Hardware samplers

Sun Sep 19 22:56:49 CEST 2021

I got to try out a Deluge back when it was still in its earliest form.   The unit i borrowed didn’t even have the functions silk screened onto the box yet, and they had nothing but a few youtube videos as far as a manual goes.  What I could figure out was fun, but lacking proper documentation I didn’t keep it (it was on loan).   I’ve been tempted to give it another run, but not sure there’s a point.  When I think about getting an old hardware sampler, it’s for the color you get through 12 bit or barely passable 16bit converters and questionable pitch shifting algorithms and DSP processes.   Most modern stuff just ends up feeling like a crippled computer software package.   

That said, I do like the Modern MPC’s a lot.  I have an Akai Force which is basically an MPC with an 8x8 grid and a lot better connectivity (you can directly connect class compliant USB audio and midi devices to it, and it can act as an external equipment hub).  Of course, I’ve been using MPCs forever so the workflow is like second nature to me.  

Tony

> On Sep 19, 2021, at 2:53 AM, Ibi Sum <ibisum at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> The workflow on Deluge is like nothing else you’ll ever witness.  It samples/resamples into oblivion, the only limit is the SD card. (Blackbox: same).  In competent hands you won’t even notice the whole trick of building up tracks and resampling sections/loops - you’ll only witness a performance and not even notice the rest of the process, it’s that good.  Zero menu-diving, only peformative actions.  The Deludge is in a whole other class of interface, it is light years ahead of anything else, but like a true instrument it really does need to be learned.  Sampling-wise it is POWERFUL, literally unlimited. You will stumble with the interface at first but once you grok the flow - and it really is a flow-friendly interface, with zero distractions - you will be in sampling nirvana.
> 
> Blackbox has the same feel, albeit different workflow, and a little more cramped.  I like the Blackbox interface, although it’s a little less “flow” oriented than the Deluge, a bit more mode/menu groping.  But also, an amazing amount of power - and the recent Blackbox update added Granular synthesis, and extra effects - it’s definitely a growing and lively platform.
> 
> I get the impression that the designers of these machines really wanted to take sampling into the 21st century, and they succeeded.  It’s very difficult to compare even with the older MPC flow.  The Deluge runs rings around the MPC and pretty much everything else.
> 
> These are high performance samplers/instruments, with fat emphasis on capital-P Performance, as in musical. Kontakt doesn’t even come close.
> 
> The only reason I’m keeping my A-sampler rack (I have all of the A-samplers except the 7000) around is to do some more Disky work for the ~1000 users that are still out there with Win98 PC’s wired up to their machines, still quite productively using them in their works. And the A-samplers still function as workhorse samplers, still some truly stunning users out there pushing the limits… I have some ideas for an upgrade to the A-samplers that would make it an amazing performance platform too.  Also, they are amazing FX processors in their own rights - something the Deluge and Blackbox aren’t quite capable of matching .. yet. (Both get seriously great software updates.. it’s refreshing to see and very rewarding to observe feature requests becoming standard features…)
> 
> Peter, get thee a Deluge!  You won’t regret it. If you can’t do that for budget reasons get a Blackbox, and if you don’t like it after a month I’ll buy it from you.  I have plenty of people in my jam circles who want one to replace their MPC or Kontakt rigs…
> 
> ;
> --
> seclorum 
> 
>> On 19.09.2021, at 07:28, James Coplin <james at ticalun.net> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> I meant the Akai samplers. The Emu that are not the e4 Ultra are reasonable. The ESI series are cheap and even e5000 and e6400 have been going for $500. The e4 Turbo is also really cheap. The Akai stuff is even cheaper and quiet frankly I think they are better samplers. The Z series in particular was fantastic.  And, I have been on ebay and Reverb a lot because I have also been tempted to get a hardware sampler again.
>> 
>> That said, the workflow really doesn't make much sense any longer. I ultimately decided against it. Things like Kontakt, Maschine, etc really make much more sense. Maschine in particular is incredibly fast and immediate to work in. Ultimately, as much as I think I would like to have a sampler again, I suspect the reality would be that I would hate it.
>> 
>> James
>> 
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>> On Sep 18, 2021, at 4:58 PM, Andrew Tarpinian <andrewtarpinian at gmail.com <mailto:andrewtarpinian at gmail.com>> wrote:
>> You have have not been on ebay in a while, have you…
>> 
>>> On Sep 18, 2021, at 5:56 PM, James Coplin <james at ticalun.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Anything Emu and the later Akai series are amazing and super cheap. The later Akai also used IDE drives.
>>> 
>>> James
>>> 
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>>> On Sep 18, 2021, at 4:29 PM, Peter Korsten <peter at severity-one.com <mailto:peter at severity-one.com>> wrote:
>>> So I just watched a video by Espen Kraft about his Akai S700 sampler 
>>> that he bought when Reagan was still president. Sampling at a 
>>> ridiculously low sampling rate of like 6.3 kHz, it sounded remarkably 
>>> good. Also, Paolo "SynthMania" had a video about sampling CDs that I 
>>> found enlightening.
>>> 
>>> Now I've always been dismissive of samplers, associating them with "ah 
>>> yeah!" and orchestra hit samples, in the worst of 1990s dance music, but 
>>> when you think about it, they're just synths with very flexible 
>>> oscillators – provided, of course, that the rest of the synthesis engine 
>>> is up to snuff.
>>> 
>>> Now Jay is going to say Yamaha A4000/A5000, and those have the advantage 
>>> of using IDE drives. But what hardware samplers would you say are 
>>> musically interesting?
>>> 
>>> Hey, the 20 year anniversary is coming up, as is my birthday, and 
>>> Christmas... 🙂
>>> 
>>> - Peter
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