Technology - The Sampler
Now that your familiar with the basics of what a sampler is and what it is designed to do I will look at some creative uses for samplers.
Im going to cover ALOT of ground here, but will try to keep it simple enough that a sampling newbie can follow along without a sever migrain ^_^
I will also at this point start introducing audio, video and pictoral elements to the blog... when I'm satisfied that I've covered enough ground I will add a 'recommended further reading' at the bottom of the page.
In some situations the second hand £50 sampler may be prefferable to the £2,000 sampler, its a matter of sampler specification as well as personal taste. Although it must be said you get out what you put in. both literaly and metaphoricaly.
(Software VS Hardware)
Im going to cover ALOT of ground here, but will try to keep it simple enough that a sampling newbie can follow along without a sever migrain ^_^
I will also at this point start introducing audio, video and pictoral elements to the blog... when I'm satisfied that I've covered enough ground I will add a 'recommended further reading' at the bottom of the page.
What the Audiophiles know that you dont:
(AD/DA)
(AD/DA)
The sampler is an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to faithfully capturing a sound however the samplers real power becoms apparent when you start looking into how much ability you have over the sound. Having used hardware and software samplers for many years & studied them I have learned alot about the inner working of the machines.
Its not just a case of recording and playback ...well to some extent it is, but the meathod of recording, the digital processes that take place. even the parts used in the samplers construction all have a subtle effect on the sound you hear when the sound is played back.
This goes far beyond you samplers memory capacity and wether it is a mono or stereo sample.
The process of analogue to digital conversion then converting back to an analogue sound we can hear (or AD/DA) can have a dramatic effect of the 'colour' of the sound.
To use my own hardware as example...
My Akai S20's AD/DA process is not the same as that of my MPC5k, neither is it the same as my Akai S5k even though they are manufactured by the same company.
Infact NONE of my samplers capture and reproduce the sounds in quite the same was as each other, yet they are all designed for the same purpose. You may assume that the most recent sampler (in this case MPC5k) is better at AD/DA than its predecessors ...well in the context of creative use the answer is no. not nessesarliy.
Different samplers colour the samples in different way, depending on what kind of sound you want a 20year old sampler may be prefferable compared to one that rolled off the assembly line yesterday.
Its not just a case of recording and playback ...well to some extent it is, but the meathod of recording, the digital processes that take place. even the parts used in the samplers construction all have a subtle effect on the sound you hear when the sound is played back.
This goes far beyond you samplers memory capacity and wether it is a mono or stereo sample.
The process of analogue to digital conversion then converting back to an analogue sound we can hear (or AD/DA) can have a dramatic effect of the 'colour' of the sound.
To use my own hardware as example...
My Akai S20's AD/DA process is not the same as that of my MPC5k, neither is it the same as my Akai S5k even though they are manufactured by the same company.
Infact NONE of my samplers capture and reproduce the sounds in quite the same was as each other, yet they are all designed for the same purpose. You may assume that the most recent sampler (in this case MPC5k) is better at AD/DA than its predecessors ...well in the context of creative use the answer is no. not nessesarliy.
Different samplers colour the samples in different way, depending on what kind of sound you want a 20year old sampler may be prefferable compared to one that rolled off the assembly line yesterday.
(Old vs New)
If you are considering buying your first sampler or are considering adding a new sampler to your setup I suggest firstly looking at what kind of application you are using it for and then look at who uses what, that way you can judge the kind of sound you might get out of it (if you dont have access to one to try/compare).(Software VS Hardware)
I use both, the way I see it if your a painter and you want a certain effect you need to get the right tools, different tools for different situation. saying that I have to add this..
The hardware sampler has always been and will always be superiou to the software emulation. the software emulator only excels in one department size/portability.
The ultimate flaw in sortware samplers is this... Your PC/MAC no matter how carefully assembled, no matter how much attention has gone into building your DAW is a computer non the less... It wasn't designed part by part, component by component for one specific purpose and the hardware samplers was., even taking AD/DA process colour into consideration (if thats a problem for your needs) it was build to do the job it does. ..and your PC has been adapted to handle audio.
The hardware sampler has always been and will always be superiou to the software emulation. the software emulator only excels in one department size/portability.
The ultimate flaw in sortware samplers is this... Your PC/MAC no matter how carefully assembled, no matter how much attention has gone into building your DAW is a computer non the less... It wasn't designed part by part, component by component for one specific purpose and the hardware samplers was., even taking AD/DA process colour into consideration (if thats a problem for your needs) it was build to do the job it does. ..and your PC has been adapted to handle audio.
(Cross format sampling)
Each sampler manufacturer has its own format/process for storing the samples you capture, even with 2 samplers made by the same manufacturer can have format incompatibility issues.
With this in mind you might assume that it would be impossible to load samples from one sampler to another eg EMU to Akai, depending on the age of the sampler and the format they save in it can be done with various degrees of success. however some information (like patches) might be lost but it can be done.
If you own 2 samplers that absolutly will not read each other format you can get round it by finding a 3rd sampler that can read the format of the first sampler and save in an acceptable format for the 2nd sampler. <-- this generally wont affect the actual audio, with the exception of inherent AD/DA colurisation.
With this in mind you might assume that it would be impossible to load samples from one sampler to another eg EMU to Akai, depending on the age of the sampler and the format they save in it can be done with various degrees of success. however some information (like patches) might be lost but it can be done.
If you own 2 samplers that absolutly will not read each other format you can get round it by finding a 3rd sampler that can read the format of the first sampler and save in an acceptable format for the 2nd sampler. <-- this generally wont affect the actual audio, with the exception of inherent AD/DA colurisation.
(Synthesis Can Be Achieved)
Yes that is right your sampler has atleast some level of synthesis capabilities.
For example I can achieve granular synthesis on my dainty little S20, I can play with the ADSR on my MPC to form new sounds, or I can pull out my S5000 and do everything a moog can and more, create anything from 20second evolving pad sounds from a 0.5sec tone(thats additive synthesis), or achieve granualar synthesis via cubase/protools.
It depends on what you have and what it can do to start with... the S20 was never designed for granular sythesis yet it is achievable.
For example I can achieve granular synthesis on my dainty little S20, I can play with the ADSR on my MPC to form new sounds, or I can pull out my S5000 and do everything a moog can and more, create anything from 20second evolving pad sounds from a 0.5sec tone(thats additive synthesis), or achieve granualar synthesis via cubase/protools.
It depends on what you have and what it can do to start with... the S20 was never designed for granular sythesis yet it is achievable.
((to be continued))
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