The Korg MicroSampler may have only been announced a couple of weeks ago, but Sonic State’s Nick Batt has already run the MicroSampler through its paces.

His overview video, above, offers a good look at the hardware itself and how the MicroSampler works.

Batt says:

The microSAMPLER is not going to be a sampling workhorse for you if you require large string libraries or hours of storage, but as a simple loop replay device or maybe sound effects trigger for a theatre production, it could really fit the bill. Where the microSAMPLER’s strength lies is in the ability to quickly set up loops or phrases. With some careful planning and arrangement, I dont see why it couldn’t run the show, negating the need for a laptop – assuming you dont need to run a LOT of audio and backing vocals etc.

If you’re interested in the Korg MicroSampler, don’t miss Batt’s full review.

And if you’ve used the MicroSampler, leave a comment and let us know what you think of it!

Roland has announced the SP-404SX, an update to the Roland SP-404.

The new model offers enhanced sound quality with 16-bit linear sampling, improved DSP effects, smooth FX switching, a more versatile pattern sequencer (with a new shuffle feature), and easier data management with SD-card compatibility.

SP-404SX features

• Sample anytime, anywhere with the built-in mic and battery power.
• 29 DSP effects, including filter, delay, unique voice effects, subsonic, and looper.
• 3 control knobs, 12 trigger pads, and Sub Pad for rapid repeat triggering.
• Seamless effects switching for smooth, perfect performance.
• Pattern sequencer with quantize mode and new shuffle feels.
• 1GB SD card included; expand sample storage up to 32GB with SDHC.
• Import audio files from computer, assign samples to pads with bundled software (Mac/PC).

Details below.

If you’ve used the Roland SP-404SX Performance Sampler, leave a comment with your thoughts!

Description:

The SP-404SX includes 29 DSP effects — including filter, delay, unique voice effects, subsonic, and looper — that switch seamlessly for a smooth performance. Twelve trigger pads, three control knobs, and a Sub Pad for rapid triggering allow DJs, musicians, and sound engineers to trigger samples and jingles and apply effects on the fly at the club, gig, or theater.

The built-in microphone, simple user interface, and optional battery operation enable recording with the SP-404SX anywhere inspiration strikes. It is also easy to import samples and utilize the high quality effects onboard for sound design or unique live performance purposes. The more versatile pattern sequencer now includes an improved quantize mode with new shuffle feel for intuitive, non-stop loop recording.

The SP-404SX will be available in October with an MSRP of $465.50.

Description:

Minus Morph is a massive sound tool designed for Minimal music productions and based on morphing techniques. The library consists of 930 Mb of worldclass construction loops, incisive basslines, compact percussive loops, dark and mysterious pads, sparkling hi-frequencies, crispy glitches and much much more.

In addition to the 1000 Wav loops and samples you will get also 450 Rex2 loops, 790 instruments for Kontakt and Rason and 1500 Live Devices and Clips. Minus Morph elements can be combined to create every kind of Minimal styles with the best audio quality and in the simplest way. Just select few loops and you are ready to build hypnotic, gloomy, genuine Minimal tracks.

Minus Morph is available for download now for 39.95 EUR.   Download the Free Pack (Loops + MP3 + PDF) for a preview.

Gigasampler revolutionized the music industry when it was introduced in 1999 and its importance in the music world cannot be overstated. Giga products enjoy exclusive rights to Endless Wave technology, a patented system which allows large samples to be streamed directly from the hard drive with low latency. Giga became the professional’s sampler of choice for many film, game and television composers, including many high-profile musicians.

The technology looked like it was stuck in a dead-end, though, when Tascam announced it was ceasing development.

“After reviewing over twenty companies, we believe that Garritan is the best candidate to carry on development of the Giga platform”, stated Derek Davis, EVP/COO of TEAC America, Inc. “Garritan has demonstrated a sincere interest in building on the present Giga technology and taking it to the next level.”

“We’re very excited about this opportunity and proud to own some of the very best sampling technologies on the planet,” said Gary Garritan, CEO of Garritan Corporation. “Acquiring the Giga technology helps us achieve our vision of providing the best tools to make great music available to all musicians.”

Garritan will be announcing its plan for the assets in the coming months.

Overview

The Sequential Circuits Studio 440 is a classic music production center from 1986 that combines the best features of drum machines and samplers, and has a crunchy 12-bit sound that people still respect:

If you combine a high quality digital sampler featuring individual outputs with a 50,000 note SMPTE/MIDI based sequencer, all you need to create a superior drum machine is velocity and pressure-sensitive pads. The 440 has eight, organizing its 32 sound samples into four kits and four banks over these eight sound pads. In addition, every sound has two sets of sound parameters that include sample play back direction, pitch-bend envelope, loop types, loop points, start point modulation, and the familiar VCA VCF controls.

