VST Samplers

[zzz00m]

I would say probably the easiest thing for mangling "found sounds", such as field recordings, would be to just import them into something like iZotope Iris 2. In that synth you have four sample slots for samples of any length, that are the equivalent of 4 oscillators. Then you can filter, modulate, and add effects to those sounds. The spectral filtering lets you graphically isolate certain frequencies in your samples as well. Great for ambient or environmental sounds!

The other suggestions about the integrated samplers in Ableton and Studio One are probably good, but then you are stuck with the workflow of the DAW those are bundled with. Tracktion Waveform has also added a multi-sampler in Waveform 9 that may be a workable option, at a lower price point than these other two.

A good free sampling workhorse would be CWITEC TX16Wx, now with a less fiddly revised GUI in v3, that will let you easily import or record samples and loop, edit, slice, map, modulate, etc. https://www.tx16wx.com/

[jerry11]

Tal Sampler is the best VST sampler for me.

[fantasyfancy]

A really creative technique to use is to use New Sonic Arts Nuance Sampler to resample a whole chain of vst's/vsti's using New Sonic Arts Freestyle in your DAW. You can loadup Padshop Pro, Kontakt, Halion 6, Falcon in addition to other things and kind of make your own fade in attack's/fx chain madness and then echo/sustain/release it off.

Nothing is better than Freestyle for special mixtures/mangling/fx/layering in my opinion. Nuance is just to turn the whole mix into a new sample. if you want after you sample the whole Freestyle project you can load the Nuance sampler back into Freestyle for even more fun.

Alternative? Propellerheads Reason modular style rack extensions and VSi's VS's in combinators. Reason 10 goes for very cheap these days and has tons of addons in the shop. One more idea. www.vcvrack.com VCV Rack now supports VSi's and VST's modularly.

[nusound mind]

One that hasn't been mentioned that I use most strictly as a sampler in the classic sense is Serato Sample. Alchemy & Absynth for synths w/ sampling. Honorable mentions to the Mangle & CMI-V, the latter which I haven't delved too deep into yet but love the sound of.

[Velcro]

I've tried the Mangle, Quanta, Audiority Grainspace, Form...but I keep coming back to Halion.

Here's an example of its granular engine in action. Just a handful of parameters opens up a world of possibilities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNKcZWQl8BY

There's also a wavetable section which I'm still wrapping my head around.

Also fun, though not at all a sampler, is Unfiltered Audio's BYOME.

[nerner]

Hi, I am new to the forum!

I just started digging into Samplers over the last year or so. I am primarily a guitar player so I started with the samplers in Logic Pro X (ESX24 and Alchemy). I recently bought Iris 2 during an Izotope flash sale and I am really enjoying the workflow.

[skyscape]

Chiming in for Renoise Redux as well - very awesome sampler. Only thing missing for me is loop point automation, but it has many other features that other samplers can only dream of. Can anyone actually recommend a good sampler with loop point automation?