Hardware sampler for creative sampling

[PLacidBasilisk]

Since a lot of my music is sample based I'm looking at getting a hardware sampler to help me expand my sampling abilities and open up new creative avenues in sampling. I've never had any real experience with a decent sampler, living where I do, but I'm guessing that having something solid to play with your hands makes you think differently about sampling (I was amazed at how much better my beat making abilities became once I invested in a drum pad). So I'm wondering what my best option would be with this goal in mind. I'm not too concerned with how it performs in live situations, although this would be a nice bonus.

I'm thinking something a little unconventional might be the ticket, something with intuitive parameter modulation. A Kaoss Pad 3 comes to mind.

Any other suggestions?

[SubFunk]

for me personally hardware sampler are a horror (just because of the awkward handling)

but if you look for something a bit different look for a second hand roland sampler... i can't recall the model but roland made in the late nineties a sampler which had a so called 'variphrase' (that is the term you need to google and then check roland) function, it was basically a sort of pitch correction which had some freaky possibilities... if you are after sound quality then check E-MU samplers (the filters are a classic), also second hand.

akai was standard, but i never liked them because of there coca cola tin sound. even they had a decent handling compared to the way better sounding e-mu samplers (also the sound banks which came with e-mu have been superior)

jeez, i actually need to google that roland myself... i think it had the number 9000 in the model type... that was awesome and a lot of functions way ahead of other samplers at the time of hardware samplers.

EDIT: yo i found it, it's called Roland Variphrase Sampler VP9000 killer unit, if you really want to go hardware, this is the one!

[SubFunk]

http://www.roland.com/products/en/exp/VariPhrase.html

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=82048

http://emusician.com/sequencers/emusic_roland_vp/

http://www.zzounds.com/item--ROLVP9000

good luck getting one of those in a good condition, but well worth it, though.

http://www.vintagesynth.com/roland/vp9000.php

[kb420]

I don't know what kind of music you are doing, but a lot of producers long for the sound of 12 bit crunchiness. Why not look into an Akai S950?

[aeon_flux]

(I was amazed at how much better my beat making abilities became once I invested in a drum pad)

i did the same investment. that's true but i don't think investing in old bulky floppy based piece of hardware will be better than investing in live's sampler...

[SubFunk]

(I was amazed at how much better my beat making abilities became once I invested in a drum pad)

i did the same investment. that's true but i don't think investing in old bulky floppy based piece of hardware will be better than investing in live's sampler...

, yeah i think the same... when it comes to sampling hardware is the greatest pain into the ass ever.

and if you don't fancy sampler, i think NI's Kontakt is still the best allover plugin / standalone software sampler around... incredibly powerful.

[Homebelly]

ASR10's apear every once in a while, and are some times very cheap.
These things where, and in some ways are still, ahead of the curve.
I never actually owned one, but an old partner of mine was all over his.
I had an ASX at the time.
The ASR has some very cool and wild modulation and routing options
and can come up with some very very cool textures and sounds.

[kb420]

ASR10's apear every once in a while, and are some times very cheap.
These things where, and in some ways are still, ahead of the curve.
I never actually owned one, but an old partner of mine was all over his.
I had an ASX at the time.
The ASR has some very cool and wild modulation and routing options
and can come up with some very very cool textures and sounds.

I own one. It doesn't work anymore. It needs a new floppy drive, and they aren't standard. The ASR sounded amazing. I remember how huge the factory 2 meg piano sounded, and it also had great effects. Ensoniq was a great company. I really wish they were still around. I always wanted a DP4.

[john doe by choice]

+1 to a VP9000 - I have a mint VP in my rack right now, and it is just nuts. But, if you want something you can bust out at any time an idea takes place that's smaller/lighter than a laptop, you could pick up a Roland SP-404 - it has a mic on it, it's got the option to go battery powered, and the effects on those things are actually pretty cool, if you're interested in a cost/space-efficient piece of hardware.

http://www.rolandus.com/products/produc ... ductId=728

[zeitgeist]

, yeah i think the same... when it comes to sampling hardware is the greatest pain into the ass ever.

and if you don't fancy sampler, i think NI's Kontakt is still the best allover plugin / standalone software sampler around... incredibly powerful.

I agree: hardware samplers aren't worth it. I'd much rather invest in a good software sampler (Kontakt or even Ableton's Sampler) and a good hardware controller, and then invest the time to get your controller set up to effectively control the software.

I owned a couple different hardware samplers--an MPC and an E-mu--back before software samplers and good controllers came along, and I'd never want to go back to those days.

[channelite]

I still have my old trusty EMU esi-32. I can't seem to let it go since it's been with me since 1995. It's in the closet and I haven't used it in years. I used to really like the filter and having a loop placed across an octave to get some interesting sounds. I've been setting clips in Live to repitch mode and playing with tempo to get a similar effect.

[PLacidBasilisk]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I am slightly skeptical about whether I actually need a hardware sampler since I already have Ableton's sampler and Absynth 4, which has some pretty nice sampling capabilities. With this in mind, maybe the suggestion that I set a hardware controller up to control my sampler is a good one. At the moment all I've got is the Korg nano kontrol/key/pad. Is there much I can do with those three? What else is worth looking at? And no one has mentioned the Kaoss Pad yet. Not recommended?

[Vilan]

Ive got a Roland sp808ex sampler with variphrase I want to sell havnt used it in ages make me an offer

[leedsquietman]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Vintage-Fairlight-CM ... 3a55b56560




or a Roland S-770 was cool in it's day.

[contakt321]

I have my E-Mu SP1200 that I use to make my samples crunchy, but I love the options of Simpler/Sampler in Instrument Racks