alonso
New member
What do you call a program that can make a whole instrument out of a wave file or sound, is it a software synth or a software Sampler?
James Argo
Fancy Rock N' Roll
I don't axactly get your question, but as I know...
Sampler : Generate sound by triggering pre recorded sound file. It could be wave file or anything depends on the format.
Synth : Generate sound by manipulating hardware's chip to generate sound.
There's also programs like Soundfont which triggering sampled sound through MIDI.
Sampler : Generate sound by triggering pre recorded sound file. It could be wave file or anything depends on the format.
Synth : Generate sound by manipulating hardware's chip to generate sound.
There's also programs like Soundfont which triggering sampled sound through MIDI.
alonso
New member
what I meant is this:
I had a soundcard that could takt for example one bass note and then it would turn it into an entire instrument, i could open a midi piano with that patch and voila, now i have all the whole 7 octaves based on just one note..
I had a soundcard that could takt for example one bass note and then it would turn it into an entire instrument, i could open a midi piano with that patch and voila, now i have all the whole 7 octaves based on just one note..
alonso
New member
the sampler plays back the note or file, but can it create a whole instrument based on just one note?
C
christiaan
Active member
When you pitch a vocal track up, it will end up sounding like Mickey Mouse. Same thing happens when you pitch up something like a piano note.
So.. no, you can't create a whole instrument out of one single note. Slight pitching is possible but ideally a sampled piano consists of samples of each individual key.
So.. no, you can't create a whole instrument out of one single note. Slight pitching is possible but ideally a sampled piano consists of samples of each individual key.
TexRoadkill
Audio Bum
A sampler is what you are talking about but Christian is correct. You are usually lucky to get more than a few decent sounding notes out of a single sample.
AlChuck
Well-known member
The terminology is a little tricky because there's blurring between the definitions.
A synthesizer is basically anything that generates sound by synthetic means, which boils down to some way of taking electrical signals and manipulating them electronically to get waveforms that can then be turned into audible sound. The intent is to be able to both mimic natural sounds and create entirely new sounds
There are many ways of doing this -- the source of the signal can be one or more things, and the means of manipulating the source too... You'll see references to additive synthesis, subtractive synthesis, FM synthesis... and wavetable synthesis.
A sampler is basically a device that can record sounds, manipulate them, and play them back. It typically allows all kinds of control over the recorded sound. In fact, technically this sort of sampling is merely a particular form of synthesis -- where the source of the original waveform is a recording of something in the real world.
The most significant difference between something you would call a sampler and something you would call a synthesizer is the device's capability to let you actually record the source sound yourself. But in a software environment the blurring becomes greater, because you can use the computer to do everything -- record the sound, manipulate it with incredible control, save it in a wavetable format for a wavetable synth or in a sample format for a sampler, not to mention recording it in the more traditional, tape-recorder like manner into a recording application, mixing it with other stuff, and playing it back...
A synthesizer is basically anything that generates sound by synthetic means, which boils down to some way of taking electrical signals and manipulating them electronically to get waveforms that can then be turned into audible sound. The intent is to be able to both mimic natural sounds and create entirely new sounds
There are many ways of doing this -- the source of the signal can be one or more things, and the means of manipulating the source too... You'll see references to additive synthesis, subtractive synthesis, FM synthesis... and wavetable synthesis.
A sampler is basically a device that can record sounds, manipulate them, and play them back. It typically allows all kinds of control over the recorded sound. In fact, technically this sort of sampling is merely a particular form of synthesis -- where the source of the original waveform is a recording of something in the real world.
The most significant difference between something you would call a sampler and something you would call a synthesizer is the device's capability to let you actually record the source sound yourself. But in a software environment the blurring becomes greater, because you can use the computer to do everything -- record the sound, manipulate it with incredible control, save it in a wavetable format for a wavetable synth or in a sample format for a sampler, not to mention recording it in the more traditional, tape-recorder like manner into a recording application, mixing it with other stuff, and playing it back...
James Argo
Fancy Rock N' Roll
Way to go AlChuck...
That explains a lot of thing. But based on what Alonso asked, I'd say Yes, there are many programs to playback sample. But you need different program (...like Viena Sound Font Studio, etc.) to create & build a sample you figured....
That explains a lot of thing. But based on what Alonso asked, I'd say Yes, there are many programs to playback sample. But you need different program (...like Viena Sound Font Studio, etc.) to create & build a sample you figured....