BEST SAMPLER and WHY??

[thx1138]

Ok here's something that I did way back when... really shitty sounding:
There was a sound digitizer for the Amiga 500 that you could record samples into the machine with. Of course it never sounded at all accurate but it had a lot of character. It escapes me how much sampling time was available and I don't really know the sampling frequency either (probably around 11k or something) but it was a lot of fun, sounded like a ****ed-up Fairlight.

[DivineChemical]

Originally Posted by thx1138

Ok here's something that I did way back when... really shitty sounding:
There was a sound digitizer for the Amiga 500 that you could record samples into the machine with. Of course it never sounded at all accurate but it had a lot of character. It escapes me how much sampling time was available and I don't really know the sampling frequency either (probably around 11k or something) but it was a lot of fun, sounded like a ****ed-up Fairlight.

I don't see how that wouldn't sound interesting at least. (Don't quote me on this next statement. I read it on another thread from GS, so I can't prove the validity of it.) Trent Reznor supposedly made great use of an older computer because the sound card added some character to it. Early digital sampling technologies are legendary for their character and creativity in their sampling. Just look at the popularity of the SP1200, MPC-60, Mirage, ASR-10, etc.

[thx1138]

Oh yeah, when I say "shitty" and "****ed up" that always equals "****ing amazing".

Should have clarified that

[DivineChemical]

Originally Posted by thx1138

Oh yeah, when I say "shitty" and "****ed up" that always equals "****ing amazing".

Should have clarified that

It's all good. I was confused as hell recently before I found out that in Britain "Taking a piss" also means making a joke.

[rawdigits]

Originally Posted by rokuez

Emu Emulator III User forum is up at Emu Emulator III User Forum - Index

For all the EIII people and former EIII users.

After finding a couple of EIII users and seeing no forum or sub forum specifically for the EIII i created one. a lot of convo etc was getting lost in instant messanger chats

now the best sampler has a forum :p

Hey Vance!


Man this will be a nice forum with lots of information..

I contactet the guy over @ dvdborn blogspot.. he likes beeing part of the EIII forum dropping some knowledge


edit: i just saw he already registered ;-)


I will do some advertising in the german forums this weekend

[nrb]

I love my SU700. I haven't used any other hardware samplers so i can't compare.

actually, i'm looking to purchase the mpc500 so i'm selling my SU700. if you're interested check my ad here:

Yamaha Su700 Sampler Sequencer Fx Box The Liberties Dublin musical instruments amps for sale

peace

[KennethA]

Hi guys.

Well - I am all for E-mu, and have always been.

I currently own an Emulator, Emulator II+ and three Emax samplers (and Emulator X2 soft sampler), and I am looking to get my hands on an EIII keyboard too very soon I hope (If I could just convince the owner to sell it to me :-)).

I have been using samplers for more than 20 years and have owned:

E-mu Systems Emax (1000, SE and Plus versions).
E-mu Systems Emax II
E-mu Systems Emulator
E-mu Systems Emulator II
E-mu Systems E6400
E-mu Systems e6400 Ultra
E-mu Systems Emulator X and X2
Ensoniq EPS
Ensoniq EPS 16+
Roland S10
Simmons SDX
Yamaha TX16W

+ a lot of software samplers, and I just keep coming back to the old E-mu samplers.

They sound fantastic and are easy to use. I have found that in my case the more complex instruments is killing my creative process. I like the complex stuff to get things finished, but to get started I need something simple.

Also the filters and grittiness of the old E-mus that I currently own is amazing. Nothing I've ever heard or owned sounds the same as the old Emulator and Emulator II. (not to mention the looks of them).

So I'd go for E-mu - anytime :-)

By the way; that Simmons SDX sampler was pretty amazing too !!

Kenneth
12bit.com

[dlmorley]

Just a quick reminder

Fairlights rule

Just all his talk of the others and we forget who the true master is!

[Karloff70]

No love for Kurzweil K2 series at all?

