Powerhouse Samplers

Jun 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Geary Yelton

When you think of electronic musical instruments, one of the first that probably comes to mind is the sampler. Even when you play a synthesizer, chances are good that its sound sources were sampled. When you install a software instrument, it's most often a sample player of some kind. Samplers are everywhere. Since dedicated samplers first appeared in the early 1980s, they have changed the way that music is produced almost as much as digital multitrack recording has.

In the 20th century, samplers were defined by their ability to record snippets of sound and assign them to notes on a keyboard. You just plugged in a microphone or line input, armed and triggered sampling, and placed the recording into a keymap. Now that you have so many ways to get sound into your computer, though, a sampler's ability to actually record samples is beside the point. Today, the difference between a sampler and a sample player is that the sampler allows you to assign your own audio files to MIDI notes. That's something you can't do in sample players. Of course, any real sampler lets you do more than map keys. You can usually edit waveforms to varying degrees, even if it's only defining loops and indicating start and end points.

Who Needs a Sampler?

Given that most recent sample libraries are bundled with sample players, the first question you might ask is whether full-fledged samplers are really necessary for music production. There are many factors to consider, including convenience, cost, flexibility, ease of use, and efficiency of resources. Let's begin with the latter and note that a multitimbral sampler usually puts fewer demands on your CPU, hard drives, and RAM than a dozen other sample-based software instruments. With a sampler, you don't need to learn and navigate a myriad of user interfaces, and you don't need to purchase a software framework you already have every time you add to your sample library.

Samplers allow you to tweak and extend a sound's parameters in ways that mere sample players can't. Because sample players limit your access to parameters, they necessarily limit your creativity, whereas a good sampler stimulates creativity. Want to make bees buzz in harmony? You can do that with a sampler. Want to play a trumpet two octaves below its normal range? No sweat. Want to transform a purring kitten into a growling gorilla? With a little effort, you can do that, too. When it comes to sound design, you just can't beat samplers.

Samplers are useful for every musical genre — not just electronic music, and not just the music that's most popular. If sample collections aren't available in the latest experimental genre and that's your style, you can create your own or twist available sounds enough to make them your own. Samplers ensure that your timbral palette is yours and yours alone. After all, musical sound is much more than the notes you play. Researching this article has convinced me that the audio-editing power inherent in samplers and the unique capabilities they bestow on their users will increase their influence on the future direction of music.

Different Strokes

Because so much software is available, I had to narrow the focus of this article so that it wouldn't fill the entire magazine or become diluted. I deliberately excluded sample players such as IK Multimedia SampleTank 2.2, which don't let you map note and Velocity zones. I left out percussion-oriented samplers such as Native Instruments Battery 3, which focus specifically on organizing drum kits. And I did not include loop samplers such as iZotope pHATmatik Pro, which don't provide tools for assembling traditional multisampled instruments. The sample-player category alone would have added dozens of products to the lineup, and I had to draw the line somewhere.

Because so many lesser samplers from small developers are available, I decided to concentrate on the 11 top samplers from well-known companies (see the sidebar “Forward into the Past”). Three run only in Windows, one runs only on the Mac, and the rest are cross-platform. Ableton Sampler, Apple EXS24, Digidesign Structure, and Propellerhead Reason NN-XT work only within their specific hosts. Of the remainder, Cakewalk DS864 is a DXi plug-in and Tascam GigaStudio Orchestra is standalone only; more than half run standalone and also support more than one plug-in format. Prices range from $199 for Ableton Sampler to $599 for GigaStudio Orchestra. EXS24 mkII is an integral part of Apple Logic Pro 7, which retails for $999.

Ableton Sampler 1.0 (Mac/Win)

Sampler ($199) is an optional add-on that first shipped in mid-2006 and runs only in Ableton Live 6. Given the small size of its graphical user interface, Sampler's wealth of user parameters makes it surprisingly powerful. Outstanding features include five envelope generators (EGs), three LFOs, and the ability to modulate sample-playback characteristics and morph between filter types in real time. Because of the way Live integrates its various functions, you can record a sample, drag it into Sampler, and immediately begin processing it into a playable instrument. Ableton relies on serial numbers for copy protection; Sampler requires its own serial number in addition to authorization for Live.

