Hi there,

when I download a sample pack that consists solely of wav files, I still don't really know what to do with it. If I open just the wav file in sforzando, it just pitches the note up and down.
I was wondering if there is a way to attach the different wav files to their according keys on the keyboard - like it does with an sfz-file in sforzando. But for that I would have to get multiple wav files into one sfz-file right?
Is there an easy way to achieve that? It doesn't have to be a sfz-file if there's a better alternative.

Thanks!

 

Bjoern's Sample Mapper is pretty popular for that:

https://www.bjoernbojahr.de/bjoerns-sample-mapper.html

Depending on what you're loading it into, you may have to learn the finer points of SFZ opcodes.

Once it's in SFZ you can convert it into all kinds of formats reliably with Extreme Sample Convertor or Chicken Systems Translator. Once you've done that, you can usually just tweak the settings in whatever program.

Also, Zampler is free and, I find, better than Sforzando for SFZ.

 

Dont forget Kontakt - does this beautifully.

 

TAL Sampler https://tal-software.com/products/tal-sampler is a SFZ editor and good sampler for begginers

 

Last edited: May 24, 2023

Yeah, TAL Sampler is something I've been meaning to experiment with. I tend to use E-Mu X3 because it's so lightweight, but I imagine TAL Sampler is probably also pretty light on resources.

 

How does Kontakt do it? That would be the best way, of course, if one could just do it with Kontakt.

Thanks to all the other answers! I'll try out those samplers!

So if you want to produce music and you've got one folder full of wav files - what do you do to have the best workflow with it? Do you load it into a sampler first or do you load the wav files into your DAW one by one?

 

TAL-Sampler is really convenient for playing with samples in various formats (SFZ, AKP are not sample formats but patch formats), but TAL-Drum is pretty much the same, you just have on-screen triggering pads instead of keys. Both have a really user friendly sample browser which allows previewing samples as well as inline previewing (with envelopes, filters and all). TAL-Drum has 16 outputs so you can put different effects on different sounds. TAL-Sampler very regrettably doesn't have multiple outputs which is my eternal gripe with it. So you have to pretty much use a new instance of TAL-Sampler for each sound in a song. That piles up quickly and eats RAM like Pacman.

Kontakt is actually really great sampler with multiple outputs and Battery is an equivalent for TAL-Drum, but browsing samples with it is a not as user friendly as TAL-Sampler or TAL-Drum.

A free sampler that is worth checking but not as user friendly and flabby sounding filter is discoDSP Highlife.

Shame u-he doesn't have a sampler... I can bet that would be a killer with extremely nice and usable GUI, multiple outputs and vintage filters... mmm fap fap

 

Last edited: May 25, 2023

There are as many workflows as there are Samplers and DAW applications. You have Classic/Loops, Slices, and One-Shots, firstly. This determines how a triggered sample plays back. You have Keymapped/Zones. This determines how the sample is pitched and stretched onto the keys. Samples can be loaded as all individual root notes, or altered to fill up more keys of the Keyboard. You have different Algorithms, which refers to the actual coding and Math how the Sample Waveform is pitched, stretched, and played back. Samplers and DAW can contain multiple Algorithms. Some can sound better than others, depending on the musical content of the Waveform.
Slices can be created either Destructively, or Non-Destructively; with the most common way a Waveform is evaluated for slicing being known as Hitpoint Detection. The sampler generally looks at the file and finds the most musically interesting sections by looking for drastic changes in the Amplitude of the waveform. It then either renders these different sections into separate "Slices" as files, or it can create Meta Data which preserves the Sample as only one file, but as additional information in the file the sampler can use to determine these sections for playback or further manipulation.

Most DAWs have differently named features, but in general they have a Pool. This is a section/feature of the DAW software that can be directed to, where it will look to find samples. Each Pool can offer different functionality, such as how it Auditions samples like Volume, Pitch, and any other parameters it can vary; without applying any changes to the actual waveform file. The DAW then knows where to look for the files, but they are not actually loaded into the current DAW project. (or your project size would quickly become gigantic).

All of these concepts can determine the best Workflow within your DAW or Sampler (virtual or Hardware). The best workflow can often be determined only by each individual situation, and even the musical content of the waveform file, amount of manipulation to do to the file, and the featuresets of the different DAW and Sampler software you are using.

So the real answer is a whole lot of grey area, and not even close to black and white.