Sampler or Sound Module?

[Naresh]

I need help deciding whether I should buy a sampler or a sound module to hook up to my keyboard. My primary objective is not to create my own samples but to get access to a large library of sounds, specifically Indian and Arabian sounds and loops. I tried out the Roland JV-1010 sound module with the Asia expansion card. The few Indian sounds it has are reasonably good but not enough for me and my concern is that this solution is not expandable. In fact, any module that takes hardware cards cannot be as expandable as one that loads samples from external devices such as CDs.

1) I believe what I need is a sampler, but I have no experience with samplers in general. Is this assumption correct?

2) If so what sampler will fit my needs the best, i.e. which sampler will have the largest library of quality Indian and Arabian sounds?

3) Is there a sound module solution that might be as good?

4) And yeah, all these sample CDs that I find on the net, are they simply audio samples that can be downloaded into a sampler or are they made for specific samplers?

Thanks a lot guys!

[crosstudio]

it's expensive but you could get the roland xv-5080 which is both a sound module and a sampler. i've got the 3080 because i already had the ensoniq asr-x pro sampler. the asr-x pro also has onboard sounds and expansion card ability.

if you are just going to use onboard sounds and want to pull them up quickly, the sound module is your thing.

if you are looking for unique sounds you know you won't be able to find on a sound module then obviously the sampler is your thing.

since you are looking for obscure sounds, you might want to pick up a sampler.

[Naresh]

Thanks for the excellent suggestion. I tried out XV-5080 and I love it. The sounds are excellent (I compared it with Korg Triton, but the sounds that I am interested in are more believable on the 5080). However as you said, it is a bit expensive. Couple more answers may help me make a decision more easily.

1) Some of the Indian samples I am interested in are available in Akai S1000/S5000 formats. Will XV-5080 read them without loosing too much information?

2) Akai S5000 itself is about $500 cheaper. What are the pro/cons of choosing the S5000 over XV-5080?

Thanks again for your help.

[mikeh]

I can't contibute to the XV-5080 vs. Akai 5000 (never tried the 5000, I did try the 5080 and was impressed) I do have an Akai 1000 which has served me well. Regarding sample CD's - most CD's come in an audio format (just like any audio CD) and in various formats to work with Akai, Roland, Kurzweil, etc. - If you go to the web sites for East/West or any of the other sample "warehouses" you can find the entire library and what formats are available. Akai sampler format is very popular and there are probably more "3rd party CDs" in Akai format then any other format.

Based on your needs, I think you would be better served by a sampler. The down side of samplers is the time it takes to load in sounds (vs. a module where you just push a couple of buttons to call up sounds). And if you get audio samples (vs. CD-Rom) you may have to "tweak the sample" for the right loop point, etc.).

Regarding quality of samples - it depends! Like anything it all depends on the library. I have purchased some samples that were very good and some that absolutely sucked. Often even on the same disk, some samples are good and some are not.

Good luck!