KVR Audio

Liero · Post by **Liero** » Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:18 am

Conversion from sampler formats to others is an extremely error-prone process since samplers have gotten so complex. There's very little information about SampleRobot and the trial is, quite frankly, idiotically limited to something no-one would actually use the software for.

What kind of experiences have users had here? Does it get the job done reliably?

I'm specifically interested in converting from kontakt NKI instruments to Bitwig Sampler - anyone here use SampleRobot for that specific conversion?

moss · Post by **moss** » Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:56 pm

SampleRobot is not for converting file formats. It is for sampling hardware or software synthesizers (or anything else).

DrGonzo · Post by **DrGonzo** » Sat Jun 13, 2020 7:53 am

Talking generally from 20+ years of personal experience regarding conversions. If the source material is very basic and doesn't contain anything fancy apart from envelopes and sample mapping, you can probably get away with it. But in practice it a whole can of worms that usually end up taking longer time than rebuilding sounds manually. If you can use a conversion program to correctly create the sample map - you've made your job a lot easier. But I wouldn't rely on any converters. Too much hassle.

JeffLearman · Post by **JeffLearman** » Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:35 pm

moss wrote: Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:56 pm SampleRobot is not for converting file formats. It is for sampling hardware or software synthesizers (or anything else).

Right: it doesn't "convert" but instead plays the instrument and samples it, creating a new instrument from the sounds of the old one using the recordings it makes. It doesn't read the original format, it lets some player (or hardware) play it. That's why it works with an external MIDI keyboard and non-sample-based instrument plugins.

Conversion programs work in an entirely different way. They read and understand the original format and allow outputting it in other formats. They only work with sample sets (e.g., Kontakt instruments, SFZ and SF2 format files.) Also, they don't work with sample sets that are encrypted to prevent copying. Examples I'm aware of include Extreme Sample Converter (which is rather old and has some odd peculiarities, but works well), Chicken Translator, and Polyphone. No doubt there are lots of others now. I suspect Polyphone is probably the best bet these days, based on who I see using it.

JeffLearman · Post by **JeffLearman** » Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:35 pm

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Mon Jun 15, 2020 2:08 pm

Liero wrote: Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:18 am I'm specifically interested in converting from kontakt NKI instruments to Bitwig Sampler

Seems somewhat futile... What are you expecting to gain by that?

Liero · Post by **Liero** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:15 am

BertKoor wrote: Mon Jun 15, 2020 2:08 pm
Liero wrote: Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:18 am I'm specifically interested in converting from kontakt NKI instruments to Bitwig Sampler
Seems somewhat futile... What are you expecting to gain by that?

Getting rid of Kontakt, which is a bloated, dysfunctional wreck getting worse with every new version? If you actually make your own patches you'll quickly notice that there are bugs that haven't been fixed for years on end. Bitwig Sampler also loads about thrice as fast.

DrGonzo · Post by **DrGonzo** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 1:13 pm

Liero wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:15 am
BertKoor wrote: Mon Jun 15, 2020 2:08 pm
Liero wrote: Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:18 am I'm specifically interested in converting from kontakt NKI instruments to Bitwig Sampler
Seems somewhat futile... What are you expecting to gain by that?
Getting rid of Kontakt, which is a bloated, dysfunctional wreck getting worse with every new version? If you actually make your own patches you'll quickly notice that there are bugs that haven't been fixed for years on end. Bitwig Sampler also loads about thrice as fast.

As much as I love the libraries for Kontakt, I can absolutely relate to this. I've been thinking about doing the same for ages. Problem is that I think that there is no way around it. Autosampling can only get you so far and what route you choose to take, there will be a massive extra work.

/C

SampleScience · Post by **SampleScience** » Thu Jun 18, 2020 9:21 am

I don't recommend it, it's buggy and you'll end up wasting a lot of time fixing the samples you'll get with it.

DrGonzo · Post by **DrGonzo** » Thu Jun 18, 2020 9:35 am

I haven't used it in quite some time (still using Keymap Pro) and I remember there were quite a few sloppy bugs in the first versions. What bugs have you run into?

/C

SimonH · Post by **SimonH** » Thu Jun 18, 2020 10:26 am

I'll give a positive for Samplerobot, the support is great & personable, I converted a few bits from Kontakt before I got rid of it that I would miss which worked well for me, there is some trial and error, but you can get great results, and just leave it do it's thing in the background whilst you get on with something else. I've since converted other samples to streamline my library a little

SampleScience · Post by **SampleScience** » Fri Jun 19, 2020 6:16 am

DrGonzo wrote: Thu Jun 18, 2020 9:35 am I haven't used it in quite some time (still using Keymap Pro) and I remember there were quite a few sloppy bugs in the first versions. What bugs have you run into?

/C

I got clicks at the beginning of all my samples, or silences. The auto-loop function didn't work even for simple waveforms. I now use Reaper which is much more reliable and does a perfect job.

SampleRobot -- how reliable is it really?