STORY / ID 4921
The E-mu SP-1200: How a Sampler's Limitations Shaped Hip-Hop's Golden Age Sound
The E-mu SP-1200 is a sampling drum machine designed by Dave Rossum and released in August 1987 by E-mu Systems, later reissued in 2021 by Rossum Electro-Music, known for its 8-voice polyphonic, 12-bit sampling sound and its central role in golden-age hip-hop production.
The E-mu SP-1200 is a sampling drum machine designed by Dave Rossum and released in August 1987 by E-mu Systems, with a 2021 reissue produced by Rossum Electro-Music. The original 1987 unit carried a price of $2,995, while the 2021 reissue is priced at $3,999. It followed the SP-12, which E-mu had released in 1985.
Technically, the SP-1200 offers 8-voice polyphony and samples at 26.04 kHz with 12-bit resolution. It features drop-sample pitch-shifting and uses SSM2044 filters, while the 2021 reissue substitutes SSI2144 filters in their place. Sample time on the original machine is 10s, doubled to 20s on the reissue. The unit can store 100 patterns and 100 songs.
The SSM2044 chips used in the original design became unavailable in 1998, a factor reflected in the reissue’s shift to the SSI2144 component.
The SP-1200 is closely associated with golden-age hip-hop production, and its sound has been described as ‘warm,’ ‘dirty,’ and ‘gritty.’