SCSI media card drives for samplers?

[TechEverlasting]

Has anyone used one of the Microtech SCSI media card drives SCSI For Samplers sells with a SCSI sampler such as a Kurzweil 2600 or Emu EIV?

 

http://www.scsiforsamplers.com/storage.asp#media

 

At first glance this seems like a great solution, since CompactFlash and Smart Media cards don't have any moving parts and should be less liable to fail than standard hard drives, especially when touring. Also it should be possible to add an additional 2 GIG of removable storage or make a backup drive with a $30 card available at the local Wal-Mart. I'm especially curious how the loading speed compares to a standard SCSI hard drive.

[80zclubkid]

Hi: I have an SCSI kit for Korg Triton LE..Don't use it & cards cost to much....Did you see these cards @ WallMart for $30 US ? cheers:

[Lord Toranaga]

I have used the microtech on

several samplers

EMU e5000

akai s6000

akai s5000

[TechEverlasting]

 

.Did you see these cards @ WallMart for $30 US ? cheers:

 

 

Yes, about that. Here is a 2 GB Dane-Elec Compact Flash memory card SCSI For Samplers sells for $22.

 

http://www.scsiforsamplers.com/showprod.asp?prod=CFC2

 

How does the loading speed compare to a standard hard drive? I've been told that the CompactFlash card on the Kurzweil K2661 takes forever to load large files, but I haven't tried it myself. I periodically have to send files to other Kurzweil users and have been getting sick of Zip drives constantly breaking down. This looks like a workable alternative if there aren't any surprises.

[Lord Toranaga]

should work fine.

 

 

for me the emu was slower than the akai w/ compact flash

 

you can also use pcmcia hard drives in that card reader.

[scsiforsamplers]

We have found the Microtech and Spyrus media card drives to be about as fast as a zip drive in most cases. Some folks feel they are a bit faster; as with most things SCSI, it depends a lot upon your sampler and its SCSI implementation.

 

One thing I always point out to prospective buyers is this: don't expect them to be a replacement for a hard drive if you need to have a large sample library available for fast loading. But the freedom from worry about when the zip or jaz drive is going to break down and the acceptable speed makes media card drives a good storage choice for most people. Also no moving parts equals no noise during operation and they make transferring samples between computer and sampler a real breeze.

 

Please contact me anytime you might have any other questions about the media card drives.