminal post. The signal is nice and strong.

I will not mod this unit, i like it as it is. Nice and retro sounding.

SammichSID Novation Zero SL mkii template

Those geniuses at Novation shipped this controller with a couple of software disks but alas, no TEMPLATE EDITOR for people who dont use a pc to make music.

Download the template editor program from their support pages, connect the Zero SL to your pc via usb, switch it on and fire the software. Press Global options on the SL, choose mem protect off.

Load the syx file provided by yours truly:

Masuto’s SammichSID template 😊

and then.. select

Press Write, and bob’s your uncle.

I saved it in location 20 (empty) and made it the startup template.

To use the drumpads to send cc (mod depth 1,2,3,4,5,6) on the novation zero SL you must first press REVIEW and then use the drumpads-you will see their assigned value increasing because we are using them as step switches.

For your reference, heres a crudely PAINT assembled wildcard:

Happy knob twiddling!