I want to buy a sampler but I am not trying to spend more than a couple hundred dollars. Something easy, not too in depth but able to trigger with a button or pedal.
Any ideas?
Thanks...
Boss SP 202
Boss SP 404
404 better of these two. Have not seen or heard of better. If there would ve same but smaller, would be very interested. I have no interest to software, but seems like physical samplers are barely made anymore.
I use my 4-tracker with tapes and samples recorded on each track haha. I wouldn't say no to a 404 though...
Thanks for the suggestions. Will definitely pick up the 404.
So completely inappropriate music for this forum, but this video shows off what the sampler is capable off in a simple yet effective way
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnoizzehgjL/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=l1r6unjmhyr2
Roland SP 404, perfect for one shots, loops, the built in FX are decent and work best when not over done, and the built in sequencer is not that good but if you pair it with a Beatstep Pro it really comes alive.
Ableton w/ Novation Launchpad, I use this for longer playback samples and backing tracks. You could use it to do what the SP does and a whole hell of a lot more but I just keep it simple as far as playback goes.
Zoom R8, digital 8 track w/ built in mic and it also doubles as an audio interface. I used it live a bunch and I can play full songs with it, weaving samples in and out.
Elektron Digitakt, this thing is awesome, straight up. One part drum machine, one part sampler, and one part midi sequencer. Outside of Ableton this is the most power sampler and when you pair the Digitakt with the SP 404 the possibilities are endless. There is a bit of menu diving but once you familiarize yourself with the Elektron language its a breeze.
Other interesting samplers:
- Teenage Engineering OP-1
- Korg MicroSampler
- Bastl Micro Granny
elektron machinedrum -
good sequencer - intuitive - good for industrial the possibilities are pretty endless with this machine
especially with the user wave version - sample memory isn't that big but that doesn't really matter to much
quite pricey though
404 is the safest bet i think, like the others said, its kind of THE p.e./whatever sampler or so i've many a times
As everyone else has said, the SP-404 is the top pick. It's the most indispensable thing I own when it comes to this shit, wouldn't trade it for anything.
Quote from: Leatherface on October 19, 2018, 02:27:47 PM
Other interesting samplers:
- Bastl Micro Granny
Not a fan of this one-basically just a raspberry pi in a chintzy housing. Friend of mines crashed and had to be replaced.
I would love to come into an affordable 404; current sampler rig is 4 walkmen, ha.
Kaoss Pad 3 - is good, Lots of nice FX, 4 Samplebanks for sampling & resampling
Octatrack mk1 or 2 - you pay Not a small amount of Money, but you get a Strong Performance Sampler, playbackdevice! Very powerfull - but can fuck brain! Someone mentioned the digitakt, little brother of the octa
Yamaha SU-10 is a good ultra-basic ultra-gritty mini sampler (size of a VHS cassette) with some unique and glitchy fx via a ribbon controller strip. Got mine for £8 at some flea market years ago and used it a lot over the years, it needs fixing tho, two pads stopped working :(
well worth it for noise if you can find it for junk prices these days (as opposed to ebay/reverb.com 'vintage' prices)
just my take on it, but would recommend simple cassette-player (walkman) or digital recorder... for long samples modulated over time. sometimes it is too obvious that looping is going on. although i am no opponent of looping, far from it, this is something i have been thinking about in connection w/my own stuf..
Quote from: brutalist_tapes on January 23, 2019, 04:14:41 AM
just my take on it, but would recommend simple cassette-player (walkman) or digital recorder... for long samples modulated over time. sometimes it is too obvious that looping is going on. although i am no opponent of looping, far from it, this is something i have been thinking about in connection w/my own stuf..
sucked it up and bought a 404 after playing sets that are primarily tape loop layers - the ability to have such a deep arsenal of layers at all times coupled with my loop station and the tape loops has made more a much more interesting/diverse set. Def recommend just sucking it up and getting one for anyone who wants to use a sampler - it is simple and intuitive and can't be beat for what it does, only problem now is to not solely rely on it.
The best sampler available is certainly the Octatrack. But of course it's twice the price of the 404. Kaoss Pad can do interesting things too, but it's not as self-contained as the 404 plus many of the effects are of the cheesy dj variety.
