The instrument
The Roland MKS-100 digital sampler was released in 1986 and is an 8-voice module in 19-inch format with 2U and a built-in 2.8-inch floppy disc drive (Quick Disk Format, QD for short). Its successor was the S-220 and its keyboard version S-10.
Details
The MKS-100 samples with 12bit and either 15 or 30kHz. The internal memory of 256kB is divided into 4 banks of 64kb each, so that all samples together can be a maximum of 4.4 seconds long, approx. 1.1 seconds per bank. To record a 'long' sample, you can combine two banks. The samples can be edited in the device, provided with a dynamic envelope and looped, but there is no dynamic filter. The maximum of 4 samples can be distributed next to each other (split) or as layers over the note range (from note 24 to 104) if the MKS-100 is controlled in MIDI poly mode. In mono mode, the different samples can be addressed on four consecutive channels. Monitor and mouse operation as on the 'big brothers' S-50, S-330 is not provided, here the controls of the MKS-100 and the single-line display must suffice. (Source: Rolandmuseum)