How To Convert Akai S1100 Floppy Disc Samples To Software Sampler Files. Options

[martinf63]

Back in the mid 90s I did a sound engineering course, and part of the course-work was to multi sample instruments and make a track using just the sampler. Over the period of the course I created many sample programs and sampled many instruments. I used the Akai S1100 sampler and I have many floppy discs filled with samples and programs.
After finishing the course I tried to get a job in the music or film industry but after three years I was unable to find anything suitable so I gave up and found a 9-5 job working for the NHS. It has taken me this long to save up and buy some audio equipment and a home computer based studio.

I am using both an iMac and a Macbook pro using Halion 3, Kontakt 3 and the EXS24 Sampler in Logic Studio.

Can anybody tell me how I can convert the samples on floppy disc from the Akai S1100 to any filetype that one of my soft samplers listed above can use? I have a USB floppy disc drive but the Akai floppys don't seem to be recognised by my Mac's operating system. I am running OS 10.4.11 on the iMac and OS 10.5.1 on the Macbook pro.

Any help will be much appreciated.

[lancet]

I'm not sure you can. Apparently the Akai floppy format is unique to Akai samplers.

This is old info. but likely still relevant.

"Akai floppy disks are formatted as 2 sides of 80 tracks with 5 or 10 sectors per track. Each sector is 1024 bytes long, giving a total of 800k (low density) or 1600k (high density). PCs use 9 or 18 sectors of 512 bytes and will not read Akai floppies without reprogramming. As far as I can tell, Mac floppy drives can't read Akai floppy disks at all."

The author goes on to describe a method of reprograming a PC floppy to read the format.

http://mda.smartelectronix.com/akai/akaiinfo.htm#1

You may need to find an Akai sampler and do a midi sample dump.