The Microgranny is fun, but unreliable and very limited. As much as I'd like to support independent small producers, it's just not worth the money imo.
Octatrack is amazing and amazingly hard to use, definitely not for everyone. But if you're not afraid of some menu diving and fairly obtuse UI design, you will get a sampler that's unlike any piece of gear available. I've been working a few nights this week with long, minutes long feedback loops recorded into the octratrack, which i will then assemble into a song with the octatrack, using it's scenes and the slider to do fade ins and outs of different long feedback loop samples. It's really an instrument itself, as well as a really powerful sampler and a mixer for my external gear.
Would be nice though if it had a bit more space per song, I can work with 80 mb but it's odd to have such limits with space in the year 2019.
Quote from: host body on October 16, 2019, 03:33:16 PM
I've been working a few nights this week with long, minutes long feedback loops recorded into the octratrack, which i will then assemble into a song with the octatrack, using it's scenes and the slider to do fade ins and outs of different long feedback loop samples. It's really an instrument itself, as well as a really powerful sampler and a mixer for my external gear.
I'd be interested in hearing some of these
I got a Korg Volca Sample. It's really easy to chop and manipulate samples and put them into patterns. You can set start and end times and even change speed, pan, envelopes, and filters with a few knob twists. The huge downside is that, if you want to load new samples, you have to use some proprietary software to painstakingly load audio into it using a 1/8" input jack. This process takes several minutes and has to update all of the samples on the device in one go. And if it fails to update, you don't know about it until you try to use your new samples. Why Korg didn't just have a USB jack or an SD card slot on this thing is beyond me. That and the short sample limits (65 seconds total for all samples) are the two glaring flaws. Otherwise, it's pretty fun.
Quote from: Pigswill on October 17, 2019, 05:53:49 AM
Quote from: host body on October 16, 2019, 03:33:16 PM
I've been working a few nights this week with long, minutes long feedback loops recorded into the octratrack, which i will then assemble into a song with the octatrack, using it's scenes and the slider to do fade ins and outs of different long feedback loop samples. It's really an instrument itself, as well as a really powerful sampler and a mixer for my external gear.
I'd be interested in hearing some of these
Hah, well it's just experimentation for now, but I'm thinking about making a tape since I'm really enjoying myself working like that.
Quote from: Pigswill on October 17, 2019, 05:53:49 AM
I got a Korg Volca Sample. It's really easy to chop and manipulate samples and put them into patterns. You can set start and end times and even change speed, pan, envelopes, and filters with a few knob twists. The huge downside is that, if you want to load new samples, you have to use some proprietary software to painstakingly load audio into it using a 1/8" input jack. This process takes several minutes and has to update all of the samples on the device in one go. And if it fails to update, you don't know about it until you try to use your new samples. Why Korg didn't just have a USB jack or an SD card slot on this thing is beyond me. That and the short sample limits (65 seconds total for all samples) are the two glaring flaws. Otherwise, it's pretty fun.
I did a fair bit of research into samplers before purchasing a digitakt and then later an octatrack, and what you mentioned as the downside seems to be fairly common with samplers, especially the short sample size limit per session. Elektron isn't perfect, but their samplers are definitely the best if you want a hardware experience but still be abled to mangle samples and arrange your music in a DAW-like manner. There are samplers that are more DAW-like, but personally I dislike making music on a computer so much that working with an MPC Live for example is too much.
404 and 202 seem great for what they are, but they're missing a lot of sound customization, not to mention the elektron sequencer. They're probably better for people who don't want to program at all, just make sound with analog gear and use their samplers for layering of sound, not really composing or assembling pieces.
In eurorack I've fallen in love with the Squid Salmple. Acts closely to the Roland SP series but in eurorack form. Can reduce bit rates for great distortion/down tune certain bank slots for sub bass madness.
Quote from: host body on October 17, 2019, 03:09:37 PM
I did a fair bit of research into samplers before purchasing a digitakt and then later an octatrack, and what you mentioned as the downside seems to be fairly common with samplers, especially the short sample size limit per session. Elektron isn't perfect, but their samplers are definitely the best if you want a hardware experience but still be abled to mangle samples and arrange your music in a DAW-like manner. There are samplers that are more DAW-like, but personally I dislike making music on a computer so much that working with an MPC Live for example is too much.
