Talk:Sampler (musical instrument)

message: Please explain to me what a sampler is and how it works in practice. This is an encyclopedia, is it not? (done?, but can still be expanded?)
Agreed, it also needs further details of the Akai range and some inaccuracies in that
section correcting.
I intend to do this (and update the Thomas Dolby Page which is what should have led me here!)
JDM
Comment from someone else: 
NB! I searched for "sampler" in Wikipedia, believing that an article on the subject would give me an introduction. (done?) However, this was not the case - this article tought me nothing about how a sampler works. Poor work - please fix!
I feel like while this article has some pretty solid technical information in regards to sample rates and such, that kind of thing would be better handled in seperate entries - it's simply too much for the layman, as noted above, and beyond the scope of this general article. Same goes for the mention of wavetable soundcards/tracker software - relevant as a mention, sure, but a complete chronology? not so much. Also this article is highly POVed... i.e. 'gritty punch' in E-Mu section. Tremspeed 08:47, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree. There are terms like 'bits per sample' and 'kHz' all over the article without any attempt to explain how they attribute to the quality of sample playback. Also, some depth into different methods of storing samples (PCM, etc.) would be useful as well as how technology has improved over the last 30 years (ATRAC, AAC and what-have-you). sugarfish (talk) 02:11, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  What about the layman? 

message: An interesting article for the most part, but still needs some work, IMO.  The software sampler section is highly POVed / unsourced.  Here the section I think needs some reworking:
"Unfortunately, most vendors of software based samplers have taken serious shortcuts that limit the potential of these products. For example, most "soft-samplers" lack sample editing, sample recording capability, top-flight DSP effects, and resampling. While these products are significantly easier to use than typical hardware samplers, their ease of use stems at least partially from the fact that their capabilities are nowhere close to those provided by real samplers. The "soft-sampler" term itself is really a misnomer, because in only a few cases do these products actually sample. Soundbank players would be a more accurate and less misleading term for most of these products. For people that require the creative possibilities and workflow only a true sampler can provide, there are fortunately some real software samplers available."
"Unfortunately" is an inherent opinion.  In this context, words such as "most" and "top-flight" are inappropriate unless you have some sources to back these claims up.  "Easier to use" than hardware samplers?  Possibly, but this is an opinion.  Do we have a source such as a survey of professional musicians?  "...only a true sampler... some real software samplers..."  etc, etc... ???
Regarding the term "soft-sampler" being a misnomer, I happen to agree, but this is somewhat subjective, as there are no "official" definitions on which to rely.  The phrase "only a few cases", is probably inappropriate unless a source citation can verify this.
A term I've heard more often used than "soundbank player" is "Rompler", a combination of ROM+sampler.  Again, this should be presented as an alternative form, not as an authoritative definition, IMO.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rompler
I can't speak for all the software products listed, but Kontact is clearly mis-labeled as a "soundbank player".  It certainly has the capability of creating original sampled material - the entire point of a sampler.  Kompact, however, is a good example of a "soundbank player".
Jboer 02:04, 24 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, had a go at balancing this section118.33.245.156 (talk) 16:37, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Software sampler section needs fixing

message: As a one-time owner of the S950 I know that many of the features of the S1000 first appeared on the S950 - timestretch, crossfade looping, etc. Some of them may have been on the S900 too. I'm sure by the same token that there are many other inaccuracies in this article. It would be great if someone would do the research and fix these issues. Also, there is a lot more detail to the Fairlight section that would be of interest, and there are some key dates that I would like to see. Dates make an encyclopedia useful, in that you can learn about the first of something, or the first time something happened, etc. sugarfish (talk) 02:06, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Akai S-nnnn Details 

message: I think someone needs to clean up the list a bit. Both Roland and Akai have long list. It's not consistent from one list to the other. --70.142.59.164 (talk) 12:10, 2 January 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: Which list are you referring to? Piano non troppo (talk) 12:25, 2 January 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  List 

message: In the historical overview section the Kawai K series is named in a list of hybrid synths. While later models may be hybrid, the 1987 Kawai K5 (first in the 'K' series) was not. It relied entirely on additive synthesis.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.198.80.167 (talk) 23:17, 24 January 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Hybrid synths 

message: There's a few genres that often make use of samplers (hip hop, industrial, etc.)  It would be good to mention these genres in the article -- could someone familiar with this help out?
I think this info would most likely fit in the opening section to be consitent with the guitar and drum kit articles.
MrEricSir (talk) 02:10, 10 February 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Genres associated with samplers 

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