E-mu SP-1200

The E-mu SP-1200 is the sound of golden-era hip hop. Released by E-mu Systems in 1987 as the successor to the SP-12, this 12-bit sampling drum machine gave Pete Rock, RZA, the Bomb Squad, Q-Tip and a generation of New York producers their gritty, dusty drums.

History

Engineering was led by Dave Rossum. The SP-1200 sampled at 12 bits and 26.04 kHz with eight voices, eight buttons, a 3.5-inch floppy drive and analog SSM2044 filters, and it listed at $2,995. It was made from 1987 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1998. Total sample time was just 10 seconds, split into four 2.5-second banks.

The sound and the tricks

The grit comes from the low bit depth and sample rate running through those analog filters. The tiny memory forced a technique that became part of the sound: producers sampled records sped up, at 45 or even 78 RPM, to fit more into memory, then tuned them back down on the machine, which added even more crunch. Large Professor learned the machine from Paul C, and that lineage runs straight through the Queens sound.

Classic records made with it

The SP-1200 is credited on Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, A Tribe Called Quest’s first three albums, Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.),” DJ Premier’s “Take It Personal” and Easy Mo Bee’s tracks on The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready to Die. Pete Rock later released two Return of the SP1200 albums (2019 and 2022).

Buying one today

Original SP-1200s command a collector premium; RZA’s signed unit reportedly sold for $70,000 at auction. Rossum Electro-Music reissued the machine in 2021 with 20 seconds of sample time, SD card storage and SSI2144 filters. When buying an original, test all eight buttons and faders, confirm the floppy drive reads and writes, and listen for noisy outputs.