404 and 202 seem great for what they are, but they're missing a lot of sound customization, not to mention the elektron sequencer. They're probably better for people who don't want to program at all, just make sound with analog gear and use their samplers for layering of sound, not really composing or assembling pieces.
The Digitakt and Octatrack are a pair of beasts. I'm going to have to do some more research into these and the others that you've mentioned. Programmability is nice, but not necessary
I do have an Ensoniq EPS 16 Plus, which is a lot of fun. Once I figure out how to format floppies correctly, I'll be able to get even more use out of it. I really dig the sounds and effects that it can produce, even though it's 30 years old.
I have two Radio Music for eurorack. Simple as hell, and I can route them towards anything I want module wise to alter what they play, and control them in plenty of different manners as well. Currently I'm triggering them with two Turing Machines (looping sequencers to which you can add some randomness.)
Quote from: Pigswill on October 18, 2019, 05:52:06 AM
Quote from: host body on October 17, 2019, 03:09:37 PM
I did a fair bit of research into samplers before purchasing a digitakt and then later an octatrack, and what you mentioned as the downside seems to be fairly common with samplers, especially the short sample size limit per session. Elektron isn't perfect, but their samplers are definitely the best if you want a hardware experience but still be abled to mangle samples and arrange your music in a DAW-like manner. There are samplers that are more DAW-like, but personally I dislike making music on a computer so much that working with an MPC Live for example is too much.
404 and 202 seem great for what they are, but they're missing a lot of sound customization, not to mention the elektron sequencer. They're probably better for people who don't want to program at all, just make sound with analog gear and use their samplers for layering of sound, not really composing or assembling pieces.
The Digitakt and Octatrack are a pair of beasts. I'm going to have to do some more research into these and the others that you've mentioned. Programmability is nice, but not necessary
I do have an Ensoniq EPS 16 Plus, which is a lot of fun. Once I figure out how to format floppies correctly, I'll be able to get even more use out of it. I really dig the sounds and effects that it can produce, even though it's 30 years old.
The digitakt is nice for its randomness capabilities, I load it with different metal junk percussion and use a lot of random trigs to make really chaotic patterns. It's also fairly intuitive, fast to work with. You don't see many videos on youtube showing elektron samplers used in industrial or noise, which is a shame because they're both really really good for it.
I would love to get my hands of an EPS 16! Despite the technical limitations you could do so much with one, mainly for industrial. It just makes everything sound so gritty. As good as Elektron gear is, the sound is very hifi and impersonal, you really need sculpt your sounds more with them as opposed to older gear with great sounding compression and filters in the box.
Have you read about this? I don't know if they can pull off replicating the gritty sound, but I am intrigued.
https://www.islainstruments.com/product/sp-2400/
Quote from: Cementimental on January 14, 2019, 07:22:16 PM
Yamaha SU-10 is a good ultra-basic ultra-gritty mini sampler (size of a VHS cassette) with some unique and glitchy fx via a ribbon controller strip. Got mine for £8 at some flea market years ago and used it a lot over the years, it needs fixing tho, two pads stopped working :(
well worth it for noise if you can find it for junk prices these days (as opposed to ebay/reverb.com 'vintage' prices)
actually have Yamaha Su10 hiding around here somewhere...
more random free gear
hmmm think will use it soon for some experiments
What are the differences between the SP404 models, and is it still in production? Seems weird that I keep seeing pretty heavily used 404s w defects/missing parts on Reverb still going for 400+
Quote from: Eigen Bast on February 07, 2020, 02:13:31 AM
What are the differences between the SP404 models, and is it still in production? Seems weird that I keep seeing pretty heavily used 404s w defects/missing parts on Reverb still going for 400+
yeah, the sp404 and 555 goes for a good amount these days, i was surprised as well (just got rid of a cosmetically dinged 555 for 600 flat, buyer named price)... i actually really dislike the Roland samplers. no one seems to agree w me, but the MPC1000/2000 is much much more "fluid" and easier to use. i think the 1000 is perfect.
last week I got the Volca Sample 2
I had enough of the issues in transferring files and was very happy to have something I could finally drag and drop.