Don't use my trusty old K2000 much anymore, in the name of workflow/laziness etc, but whenever I stumble on an old DAT with beats made with it and an Atari and Creator/Notator it still seems that there was 'vibe' that is not there on a mac with soft samplers.....

It had sloppy midi timing, but somehow that consipred with the Atari to give SOLID FAT BEATS in a way no Kontakt can.....

Oh, and the envelopes, the filtercutoff in note values and the appropriately named output page (AMP), with it's easily setable 'play into the burn' like on a guitaramp......fat, saturated, musical humming !

More playing with mics and pre's and instruments that need bringing to life by a 'player' now though, as I have not got any energy left for progging beats and the endless 'typewriterwork' it implies.......must be getting old

[KennethA]

Originally Posted by dlmorley

Just a quick reminder

Fairlights rule

Just all his talk of the others and we forget who the true master is!

Ha ha ... From a historical point of view (and I know my sampler history) the Fairlight is the true master.

Sound wise I cannot agree (at least the CMI I and CMI II series didn't exactly sound very good on their own - 8 bit linear sampling is NOT very pleasant :-)).

Again that's just my point of view, and I can see on your site that you disagree (at least when I look at your equipment list:-))

KennethA

[DivineChemical]

Al Jourgenson of Ministry sold his touring Fairlight on eBay about a year or two ago. ...if anybody saw the auction, that sucker had been to hell and back. It was funny because he actually wrote the names of the songs/samples on the keys with a permanent marker.

[clusterchord]

great thread.


whenever Roginator and me get together for coffee at least one topic falls to hardware samplers, beside mandatory analogue blabber. he found me an ADD ONE with Sampling Drive as well. it really does sound awesome. the filtering options, the sythesis engine. so far, i used OB DX sampled drums, and have transferred some CR78 DR55 stuff via SMS... ADD breathers new life into these sounds. gritty n punchy and, above all, musical.

i agree with all cudos to emu stuff. have been usin EOS series for the last (jesus christ..) 13 years. awesome controller routing , matrix mod capaiblities. cant imagine a better machine to take with you live. flexibility is unmatched. and the sound is wide and warm.

so right now i have

E4XT Ultra w RFX32
EMAX SE w scsi and hd.
ADD ONE w ADD Drive


im dreamin of Fairlight II-x. if were talking unique character, sml memory samplers, then this one is the BEST. im in love with its magical husky tone since days of Kate Bush, Gabriel and Odlfield. Its fairly impractical for me to get one tho. other one is PPG23 with WT-B. again the inherent character spells magic to me. (hint: for taste of both, paired w some JP8 and P5, listen to: "A Secret Wish" by Propaganda 1985)

thing is, i dont mind cheapo old digital devices, but with Fairilight or PPG, they cost a lot, and im worried bout risk of maintenance and future stability, given that i already got tons of vintage gear like p5 or obx to worry about anyway. i have to draw the line somewhere.





ps: i have trouble getting the Chicken to work with my E4XTU, on PC. i cant force it to write a EOS type CDROM at all. perhaps i got the weong verison or somthin. if you gotta wokrin setup pls PM me w details. thanks.

[zebastian21]

Originally Posted by Chrisac

Yes theres no problem with the 4000 in any department and theres a good chance Im going to go for one next year. Just a quick look over at you tube and you can hear the timing is bang on. Now compare with the Roland MV8000 and their new one the MV8800. That timing is seriously weird. I think it tries to hard to interpret the player so you spend a lot of time editing notes and that defeats the purpose of a box like that. I mean seriously, I couldnt get a simple 1/16 Q basic rythm to play back correctly. I told Roland but they think Im crazy ITS OBVIOUS You can hear it on their own website demoes although I think they have removed the worst ones now. In fact listen to some of their other beat box audio examples like those 808 909 groove boxes, the timing is just utter crap to be honest and very similiar to the MV. Roland can sometimes be totally genius and then on the other hand they can make you want to strangle them. Another thing I didnt like about the MV range is that its actually LESS ADVANCED than the S range. Its been seriously dumbed down and the patch loading system is just downright stupid.

