Synthesizer

:The term "synthesizer" is also used to mean frequency synthesizer, an electronic system found in communications. This article is about the musical instrument.

Samplers and sampling

One kind of synthesizer starts with a binary digital recording of an existing sound, which is then replayed at a range of pitches. This is called a sampler.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sampling can also be used in combination with other synthesizer effects. Some popular software synthesizers take a sampled sound and process it with software-based filters, reverbs, ring modulators and the like.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sampling started out as the purview of academic researchers with access to mainframe computers. The appearance of the Fairlight CMI in 1979, the first well-known digital instrument capable of sampling, started a revolution. The Fairlight was used on scores of popular recordings by artists such as Jean-Michel Jarre, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel and Art of Noise. The costly, complex and rare Fairlight (and an equally costly competitor, the New England Digital Synclavier) caused California company E-Mu to introduce their Emulator I in 1981, a lower-cost sampling keyboard which could save sound recordings to floppy disk. Ensoniq followed suit in 1985 with an even lower-cost sampling keyboard, the Ensoniq Mirage, which cost about $1,500 USD compared to the $7,900 USD price tag of the Emulator I.

Related Topics:
Fairlight CMI - 1979 - Jean-Michel Jarre - Kate Bush - Peter Gabriel - Art of Noise - New England Digital - Synclavier - E-Mu - Emulator I - Ensoniq - 1985 - Ensoniq Mirage

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~