Sampling the Samplers....
Posted: 10 Jul 2018
Hello everyone!!!
I’m in the midst of a labor of love....sampling the “top 25” sounds from my favorite sampler, the Ensoniq EPS 16+. I’ve got some general thoughts as well as some questions for the community regarding the refill I’m trying to make. Here goes:
1: Size:
I’ve got quite a few patches where I’ve sampled one of my analog monosynths to create a sampled polysynth. Long before I knew who JunkieXL was, I’d been using the same method: sample ONE note and loop it, playing it up and down the keyboard. The combination of a lowered sample-rate, no anti-aliasing filter, and interpolation “errors” has a very distinctive sound. Nothing else sounds like the EPS when using this technique. In order to accurately capture this sound, you’ve got to sample AT LEAST every 3rd key. If I were to let NN-XT do the interpolation I’d lose the sound (I’ve tried!). With a DEAD SIMPLE patch (a classic “analog polysynth” patch with 2-3 saw waves detuned at the source and sampled into individual waves in the same instrument) if I want to have the filter envelope controlled by (say) velocity, then not only do I have to capture every 3rd key, but I’ve got to capture every 3rd key 4/6/8 times at different velocities!!! Since I use the internal effects, I have to record 10 second samples to allow for decay. This quickly adds up to 400 or so samples and on top of being unwieldy in size it’s also prohibitively time-consuming to program in the NN-XT. Using the NN-XT filters dynamically IS an option, but doesn’t sound the same so I’ve not been utilizing the synthesis features (except for perhaps envelopes) at all.
2: Combinators:
I’ve got 4 knobs and 4 buttons to control an entire sample-set. Since I often record with the effects unit inside the EPS, I often am unsure of where to map these. If I’m adding an effect to the sound, this is the most obvious use of the programmer. Taking my cue from Reason Pianos, I map a single knob to multiple controls as a “macro” to (for example) give more compression by lowering threshold, increasing ratio and input gain, and balancing the output for the same perceived loudness. Another favorite trick is to utilize my own IR files in the RV7000mkII and then provide for some modulation in the tail by adding some subtle chorus. The buttons are useful for enabling the reverb and reverb modulation.
3: Instruments:
I have to make an individual Combinator for every single patch/instrument. I haven’t found a way to have a Combinator load patch changes in order to change the samples and macros. Can anybody tell me if this is possible and I’m missing something?
FINAL THOUGHTS:
What is frustrating for me is that even though I’m capturing an electronic instrument, I still cannot create simple and small ReFill files. To accurately capture the sound of this sampler is a huge undertaking. I offer my instruments for sale online as floppies/files for both the EPS as well as EOS files for the Emu Ultra hardware or Emulator X3 software samplers....but to get the sounds into Reason is a huge challenge. Programming and keymapping alone is an hour-long process for each instrument, and that’s if I’m taking 10-15 second samples that are using the EPS’ envelopes, filters, and amps. If I’m trying to loop in NN-XT (or in the sample-edit screen) it takes much, much longer and is akin to the libraries that used to be created for hardware samplers where you took the raw waveforms and used the synthesis functions of the sampler in order to reduce memory requirements. Since almost all of us have 8/16/32 GB of RAM these days, loading a couple of 2GB patches shouldn’t be a problem at all.
I’m interested in how the professional ReFill designers do this? I know many ReFills nowadays are simply presets for stock or RE synths....but there was a time when people were using the NN-XT as a main imitator of synths and samplers.
Any advice???
I’m in the midst of a labor of love....sampling the “top 25” sounds from my favorite sampler, the Ensoniq EPS 16+. I’ve got some general thoughts as well as some questions for the community regarding the refill I’m trying to make. Here goes:
1: Size:
I’ve got quite a few patches where I’ve sampled one of my analog monosynths to create a sampled polysynth. Long before I knew who JunkieXL was, I’d been using the same method: sample ONE note and loop it, playing it up and down the keyboard. The combination of a lowered sample-rate, no anti-aliasing filter, and interpolation “errors” has a very distinctive sound. Nothing else sounds like the EPS when using this technique. In order to accurately capture this sound, you’ve got to sample AT LEAST every 3rd key. If I were to let NN-XT do the interpolation I’d lose the sound (I’ve tried!). With a DEAD SIMPLE patch (a classic “analog polysynth” patch with 2-3 saw waves detuned at the source and sampled into individual waves in the same instrument) if I want to have the filter envelope controlled by (say) velocity, then not only do I have to capture every 3rd key, but I’ve got to capture every 3rd key 4/6/8 times at different velocities!!! Since I use the internal effects, I have to record 10 second samples to allow for decay. This quickly adds up to 400 or so samples and on top of being unwieldy in size it’s also prohibitively time-consuming to program in the NN-XT. Using the NN-XT filters dynamically IS an option, but doesn’t sound the same so I’ve not been utilizing the synthesis features (except for perhaps envelopes) at all.
2: Combinators:
I’ve got 4 knobs and 4 buttons to control an entire sample-set. Since I often record with the effects unit inside the EPS, I often am unsure of where to map these. If I’m adding an effect to the sound, this is the most obvious use of the programmer. Taking my cue from Reason Pianos, I map a single knob to multiple controls as a “macro” to (for example) give more compression by lowering threshold, increasing ratio and input gain, and balancing the output for the same perceived loudness. Another favorite trick is to utilize my own IR files in the RV7000mkII and then provide for some modulation in the tail by adding some subtle chorus. The buttons are useful for enabling the reverb and reverb modulation.
3: Instruments:
I have to make an individual Combinator for every single patch/instrument. I haven’t found a way to have a Combinator load patch changes in order to change the samples and macros. Can anybody tell me if this is possible and I’m missing something?
FINAL THOUGHTS:
What is frustrating for me is that even though I’m capturing an electronic instrument, I still cannot create simple and small ReFill files. To accurately capture the sound of this sampler is a huge undertaking. I offer my instruments for sale online as floppies/files for both the EPS as well as EOS files for the Emu Ultra hardware or Emulator X3 software samplers....but to get the sounds into Reason is a huge challenge. Programming and keymapping alone is an hour-long process for each instrument, and that’s if I’m taking 10-15 second samples that are using the EPS’ envelopes, filters, and amps. If I’m trying to loop in NN-XT (or in the sample-edit screen) it takes much, much longer and is akin to the libraries that used to be created for hardware samplers where you took the raw waveforms and used the synthesis functions of the sampler in order to reduce memory requirements. Since almost all of us have 8/16/32 GB of RAM these days, loading a couple of 2GB patches shouldn’t be a problem at all.
I’m interested in how the professional ReFill designers do this? I know many ReFills nowadays are simply presets for stock or RE synths....but there was a time when people were using the NN-XT as a main imitator of synths and samplers.
Any advice???