I better get of this thread Im becoming obsessed

No offense mate, but its a myth that the Roland Mv have timing issues, in fact the MV has higher resolution than any MPC, and people who complain aboput the timing are the ones who dont know how to use the MV in the first place, mainly folks coming from MPCs, watch some video tutorials on youtube and learn about quantizing with the MV....it has NO timing issues

[DivineChemical]

Originally Posted by zebastian21

No offense mate, but its a myth that the Roland Mv have timing issues, in fact the MV has higher resolution than any MPC, and people who complain aboput the timing are the ones who dont know how to use the MV in the first place, mainly folks coming from MPCs, watch some video tutorials on youtube and learn about quantizing with the MV....it has NO timing issues

I find it hard to believe that any newer sequencer doesn't have timing issues of some sort (even the new MPC's are innacurate, so I'm not trying to be defensive.) Easy way to settle this: program a series of sixteenth notes into your MV. Record the audio output. Line it up in your DAW of choice with a series of sixteenth notes on a MIDI track. Calculate the average drift.

[zebastian21]

Originally Posted by DivineChemical

I find it hard to believe that any newer sequencer doesn't have timing issues of some sort (even the new MPC's are innacurate, so I'm not trying to be defensive.) Easy way to settle this: program a series of sixteenth notes into your MV. Record the audio output. Line it up in your DAW of choice with a series of sixteenth notes on a MIDI track. Calculate the average drift.

you are talking about something completely different here, my response was at the "quantize resolution" of the MV not being accurate to sequence with it, Im sure you know the MV is a sampler/sequencer right?

[DivineChemical]

Originally Posted by zebastian21

you are talking about something completely different here, my response was at the "quantize resolution" of the MV not being accurate to sequence with it, Im sure you know the MV is a sampler/sequencer right?

Okay, I thought this was about MIDI drift. My bad!

[cc1]

Originally Posted by lord toranaga

the MV 8000/8800 is based on the roland s-760 engine

does the mv import the S-760 libraries and make a unique "MV type file" out of it - or do the S-760 libraries stay in the same format (i.e. with the same file extention)?

[roginator]

whell Im just hooked on samplers

I own

Emulator II+
Emulator III
Emulator 4X ( fully expanded)
SP 12 Turbo
Dynacord ADD one + ADD Drive
Roland S760 + RC 100
Ensoniq ASR 10R
PPG Wave 2,3 with Waveterm B

Samplerslut HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stevil]

'best' sampler thread & no mentions for Synclavier or Fairlight CMI?

[alexp]

Divine your avatar is gold.

I love all my samplers but tend to do most of my work on the Mirage. I just love how anything you put into it comes out so dark and creepy sounding (Creepy not crappy) I think that machine is just so awesome for inspiration. That through a tape delay and woah! sounds epic.

[dlmorley]

Originally Posted by KennethA

Ha ha ... From a historical point of view (and I know my sampler history) the Fairlight is the true master.

Sound wise I cannot agree (at least the CMI I and CMI II series didn't exactly sound very good on their own - 8 bit linear sampling is NOT very pleasant :-)).

Again that's just my point of view, and I can see on your site that you disagree (at least when I look at your equipment list:-))

KennethA

Yes, totally disagree

They have such a cool sound and Page R on a Series I or II is just so funky. Fabulous. You can get them to sound pretty hi tech with a few tricks, but I love the sound.

[dlmorley]

Originally Posted by Stevil

'best' sampler thread & no mentions for Synclavier or Fairlight CMI?

I think you missed a few!

[Don Solaris]

Originally Posted by roginator

whell Im just hooked on samplers

You forgot to put something in your list:

• Roland S-550 with original mouse, scsi, remote controller, monitor and original Roland's golden CD-ROM. Absolute mint. Those who own S-550 series know how hard it is to obtain a scsi for it and the legendary "golden" cd with the Roland library.

