TAL Software

I wish it were possible to give a 10 out of 5 rating because that's what the plugin deserves after the last few updates. Now that it finally auto-names the outputs in DAWs like FL Studio and Cubase, it's pretty much the perfect drum plugin.

In a era where music is affordable to make and produce something is often missing : "life"; Life from errors, life from musician performance, life from unpredictability and movement.

I don't care much a bout analog accuracy but I do care about sound coloration and movements, and tal sampler is amazing to that regard. It might be the only sampler I found that gives life to samples.

It is named "sampler", but think of it as a "sample-based synthesizer", because that's what it is.
Let me give you an idea :

- get a sample multi with 16 samples, called something like "moog_bass_D#2.wav" and set zone like a normal sampler.
- then process/process/process : simple LFO, adsr, filters, sample loop
- then listen : it will likely sound to your ear like a completly new, lively synth : it crunches, it moves, it flows, it sounds dark, it sounds weird, it sounds like you are playing on some crazy hardware machine from a sci-fy movie !

Filters, sampling rate, bit depths, everything is carefully though in this sampler to provide that crunchy feel !
Sounds quickly wins tridimensionnal feel, weird color, both simple and brillant.

Fun to use and very creative

Cons ? not much if you are not mistaking this sampler for what it is not.
It's not made to have kontakt-like realistic presets. it's made to sample stuffs yourself and sound organic.
It doesn't fit every genre. It will fit lofi, old-school electronic music, video games music, chiptune, industrial music.

Great !

Very fast, easy and intuitive for a fully fledged drum sampler+ nice GUI, easy to use.

Now my favorite "bread and butter" drum sampler
+ easy to map MIDI (set the first note, and ask it to map the other pad chromatically)
+ modulation, envelopes
+ layers
+ good/simple explorer (set several favorite folders, then search your sample)
+ the resampling engines sounds great (old sampler emulation)
+ easy slicing
+ chromatic assignement (several continuous pads with same sample but different notes)
+ layers per pad (with cycling or randomisation for each MIDI note)
+ up to 64 pads with 16/32 or 64 pads displayed (for example: with 16 pad view, 4 pages of pads)
+ effect, including dynamics, saturation, spatial effects and a 5 band EQ (to mix within the plugin)
+ multiple output and simple mixer

- don't got for this if you are looking for an extensive library of presets
- a bit expensive without discount if you consider the other paid alternative and their features (such as XO or atlas 2).

Dub is my primary genre, and whenever I need a good delay (which is often), I turn to this wonderful little tool. It doesn't take up much CPU, the drive function is just amazing, the modulation sounds great, it can do the feedback loops that dub is known for with the press of a button...I just love this plugin.

TAL-Sampler is probably my favourite virtual instrument. I have a strong preference for synths over samplers, yet TAL-Sampler is the big exception because I can approach it like a synth.

I record samples of my hardware synths (usually with the filter open and/or through various distortions) and I load them into TAL-Sampler as if they were complex oscillators, then I can mangle them by pitching them up/down the keyboard (like in the past, when multisamples were not common because of memory limitations), I can make delayed layers to build complex sounds, I can pre-filter (low and high pass) those layers, I can add the layers using the modulation wheel (by routing it to the layer gain in the modulation matrix)...

I have a lot of fun with it because I can do things I can't do with my synths (or they would sound differently).

The interface is quite simple (compared to the big software samplers) and it's quite fast to use. The only thing that takes a while is working on loop points (to be honest, finding the perfect loop points has always been a consuming task with every sampler), but once the loop is perfect you can save the sample as sfz and load it later already mapped across the keyboard with the correct loop points (I always do this when I record/import a new sample, so I can use it again later on other patches).

I really love it this plugin.

A broken Juno. That's what this is. Because this synth has a critical bug in its voice allocation system.

Basically, if you use TAL-U-No-62 polyphonically with long release times, there will be occurrences where previous notes are overwritten in an unpredictable, antagonistic manner.

TAL U-No-LX does not have this problem in either RR or N voice allocation modes. In fact, I've never found a synth that intentionally implements the strange behavior TAL-U-No-62 does. Surprisingly, the predecessor version TAL-U-No-60 doesn't suffer from this issue, so long as "Save CPU" is turned off (if on, it severely compromises polyphony in a completely different manner).

Unfortunately, this freebie is unlikely to ever be updated or fixed, as it's immensely old, and it's existence stands in competition with TAL U-No-LX, despite the fact that this old freebie is not as accurate or as feature-rich.

Again, this problem only appears to affect long release times on released keys, when subsequent notes play when a release tail is active. This should not affect chord or pad type sequences, only arpeggios that use long release times as a feature. If you are using gated polyphonic sounds or monophonic sounds, this is a non-issue. So I give it 2 stars for that, but it's still a lacerated synth, and it saddens me that it was left this way.

TAL-U-No-62 had potential. It had a solid foundation, and its DNA would live on to TAL-Elek7ro (which doesn't have this bug) and eventually TAL NoiseMaker, and likely TAL's commercial synths to some degree as well. But I can only recommend it fully if you restrict it to gated mode, or in monophonic mode, or otherwise rely very little on the release time parameter.

So, polyphonic leads with overlapping release tails? Don't bother. Expect buggy, randomly cut release tails. Just use gate mode with delay/reverb, or try TAL-U-No-60.

I've been consistently impressed with Tal's products since first trying their free Juno chorus emulation plugin (still the most accurate in my personal opinion). The J-8 is equally exceptional. It can go from ethereal flutes to incredibly thick grinding bass with a few slider tweaks. That is another quality of note - the UI. While still skeuomorphic enough that you won't mistake that you are looking at a Jupiter style synth, but the graphics are clear flat vectors. Their UI's are in my own opinion how all retro synth plugins should look.

But what is most important is the sound and the sound is great. The per-voice modeling helps to create a truly analog and organic feel (something Arturia is only finally starting to do!) You also have the ability to edit those per voice parameters through the 'service control' button (or randomize them) so you can dial in the amount of organic 'character' you want.

I can't say if this is a 1-1 accurate reproduction of a J-8. But I do know that Tal's UNO-LX plugin sounds the closest to my Juno-6 of all the Juno emulations I've tried. And I do know that the J-8 sounds thick and lush. Just go grab the demo and give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

The tool for make your sounds crispy.

The Dry/Wet mix parameter let you blend the perfect amount.

Disadvantages: Tiny interface (from the old low rez days). Audio cannot be processed while tweaking the dials. (Tip: If you use Ableton Live, Device parameter can be tweaked without audio drops).

But 5/5 for the sound.