Sampler
An instrument that maps recorded samples across the keyboard
Related
A sampler is a software or hardware instrument that maps recorded samples across a keyboard: each key triggers a sample, with velocity layers, key zones, loops, envelopes, filters and modulation making it playable. Drum kits often use one-shots, while pianos and strings use multiple layers and samples to preserve dynamics.
It differs from a synthesizer in its source: a sampler plays recorded sound, a synthesizer generates waveforms, though many products do both. A sampler is also not the sample library itself — the library is material, the sampler is the engine that plays and shapes it.
The usual mistake is to think a sampler only plays loops. It can rearrange, transpose, chop and re-envelope; what limits it is sample quality and mapping care.
Related → MIDI Protocol
Sources
- 采样器架构与映射，参 Huber & Runstein, Modern Recording Techniques 与通行采样器手册；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.