Sampler (musical instrument)

A sampler is an electronic musical instrument that can record and store audio signal samples, generally recordings of existing sounds, and play them back at a range of pitches. However, sampler is sometimes used to describe instruments which store and play back samples but lack the capability to record them. (See Rompler.)

Overview

The emergence of the digital sampler made sampling far more practical, and as samplers added progressively more digital processing to their recorded sounds, they began to merge into the mainstream of modern digital synthesizers. The first digital sampling synthesiser was the Australian-produced Fairlight CMI which was first available in 1979.

Related Topics:
Digital - Fairlight CMI - 1979

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Prior to computer memory-based samplers, musicians used tape replay keyboards, which stored recordings of musical instrument notes and sound effects on analog tape.

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Modern digital samplers use mostly digital technology to process the samples into interesting sounds. Akai pioneered many processing techniques, such as Crossfade Looping to eliminate glitches and Time Stretch which allows for shortening or lengthening of samples without affecting pitch and vice versa.

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During the early 1990s hybrid synthesizers began to emerge that utilized very short samples of natural sounds and instruments (usually the attack phase of the instrument) along with digital synthesis to create more realistic instrument sounds. Examples of this are Korg's M1, 01W and the later Triton and Trinity series, Yamaha's SY series and the Kawai K series of instruments.

Related Topics:
1990s - Synthesizers

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The modern-day music workstation usually features an element of sampling, from simple playback to complex editing that matches all but the most advanced dedicated samplers.

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