Sampling technique defined modern music. It allowed people to express in a different way and became a cornerstone of many music genres starting from hip-hop.
It’s been used everywhere and it’s really hard to imagine how a music industry would look like if it wasn’t invented.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks for Sampler VST Plugins
- OUR TOP PICK: Steinberg Halion 6
- RUNNER-UP: Steinberg Groove Agent 5
- BEST BUDGET OPTION: DiscoDSP Bliss
- BEST SAMPLE EDITING VST: Reason Studio ReCycle
- EDITOR’S PICK: Image Line DirectWave Sampler
Table of Contents
History of Sampling
The first sampling was done in 1940 when Pierre Schaffer ignored traditional song form and played various sounds from nature by using a tape recorder. Sampler had to wait until the 1960s to be used again in a Mellotron synthesizer with The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” as the best showcase probably.
However, real modern sampling started with the rise of hip-hop and live DJ mixing. They used breakbeat parts from the funk music so that MCs could rap over it while the groove from the funk beat forced people to dance. In the 1980s sampling became mainstream when Roland and especially Akai started producing digital samplers.
What Purpose Does a Sampler VST Serve?
It’s completely fine if you’re unsure what Sampler actually does because it’s not a concept so well-known outside of the music world. Let us give you a couple of hints:
Pitch and Time Manipulation
Sometimes you will stumble upon a sample that’s perfect for your song but it’s either in the wrong tempo or key. Sampler excels in such editings thanks to specially designed algorithms and will preserve the audio quality at some extensive range.
Sample Tweaking
Modern software allows you to play with the samples in a very creative way that we really take for granted these days. You can reverse it or edit just some parts of it - you can slice it, swap it, prolong or shorten certain parts and eventually create something completely new and musically inspiring even from a regular speech.
Multi-Sample Instruments
Sampler VST allows you to combine various high-quality samples into a single multi-sample instrument. It also provides you with some algorithms and shortcuts that will allow you to combine samples together to achieve a certain articulation. Imagine the sound of a violin - you can sample it with thousands of files but you will still need an interface that will detect if you’re playing short or legato notes.
Comparison of the Best Sampler VST Plugins
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Review of the Best Sampler VST Plugins
Samplers are not so easy to find on the market, so, read our review and save some browsing time:
Best Overall:
Steinberg Halion 6
PROS
CONS
Features and Specifications
Halion is an advanced sampler VST that comes with 192kHz sample rate support and provides you with 32 stereo outputs. Its library contains more than 3.400 synth and acoustic sounds and is packed with high-quality effects including REVerence convolution reverb.
Sample Recorded comes with the automated option such as Auto Trim, Auto Gain, or Auto Next that can handle a complete piano roll in a single take and there are several options if you want to map them automatically. AudioWarp will expand sample editing as you can perform some advanced time-stretch and pitch-shifting modifications.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This is one of the first software samplers ever made and it was getting better with every next version. It’s actually hard to define all the fields where it excels, but it’s best used as a software prone to create some extreme sampling manipulations in all possible ways.
But this item is not just a sampler. It provides you with thousands of instrument sounds with a dedicated effects panel so you can use it as a very powerful synthesizer as well. If you’re into cinematic scoring, it’s worth reminding you that it supports 6-channel support natively.
Runner-up:
Steinberg Groove Agent 5
PROS
CONS
Features and Specifications
Groove Agent 5 comes with some big upgrades. The number of velocity layers is increased to 32 per component and stereo outputs have been doubled to 32 as well. The decompose feature now allows you to manipulate the noise and tonal part of the sample independently.
Sample Editor tab allows you to audition a single layer of multi-layered pad and samples can be recorded directly to the pads. Both audio input or virtual instruments can be sampled automatically. This speeds up taking multiple samples for pitched or different velocity of the percussive instruments a lot.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This is one of the rare software with detailed sampling oriented to the drum sounds specifically. Soundwise, both acoustic or percussion Agents work awesome, but the star of the show is the Beat Agent. Also, we really loved that the sample waveform is not just visible during envelope editing but it also follows the modifications and changes graphically along that process.
However, the feature we absolutely loved is the option to change the pitch tone of the tonal part while leaving the noise unpitched. This is very likely to happen in reality and this feature is unique on the market at the moment.
Best for the Money:
DiscoDSP Bliss
PROS
CONS
Features and Specifications
Bliss is VSTi and AU compatible and can also work as a VST host for both 32 and 64-bit versions. It provides you with the wave editor with the full undo history and seven loop types including some advanced options like bidirectional or forward with sustain.
You can also add six dual zero-delay feedback filters and assign velocity and keyboard tracking to the cutoff parameter.
Regarding sample import, drum samples are mapped automatically when loaded and it supports various audio formats including Akai, Soundfont, and Renoise program formats.
Why it Stands Out to Us
Music is sometimes more about the sound we are used to than premium quality. Many famous songs were not produced with the overall best sound, but with the sound that best-suited the song.
That’s why sampling your favorite synth or VST instrument may come handy, especially if there is a fast and automated process for that. Bliss provides you this option so you can have your sound both in the studio or live in your rig lowering your CPU usage. It can also act as a VST host so you may take a chance and try your laptop for live performance as well.
