Samplers / Sampling

These days, samplers are the electronic musician's bread and butter — but they need not be used in commonplace ways. In the first part of a short series, Nicholas Rowland looks at ways to spice up your tracks with samples from unusual sources.

The ASRX, Ensoniq's entry into the world of all-in-one sampling and sequencing workstations, has just received a major upgrade and a fresh lick of paint. Chris Carter finds out whether the improvements justify its new 'Pro' label.

When Yamaha Launched the A3000 a year ago their approach won quite a few fans, and now they're demonstrating their renewed commitment to sampling with a comprehensive upgrade. Chris Carter's movin' on up...

The new SP808 has little in common with its namesake, the TR808; one was an analogue rhythm unit, the other is a feature-packed sampler, multitrack digital audio recorder, synth and remix tool. Clearly, Roland are hoping that some of the 'hi-tech classic' status of the TR will pass to the new SP.

The high quality converters and resonant filter imbue the 16-bit Emax II with a musicality and sonic character second to none.

Emu's latest sampler release is a new budget module to replace the ESI32. But with recent price drops from Akai and Yamaha's return to the sampling fold, have the company done enough to fend off the competition?

Boss's popular 'Doctor' range of inexpensive and useful studio gear is now over 15 years old, but remains very much alive, and the Dr Sample SP202 is the latest newcomer, offering quick and easy sampling for DJs or beginners in the field. Chris Carter gives it a full physical...