Re: a small sampler?

[Per Boysen <per@boysen.se>]

On Nov 9, 2004, at 17:05, Michael Peters wrote:

> can anyone recommend a _small_ sampler? 8< 8< 8< 8< ... a sample 
> playback
> box would be sufficient - the ideal thing would be a tiny box that 
> would
> play vst instruments.

Oh, "a hardware box that plays VST instruments" is actually available, 
but they are incredibly expensive! A second hand sampler can be found 
for a very fair price. The Emu sampler is known to be good, but it's 
not particularly small. I have an analog synth that I actually like 
better then a sampler for midi guitar playing. It's an Oberheim Matrix 
1000, to be found second hand for a good price (a Nord MicroModular is 
even smaller, and cool sounding to my tastes. Here's looking for 
one...). The oberheim has six voices and can be set to use six midi 
channels, one for each string. But you can of course set up a sampler 
program with six mono mode voices as well. I still regret selling off 
my old Roland S-330 sampler that I was using with my midi guitar. It 
sampled only in 12 bits but this made it very nice to blend behind the 
direct guitar string sound - not too deep bass and not to prominent 
treble. And it enabled me to set up sample patches with loops running 
first in one direction and then returning backwards, playing back the 
same sample in reverse. This guaranteed some very "alive" pad sounds, 
that my more expensive 16 bit Akai S-1000 sampler could not provide. I 
think the Emu can also play samples by alternating direction, but If 
this is important to you pleas check it out for sure.

Greetings from Sweden

Per Boysen
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