Samplers / Sampling

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...

Using a sampler without some sort of hard drive is just not an option these days, which means that some understanding of SCSI is necessary. Devoted Akai samplist Paul Farrer explains some of the pitfalls that can befall the unwary user of SCSI'd up samplers, and examines some of the other cross-platform issues that can complicate sampling.

Using a separate sampler, sequencer, synth and drum machine? With the new Ensoniq ASRX you could take just one box into the studio. Chris Carter just samples and goes...

The release of the S20 means that £500 now buys you into the prestigious Akai name — and gets you a supremely easy to use sampler which will perform both on stage and in the studio. Chris Carter goes completely loopy...

Given the wide range of studio and synthesis equipment Yamaha make, it's perhaps odd that there's been no serious sampler in their catlogue for almost 10 years. Now, after putting a toe in the water with the well-received SU10 mini-sampler, they're taking the pro sampling plunge once more with the A3000. Chris Carter finds that still waters run deep...

A new expandability has come to Emu's professional range of samplers. Paul Wiffen lifts the bonnet of the top-of-the-range model and finds an e6400 lurking inside.

Akai's S1100 hard-disk recording option caused quite a buzz on its release, and even now makes this well-specified sampler even more versatile. Chris Carter passes on some hard-won tips for making the best of S1100 HD recording.

Darius Pocha suggests that one of Roland's 'ones that got away' is an excellent second-hand buy: the S330 sampler. Additional material by Derek Johnson.

Akai's new CD3000XL features the 32-voice polyphony, expansion options, DSP functions and other goodies of the S3000XL, but adds a built-in CD-ROM drive for good measure. Paul Ward takes it for a spin.

Does looping drive you loopy? If you have a hard disk recording system, and currently spend hours hunched over your sampler trying to find perfect loop points, this article could be for you. Simon James supplies the foolproof method...

Have you ever wished you could create strange, ethereal textures like the ones you hear on the best sample CDs? Paul White shows that it's not as difficult as it might seem.

After a hiatus of several years, Yamaha return to sampling with the cheapest, most portable dedicated sampler yet. Derek Johnson coins a phrase...

Paul White concludes this series with a look at phrase and loop sampling, the use of keygroups and mapping, and the use of the modern sampler as a synthesizer.

Paul White continues his introduction to sampling with a look at some of the extras, accessories and peripherals that you might need in order to get the most out of your new purchase.

Having come a long way from its humble beginnings in the early n-n-n-n-nineteen eighties, sampling is now an integral part of music making. Paul White explains what samplers do and how they can be used.

Long-time Akai sampler user Paul Ward tries to stop his credit card from leaping out of his pocket as he gets to grips with the tempting additions to Akai's mid-range sampler.

Come on down, Akai's new low-cost sampler! Astonishing value for money at a mere £999, the basic S2000 is expandable to a top-of-the-range spec by means of add-on cards. Paul White spins the (data) wheel of fortune to see whether Akai have played their cards right this time...

Wilf Smarties explores the never-ending world of sample loops and how best to use them in your music.

Hot on the heels of the ESI32 and EIV samplers comes Emu's latest mid-price unit. We sent Paul Wiffen to find out how the E64 differs from its siblings

Given the outrageously high asking prices of so-called classic analogue synths, it can often pay to hire them and sample the sounds yourself. Paul Ward passes on a few tips.