Ableton Forum

Hei all: Odd question.

Does anyone know of a sampler that is similar to Ableton' that is hardware.

1. Sample a sound
2. Interpret said sound over different notes > I call this a Sample Synth
3. play said sound with a midi controller.
4. toggle between different Sample Synths.

And this is not my first stop.
I have spent hours and hours looking at Roland, MPC and Korg stuff, I am just lost.

Ableton does it all, but I am going places where my computer cant.

Thanks a lot.
VasyL ko

vasyL wrote: Does anyone know of a sampler that is similar to Ableton' that is hardware.

The Elektron Octatrack is supposed to do that, but it's just a sampler, and isn't available yet so we don't know for sure.

hei ark:
ya I saw the OctaTrack, looks pretty sweet but it isnt out yet and i think it going to cost around 1400 Euro.
But you are right, i think that is a solution. and i love scandinavians!
http://www.elektron.se/products/octatrack

any other suggestions. Damn, Ableton is the solution for so much.
peace
vasyL ko

'A sample synth'? You mean 'a sampler', right? That's what samplers DO...

Just buy an Akai S3000 and an Atari with a tracker on it. Instant win.

I'd say a kurzweil k2000

e-mu ultra family can be had for about 300 bucks these days

excellent sound, decent memory, very routable

i had one for a couple of years, then lent it to a friend who was robbed

jlgrimes wrote:I'd say a kurzweil k2000

genius!

you sent my audio life on a tangent.
I thank you kind sir.

Peace from canada
vasyL ko
aquiferarts.org

arctic ranger!!!!
living near the coast are you....
I have a nunavut song that you have to hear, made of samples that I found on a compact disc in Churchill at the museum and then mixed in the control center of an old rocket launching facility turned science center for northern studies. it was made with ableton in a Northern lights observation bubble in deep winter february, with them dancing away. but that is another story.

arctic ranger wrote:e-mu ultra family can be had for about 300 bucks these days
excellent sound, decent memory, very routable

wow: that is another winner.
you have set me on the right track.



64 polyphony!

E5000 Ultra
E5000 Ultra is the newest member of E-MU's E4 Ultra sampler family and the most affordable
Emulator ever! As an E4 Ultra sampler, the E5000 provides you with the same professional
features that countless musicians, composers, and sound designers depend on every day: the
intuitive Emulator Operating System, the new lightning-fast Ultra processor, access to the most
comprehensive sound library in the world, and proprietary tools like Beat Munging and Z-Plane
Filters, all at a remarkably low price!
64 voice polyphony allows you layer and playback huge sequences
Upgradeable to 128 MB of RAM (4 MB standard), giving you the ability to load gigantic
sounds and banks
4 line level balanced outputs (upgradeable to 12)
Z-plane filters (21 different types) and advanced modulation of synthesis parameters
Optional EOS Link software (Mac / PC) allows remote operation of your E5000 Ultra
Beat-Munging tool for unprecedented control and editing of loops and grooves
16 MIDI channels (expandable to 32)
3 external and 5 internal expansion slots for extreme upgrade flexibility

i had one for a couple of years, then lent it to a friend who was robbed

karma has already messed that robber up. freaking cold.
I trust my instruments where they lie.
I often think that some of my gear would just jump up an bite someone if they tried to take it away.

Thanks for the jam.
peace from the paleosea
vasyL ko

logic_user99 wrote:'A sample synth'? You mean 'a sampler', right? That's what samplers DO...

and yes i mean a sampler like a sampler synth
The reason why i say synth is that i am a dummy.

I like on ableton that you can dump a sample per key.

For example, I had my friend jenny cacaphonix sing into a condenser mic.
random notes et al. I cut up the audio file in ableton to gain a long-ish note.
I think shaped that note. put the the note in the Transcribe software to get exact note.
I would then put that note into the sampler say in the Db key slot if the note was Db.
I would then interpret that note over a few whole step; Db-D-Eb-E-F and Db-C-B-Bb-A. or whatever sounds nice and not to distorted.
Then i would go looking for another note in the audio file of jenny's voice, repeat.

Eventually i would fill a few octaves with say 4- 6 samples per octave.

