Most DAWs I know have one or more sampler devices (and there's many plugin samples available as well), but for some reason Steinberg decided to instead introduce - in v9.5, four years ago - Sampler Track. Frankly, I don't see the enefit? Over the years they've added to it stuff like warping, LFOs, filters, etc. but that's nothing extraordinary for most of separate samplers.
So what's the deal? Is it genuinely better, or just a gimmick?
https://youtu.be/jNydvtlaq_I
https://youtu.be/kh9sxdaH_3I
Cubase's sampler track - what's the advantage over typical sampler, if any?
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- Banned
- Topic Starter
- 11467 posts since 4 Jan, 2017 from Warsaw, Poland
Last edited by antic604 on Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRAF
- 4823 posts since 17 Aug, 2004
Any sampler? AFAIK you can drag any waveform/sample to any DAW and timeline. And then tune it etc. I think he's asking why is sampler track different to a sample being loaded on a timeline which seems interesting question. First thing coming to my mind is that (if I am not mistaken) sampler track has different vintage sampler DAC emulations so you can get colored sound.
Bu then you could achieve that for years now with other software sampler. So yes I think I understand why he asked this question.
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- Banned
- Topic Starter
- 11467 posts since 4 Jan, 2017 from Warsaw, Poland
No, I'm actually asking why they introduced sampler track instead of separate sampler device, like any DAW has - Ableton, Bitwig, Reason, Studio One, etc. I don't see any advantage but mostly drawbacks, for example I don't think you can easily replace instrument from sample track to a synth, because there's no device that you can remove and put something else in its place.
It just strikes me as a weird choice, but perhaps I don't understand the reasoning.
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- Topic Starter
- 11467 posts since 4 Jan, 2017 from Warsaw, Poland
Sampler in Bitwig
Simpler/Sampler in Live
SampleOne XT in Studio One
NN-19, NN-XT, Grain, Mimic in Reason
and so on...
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- KVRAF
- 4823 posts since 17 Aug, 2004
Ah right. I was thinking that HALion is included with DAW. Now I see it's a separate thing thus there's no dedicated (free) sampler in Cubase.
Really weird choice I don't understand it either. Maybe people complained about lack of the basic sampler and Steinberg didn't want to cannibalize HALion product range so they introduced that sampler track.
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- KVRAF
- 2946 posts since 31 Jan, 2003 from Ghent, Belgium
"I don't think you can easily replace instrument from sample track to a synth"antic604 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:08 pm No, I'm actually asking why they introduced sampler track instead of separate sampler device, like any DAW has - Ableton, Bitwig, Reason, Studio One, etc. I don't see any advantage but mostly drawbacks, for example I don't think you can easily replace instrument from sample track to a synth, because there's no device that you can remove and put something else in its place.
It just strikes me as a weird choice, but perhaps I don't understand the reasoning.
-> You just drag the notes to an instrument track.
It's just a "Halion Lite" built into a track, in stead of a separate instrument/VST. I don't see any drawbacks - other than calling features you don't (want to) use "drawbacks".
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- KVRist
- 419 posts since 7 Apr, 2010
It's native to cubase so no extra installs required is a major plus. Its a bit clunky for drums imo since you can only manage 1 drum sound at a time and you cannot layer. I prefer to use battery, or maschine for that. Where the sampler is great is that you can drag a chunk of midi to the sampler track and it renders the audio and you can then manipulate it further. In that way its actually a sampler that samples - and in a very easy and quick way too.
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- KVRian
- 839 posts since 25 Jan, 2014
What I don't like from the Sampler Track is the fact that if you save a track as a preset it doesn't save the sample with it (or in a folder beside) ....it only reference the sample ...so if you want to use it on another computer or change you setup you will lose your preset...
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- Topic Starter
- 11467 posts since 4 Jan, 2017 from Warsaw, Poland
That actually sounds plausible. Haven't thought of that.
My tracks are rarely just an instrument, though. Usually it's followed by FX chain, perhaps sends the singal to FX track, is grouped in some bus. That makes it a bit - needlessly, IMO - more complex already.
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- Banned
- Topic Starter
- 11467 posts since 4 Jan, 2017 from Warsaw, Poland
No DAW I own(ed) requires separate install for its native plugins. It's actually only Cubase that does it, so if that's a way to avoid a issue that they themselves created, then I can accept that
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- KVRAF
- 4507 posts since 3 Oct, 2013 from Budapest
there is a button in it (maybe the rightmost icon, can't check it now)
so it is useful as an initial step till you decide what's next (if needed anyway) so can be used as a temporary container too (and promos the paid stuffs of S), let's say this the gateway drug of the other sampler instruments or the Simpler of Cubase
https://steinberg.help/cubase_pro/v11/e ... nts_c.htmlYou can transfer audio samples from Sampler Control to the following Steinberg VST instruments:
Groove Agent
Groove Agent SE
HALion
Padshop
Backbone
so it is useful as an initial step till you decide what's next (if needed anyway) so can be used as a temporary container too (and promos the paid stuffs of S), let's say this the gateway drug of the other sampler instruments or the Simpler of Cubase
Last edited by xbitz on Wed Nov 10, 2021 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Where we're workarounding, we don't NEED features." - powermat
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- KVRian
- 1253 posts since 17 Oct, 2018
I actually like the interface of the sampler track. I think it's really slick and easy to use and kind of reminds of Maschine a bit. It doesn't need to be its own track but the implementation is pretty slick imo.
Studio One // Bitwig // Logic Pro X // Ableton 11 // Reason 11 // FLStudio // MPC // Force // Maschine
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- KVRian
- 992 posts since 27 Apr, 2005
The one advantage I can think of is that it’s not yet another floating window like it would be as a plugin. I think they might have wanted to mimic some of the Ableton aesthetic while ignoring the rest of their floaty window paradigm that they have been known for. I don’t use it much, or any sampler really, but it isn’t hateful, when I’ve played with it casually it seems pretty slick.