When you open Sampler, it appears in Track view at the bottom of Live's main screen. Sampler has six views you access with tabs on its title bar. Clicking on the Zone tab displays the Zone Editor in the space above Sampler (see Fig. 1). The left side shows a list of samples organized in layers, and the right side shows either the Key Zone Editor or the Velocity Zone Editor, depending on which button you press. Key Zones graphically display MIDI note assignments, and Velocity Zones determine the Velocity range to which a sample layer responds. Immediately above the graphical object representing each zone is another object representing its fade range, allowing you to specify crossfades between samples.

The Sample tab displays the currently selected sample's waveform and lets you edit its assigned characteristics, such as root key, loop points, and sustain and release modes. Looping parameters are especially flexible and allow sustain and release loops that play once, repeat forward, or alternate forward and back. You can specify parameters such as panning and detuning, or whether a sample plays in reverse. Also in the Sample tab, the RAM button globally determines whether multisamples are loaded entirely into RAM or stream from disk.

The Pitch/Osc tab displays settings for the pitch envelope and for the modulation oscillator, which generates various waveforms for amplitude- or frequency-modulating the multisample. The Filter/Global tab provides access to Sampler's resonant multimode filter, which offers 12 and 24 dB-per-octave morphing filter types that shift from one response to another and back again. Also available in Filter/Global are the Shaper, which imparts waveshaping distortion, and loopable ADSR envelopes for the filter and amplifier.

The Modulation tab displays modulation sources that include another loopable EG and three LFOs. You can assign one LFO to modulate pitch, volume, pan, and filter frequency; the other three sources provide menus to select two routings to 25 destinations. Destinations include unusual selections such as sample offset, loop length, and filter morph. You can even route modulators to modulate modulators. You'll find additional mod routings in Sampler's MIDI tab, which lets you assign MIDI Note, Velocity, Release Velocity, Aftertouch, Mod Wheel, and Pitch Bend to modulate two parameters each, selected from the same list of 25 destinations.

Sampler imports sample libraries in Akai S1000 and S3000, EXS, Giga, Kontakt, and SoundFont formats. For most, it copies the sample data into its library, but for EXS and Kontakt multisamples, it simply links to the original AIFF or WAV files unless you choose otherwise.

If you purchase Live on disc, it includes SoniVox's Essential Instrument Collection (EIC), which furnishes about 14 GB of sampled content (and if you download Live, you can purchase EIC separately for $119). Instrument categories include all the usual suspects, such as guitars, drums, and orchestral instruments, as well as electronic textures and a 3.5 GB grand piano. When you load most instruments, they'll open in Live's basic sample player, Simpler. To put them in Sampler so that you can access more parameters, just right-click on the Simpler title bar and select Simpler→Sampler from the contextual menu. When you save your changes, the instrument will be saved as a Sampler preset.

Apple EXS24 mkII (Mac)

Emagic first launched EXS24 in 2000, making it one of the mature products in this lineup; only GigaStudio has been around longer. First as an optional add-on to Emagic Logic Audio and later as an integral part of Apple Logic Pro, EXS24 has established its native format as one of a handful of de facto standards. The EXS24 mkII plug-in runs only as an Audio Instrument object within Logic Pro 7 ($999); there is no standalone version. It runs native on any Macintosh that can run Logic Pro, and it runs as a TDM plug-in on TDM-based systems courtesy of Emagic System Bridge (ESB) TDM. It can stream 24-bit, 96 kHz samples direct from hard disk and import a variety of sampler formats. EXS24's polyphony maxes out at 64 voices, and though it is not multitimbral, you can run as many as 64 instances if your system can handle it. Logic Pro and all its instrument plug-ins, including EXS24, are copy protected and require an Apple USB dongle to operate.

EXS24's main interface contains all the plug-in's knobs, sliders, and displays and provides access to its sound-shaping features (see Fig. 2). To load a program, just select it from the pull-down Sampler Instruments menu just above the prominent filter section. Instruments are arranged hierarchically in folders. Most of the sliders are split into upper and lower halves, allowing you to specify a range of values. For example, using the Level slider, you can control the minimum and maximum output produced by low and high Velocities. In addition, Logic Pro lets you automate any changes you make.

