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From: scott@bbxsda.UUCP (Scott Amspoker)
Newsgroups: comp.music
Subject: Re: Compact Disks with Musical Instruments on them
Message-ID: <680@bbxsda.UUCP>
Date: 11 Apr 90 21:42:57 GMT
References: <6184@accuvax.nwu.edu> <1990Apr11.170900.558@ultra.com>
Reply-To: scott@bbxsda.UUCP (Scott Amspoker)
Organization: Basis International,  Albuquerque, NM
Lines: 73

Greg Sandell writes:
>[dissapointed with sample CDs]
>  I am not a Sampling Keyboard
>user, but it strikes me that just because the current memory
>capacities of these devices only allow the sampling of every fourth
>note, it is extremely shortsighted to go through the trouble of
>recording such tones at great expense and releasing them on CDs when
>it's only a matter of time before memory is so cheap that the current
>limitations of Sampling Keyboards will be a joke.

Jim Hurley writes:
>About every fourth note...
>I think most samplers allow you to place a sample over any range
>of keys, down to a single key, and it will pitch-shift within that
>range.

That is true for any sampler I've used in recent years.

>                                                            I suppose
>that every fourth note was just a concession to space or time constraints
>on the CD or the performers.

I have one of those CD sample libraries.  They have grand piano samples
for every note.  However, most instrument samples are given for every
3rd or 4th note.  This is a valid compromise since most of the time
you can create an *almost* seamless transition from on sample to the
next.  If adjacent samples are that distinct from each other then
the sample library itself was poorly created.  I've heard very
successful string and brass implementations with one sample every
4th (or 5th) note.  Vocal samples, however, are fussier and require 
shorter intervals.

>Firstly: where do you stop? Are the notes tuned in equal-temperament?
>If so, won't your sampler's chamber music sound odd? I thought most
>good chamber players use just or Pythagorean tunings or tend in that
>direction. And what if you want microtonal intervals? In short,
>just what interval do you want? 

Some samplers allow different tunings, this is not hard to do.

>Second point: what instrument do you want sampled and how many? Do
>you want a Stradivarius and a Guarnerius violin sample?

>Fourth point: this relates to the final sound from a sampler. The
>original sample will probably be neutral, void of as much artistic
>modulation as possible, since it is the basic source in the synth
>and you will want to impose performance modulations from the
>synth controls.

This is well understood by sampler owners.  Samples should be
as vanilla as possible (with exceptions) so you can add your own
vibrato and articulation.  The end result might not be *exactly*
like the original instrument but can be musically pleasing.

>Fifth point: here's where my own bias comes in. Why do you want to
>sample a live instrument anyway? If it's to imitate it as much as possible
>get a mellotron;-).

Why a mellotron?  The modern sampler can be though of as a digital mellotron.
(Granted, all those tapes can contain more sound the the typical modern
sampler, but they're slow).

I agree with Mr. Hurley that if perfect imitation is the goal one might
be wasting one's time with a sampler.  A sampler is good for capturing
the essence of an instrument allowing the user to do musically useful
things with it.  However, there are also many other interesting uses for
a sampler.

-- 
Scott Amspoker
Basis International, Albuquerque, NM
(505) 345-5232
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