It is only a matter of time when people realize how good these 12 machines sound. Not to mention its almost analog sounding resonant filter. I took S-550 month ago with a mouse and use TV card's input to run it on my pc's screen. What a joy to operate. And what a sound...

Originally Posted by roginator

Ensoniq ASR 10R

1. Let me know when you find a keyboard version so that i can take your 10R.

2. Then we will use my ASR-10R to test the gravity force from the 10-th floor. Ok?

I really tried everything, but the SCSI just won't work right - i always get cracks, although i use short (scsi) cable, with proper termination etc. Hey, at least i fixed the overheating using your method - i drilled 150 holes above the RAM and 130 holes above the PSU and installed the fan.

[DivineChemical]

Originally Posted by alexp

Divine your avatar is gold.

Thanks. Thought somebody else would get a kick from my stance on that whole issue.

[Chrisac]

Originally Posted by zebastian21

No offense mate, but its a myth that the Roland Mv have timing issues, in fact the MV has higher resolution than any MPC, and people who complain aboput the timing are the ones who dont know how to use the MV in the first place, mainly folks coming from MPCs, watch some video tutorials on youtube and learn about quantizing with the MV....it has NO timing issues

I had an MV800 for a couple of months and know perfectly well how to work one. I gave this box a large amount of my time because as a great admirer of the S series sampling engine and someone who has owned an S range for over 15 years I very much wanted to gel with the MV. The sampling engine was fine, although the sampling features had been dumbed down considerably. But Iwas easily prepared to put up with various shortcomings if I could have an S range sound that could interface more easily with a more modern setup. And to have an S range in a groove box was music to my ears....until I had to deal with its erratic timing nuances.
The Sequencer/Timing: If you note what I said "The Timing Is Really Weird". I didnt say the sequencer couldnt play in time. But to be honest that is exactly what it sounds like I dont care if the MV has a resolution of 100 billion and fyi I think resolution is bandied around as if highest is best (nonsense), im interested in the groove of the machine. I cant count the amount of times I laid down a simple drum or rythm riff only to end up in the editing page moving notes scrunching my face at every weird nuance i could hear wondering if it was me, the triggering speed of the sampler or the sequencer its self (it is the sequencer btw). Even after editing stuff just didnt sit right so I replayed in parts over and over again. The only stuff that I could get away with was below 100bpm where its weirdness didnt stick out so much. This has nothing to do with how well I understood the quantising because at its most basic setting of 1/16 100% the thing couldnt play back a standard syncopated moroder style bassline properly and I understood the quantising of teh MV perfectly well thank you very much. Ok, I admit sometimes I could get riffs to play back fine but that was definitely the exception. I dont know what it was, perhaps its resolution is to high, maybe it tries to hard to be human, maybe its just bad?

Now contrast with me picking up an MPC4000. Within about 10 seconds I could tell its sequencer was the business. I played in a groove and back it came cool as you like and brought a smile to my face. yeh thats a groove

If geling with the MV means taking up a lenghty university course in the nuances thermodynamics of the MVs timing then please feel free, but ill have no part of that. A groove box is for laying stuff down fast and being, well generally groovy which Im sorry to say the MV is not.

[Beastie]

KONTAKT - soft sampler...
ENSONIQ ASR 10 - sampling keyboard
MPC60 and sp1200 - hiphop drum machines...
EMU ULTRA E4XT/AKAI s3000sl - rack samplers

peace

Originally Posted by Beastie

KONTAKT - soft sampler...
ENSONIQ ASR 10 - sampling keyboard
MPC60 and sp1200 - hiphop drum machines...
EMU ULTRA E4XT/AKAI s3000sl - rack samplers

peace

The best sampler is the one NO ONE has yet to mention. A little gem if you ask me and a free ware back in 2002.

DS404 DS404 VSTi

It really kicks the ass of most of the software samplers i have used to date and i have tried all of them.

[roginator]

Originally Posted by time ago