Recommendations for samplers (or looper type things)

[sadfay]

TL;DR - I am looking for a sampler that will let me sample “on the fly” (very similarly to the Korg Kaoss Pad 3).

BACK STORY

I’ve been playing in a few bands over the years as a vocalist, occasionally triggering samples alongside the rest of the band (synth whoops, cheesy film samples, or the odd ambient noise intro / outro… etc….). I also make electronic music on my own, which is more in the realms of Four Tet / Boards of Canada.

I was using a Yamaha A3000 sampler, with a midi controller to trigger samples with my band, (around 2006) although the sampler took a few knocks trying to bung everything into the boot of a car.

I’ve also used a Macbook + Ableton Live + Midi controller, but it always feels like a cumbersome (and fragile) arrangement, with cables and power supples etc.

At one point I invested in a Kaoss Pad 3, which was great for vocal effects with some additional sampling options. The nice thing about the Kaoss Pad is the ability to sample on the fly, so quickly.

This got me wondering if there was something similar to the Kaoss Pad in terms of ease-of-sampling (press a sample button - 4 sample lights blink - choose one - and you’re away!). I still use my KP3 quite a bit and love it (aside from it’s pretty crummy ins and outs, it’s near perfect).

I'm also very curious about these sorts of performance tools in general, so would be interested in seeing where this conversation could go.

For example, I've played around with using the iPad and SAMPLr for granular manipulation of samples.

The Loopy app on my iPhone is also surprisingly powerful for such a cheap bit of software (only let down by the iPhone's basic mic).

I've also considered investing in the Boss RC-505 Loopstation, as it seems full of features - although I'm not keen to only work in "loop mode" and want to be able to trigger hits / pads / samples in real-time....

Some of the Pioneer DJ mixers seem to have pretty nice "on the fly" sampling features (although they're quite expensive).

Would love to hear your thoughts / recommendations / experiences with samplers (especially if they're geared more towards the live performance end of the spectrum)!

GET TO THE POINT

So I’m looking for two big features really:

Ability to “live sample” or grab an incoming signal and sample it very quickly and immediately be able to start playing or looping it (so I can keep things interesting and creative in real time, without having to menu dive)…

Ability to load in other samples (either via SD card / usb etc.) and be able to play / loop these alongside the “live sampled” material.

WISHLIST

I’d love something cheap!

Ideally it’d be something compact, a one-box solution.

If the above two big features are covered, then I’d be happy, but extra bells and whistles are always nice!

Some nice effects / sample manipulation would be handy. Ability to sequence would be fun, but not essential (plus I have an Arturia BeatStep Pro that could help with this).


THINGS I’VE CONSIDERED



Kong MicroSampler - discontinued, but go for about £300 - Certainly it had the “real time / live” sampling abilities that I’d like, but I wasn’t entirely sure about it, overall. Anyone any experience of this?

BOSS SP404 £400 - ticks a lot of my boxes, but does it have the fast sampling capabilities?

Elektron Digitakt - about £700 - much more of an investment, but powerful sequencing / automation features, that would go well alongside my electronic music making!

Akai MPC 500 (or similar) About £300 - £500 - again, offers powerful sequencing, but how quickly can I get my samples into it?

Or buy two things…. One for fast sampling and one for playback:

For sample playback:

Akai MPX8 SD sample player - £70 - really simple solution for triggering a few samples

a second Korg Kaoss Pad 3 - around £150 - use it alongside my current one, giving me 8 samples in total.

[Tarekith]

Not cheap, but the Octatrack does all that and more.

[sadfay]

Not cheap, but the Octatrack does all that and more.

Thanks for the reply, I've just watched this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaMyRUiG9NE
- tutorial for sampling with the Octatrack MKII -
and sampling seems incredibly cumbersome and full of menu-diving, I can imagine that the Octatrack is powerful once you get used to its workflow, but would it give me that ability to live sample and play around with things on the fly?

[Tarekith]

Yes most definitely. There's a bit of prepping to setting it up to work the way you want, there's a lot of different sampling workflows with the OT, it's crazy flexible that way. But once you find a method that works for you, it can be as brainless and automated or as OCD control freak as you want.

For my OT live sets I have the OT always recording a 4 bar loop of what I'm doing with the OT and what instruments are connected to it. just by sliding the crossfader from one side to another I can seemlessly switch between the real time audio, and the recorded loop. Simple, brainless in use.

Or you can have it start recording when you press a button.

Or when you pass a sequencer step.

You can loop to a fixed tempo, or you can have the OT automatically set it's tempo based on what you're doing in with real time looping as if you were using a guitar looper.

Ton's and tons of options I'm not even thinking of. For recording and manipulating audio on the fly, there's not much out that tops it if you don't want to use a laptop. IMVHO.

[sadfay]

Wow! That’s really useful info. Thanks so much.

I used to love working with my MC303 back in the day, I enjoyed the simple pattern based way of building up tracks, but I moved away from it when software came along.

Maybe getting back into that workflow with a machine as flexible as the Octatrack, would be great!

I also love the idea of its portability .... just bring it and some headphones around ... replace that social media black hole with creativity ....

The price is the only scary thing, but maybe I could look at paying it off monthly or something ... hmmmm ....

[Tarekith]

I'm a fan obviously.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U2VlJu ... 7&index=10

[sadfay]

Nice. Looks fun. I've subscribed.

I had to stop myself from applying for a credit card last night and splurging nearly a grand on the Octatrack........ Forgot I have still to get through Christmas, a holiday in Feb and my self-assessment tax to sort out .......... D'oh!