The four programmable kits allow for infinite variations of the same sound by editing only the performance parameters. Performance parameters can be assigned to any pad and include sound number, pan, pitch, volume, and a choice of one of the two sound parameter sets. These performance parameters are easily edited in real-time, and settings for all eight pads can be stored and recalled instantaneously from any one of the kits. And since the alternate parameters can have individual start/end points for each sound, there are actually up to 64 “different sounds” available at one time.

Sequential’s factory library includes over 300 sounds, and is immediately available. In addition, any Prophet 2000 or 2002 sample can be loaded directly into the 440, so the actual number of sounds now available is too numerous to list. The STUDIO 440 is the ultimate drum machine. 

The highlights of the Studio 440 are probably the analog lowpass filter and the 8 track sequencer, which can be used to drive external MIDI instruments. The biggest limitation, on the other hand, is the 440’s paltry 520kb of sample memory! 

While these sold for 5K originally, these now sell for around $1,000. 

Specifications:

• 8 track sequencer
• LCD display
• 8 sound pads
• Selectable sampling rates of up to 41.667 kHz
• Computer assisted looping functions (including cross-fade looping)
• Multiple sample locations for storing up to 32 different samples in memory at one time.
• True stereo outputs (2) plus separate audio outputs per voice (8) for individual processing of each.
• 32 levels of programmable panning per voice.
• Separate analog and digital controls per voice, including fully sweepable filters and VCAs for modifying any sample.
• 768K bytes on board memory with access to hard disks or CD-ROMs via the built-in Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI).
• A 3 1/2 inch double sided disk drive
• Real-time sample monitoring. 

Resources:

• Wine Country offers Studio 440 sample disks, parts and repair
• The unofficial guide to the Studio 440
• Studio 440 information at VintageSynth

The MCDISK-2 is a solid-state Media Card drive that has no moving parts and makes no noise during operation. It comes in a small beige case that is 8.5″ x 6.75″ x 2.25″ and can be used in any orientation, flat or on its side. It is very sturdy and solid, equally at home on the road or in the studio. The case has a fan in it but we ship the drive with this fan disabled in order to keep the unit completely noise-free. The fan is not needed in this configuration because the internal MCDISK drive puts out no heat at all and the internal power supply puts out only a very small amount. The case stays cool internally from natural air flow.

The MCDISK-2 has two PCMCIA slots which enable you to use Compact Flash or Smart Media cards for storage (with the correct PCMCIA adapters). 

The MCDISK-2 is compatible with a wide range of samplers:

• Korg Triton Classic, Triton Studio, Triton LE, Triton Rack, Triton Pro
• Akai MPC60, MPC60 II, MPC2000, MPC2000XL, MPC3000 (requires the Vailixi 3.50 OS), S1000, S1100, S2000, S2800, S3000, CD3000, S3200, S3200XL, MPC4000, S5000, S6000, Z4/Z8
• Yamaha Motif 6, Motif 7, Motif 8, RS7000, PSR9000, EX5, EX7
• Ensoniq EPS, EPS 16+, ASR-10, ASR-88, ASR Rack
• EMU Emax SE/HD, ESI-32, ESI-2000, ESI-4000, E4k, E5000, E6400, E64, EIII, EIIIxp, EIV, E4XT Ultra, E-Synth
• Roland XV-5080, S750, S760, S770
• Kurzweil K2000, K2000VP, K2vx, K2vxS, K2000R, K2000RS, K2500X, K2500XS, K2500S, K2500R, K2500RS, K2600X, K2600XS, K2600S, K2600R, K2600RS, K2661

The case has two SCSI-2 HD-50 connectors (SCSI-1 Centronics connectors are available instead – see Related Products below), front power LED, status/activity LED and a SCSI ID selector switch. The unit ships internally terminated can ship unterminated at your request. The drive has an internal power supply that is auto-switching so it works with any power system in any country.

An internal version of the MCDISK-2 SCSI card reader drive is also available.

The MCDISK-2 retails for $145.

Note: SCSIforSamplers has ceased trading.

Don’t buy an Akai MPC5000 until you read this: hip-hop producer Just Blaze’s rant on the MPC Akai calls “the most advanced MPC on the planet.”

“THIS THING IS COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE AND SHOULD NOT BE!” says Blaze. “Some of the bugs in this thing are ATROCIOUS.”

He goes on to detail a litany of bugs and limitations he’s encountered in trying to use the MPC 5000, and summarizes his experience like this:

“I…recommend that you don’t buy the MPC 5000 until they release the next operating system.”

