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Sample this! hardware or software?: Part 1. (Digital Music).(Brief Article)
In the past couple of years, plug-ins have taken on a vital role in the use of computer technology and musical software. Plug-ins have turned computers into viable and usable musical instruments. In this article we will look at software samplers and what all this fuss is all about! Software samplers either work as plug-ins or standalones, most plug-ins are VST instruments but still can be used in DirectX software using a VST-DX adapter.
Let's look at some of the differences between the advantages and disadvantages of software samplers and dedicated sampling hardware. With software one can install a number of soft samplers, as much as your computer can handle.
Compared to the same number in the physical reality of hardware samplers there is no size and weight other than your actual computer! Of course the cost of software is less expensive when compared to hardware samplers -- much less! If one considers the cost of dedicated RAM and hard-drive space, a software sampler program is a fraction of the cost of a loaded hardware sampler.
Even though some hardware samplers have new revisions (like a ROM chip) through their life, software samplers can have entire facelifts and can be improved as one adds memory and processing speed to ones computer. The process of upgrading is rather easy and can be done as simply as downloading a newer version from the developing software company or from a CD-ROM installation. I think that the ability to have a larger display always makes it easier to work and edit data. Most hardware samplers have very small displays, which are difficult to use, to say the least, compared to an entire colour computer monitor!
A hardware sampler needs its own RAM, hard-disk and CD-ROM (usually via SCSI) but software samplers utilizes what you have on your computer. The amount of RAM and disk space available for samples has a tremendous effect on the size and quality of ones sample library. Even though some maximum RAM in hardware can be up to 128 MB, some software samplers can address up to 1 GB in a computer. As I already mentioned memory storage for hardware is usually more expensive than their computer counterpart but sometimes not. Within software samplers one can share audio files. The loop you record in your sequencer recording program can be opened and edited in the sampler ...
- Peak Pro 6.0.4.(SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
- Magazine article from: Macworld April 1, 2009 700+ words
...audio assets, and includes specialized tools for recording and prepping files and loops for use with other applications or hardware samplers. Peak Pro 6 now publishes podcasts directly with the dead-simple Publish Podcast, command, and it also adds voice...
- NemeSys Music Technology, Inc. Introduces GigaSampler, The First...
- Press release article from: PR Newswire January 27, 1998 700+ words
...future. At a fraction of the cost, the GigaSampler breaks down all performance barriers that limit even the highest-end hardware samplers. Said to be the 'World's Biggest Sampler', GigaSampler increases tenfold the sampling capacity of the highest performance...
- Peak VST 2.5.3.(Berkley Integrated Audio Software's disk-based audio...
- Magazine article from: Macworld BREEN, CHRISTOPHER February 1, 2001 700+ words
...program's existing features: waveform editing; region, loop, and fade creation; the ability to download sound files to hardware samplers; and DSP operations such as normalize and reverse. With version 2.5.3, Peak refines many of the features introduced...
- Halion 1.1: software sampler offers extensive format support, ease of use....
- Magazine article from: Macworld Collins, Mike April 1, 2002 700+ words
...that offers a number of unique features not found in samplers from Emagic, Bitheadz, and other companies. Most other software samplers have to load the entire contents of a sample into RAM, but the $399 Halion can play samples of virtually any length...
- HALion 2.0.(Road test)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
- Magazine article from: Canadian Musician Watson, Alec September 1, 2003 700+ words
...Steinberg's streaming sample player, has "layers." One might even go as far as saying that HALion is a "parfait" among software samplers. Layer One Upon arrival, I was impressed to find that HALion purported to be the most complete cross-platform plug...
- Unity DS-1--Audio Sampler in Software Form.(BitHeadz's product)(Software...
- Magazine article from: Macworld Breen, Christopher June 1, 1999 700+ words
...flexible piece of software. If you're a musician with a fast, RAM-laden Mac who seeks an inexpensive alternative to hardware samplers--or you simply want to enhance your current MIDI setup with another instrument that can use your sample library...
- Apple widens software channels: system extensions to take retail route.
- Magazine article from: MacWEEK Gore, Andrew March 9, 1992 700+ words
...considering letting third parties sell Apple system extensions that their software requires, Oppenheimer said. >Software samplers. Apple announced its Software Access Initiative, which will "break the mold of the way people become aware of Mac products...
- MIDI and samplers.(Brief Article)
- Magazine article from: Televisual April 1, 2001 700+ words
ak.Sys software for Akai S5/6000 now V2.0 Prefer standalone hardware samplers but wish you had the centralised control and on-screen feedback of a fully integrated system? Akai has the answer with ak...
