![]() With 17 stereo outputs, unlimited track counts and 45GB of bundled content, MachFive 3 is a powerhouse sampler that's well worth considering. You can also construct custom effects chains using MachFive’s 47 onboard effects modules, slice loops with the ‘LoopLab’ engine, and harness granular, time and pitch processing licensed from French developers IRCAM. While a certain ‘kompetitor’ may steal the limelight, MOTU’s MachFive - currently at version 3 - is an extremely powerful sampler in its own right.īased upon the UVI Engine XT, what differentiates MachFive 3 is how it walks the line between sampler and synth: you can use its 11 sound engines to layer subtractive, FM, granular, wavetable and other synthesis types alongside traditional sampling. ![]() MOTU MachFive 3 PC/Mac, Standalone/VST/AU/AAX/RTAS, £219 Other standout features include expansive semi-modular routing, flexible signal flow and multi-output capabilities, while power users can take patch design even further with detailed KSP-scripted interfaces and extensive customisationĢ. Part of Kontakt’s broad appeal can be attributed to its versatility: those who prefer ready-rolled sample libraries and soundsets can use the instrument like a ROMpler and call upon the 43GB of bundled factory content (or the many customised third-party Kontakt libraries available) while more advanced users can manipulate samples beyond recognition via its 37 filter types, vintage sampler modes, multiple timestretching algorithms, waveform editing, loop slicing, 19 effects modules and more. Loaded as either a standalone app or within a VST/AU/RTAS-compatible DAW, Native Inst ruments’ market-leading behemoth is probably the most widely-used soft-sampler on our list. Native Instruments Kontakt 5 PC/Mac, Standalo ne/VST/AU/AAX, £339/$399 In no particular order, here’s our rundown of the best software samplers that are available todayġ. Most DAWs come bundled with at least one fully-featured sampler, and there’s also a wealth of commercial and free third - party variants available. For instance, many samplers recreate the nuances of realistic instruments by playing back separate samples across a variety of pitches, velocities or articulations - a process called ‘multisampling’. From here, you can loop, reverse, filter, envelope and modulate the sound via the sampler’s various synthesis-style features.Įarly hardware samplers could only store a few seconds-worth of audio - resulting in the primitive sampling techniques heard on plenty of ‘80s and ‘90s tracks - but the modern breed of software equivalents can now manipulate a near-unlimited number of samples in an almost immeasurable number of ways. SAMPLING WEEK: Capable of everything from realistic instrument recreation to futuristic sound manipulation, the sampler - a digital instrument that allows the user to load in audio recordings (‘samples’) and then play them back at various pitches via MIDI - is arguably the biggest electronic music game-changer of the past 30 years, having defined production trends and even shaped entire genres.įundamentally, a sampler is a synthesiser that uses an audio file as its oscillator: load in a segment of audio (a sample”, play MIDI notes up and down the keyboard, and the sampler will play back the sample at the desired musical pitch. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |