Ableton Forum

Hi, I'm using sampler to playback my audio samples of my hardware synths , normally 8-16 bars or sequenced audio. Many of these have a sustain tail so I can't use normal clips for them.

With Sampler I cannot assign filter and amp ADSR settings to each sample, it appears to effect ALL the sample I have currently in the sampler key map window. Is this right? That it treats all sample on the window as a group/bank?

I generally do not need to mutisample and make my own sample instruments, I'm using it as a basic playback sampler with each sample assigned to only one key. But do like to add filters and envelope settings , and possibly some automation of filter.
I'm using it very basically but these basic controls seem to not exist for each sample, which seems arcane as most samplers since 1995 allow you to set filter, ASDR, lfo either per individual sample or to a sample bank/group (plus EQ per sample which seems to missing too?)

Should I be using drum racks for this style (kinda Akai MPC style) playback and control instead?

If anyone can give any help to this, would be great.
Especially anyone coming from hardware sampler methods to Ableton sampler, as maybe I shouldn't be comparing my previous workflows to this?

nb
Simpler could be an option but normally I will have 4 or 5 different samples for each sound/part . Say like , synth intro, synth main par, synth chorus, turnaround, and outro part that all should run from the same channel and efftcs. So that would be 5 simpler channels.. right? then multiply that by 5 parts (synth , keys, lead, bass etc) or am I missing something as cannot see to key assign and rack multiple simplers . which seems so complicated for something that used to be really simple to do in a hardware sampler!!

With sampler also seems like I will need multiple instances/ channels of sampler for each part, - wish I could just do all the settings in one window, then specify which output (for effects and EQ) the sample will go to, - this is the hardware traditional way of working .

One more thing, is there any way to quickly key assign a sample via midi, it is so annoying having to adjust the tiny sliders each time. On my hardware sampler (Yamaha A4000 if anyone is interested) all you need to do is highlight sample and first midi note recieved is root , then next one is Low then next one is high, this takes all of one second!

Thanks in advice for any help.

I think you already answered your question yourself... sounds like a perfect job for the drum-rack...
you´d have a seperate simpler device for every midi-note... and you can add whatever effect device you wish to every simpler...

hope that helps

thanks tripboxer, yeah sussed that drum racks are the way to go and like you say each sample can separate EQ and effects and pan which is just what I was looking for.

Strange that sampler doesn't offer this ! And guess drum racks by name threw me off trying that at first.

So samplers really for making multisample instruments on one channel at a time and drum racks are for what I would call traditional sampling .. crazy!

Does anyone one know if there is a negative to running many sounds out of a drum rack vs just a few and spreading more drum racks on separate channels regarding dbs and over all gain / channel saturation limits etc?

Live´s audio engine is 32bit floating point and at summing points it´s even 64bit, so there´s enough dynamic range and there should be no worries about internal clipping inside a drumrack or the mixer... So you can put it all in one drumrack and it should be fine... Just make sure you don´t have clipping in your D/A converter...

This said, proper gain staging at all points in the signalflow is still always a good thing... )

Excellent! I do try to record all audio at 0 to -6db to leave plenty of headroom. And use the old opposite method of turning every channel down then remix levels based loudest channel at 0db ..if you start to find your pushing everything up too much.