Best Drum Sampler VST:
Reason Studios ReCycle
PROS
CONS
Features and Specifications
Loading a sound into ReCycle will start the audio analysis and break it into rhythmic components automatically. Those components are based on the transients found in the audio file. Transients you have found will create Slices and increasing transient detection sensitivity threshold will increase the number of slices found.
Next, you can manipulate them further in many ways from basic tempo changes up to pitch shifting or pitch preserving, envelope editing, transient shaping, or applying a basic 4-band EQ.
And once you’re done, you can export the audio file into the REX file format.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This is a very useful software for all kinds of loop-based music. You can replace or move any drum component on the fly because of very precise groove deconstruction. It can also work with other instruments, but rhythm editing is the core of this software.
ReCycle REX file format is also an awesome way of keeping up all the slice information in a lossless audio file and it’s officially supported by many other software. This way, a new file will automatically stretch or shrink to any given project tempo accordingly and emulate the original groove you have created.
Editor’s Pick:
Image Line DirectWave
PROS
CONS
Features and Specifications
DirectWave is a 16-part multitimbral sampler with 128-voice polyphony with all sample rates supported. There are several built-in insert effects that can manipulate samples further with a bitcrusher or decimator while send effects will cover the typical effect range. with
It also provides you with the loop finding tool and sample editor capable of real-time sampling of both audio input or another VST instrument with certain automation options. Sample import can be performed with the drag-and-drop method and besides regular audio formats, DirectWave also supports SoundFont file format as well.
Why it Stands Out to Us
DirectWave was the first next-gen VST Sampler that sampled audio and performed waveform editing. It was made in a similar way like hardware samplers work and the reverb especially has that vintage vibe often found on such devices.
Everything you need for sample editing is placed within the front page of the user interface and the sample recording is quite easy. It can be automated, but we especially loved the record threshold option. This feature will wait until signal peak arises (-40dB) which will save some time in both recordings or entering the starting point for every sample.
Best Sampler VST for DJ:
Serato Sample
PROS
CONS
Features and Specifications
It includes Pitch ’n Time, an algorithm that is famous for flawless pitch-shifting and time-stretching manipulations. You can go up and down 24 semitones with 50 cents of fine-tuning while tempo can be stretched between 1 and 999 BPM. It also comes with an excellent key-detecting system.
Cue points system is taken from famous Serato DJ software and you can assign up to 16 cue points per audio file. Cues can be latched or gated so it will stop once you release the dedicated key or pad.
Why it Stands Out to Us
Having in mind their award-winning Serato DJ software it’s no wonder that their sampling software feels like it’s designed to please the DJ mindset approach, especially with the integrated cue points feature which honestly seems almost natural for this kind of editing.
They decided to keep it simple and improve the workflow rather than providing you with many options and for this type of work with the samples, it’s something we actually praise.
We really loved the extreme tempo changes option. Slowing it down way too much can actually generate some unexpected pad textures from any kind of recording.
What Makes a Great Sampler VST?
Here are the key features of such VST:
Good Algorithm
Changing pitch and tempo is something that is considered as a basic feature for all samplers. This requires an algorithm capable of doing such manipulations without damaging the audio quality regardless of how far you go with the changes.
Options
Sampling is a very creative process. It’s all about doing something new and thinking outside of the box with the files given. That’s why including more options than you need at a certain point will be a great feature as it will lead you into the road you didn’t even think about. Any kind of randomization works great here as there is nothing wrong with rolling dice a couple of times just to see what automatization can provide you.
Interface
It’s important for work with samples to have a fast workflow. The interface must be intuitive and well designed otherwise your creativity will be lost in navigating the menus instead of catching that wind of inspiration.
Compatibility
There are many vintage samplers out there that have wonderful programs and files that are at the studio-ready quality. Great Sampler VST will include instant support for such legacy products as sometimes there is no need for “reinventing the wheel”.
Conclusion
Sampling will allow you to combine things that don’t go together at first. It’s a very creative process and, eventually, it will only broaden your musical mindset. That’s why we hope that next time you hear an interesting drum loop or a famous cinematic dialogue it will trigger something different in you.
People Also Ask
You probably heard of some copyright infringement so you may wonder if using the sample is real and is any length of sample legit at all. Luckily for you, we do have some answers that may help you understand what kind of sampling you can allow yourself and sleep stress-free:
Is Sampling Legal?
No matter how long the sampled content, you need to write permission from both music producers and people who claim rights on the music. This holds the ground for music that doesn’t belong to the public domain area. Classical music can be sampled legally without any legal permission, for example.
Can I Sample Without Permission?
There is a false myth that you can legally sample anything shorter than 6 seconds. But honestly, it’s a quite gray area. If it’s something recognizable, we wouldn’t recommend it. If it’s just a basic sound that got you inspired, it’s much safer for you to hire someone to record that for your final mix instead.
Why Should I Use Samples in my Songs?
People relate to certain melodies or phrases. There is something magical happening when listeners recognize a song on the very first second. That’s why using even completely unfamiliar samples can make your song stand out. People may take a notice on your song just because of the sample you put.
