More info:
https://vu900.com/

Beta now available through discord:
https://discord.gg/KYBQjkuaUK

 

Last edited: Dec 19, 2025 at 4:31 PM

I know that the time-stretch option was introduced with the S950, but it's an understatement to say that it would prove to be a highly useful addition. That time-stretch algorithm is synonymous with Akai samplers of the time. Also, an option to sum to mono would really bring it home. Sounds good.

 

Last edited: Dec 19, 2025 at 5:08 PM

That's always a big problem with reincarnations: what do you add and where do you stop adding features?
The beauty in these old things often was the absence of something that stimulated your creativity.

 

interesting, I like hardware restrictions but mimicking the hardware buttons and encoder is a big mistake and unacceptable unless its a true hardware and OS emulation like Sonic Charge Cyclone which is a freeware

And it's unfair to say that we only have effects on the market, we have Tal Sampler and Amigo Sampler

 

Apparently I think he's staying true to the limitations of the original sampler, even down to the 11 seconds of audio sampling. Not an issue for some, myself included, since thats more than enough time for what I normally sample plus the option for multiple instances is there if needed.

 

I really see it as a benefit, big sampling time, cheap memory, multisample libraries killed the art of sampling

 

Beta now available through Discord:
https://discord.gg/KYBQjkuaUK

 

vu950 / S950 is planned as a future plugin. Confirmed by the developer.

 

I am waiting for the VU1100.

 

if all you want is the sound of the classic Akai timestretch, there is Akaizer: https://the-akaizer-project.blogspot.com

"Akaizer is a donationware application for Windows which can time stretch (and/or pitch shift) any WAVE or AIFF sound file in the style of the 'cyclic' time stretch which featured on old Akai sound samplers, like the S950 / S1000 / S2000 / S3000 series. This is ideal for DAW-based music producers who want that classic metallic-sounding effect, as used in many old school Hardcore / Jungle / Speed Garage tunes from the 1990s, without the need for an actual Akai sampler."

You do not need a realistic 24bit audio i/o emulation of one, or an expensive early model to do just this kind of function. You aren't using it to create nice warm analog lo-fi sounds (this is where a plugin version is necessary). The nasty timestretching was one of those things where people discovered a very cool sounding error or problem, at least in the earliest models. If you really want to go a little further, stick TAL-DAC or something on the waveform when you get it into your daw.

 

Last edited: Dec 19, 2025 at 8:31 PM