The "sample synth" was not simply one sample interpreted over say 3 octaves,
it is a collection of a dozen or so samples over 3 or 4 octaves.
Since the samples are not the same, this creates a unique voice organ feel with interesting colour to it.
So if my sample synth is just a sampler, then let the games begin.

oh the jenny-organ, how much fun we have with audio.
get a condenser mic!

logic_user99 wrote:' Just buy an Akai S3000 and an Atari with a tracker on it. Instant win.

I think Sigur Ros uses one of those.
Man, this is a good suggestion too.

logic_user99 wrote:' an Atari with a tracker on it. Instant win.

ha atari!
love the box PC graphics.
what would you suggest for the atari.

Thank you I will have to dive deeper into these.
Leave the pads for the pad players.

instant win!

peace from the lightning lands
vasyL ko

vasyL wrote:Hei all: Odd question.

Does anyone know of a sampler that is similar to Ableton' that is hardware.

1. Sample a sound
2. Interpret said sound over different notes > I call this a Sample Synth
3. play said sound with a midi controller.
4. toggle between different Sample Synths.

And this is not my first stop.
I have spent hours and hours looking at Roland, MPC and Korg stuff, I am just lost.

Ableton does it all, but I am going places where my computer cant.

Thanks a lot.
VasyL ko

I'd say you've just pretty much described every hardware sampler
Granted I've never owned one myself but still this is what I understand any sampler would do.
And yes you can get old Akai S-series, EMU Ultra, or Yamaha samplers very cheaply these days on the second hand market.

I would like to resurrect this thread and ask a similar question in 2023:

What are the current hardware samplers, that resemble abletons sampler or simpler the most?
IOS is not in question.

In my case I would like to use it as a source for my Digitakt Setup to feed it with samples.
I would like to set loop points, have a reasonable amount of polyphony and play phrases through FX pedals into the DT.

already known:
1) MPC / Maschine+ - too much like a DAW, I hate screens and touch screens are also not my favorite, good sampling features though
2) Octatrack - too complicated, does not have normal sampler features and polyphonic playback, only via workarounds
3) 1010 Blackbox - Screen!
4) SP-404 mk2 - just don't like it, bad form factor, should have endless knobs considering the software architecture

first world problems, I know

orionka wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 01, 2023 9:30 am

I would like to resurrect this thread and ask a similar question in 2023:

What are the current hardware samplers, that resemble abletons sampler or simpler the most?
IOS is not in question.

In my case I would like to use it as a source for my Digitakt Setup to feed it with samples.
I would like to set loop points, have a reasonable amount of polyphony and play phrases through FX pedals into the DT.

already known:
1) MPC / Maschine+ - too much like a DAW, I hate screens and touch screens are also not my favorite, good sampling features though
2) Octatrack - too complicated, does not have normal sampler features and polyphonic playback, only via workarounds
3) 1010 Blackbox - Screen!
4) SP-404 mk2 - just don't like it, bad form factor, should have endless knobs considering the software architecture

first world problems, I know

Pretty sure the digitakt is the hardware sampler most like simpler in terms of capability AND simplicity
https://www.elektronauts.com/t/elektron ... ony/166998

Use multiple midi tracks for polyphony, send your outs through the fx pedals, split the line to monitor, feed back into the inputs and sample with monitoring off to avoid fb loop -- a little crazy but it'll probably work with no extra money spent. or just ball out on a second takt / rytm

or if you really HATE screens, OP-Z with no phone / ipad attached

MPC / Maschine / SP-404 will actually do what you want it to really really well and much much more. damn those engineers putting too much functionality in their products!!!

The brand new Polyend Tracker Mini could be an alternative, too. However it has a BIG screen.

Look into Synthstrom Deluge! now with SCREEN...

The days of samplers being "just samplers" (i.e. Akai S900 etc) are long gone. They were not "too much like a DAW", but they needed to connect with a DAW and keyboard to be used.

Nowadays the DAW is onboard these devices. The tech has advanced and people want self contained " grooveboxes".

Even the above classic rack samplers had screens. I don't think you're going to find just a box with no screen that needs a DAW to work.

I own a variety of samplers, from the S900 to the Push 3 - and they all have screens.