Akai-Compatible Compliance Support

What's Akai-compatible Compliance support mean?

If a manufacturer puts out a sampler these days, whether it's a hardware sampler or a software sampler, it's almost automatic that they put in the ability to read Akai S-1000/3000 CD-ROM's and "translate" them into the samplers memory. If a sound developer wants to sell their sounds, no matter how complex they are, or what format they are natively programmed in, there needs to be an native-Akai version.

Going further, for example, sound manufacturers almost never produce (at least not yet) a native EXS, or HALion, or even Emu version of their product if it wasn't produced in that format from the beginning. The reason is because most onboard Akai-translators that are supplied within samplers are supposedly adequate enough to translate the Akai versions into an appropriate sounding result on the destination sampler.

Well, maybe they aren't so adequate. With Chicken System's extensive experience in viewing files in many different samplers, we have seen a lot of discrepancies with onboard translators. Believe it or not, even the Akai S-5000 doesn't convert certain S-1000 sounds correctly.

We would hope that people would use Translator instead of the onboard (re: free) translators, as it almost always guarantees a better, more trouble-free, more efficient and organized result. However, the fact is that people still continue to use them for a variety of reasons, which include convenience, time constraints, platform dependency, or that the destination format isn't supported by Translator yet.

So now that we've explained that - what's Akai-compatible Compliance support mean?

It means that since Translator can create Akai files from scratch or from another format, it's not enough that we make the Akai-format files playable within Akai samplers themselves, but that they are "cleaned-up" as much as possible to allow problem-free loading using the onboard translators of the destination sampler. We at Chicken Systems have an extensive database of what these external translators want to see and what they don't like to see, and they are addressed in every ->Akai translation.

• A case in point: an Akai sound is typically a Program file, that references one or more Sample files. The Sample contains tuning information and a "Root Key", which identifies what key (MIDI note) that needs to be played to have the sample play back at it's regular pitch. "Zones" in the Akai Program file reference what Sample file is to be played, and include some modifying parameters - one of which is a Key Track parameter. This parameter determines if the pitch should be changed by where you play on the keyboard.
• If it is set to TRACK, everything is normal - the higher you play up the keyboard, the higher then pitch becomes. The Sample Root Key is the key that needs to be played for the sample to playback at the sampled pitch. However, if it is set to CONST, the keyboard will not affect pitch. So far, so good - this is like every other sampler and synth on the planet.
• Where the Akai differs is that when key-tracking is set to CONST, the Root Key for the sample is then assumed to be MIDI note 60 (C3 on the Akai). Why the assumption? Beats us. No other sampler treats key-tracking that way. So what if the Sample Root Key is not previously set to 60? To get back to unity pitch, and adjustment has to be made, and the best place to do this is in Zones.
• Here's the bad effect: most if not all onboard translators miss this fact and convert the Sample Root Key just as it's set, and do not compensate the parameter to 60 if it's being referenced by a Zone that has key-tracking set to CONST. This makes out-of-tune files. Even the Akai S-5000 misses this.
• Translator helps in this regard. Not only does Translator convert Akai files correctly to the destination formats, it also translates other formats TO Akai and make sure any samples that are referenced as CONST in the Program Zones are set to MIDI note 60, so the onboard translators won't mistranslate the resulting file.

There are several other instances similar to the one above. So, that's what Akai-compatible Compliance support means - it means that Translator not only writes "legal" Akai files, it also writes them in such a way that they can be "translated again" with the minimum of problems.