At the 2019 NAMM Show, we talked with composer and developer Christian Halten, who gave us a quick update on SampleRobot, his automatic sampling tool.
The latest update features a VST host, which lets you load VST/AU plugins and sample them. This lets you streamline making sample libraries for your hardware instruments, so you can take any sound and convert it into a sample library for your keyboard workstation.
For more information, see the SampleRobot site.
Is this the same feature Akai MPC Live has?
Sample Robot looks full-featured enough to cover all the right functions nicely. I’ve gotten excellent results from AutoSampler since before Apple bought it, but a word of caution: its not as labor-heavy as sampling every aspect by hand, but its still a sampling session. You’ll have re-dos for different kinds of sounds; drum hits are a lot easier than cellos. You have to pick zones, name the file something recognizable, etc. Consider what you really need that isn’t already in your library. You can pile up sounds until it turns into a giant garage crammed with crap. Last tip: keep at least part of your hardware. Sometimes it makes a fun noise that sampling can’t catch. This plug isn’t exactly cheap for a utility, but if you dig into it for a while, you’ll get your money’s worth from the interesting layers you can build. Its like buying a new synth.
“Auto Sampler” functionality is now built into MainStage, but I haven’t tried it yet
Sample Vsts to use it in a Hardware Sampler. Weird world…
Bloody hell, I’ve been waiting this for years!
Can this send out midi notes to multiple synths and then sample the layers? Could I set up heavily layered patch made up of say like my Kronos, Jupiter 80, triton 88 and 76 and karma for really wild layered physical synth samples as opposed to virtual instrument layers?
If it can’t, you could just set your synths to receive on the same MIDI channel.
Yes. It’s basically midi out and audio back in. However you mix the outputs of the synths before the input is up to you.
For sampling VSTs, Bliss by DiscoDSP is a far cheaper option for win/mac. Have gotten good results using that. Also, as mentioned Autosampler in Mainstage is a good option if you have a mac for sampling hardware. But if you are windows only, then this may be your best bet.
Why does this latest version not sample vst 3 plugins which is a big shame for me as i do not use vst 2. It does seem behind the times here and also for the asking price Bliss does a cheaper version and auto samples vst 3.
I do like the layout of Sample robot BUT!