what's the best sampler for my needs?

[3ptguitarist]

I have been a reason 3 user for a while (pirated, but stopped doing that), but I never took the time to dig into the NN-XT sampler. It sounds good, but I never did any serious editing with it, so I have no clue how good of a sampler it is. Plus I am not too knowledgeable on samplers.

Here is what I want to do:

1) I want to be able to play realistic sound libraries like orchestra's, drums, and other real instruments

2) I want to learn how to edit the sampler parameters, and map keyboards, split keyboards, etc.

3) I want to have compatibility with other sample libraries.

4) Add to my prog-metal music.

does Reason 3's NN-XT offer this? Or is there another sampler that is better suited for me?

Also what are the most important aspects of a sampler for you?

[Mutant]

1) I want to be able to play realistic sound libraries like orchestra's, drums, and other real instruments

SFZ

2) I want to learn how to edit the sampler parameters, and map keyboards, split keyboards, etc.

SFZ

3) I want to have compatibility with other sample libraries.

SFZ

4) Add to my prog-metal music.

SFZ

Also what are the most important aspects of a sampler for you?

SOUND QUALITY
http://www.discodsp.com/highlife/aliasing/

[gassle]

Samplelord worths a check... It can read lots of different formats. Samplelord + EXSC combo is supposed to support sample mapping etc. from scratch with the next version of EXSC. Samplelord is a very efficient sample player and EXSC also have some great VSTI / hardware sampling functions.

[3ptguitarist]

how do these compare to Reason's NN-XT?

[Bernard Quatermass]

I don't think that the NN-XT is a particularly good sampler, sound-wise. It's not bad mind you, just average, from what I gather... at least according to the tests located here: http://www.discodsp.com/highlife/aliasing/#nnxt . However I use the NN-XT primarily because of the ability to convert Akai (and other format) sound libraries into ReFills that can be used with it. Refills basically compress wav files down to about half their size, which helps me with storage issues on my laptop. For me, the trade-off between quality and storage space is one worth making.

[gassle]

how do these compare to Reason's NN-XT?

IF you really need a power sampler, I'd recommend NI Kontakt which is a lot more powerful (but unnecessarily complicated) than NNXT. And it is quite pricey too. If you need a good, economic and practical sampler for your sample library in various formats, I'd recommend something like Samplelord. And if you need just a sample player which can play Soundfont format with no edit capabilities, there is SFZ which is free and does its job very well. Some people also like Directwave... which has probably has many of the features of NNTX. But IMO it is not perfect yet. Needs some features like polyphony management, better envelope curves, etc.

[3ptguitarist]

I don't think that the NN-XT is a particularly good sampler, sound-wise. It's not bad mind you, just average, from what I gather... at least according to the tests located here: http://www.discodsp.com/highlife/aliasing/#nnxt . However I use the NN-XT primarily because of the ability to convert Akai (and other format) sound libraries into ReFills that can be used with it. Refills basically compress wav files down to about half their size, which helps me with storage issues on my laptop. For me, the trade-off between quality and storage space is one worth making.

how do you understand those tests and even hear the difference between samplers according to the test?

I've been leaning on Reason for not just sampling, but also for the synths, and for a good price of $400, I can save a lot, rather than buying separate instruments which would take me over the $1000 mark.

That's why I'm asking how these samplers compare to the NN-XT. I just want a solid sampler to suit my needs. It doesn't have to be the best of the best, nor does it have to be too simple.

[Mutant]

And if you need just a sample player which can play Soundfont format with no edit capabilities, there is SFZ which is free and does its job very well.

Red = false.
Good knowledge of sfz format + good freware text editor will allow you to make a big sample library much faster than in Kontakt or almost every other mouse operated sample player.

how do you understand those tests and even hear the difference between samplers according to the test?

More colors in random places = lower resampling quality.

Just think about it.
You would most probably want your samples to have exactly the same spectrum (only shifted) at any different pitch.

[Bernard Quatermass]

how do you understand those tests and even hear the difference between samplers according to the test?

Quite frankly, I can't tell the difference. That's why I said "according to the tests".

[3ptguitarist]

how do you understand those tests and even hear the difference between samplers according to the test?

Quite frankly, I can't tell the difference. That's why I said "according to the tests".

yeah I mean I messed around with drums in Kontakt and compared them to Reason's Drum Kits 2 and a refill drumset created here somewhere, and I didn't notice any drastic differences. The toms in Kontakt's drumset were better sounding, but the user refill was better IMO.

[gassle]

And if you need just a sample player which can play Soundfont format with no edit capabilities, there is SFZ which is free and does its job very well.

Red = false.
Good knowledge of sfz format + good freware text editor will allow you to make a big sample library much faster than in Kontakt or almost every other mouse operated sample player.

Editing an ADSR via a knob in the GUI of Kontakt/Directwave/Samplelord, etc. on the fly; or opening a text editor, opening the sfz file, finding the correct lines, reentering the new values, saving it in the text editor and reopening it in SFZ. Which one is more straightforward?

[Mutant]

And if you need just a sample player which can play Soundfont format with no edit capabilities, there is SFZ which is free and does its job very well.

Red = false.
Good knowledge of sfz format + good freware text editor will allow you to make a big sample library much faster than in Kontakt or almost every other mouse operated sample player.

Editing an ADSR via a knob in the GUI of Kontakt/Directwave/Samplelord, etc. on the fly; or opening a text editor, opening the sfz file, finding the correct lines, reentering the new values, saving it in the text editor and reopening it in SFZ. Which one is more straightforward?

I said:

big sample library

Don't underestimate the power of a good text editor (with advanced search/replace, conditional replace, incremental replace, automated cut&paste, scripting etc).

If you have a sample library made of 1000s of samples, it's realy much faster to edit it with the help of automation.

[Mutant]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emacs

[pljones]

If you have a sample library made of 1000s of samples, it's realy much faster to edit it with the help of automation.

Totally +1 .

K2's editing interface is just a liability. NI should be sued for causing RSI... It makes me want to scream in pain just thinking about it.

However: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi

[3ptguitarist]

well so is Kontakt the best sampler out there? Wouldn't NN-XT be good enough to load samples and map out keys for specific samples?

I may be getting Reason 3, but not just for a sampler, but to also mess around with it's synths and it fits my budget well. I don't want to spend $400 on one sampler, then another $400 on a soft-synth, etc.