The filter offers six responses: 12 dB per octave highpass and bandpass, and 6, 12, 18, and 24 dB per octave lowpass. The Fat button boosts the bass when you increase the lowpass filter's resonance, and a Drive knob imparts warm distortion. If you don't need the filter, you can turn it off to save CPU cycles.

In the GUI's center is the modulation matrix, which offers ten modulation paths, each connecting one of 22 destinations with one or two sources. If you select two sources, the value slider will split and allow you to set a range. One source can control many destinations, and many sources can control one destination. The two ADSR generators and three 7-waveform LFOs are freely assignable mod sources. The envelopes have an additional Hold stage that you can set only in the Instrument Editor.

Clicking on the Edit button opens the Instrument Editor, which allows you to assign samples and multisamples to zones, place zones in groups, and organize groups into Sample Instruments. Within each zone, you can specify a sample's note range, start and end frames, loop points, and other parameters. Buttons in the loop and start- and end-frame sections open Logic's Sample Editor, which displays the sample's audio waveform. There you can graphically adjust loop points and other parameters, as well as perform various waveform edit functions such as copy and paste, normalize, adjust tempo, convert sampling rates, and so on.

Clicking on the Options button reveals a menu for specifying preferences, importing foreign sampler formats, and saving and reloading instruments and settings. EXS24 imports Giga, SoundFont 2.0, SampleCell, ReCycle, and Akai S1000 and S3000 sample and instrument formats. Conversion is generally automatic and requires only that you select the files to be imported.

Logic Pro 7 comes with about 3.5 GB of sampled content that comprises mostly bread-and-butter instruments such as piano and drums, as well as orchestral instruments and a large selection of synth timbres. Because EXS24 also opens GarageBand instruments, any installed on your computer will appear in the Sampler Instruments menu.

Cakewalk DS864 (Win)

DS864 is one of several instruments that are part of Project5 version 2.5 ($259), a digital audio sequencer bundled with numerous soft synth and effects plug-ins. Once you install Project5, you can use DS864 in any host that supports DXi plug-ins. DS864 is a 64-voice polyphonic, 8-part multitimbral sampler that allows you to import and graphically map 16- or 24-bit samples in WAV or AIFF format and save multisampled instruments in its proprietary DP8 format. It can also import a few foreign sampler formats. Between the Project5 Fast Track Guide and online help files, however, the documentation barely scratches the surface of what you can do with DS864.

DS864's GUI comprises just one window, from which you can load and layer as many as eight multisampled parts, each assigned its own MIDI channel and audio outputs. Each part can be a different sampler program, and groups of as many as 128 programs are stored in banks. You can map note and Velocity ranges for each sample, and shape sounds using traditional techniques such as filtering and envelope modulation.

DS864's graphical mapper dominates its left side (see Fig. 3). When you add a sample, you can click on a tiny keyboard to set the root pitch and click-and-drag a rectangle in the display to define key and Velocity ranges. You can't enter mapping data numerically, but you can use onscreen knobs to adjust tuning, gain, panning, and key tracking. You can also invert the sample's phase and play it in reverse. Although DS864 does not offer the ability to define loop points (you'll need a separate waveform editor for that), you can choose to play loops either forward or alternating forward and reverse.

On the right side, DS864 has two filters; one has a fixed 12 dB-per-octave slope with resonant lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and notch responses, and the other is a 24 dB-per-octave lowpass filter with self-oscillating resonance. They can be arranged in parallel or in series, and each offers three modulation sources: an envelope generator, an LFO, and keyboard tracking.

Four EGs are dedicated to controlling the filters, amplitude, and pitch. All four are identical and go far beyond ADSR by providing eight stages and looping. Their modulation depth responds to Velocity and Aftertouch. Three especially versatile LFOs can modulate pitch, amplitude, and panning. In addition, one can modulate the multimode filter's frequency or resonance, and another can modulate the other filter's frequency or resonance. Along with knobs for controlling rate and depth, each gives you a choice of five waveforms, four trigger modes, and a knob to set the initial phase.

DS864 can import and edit multisamples in Akai S5000/S6000 (AKP), Kurzweil K2000 (KRZ), and SoundFont 2.0 formats, but program parameters such as filter and envelope settings are ignored. Project5 comes with 500 MB of sampler programs and banks in DP8 format from Q-Up Arts. Programs range from acoustic and electric pianos and basses to orchestral instruments and synths.