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A Brief Introduction To Samplers
Music entertains an enormous number of individuals and without it life would be far less enjoyable.There are in existence a gigantic range of musical genres that there will always be at least one which appeals to you. There is also an enormous variety of musical instruments which aid in making a different sound. Most artists cannot finance using a full orchestra etc. so it isn't surprising to learn that the electronic sampler was invented.
The sampler is a musical instrument which records a variety of sounds and allows them to be played back by a sequencer or keyboard. The very first samplers utilised magnetic tape on which to record sounds. Each reel was attached to the relevant key on keyboard. When a key was played the related spool replayed the relevant note. Unfortunately this meant that the instrument was extremely large and incredibly heavy. A further problem was that spools needed to be changed each time a different sound was to be played. One of the earliest examples of this style of sampler was the Mellotron which replayed recordings of flutes, female choirs, male choirs and strings.
Bands such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys used the Mellotron on a few of their hits. Sadly the Mellotron was very expensive and the sound so recognisable that it did not become a great seller. The earliest examples of electronic digital samplers were seen in the 1970s, the first models included the Fairlight and the Synclavier System but they proved to be immensely limited by the technology of the day, plus the costly parts such as RAM chips.
During the 1980s electronic music increased in popularity and fascination in sampler technology also increased. manufacturers such as E-mu Systems started to sell electronic samplers to a more general market, although their samplers were still very expensive and beyond the pockets of most bands. The E-mu Emulator range of digital samplers proved to be for much less expense than both the Synclavier and the Fairlight CMI and quickly became popular.
In the middle of the 1980s Akai engaged in the world of electronic musical instruments when they began selling the S612 which became the 1st really affordable sampler. Their follow up product was the S900, which was less expensive than their previous model, improved the frequency range and the sampling memory available. It could also hold a maximum of thirty two samples in memory at one time. The S950 quickly appeared and, with the production of the Akai S1000 sampler, sampling was now available at 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo resolution (the same quality as CDs). Other companies, for example Roland also released samplers, which now offered various synthesis techniques, for example filters, envelopes and LFOs, which helped decrease their expense still more.
By the end of the Eighties digital samplers had become so inexpensive that even amateur musicians could afford to buy them. Memory chip costs had decreased to such a degree that sample modules could now sample extremely long times and technology of sampling started to appear in nearly all keyboards right up to the present day.
These-days it is commonly virtually impossible to be able to tell the difference between a digital sampler and a real musical instrument. Samplers are now available in computer software form which utilise the memory and hard drive of the computer which has decreased the cost even further and there are even software samplers available for download free, so everyone can afford a sampler. Many software packages, such as Logic Audio incorporate softsamplers and the majority also include massive sound libraries. Many companies sell libraries of samples for software samplers such as Kontakt, Structure, EXS24, Halion and Gigasampler.
The sampler is a musical instrument which records a variety of sounds and allows them to be played back by a sequencer or keyboard. The very first samplers utilised magnetic tape on which to record sounds. Each reel was attached to the relevant key on keyboard. When a key was played the related spool replayed the relevant note. Unfortunately this meant that the instrument was extremely large and incredibly heavy. A further problem was that spools needed to be changed each time a different sound was to be played. One of the earliest examples of this style of sampler was the Mellotron which replayed recordings of flutes, female choirs, male choirs and strings.
Bands such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys used the Mellotron on a few of their hits. Sadly the Mellotron was very expensive and the sound so recognisable that it did not become a great seller. The earliest examples of electronic digital samplers were seen in the 1970s, the first models included the Fairlight and the Synclavier System but they proved to be immensely limited by the technology of the day, plus the costly parts such as RAM chips.
During the 1980s electronic music increased in popularity and fascination in sampler technology also increased. manufacturers such as E-mu Systems started to sell electronic samplers to a more general market, although their samplers were still very expensive and beyond the pockets of most bands. The E-mu Emulator range of digital samplers proved to be for much less expense than both the Synclavier and the Fairlight CMI and quickly became popular.
In the middle of the 1980s Akai engaged in the world of electronic musical instruments when they began selling the S612 which became the 1st really affordable sampler. Their follow up product was the S900, which was less expensive than their previous model, improved the frequency range and the sampling memory available. It could also hold a maximum of thirty two samples in memory at one time. The S950 quickly appeared and, with the production of the Akai S1000 sampler, sampling was now available at 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo resolution (the same quality as CDs). Other companies, for example Roland also released samplers, which now offered various synthesis techniques, for example filters, envelopes and LFOs, which helped decrease their expense still more.
By the end of the Eighties digital samplers had become so inexpensive that even amateur musicians could afford to buy them. Memory chip costs had decreased to such a degree that sample modules could now sample extremely long times and technology of sampling started to appear in nearly all keyboards right up to the present day.
These-days it is commonly virtually impossible to be able to tell the difference between a digital sampler and a real musical instrument. Samplers are now available in computer software form which utilise the memory and hard drive of the computer which has decreased the cost even further and there are even software samplers available for download free, so everyone can afford a sampler. Many software packages, such as Logic Audio incorporate softsamplers and the majority also include massive sound libraries. Many companies sell libraries of samples for software samplers such as Kontakt, Structure, EXS24, Halion and Gigasampler.
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