Music entertains a great many people and without it our lives would be far less enjoyable.There exists a gigantic variety of musical types that there will always be one which appeals to you. There is also an amazing range of musical instruments which help in creating a distinctive sound. Most musicians are unable to afford using a full orchestra etc. so it's not surprising to learn that the sampler was invented.
The music sampler is a musical instrument which records a variety of sounds and allows them to be played back via a sequencer or keyboard. The very first samplers utilised spools of magnetic tape on which to record sounds. Each tape was attached to the relevant key on keyboard. Therefore when a key was depressed the corresponding spool replayed the relating musical note. Annoyingly this meant that the instrument was extremely large and amazingly heavy in weight. Another problem was that spools needed to be swapped each and every time a different sound was to be played. One of the first examples of this style of music sampler was the Mellotron which replayed recordings of flutes, male choirs, female choirs and strings.
Groups such as the Beach Boys and the Beatles used the Mellotron on a few of their tracks. Sadly the Mellotron was very expensive and the sound so distinctive that it didn't prove to be commonplace. The earliest examples of electronic digital samplers were seen in the 1970s, the first examples include the Synclavier and the Fairlight but, unfortunately, they were incredibly limited by the computing technology of the day, plus the highly expensive parts such as computer memory chips.
During the 1980s electronic synthesiser music became immensely popular and fascination in sampling also increased. producers such as E-mu Systems started to sell music samplers to consumers, even though their products were still expensive and beyond the pockets of most musicians. The E-mu Emulator series of music samplers were available for much less expense than both the Synclavier System and the Fairlight and quickly became popular.
In the middle of the Eighties Akai became part of the sphere of electronic musical instruments when they manufactured the which was the first truly affordable sampler. Akai's following release was the S900, which was even cheaper than their S612, improved the frequency range and the sampling memory available. It could also hold a maximum of thirty two different samples in memory. The S950 soon appeared and, with the release of their S1000 sampler module, sampling became available at 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo quality (the same resolution as CD players). Other manufacturers, for example Roland released samplers, which now incorporated various synthesis techniques, such as filters, LFOs and envelopes, which helped reduce their cost even more.
By the end of the 1980s samplers had become so inexpensive that both professional and amateur musicians could afford to get them. Computer memory prices had fallen by such an amount that samplers could now record extremely long periods and the technology began appearing in keyboards right up to today.
At this moment in time it is often incredibly difficult to hear the difference between a sampler module and a real instrument. Digital samplers are now available in software form which use the memory and hard drive of the computer which has lessened the expense even further and there are even freeware software samplers available, so everybody can afford a digital sampler. Many software packages, such as Logic Audio and Cubase incorporate software samplers and many also include gigantic sound libraries. Many companies record and produce sample DVDs for software samplers such as Structure, EXS24, Halion, Kontakt and Gigasampler.
The music sampler is a musical instrument which records a variety of sounds and allows them to be played back via a sequencer or keyboard. The very first samplers utilised spools of magnetic tape on which to record sounds. Each tape was attached to the relevant key on keyboard. Therefore when a key was depressed the corresponding spool replayed the relating musical note. Annoyingly this meant that the instrument was extremely large and amazingly heavy in weight. Another problem was that spools needed to be swapped each and every time a different sound was to be played. One of the first examples of this style of music sampler was the Mellotron which replayed recordings of flutes, male choirs, female choirs and strings.
Groups such as the Beach Boys and the Beatles used the Mellotron on a few of their tracks. Sadly the Mellotron was very expensive and the sound so distinctive that it didn't prove to be commonplace. The earliest examples of electronic digital samplers were seen in the 1970s, the first examples include the Synclavier and the Fairlight but, unfortunately, they were incredibly limited by the computing technology of the day, plus the highly expensive parts such as computer memory chips.
During the 1980s electronic synthesiser music became immensely popular and fascination in sampling also increased. producers such as E-mu Systems started to sell music samplers to consumers, even though their products were still expensive and beyond the pockets of most musicians. The E-mu Emulator series of music samplers were available for much less expense than both the Synclavier System and the Fairlight and quickly became popular.
In the middle of the Eighties Akai became part of the sphere of electronic musical instruments when they manufactured the which was the first truly affordable sampler. Akai's following release was the S900, which was even cheaper than their S612, improved the frequency range and the sampling memory available. It could also hold a maximum of thirty two different samples in memory. The S950 soon appeared and, with the release of their S1000 sampler module, sampling became available at 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo quality (the same resolution as CD players). Other manufacturers, for example Roland released samplers, which now incorporated various synthesis techniques, such as filters, LFOs and envelopes, which helped reduce their cost even more.
By the end of the 1980s samplers had become so inexpensive that both professional and amateur musicians could afford to get them. Computer memory prices had fallen by such an amount that samplers could now record extremely long periods and the technology began appearing in keyboards right up to today.
At this moment in time it is often incredibly difficult to hear the difference between a sampler module and a real instrument. Digital samplers are now available in software form which use the memory and hard drive of the computer which has lessened the expense even further and there are even freeware software samplers available, so everybody can afford a digital sampler. Many software packages, such as Logic Audio and Cubase incorporate software samplers and many also include gigantic sound libraries. Many companies record and produce sample DVDs for software samplers such as Structure, EXS24, Halion, Kontakt and Gigasampler.
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