Live sampler options?

[bachsteady]

Excuse my very very limited knowledge of this subject but wanted to ask about samplers, at least I think that is what is what I am looking for? Basically in a live setup what can I use to program and trigger certain parts of cover songs that maybe I don"t have the sounds for in my keyboard. I was thinking something somewhat small the could sit on or near my keyboard. I use a Yamaha s90es and viscount solo for the majority of sounds. Run everything into a mixer and out to the mains. If I am missing something please ask and I will clarify as best as possible. Thanks gang

[timwat]

I'm no expert, but I occasionally use samples in my cover band work - typically flourishes or complex sound FX that help dress a cover song up. My keyboards have sample upload capability, but it appears your current rig doesn't have that.

 

One of the less-expensive standalone hardware options I've seen available for sale is the Akai Professional MPX8 sample pad controller. I've never used one, but it looks interesting - 8 pads to play sounds back, ability to load samples via SD card. Online user reviews seem to suggest the software to load samples is easy to use.

 

Here's a product page from a reputable online retailer that many of us buy from a lot. Check out the videos detailing some of the features and see if that might serve your needs, price is under $100.

[ProfD]

As brotha Tim mentioned, the Akai MPX8 and MPX16 will cover those bases.

 

IMO, the Akai MPC One is probably more user friendly and it has a sequencer too.

[CEB]

Depends on your needs. I prefer Rolands. Both Roland SP-404xx and the little Akais have dynamic memory allocation but the limits on the Akai single sample size and total samples in memory are a lot smaller... But the Akai MPXs are way less. The Roland FA boards basically have a built in SP404. I"m guessing the Akai will do what you need but if you get into things like playing intro music and show openings or playing outro tracks at the end of your show you could have space issues. But I use the SP404 to do what you are asking for. Like ... trigger the string flourishes in Call Me Maybe, use the sample buttons to play 'Turn Down For What, I trigger a bunch of EDM risers and drop sound effects etc... It is why I"m stuck with the FA-06 in the Pop Band rig.

[bachsteady]

Most of the samples will be small, short as far as I can anticipate. I have know idea about sample size and how that translates to the right piece of equipment. Can I just buy the sp404 as an alternative if I need the space?

[ProfD]

Can I just buy the sp404 as an alternative if I need the space?

As CEB mentioned, the SP404 is definitely another alternative. It also satisfies the requirement without adding another KB to your rig.

[roygBiv]

I've done this in the past for several years in a Reggae/Ska band (to trigger sounds/sound effects). The two best options I could find are:

 

1. iPad running the app Beatmaker 2 (not 3 - the newer version is too complex, IMHO). Beatmaker is a whole production environment (DAW, etc.), but has a sampler in it that has 16 pads, with 8 separate banks of those. You can easily edit the samples within Beatmaker, tweak the EQ, add compression, etc. And it is easy to get the samples in and out. The sample-assigned pads can be played on the iPad screen, or midi-mapped to keys or external controller pads. Beatmaker 2 has been very stable for me live. No extra gear to bring if (like me) you have backup song chord charts/lyrics on an iPad anyway. Another plus is that you can also use it on your iPhone - thus, you have a backup!

 

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/beatmaker-2/id417020234

 

 

Another option is an app called "Koala". Also a cool sampler.

 

2. Korg microSampler. Unfortunately, no longer in production. A small keyboard with "mini-keys". Has built in effects, you can map a different sample across each key, or in a different mode, have one sample mapped across the entire keyboard. Pretty good software for uploading/editing samples (at least on a PC, not sure if it works with a Mac).

 

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/korg-microsampler

[Mighty Ferguson]

I used the Akai MPX8 for a few months triggering sound effect type samples. I found the pads difficult to use, and eventually ended up tying it to my keyboard via MIDI and triggering the samples from keys. Performance-wise that was better for me, but once I had them MIDI'd up together, I found the Akai created a ton of ground noise through the MIDI cable. I ended up getting rid of it as we were only using sound effects on two songs the entire night... it wasn't worth the noise, an extra audio channel, etc. That led me to cursing not using a keyboard where I could load my own samples, which is a topic by itself.

[timwat]

This doesn't help the OP, but this is exactly why the Nord Wave has been such a useful part of my two-board rig.

 

I didn't plan it that way - I was just looking for something to complement the Kronos. The sales guy at NovaMusik (now absorbed back into Kraft, I think) convinced me that the Wave (essentially a Lead with sampling) would be what I was looking for - and he was more right than I knew at the time.

 

Not only does the Wave sound totally different than the Kronos, the sampling (which I thought would be just a little-used novelty at the time of purchase) has turned out to be an occasional lifesaver.

 

Yup, boards that can sample have really earned their place in a working guy's arsenal. Nowadays, a lot of covers work really needs them.

[bachsteady]

Thanks for the answers and stories. Some I understand others I need to spend some to time to understand. I do have an iPad, so that could be an option, but let me add another newbie question. Where or how does one acquire and then transfer the samples into the sampler. Some samples I wanted to take from the original song, like a repeating horn line, but I don"t have the faintest idea how to do that.

[timwat]

That's a computer and software thing.

 

Essentially, you convert the audio file in question into a format that you can easily manipulate (like a WAV file), if you don't already have it in that format. Depending on your computer platform, you may already have the tools you need or you may need to find them.

 

Then you use audio manipulation software to edit the WAV file - chop it up to just the segment you need, optimize levels and whatever. There are lots of programs out there that can do that, from big programs like Logic to a host of free programs.

 

Then you save the resulting snippet to your SD card (or whatever format you need to load it into...whatever you're using...and done.

 

The sample manager software that came with my Nord Wave handles it very capably, very user friendly, etc. I'm sure others here have their own workflow they might be willing to share.

[sunspot]

Hello everyone!! Long time lurker, first time caller. I'm in the same boat as bachsteady. In September, I'll be doing my first keyboard gig in many years. The last time I played live, I used a Macbook running Mainstage and I had stability problems, so I am really gun shy about going the laptop route. I like roygBiv's idea of just sticking with an iPad. The rig - I acquired a Studiologic Numa Compact 2X for my main keyboard and intend to run my trusty rusty Novation Remote SL 61 up top.

 

So now you guys have me looking at the Roland SP404SX. But I was wondering if anyone has tried out the 1010music blackbox? Looks pretty great to me other than my disappointment that it has 1/8" jacks.

[CEB]

Older ones had 1/4' jacks. It"s got RCA jacks now. It"s geared toward DJs. It"s seems kind of expensive to me when you can get a used FA-06 for $900 or less.