It's lots of fun and plays dirty and aggressive. Many improvements in the tweaks BUT:
- sample rate is very low
- I thought it was broken and took me 3 days to figure out while both windows and mac did not recognize it. I found pages and pages of complaints, tried to do everything and then after some guy suggested I tested 6 different cables and the last one work. as said lots of fun, but good mostly for lo-fi sounds.
Staying in lo-fi department I got and I am loving the Bastl microgranny, a cute and aggressive little granular thing that destroys the sound and has a bitcrusher, but surely not useful outside of noise/glitch departments...
Octatrack if you want a sampler that's capable of almost anything you could think of. SP-404 if you want something simpler that's capable of what you'd expect from a physical sampler.
Hi....I was simply finding out about the bigger SP-16 Toraiz and it's a great machine. Extremely ideal to have those Prophet-6 channels as well. Would have been insane cool assuming each voice had a channel yet, the cost would have presumably been more than the $2200 MPCX with a large portion of the usefulness. Still Pioneer is putting out some quite sweet samplers.
quick turn pcb assembly services (https://www.7pcb.com/Quick-turn-PCB-assembly.php)
I just recently picked up the SP 404 SX and it's so god damn fun to play around with. Highly recommended. So far it's been pretty easy to use and being able to resample your samples with different effects has yield some pretty nasty results. I'm especially fond of the isolator.
SP 404 SX is a very good sampler, it has very good effects, but only one at a time.
Its sequencer is impractical and limited. It was my first instrument.
Just played around with pickup machines on the Octatrack, a Lyra8 and a feedback chain last night. Pickup machines are basically loopers, you have 8 looper channels with a shared max lenght of just over 4 minutes for 24 bit sound and just under 9 minutes for 12 bit sound. Sampling the loops is fairly easy, you can use a midi controller pedal and do it with your foot if you wish. Amazingly powerful and fun to layer loops, fade them in & out and program different effects to the crossfader. It's such a musical device, easily the best sampler I've tried.
This is a free digital one I made that works in the browser (some devices/browsers it might not work):
https://drohen.com/schallvernichtung.html (https://drohen.com/schallvernichtung.html)
Quote from: host body on June 21, 2021, 10:58:39 AM
Just played around with pickup machines on the Octatrack, a Lyra8 and a feedback chain last night. Pickup machines are basically loopers, you have 8 looper channels with a shared max lenght of just over 4 minutes for 24 bit sound and just under 9 minutes for 12 bit sound. Sampling the loops is fairly easy, you can use a midi controller pedal and do it with your foot if you wish. Amazingly powerful and fun to layer loops, fade them in & out and program different effects to the crossfader. It's such a musical device, easily the best sampler I've tried.
It is. To re-sample and re-shape is in my opinion the best device on earth. I´ve never played that much with the pickup machines because I don´t loop that much live (but I often do it with pre-recorded samples on the single tracks) but I´m sure it works flawless, I have to try one day.
Since I want to use loops in future material I got me the Koala software-sampler for iOS last week. Works on iphone and ipad, can record direct or load samples. Basic functions are cutting to length, looping, sequencer and a couple of effects (verb, delay, stutter, dirt, etc.), which can be reached in "performance"-mode. Time-stretch and other features can be unlocked via in-app-purchase.
Got no experience with hardware samplers, so this seems like a really good starting point. And 3,99 EUR is just right to experiment.
Quote from: U235 on May 02, 2021, 01:23:48 AM
SP 404 SX is a very good sampler, it has very good effects, but only one at a time.
Its sequencer is impractical and limited. It was my first instrument.
The new SP-404 MKII enables to use multieffect feature. Should arrive in Italy next month
Quote from: tiny_tove on December 16, 2021, 05:28:08 PM
Quote from: U235 on May 02, 2021, 01:23:48 AM
SP 404 SX is a very good sampler, it has very good effects, but only one at a time.
Its sequencer is impractical and limited. It was my first instrument.
The new SP-404 MKII enables to use multieffect feature. Should arrive in Italy next month
I saw the specifications of the MKII version, it looks much better indeed. On my side, I complete the MKI with an MPC5000, but I find it a bit heavy both even if the MPC allows to make 8 tracks recorder on hard disk, I have a bit the feeling that it makes double.
Are you satisfied with the MKII version ?
Koala Sampler app on iOS/android is deceptively simple but really amazing