“Please don’t do this again Akai. As a fan, avid user, supporter, and friend. Don’t let the decline in hardware sales (or whatever is contributing to this) allow this to continue.. Quantity over Quality, Numbers over Blunders, Sales over Sincerity and Profits over Professionalism, it makes for Bad Business, Disgruntled Devotees, and Cold Hearted Customers who will Cease, Desist and Discontinue their Dilligent support of a Diluted brand.”

Ouch.

Another video of bwack’s creation – the largest sampler in history.

It’s more oddity than innovation – but this would definitely make it easier for audience to understand the relationship between what they see going on onstage and what they are hearing.

Sonic State has introduced a new series, The Art Of Sampling.

Episode 1 looks at the history of sampling:

Before digital sampling, sound manipulation was seen as a subversive and avante garde activity. Composers were ostracized for experimenting with found sound sources and a belief that music could exist outside the strict confines of the classical or popular domain.

Yep, life was an exciting adventure if you were a liberal minded avant garde experimentalist trying to scratch a living back in the early 1900’s.

And this is where our story begins. With the pioneers of sampling.

“Ohm” is a series of electronic lo-fi noiseboxes/recorders made with laser cut grey cardboard.

The interface and the inner circuits are printed with a special conductive paint. By touching the printed surface the user can modify the sound in different ways.

I love the way this project is so lo fi, and how the case is the interface and the circuits.

This project was directed by designer Barak Asher during 2008, Shenkar College of Design, Israel.

Ukrainian electroacoustic guru Younnat has come up with an interesting mechanical sampler interface, the Socket Sampler.

Younnat is a side project of Oleg Serdyuk, keyboardist of the easy listening & funky band Lyuk (Ukraine). His electronic music is different from his work with Lyuk – more eclectic and experimental.

Oleg began releasing material as Younnat in March 2007, with the 23 minute and 09 second single “The Duct” on Bump Foot Japanese netlabel. Later, “The Duct” was re-released on Planear Records (Argentine netlabel). Oleg has just finished work on a new album, “Ryba”.

via apc

The Korg M3 Music Workstation/Sampler represents the third generation of Music Workstations from Korg. It inherits elements from the company’s flagship OASYS workstation. All second-generation KARMA functions from the OASYS are included.

256 MB of ROM incorporates the “best-of” OASYS ROM into a new soundset. 512 Programs and 384 Combinations are onboard, with space for 1,664 Programs and 1,792 Combinations. For increased power, the EXB-RADIAS expansion board adds a 24-voice, single timbre version of the MMT synthesizer used by the RADIAS and R3 synths.

The color TouchView display doubles as an X/Y pad for controlling synthesis and effects parameters, while changing colors in response to movements. The M3 features the same type of real-time control surface as featured on OASYS — eight sliders and switches for tweaking internal sounds, mixing tracks, interacting with KARMA, controlling external hardware and more. Eight velocity-sensitive pads can be used to trigger notes, chords and controller messages for a variety of applications.

A Drum Track feature provides user-programmable drum grooves to jam with in Program and Combi modes, integrating with KARMA, or song-writing. Over 500 patterns with a natural sound and feel are included.

A new high-resolution sequencer offers 480 PPQ for natural feel, plus Korg’s One-Touch Record, Song Templates, RPPR, Cue List and Tone Adjust part editing. The Open Sampling System allows sampling and resampling in every mode. 64 Mbytes of sample memory are included standard, expandable to 320 Mbytes.

Bundled Editor/Librarian software works stand-alone or as a plug-in within host software via USB MIDI. Additionally, a new EXB-Firewire option enables the M3 to interface both audio and MIDI with a computer using a single cable.

The M3 is available in 61- and 73-key semi-weighted synth action versions, featuring a newly designed keybed. The 88-key version uses Korg’s RH3 graded weighted action keybed. All three models feature after-touch sensitivity.

The M3 series offers a new design concept (Korg Komponent System), for configuration as an expandable instrument. The 73-key version can host both the M3 and the RADIAS·R modules; the 88-key version can hold dual M3 engines or the M3/RADIAS configuration.

Details below.

If you’ve used the Korg M3 synthesizer, leave a comment with your thoughts!

Synthesis Technology

• EDS (Enhanced Definition Synthesis)
• MMT (Multi Modeling Technology) sound generator can be added by installing the optional EXB-RADIAS

Tone Generator

• 256 Mbyte (when converted to 16-bit linear format)
• 1,032 Multisamples
• 1,606 Drum Samples

Maximum Polyphony

• 120 voices, 120 oscillators max, single mode
• 60 voices, 120 oscillators max, double mode*

* The actual maximum polyphony will vary depending on oscillator settings such as stereo multisamples and velocity crossfading.

