Music is enjoyed by a great many individuals and without it life would be less enjoyable.There are in existence a huge selection of musical types that there will always be at least one which is perfect for you. There is also an incredible range of musical instruments which help in making a unique sound. A great many artists cannot afford using a full orchestra etc. so it isn't a surprise that the music sampler came into being.
The sampler is an instrument which records sounds and allows them to be played back via a keyboard or sequencer. The very first electronic samplers used magnetic tape on which to record sounds. Each spool was associated with the relevant key on a mechanical keyboard. Therefore when a key was struck the corresponding spool played the corresponding musical note. Annoyingly this meant that the resulting instrument was massive and incredibly heavy. A further problematic area was that reels needed to be changed every time a new sound was to be played. An early example of this style of music sampler was the Mellotron which replayed recordings of strings, male choirs, flutes and female choirs.
Bands such as the Beach Boys and Beatles used the Mellotron on some of their tracks. Unfortunately the Mellotron was very expensive and the sound so unique that it didn't prove to be used extensively. The earliest examples of electronic digital samplers were produced in the Seventies, early examples include the Fairlight and the Synclavier but they proved to be incredibly restricted by the computing technology of the day, as well as the costly parts such as RAM chips.
During the 1980s synthesiser based music increased incredibly in popularity and interest in sampling technology also increased. manufacturers such as E-mu started to manufacture electronic samplers to a more general market, although their products were still very expensive and beyond the pockets of most musicians and bands. The E-mu Emulator series of music samplers were for much less than the Fairlight CMI and the Synclavier System and swiftly became a common choice.
In the middle of the 1980s the company Akai engaged in the world of electronic musical instruments when they started to sell the 12 bit sampler, the S612 which was the first really affordable sampler. Akai's next release was the S900, which was less costly than the Akai S612, improved upon the frequency range and the sampling time available available. It could also store up to thirty two different samples in memory. The Akai S950 soon followed and, with the production of the Akai S1000 sampler, sampling became available at 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo quality (CD quality). Other companies, such as Roland manufactured digital samplers, which now incorporated various techniques of synthesis, for example filters, LFOs and envelopes, which helped decrease the cost still further.
Towards the end of the 1980s digital samplers had reduced in price so much that both professional and amateur musicians could afford to buy them. Computer memory prices had reduced by such an amount that sample modules could now record very long times and technology of sampling began to be used in nearly all keyboards right up to the present day.
Currently it is commonly immensely difficult to be able to tell the difference between a digital sampler and a real musical instrument. Digital samplers are now available in computer software form which utilise the memory and hard drive of the computer which has decreased the expense still further and there are even software samplers available freely, so virtually everybody can afford a digital sampler. Many software packages, such as Logic Audio and Cubase include software samplers and most include vast sound libraries. Many companies are now involved in the production of sample CDs for soft-samplers such as Structure, EXS24, Halion, Kontakt and Gigasampler.
The sampler is an instrument which records sounds and allows them to be played back via a keyboard or sequencer. The very first electronic samplers used magnetic tape on which to record sounds. Each spool was associated with the relevant key on a mechanical keyboard. Therefore when a key was struck the corresponding spool played the corresponding musical note. Annoyingly this meant that the resulting instrument was massive and incredibly heavy. A further problematic area was that reels needed to be changed every time a new sound was to be played. An early example of this style of music sampler was the Mellotron which replayed recordings of strings, male choirs, flutes and female choirs.
Bands such as the Beach Boys and Beatles used the Mellotron on some of their tracks. Unfortunately the Mellotron was very expensive and the sound so unique that it didn't prove to be used extensively. The earliest examples of electronic digital samplers were produced in the Seventies, early examples include the Fairlight and the Synclavier but they proved to be incredibly restricted by the computing technology of the day, as well as the costly parts such as RAM chips.
During the 1980s synthesiser based music increased incredibly in popularity and interest in sampling technology also increased. manufacturers such as E-mu started to manufacture electronic samplers to a more general market, although their products were still very expensive and beyond the pockets of most musicians and bands. The E-mu Emulator series of music samplers were for much less than the Fairlight CMI and the Synclavier System and swiftly became a common choice.
In the middle of the 1980s the company Akai engaged in the world of electronic musical instruments when they started to sell the 12 bit sampler, the S612 which was the first really affordable sampler. Akai's next release was the S900, which was less costly than the Akai S612, improved upon the frequency range and the sampling time available available. It could also store up to thirty two different samples in memory. The Akai S950 soon followed and, with the production of the Akai S1000 sampler, sampling became available at 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo quality (CD quality). Other companies, such as Roland manufactured digital samplers, which now incorporated various techniques of synthesis, for example filters, LFOs and envelopes, which helped decrease the cost still further.
Towards the end of the 1980s digital samplers had reduced in price so much that both professional and amateur musicians could afford to buy them. Computer memory prices had reduced by such an amount that sample modules could now record very long times and technology of sampling began to be used in nearly all keyboards right up to the present day.
Currently it is commonly immensely difficult to be able to tell the difference between a digital sampler and a real musical instrument. Digital samplers are now available in computer software form which utilise the memory and hard drive of the computer which has decreased the expense still further and there are even software samplers available freely, so virtually everybody can afford a digital sampler. Many software packages, such as Logic Audio and Cubase include software samplers and most include vast sound libraries. Many companies are now involved in the production of sample CDs for soft-samplers such as Structure, EXS24, Halion, Kontakt and Gigasampler.
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