why do software samplers still suck?

[Spaceman Sounds]

He he please insert disk 27 of 32 ...... wrrrr......wrrrrrr.....disk loading error

[Bonteburg]

all samplers suck and i'll tell you why, because they capture the timbre but not the behavior so everything ends up sounding like an accordion.

Nice one

Can't say I agree though... it's the old sampling/synthesis and modelling argument I think.

Marco

[kuniklo]

I find it amusing that no one here complained of the lack of loading samples fast. How do you miss that in a sampler? hardware samplers are slower than software samplers, right?

Slower, yes, but usually loading much smaller sample sets too so it doesn't wind up being that much of a difference either way. In both cases it's too slow to avoid the need for some kind of transition/cover in a live set.

[Radek]

The fastest loading sampler is Gigastudio without doubt. It offers best polyphony too. I remember I could hit over 200 voices easily with Gigastudio V2 long time ago. The filtering and synth like capabilities at the other hand...
(and there were bugs end a very crappy effect section...)
If Nemesys would make rack 1U version with proper filters, 128 (or so) polyphony and decent effects they would sell tons of such units. It's really funny because there are some patents regarding disk streaming tech what Gigastudio is using. They could have sampler market (including hardware) locked in easily. But perhaps there were some other variables at play?

Anyway... Akai Z4 is kind of cheap and it looks like it might be even cheaper. So...

[Tony Ostinato]

""Other than using real analogs, I use samples of analogs...and I have to say they sound NOTHING like an accordion.""

try and play smooth slurs or glisses or fast 16th note lines and youll immediately get what i mean, im a little suprised you dont already.

you can sit and edit in everything, but thats not live playing. its true samplers can capture any timbre but only one behavior: accordion.

[kuniklo]

try and play smooth slurs or glisses or fast 16th note lines and youll immediately get what i mean, im a little suprised you dont already.

Hardware samplers get interesting when you stop worrying about realism and fidelity and start thinking of them as sound design tools. Check out FSOL's Lifeforms for a great example of what a lowly Akai can do in the right hands.

[herodotus]

try and play smooth slurs or glisses or fast 16th note lines and youll immediately get what i mean, im a little suprised you dont already.

Hardware samplers get interesting when you stop worrying about realism and fidelity and start thinking of them as sound design tools....

Yes, I too wonder about this obsession with realism.

I have never heard say, a drum part made with any sample set that sounded 'real' compared to a recording of a live drummer.

On the other hand, a sampler, even the oldest of them, can play sixteenth notes flawlessly at 250 bpm.

Seems like an ok trade off to me

[donkey tugger]

try and play smooth slurs or glisses or fast 16th note lines and youll immediately get what i mean, im a little suprised you dont already.

Hardware samplers get interesting when you stop worrying about realism and fidelity and start thinking of them as sound design tools....

Yes, I too wonder about this obsession with realism.

I have never heard say, a drum part made with any sample set that sounded 'real' compared to a recording of a live drummer.

On the other hand, a sampler, even the oldest of them, can play sixteenth notes flawlessly at 250 bpm.

Seems like an ok trade off to me

Aye. Yer Cheetah sx16, back in the day (ahem). Kant cost me £200 2nd hand. 500k memory, 8 voices (4 with t'stereo). Nasty horrible operating system, no filters. Still managed to churn out some horrid rave shite with it though.

Software samplers suck?

[Tony Ostinato]

oh, granted, and lots of people like accordion too.

accepting the limitations is the only way, at least for now.

[Sascha Franck]

The fastest loading sampler is Gigastudio without doubt. It offers best polyphony too. I remember I could hit over 200 voices easily with Gigastudio V2 long time ago. The filtering and synth like capabilities at the other hand...

Well, these days, I can play around 700 voices in the EXS. On a rather cheesy Macbook. With the filter switched on, that is. And it's got great sounding filters (I know, other parts of it are horribly outdated).

[kuniklo]

I have never heard say, a drum part made with any sample set that sounded 'real' compared to a recording of a live drummer.

I think it's great that software samplers with big libraries are getting more and more realistic all the time, even if they still have a ways to go, but personally I'm more interested in f**king sounds up with a sampler. Despite its limitations, the new integrated Ableton Sampler is a step in the right direction.

[EnzymeX]

The only real arguement I can think of is a keyboard and mouse are not as cool as a dedicted box of knobs that offer immediate satisfaction or playability. In almost every other way, hardware kinda sucks more...

[DevonB]

The fastest loading sampler is Gigastudio without doubt. It offers best polyphony too. I remember I could hit over 200 voices easily with Gigastudio V2 long time ago. The filtering and synth like capabilities at the other hand...

Wow, that's fasinating. Gigastudio 160 which was version 2 was the 'high end' that only did 160 voice polyphony. How did you manage 200+? It wasn't until version 3 that had unlimited poly.

Devon

[Radek]

The fastest loading sampler is Gigastudio without doubt. It offers best polyphony too. I remember I could hit over 200 voices easily with Gigastudio V2 long time ago. The filtering and synth like capabilities at the other hand...

Well, these days, I can play around 700 voices in the EXS. On a rather cheesy Macbook. With the filter switched on, that is. And it's got great sounding filters (I know, other parts of it are horribly outdated).

But it proves that newest doesn't mean most efficient. The Reason sampler should also be very good for polyphony?

The fastest loading sampler is Gigastudio without doubt. It offers best polyphony too. I remember I could hit over 200 voices easily with Gigastudio V2 long time ago. The filtering and synth like capabilities at the other hand...

Wow, that's fasinating. Gigastudio 160 which was version 2 was the 'high end' that only did 160 voice polyphony. How did you manage 200+? It wasn't until version 3 that had unlimited poly.

Can I make a mistake?
It was some time ago and 160 isn't that far from 200. Anyway it hasn't any problems maxing out at 160. That's for directly streamed samples from disk on way less powerfull PC what we have now. The "160" limit was artifically imposed by Nemesys I suppose.

I have never heard say, a drum part made with any sample set that sounded 'real' compared to a recording of a live drummer.

I think it's great that software samplers with big libraries are getting more and more realistic all the time, even if they still have a ways to go, but personally I'm more interested in f**king sounds up with a sampler. Despite its limitations, the new integrated Ableton Sampler is a step in the right direction.

It's only logical to get a sampler integrated because a multitrack recorder (an essence of any DAW) is kind of "sampler" already. It's best to see benefits of integration sampler in a DAW in Traction imho. It has a primitive sampler but it's so quick to use it and map samples in it. Just grab some recorded clips and seconds later it's ready to play. If it could allow for velocity splits, had looping and simple filter/envelopes then it'd be perfect for usual sampling tasks.

[keyman_sam]

But gigastudio has very few import formats. I have akai S6000 and Roland and wav CDs.