GForce has announced that M-Tron, the first of the company’s Universal Binary instruments, the M-Tron, is ready for download.

This virtual keyboard is modelled on the famous tape-based instrument used on classic tracks like the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever and used by such keyboard luminaries as Rick Wakeman and Tony Banks. More recently bands such as Oasis, Radiohead and Kasabian have used the sound to great effect.

The update is free to users who purchased and registered their instrument after the 1st October 2006. For these users the instrument has automatically been allocated to their accounts at the GForce website.

If you purchased your M-Tron before 1st October 2006, you will need to update to the Universal M-Tron via the shop at a very reasonable price of £13.99 (plus VAT), €19.99 (plus VAT) or $26.00.

GForce are promising that Universal Binary versions of their remaining instruments will now be released in a matter of weeks.

The MPC2500 is the successor to the company’s highly acclaimed MPC2000XL. Featuring an inviting user interface, great-feeling velocity and pressure sensitive pads, twin onboard effects processors with a send for outboard effects, Q-Link controllers, plus 10 outputs and an S/PDIF digital output, the MPC2500 Music Production Center elevates the MPC Series to an entirely new level.

As a 32-voice drum/phrase sampler with up to 128 MB of RAM and extensive editing controls, the MPC2500 makes ease of operation a priority. Sample recording takes place at the instrument’s Main page (eliminating the need to dig through confusing nested menus) and editing provisions are extensive. The instrument’s Chop-Shop function can analyze a drum loop, detect the various beats within, and map the various segments to the pads—enabling users to create drum kits. With its Patched Phrase function, sampled phrases can be automatically synchronized to the sequencer’s tempo without altering the sample’s pitch, and the Continuous Sample Track enables long sampled phrases to be played along with sequenced performance data. Further, samples can be reversed and time stretched.

The MPC2500’s control, effects, and interface capabilities excel. The four Q-Link controllers (two sliders/two knobs) facilitate extensive real-time control and, when combined with the Audio Input Thru function, input signals can be manipulated on the spot. The MPC2500 provides 4-pole filters (twin 2-pole filters) for each of the instrument’s 32 voices, and the two onboard effects processors make it easy to add reverbs, delays, and other effects. Since internal sounds reside in flash memory, they can easily be swapped for new sounds via compact flash cards (32 MB card included) or the optionally available CD-ROM drive. Similarly, users can also expand their onboard sound palette by adding an optional 2.5-inch hard drive.

The MPC2500 sports a 100,000 note / 64 track MIDI sequencer that can be assigned to four separate MIDI outputs for a total of 64 independently addressable MIDI channels. Song mode supports 20 songs, with 250 steps per song, and the unit’s grid editing screen for the drum track makes music creation and editing an intuitive process. With its 240 x 64 dot angled, backlit LCD display, keeping track of one’s work is easy. Combined with 10 analog outputs plus an S/PDIF digital output, the MPC2500 facilitates nearly unlimited possibilities for exercising control over the various sound elements the unit produces—making it a “must have tool” for both stage and studio use.

The MPC2500 Music Production Center is available now for a suggested retail price of $2999.

More information is available at the Akai Pro site.

Whether for use onstage or at home, the new RC-20XL allows musicians to create multi-layered performances in real time. Loops and riffs can be stacked repeatedly until the 16 minutes of recording space is full.

The RC-20XL picks up where the RC-20 leaves off, as it offers more recording time and more features, but at the same price as before. The RC-20XL inherits the same “hands-free” pedal operation from the RC-20: Record, Play, and Overdub can be done with the left pedal; your hands are free to play your instruments. But now you get 16 minutes of recording time to capture and store loops or one-shot phrases (approximately three times that of the RC-20), and you can work your way backward thanks to the new Undo function, a necessity if you make a mistake during overdub.

The RC-20XL has 11 memory tracks in which to store one-shot and/or looped phrases. During your performance, you can switch between the tracks with an optional FS-6 Dual Footswitch, or two FS-5U footswitches (momentary-type). The Undo function can be a useful and musical function for erasing your previous phrase and instantly layering a new one.

For more information, visit their web site.

• MPC1000 Music Production Center – this sampler production center provides an integrated desktop sampler along with 64 tracks of sequencing.
• Z4/8 24-bit Samplers – the world’s first 24-bit/96,Hz dedicated hardware samplers
• MPC4000 Sampler/Sequencer – this is the most powerful MPC workstation Akai has released.
• DPS24 24-Track Digital Personal Studio – a pro-quality 24-track digital recording studio in a compact package.
• MPC16 USB Pad Controller – provides 16 pads via USB, so it can easily be integrated into a computer-based workflow.