Importing Akai Format Sounds into Kontakt 2
There are more sound libraries available in Akai format than any others simply because the Akai S1000 format code was the very first to be broken by manufacturers of sampling keyboards and modules. Literally every hardware sampler made since the late 1980s has been able to read Akai-format discs. However, if you put an Akai CD-ROM into a Mac, the computer cannot read it, so you get a message asking if you want to eject the disc or simply ignore it. If you plan to import samples from the CD-ROM into Kontakt 2, simply click on “ignore.”
Open Kontakt 2 and look in the Browser on the top left side of the user interface. You’ll see a circular arrow icon. Click on that and like magic, your Akai disc should appear. Keep in mind that the original Akai format used partitions because this early sampler could only deal with a certain amount of data at a time. Rather than dealing with this issue, it’s easiest to simply batch convert the entire disc, allowing you to then go back and load in the Akai sounds, which are now (if everything went right) in Kontakt format. It’s far easier at that point to delete the sounds you don’t want than it would be to load sample sets in one at a time.
On occasion you will encounter unreadable Akai CDs. Usually the reason is that you are using a copy of the original disc and the problem occurred during the copying process. It’s best to always stick to first generation Akai CD-ROMs, because if Kontakt 2 cannot see the disc, it cannot import samples.
