Awesome Akai S900 Video Manual!!
Discovered by Mike Goins on the Akai Mailing List, this is an incredibly cheesy and very 80′s instructional video for the Akai S900 sampler!! Steve Howell recalls how him and his fellow UK based Akai employees recoiled with horror at the sight of this!!
Whilst it is instructional, it’s also laden with naffness, but that makes it all together more endearing.
The 7 parts to the video are playlisted below 
New Order/Peter Hook – The Happy One (aka Spot the synths!)
Just lately I have been re-immersing myself in the whole world that is Joy Division/New Order/Factory Records/etc.. in fact, anything from that golden age of musical renaissance that was the New Wave revolution of circa 1979. This has involved re-purchasing Joy Division back catalogue, books, documentaries and films, as well as scouring the interwebs for anything remotely JD/NO related. I’ve even bought myself a ticket to go see Peter Hook give a talk on his life & times as bassist with the aforementioned bands as well as being part owner of the legendary yet doomed Hacienda night club in Manchester.
Anyway, whilst pootling about the web tonight, I came across the following video that, albeit in poor quality, shows us the legend that is Tony Wilson (co-founder of Factory) presenting a segment on a show (The Other Side Of Midnight) that has Peter Hook playing a track called “The Happy One” live, along with a bunch of synth geekery behind him. See if you can spot anything that I haven’t already seen.
I can make out an E-MU Emulator EII, a Roland D-50, Apple Macintosh SE/30, Yamaha TX-816 & Akai S900
New Akai S900 blog…
For lovers of vintage Akai samplers, here is a new blog for the Akai S900. Created by Akai Forum member Koney, it should be a handy resource for owners of these lovely old machines 
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