Samplers and Drum machines

• A sampler can take any sound that is put into it, process it and play it back.

• A sample is a digitally recorded fragment of sound taken from a pre-existing source for use in a new one.

• The two main applications are for use in synthesisers (such as Logics’ ESX24 sample player) and for certain kinds of music such as dance music in which drum beats are layered on top of one another.

Technical information• Sample rate – The number of snap shots taken of a sound per

second. The higher the sample rate the better the sample. 44, 100 p/s is needed for a faithful reproduction.

• Bit resolution (depth) – Bits are chunks of computer memory. The more bits used to represent the waveform of the sample, the better the accuracy of the sound.

• Nyquist theorem – States that the sample rate of an analogue to digital converter (required to convert the sound into binary data) should be at least twice the rate of the highest frequency or harmonic to be recorded in order to achieve a good quality recording.

Video - Sampling explained

• Having watched the video on the previous slide, discuss the following points with a partner:

1 – What is the sample rate? How does is affect the quality of the sound?2 – What is bit depth? How does this affect the quality of the sound?

Some well known samplers and drum machines

• First commercially available sampler was the Australian ‘Fairlight CMI’ produced in 1979

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o_CviusmNoFairlight CMI factory Sydney 1984

• The ‘Emu emulator’ produced in 1981

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDxOhnL7pjsEmu Emulator II Sound Library Demo

• The ‘AKAI S900’ produced in 1986

• Used by VANGELIS and FATBOY SLIM amongst others.

• ‘Linn LM-1’ digital drum machine 1979

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKYwZY1NPu8&feature=relatedLinnDrum LM-2 Made famous by artist such as THE HUMAN LEAGUEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpbOkyuyADU&feature=relatedHuman League - Don't You Want Me (1981)

• ‘Roland TR-808’ analogue drum machine 1970s’ The Roland TR-808 held specific appeal because of the ability of its bass drum sound to produce extremely low-frequency sounds. It also featured various unique artificial percussion sounds that characterized the TR-808: a deep bass kick drum, "tinny handclap sounds," "the ticky snare, the tishy hi-hats (open and closed) and the spacey cowbell. "The Roland TR-808 would eventually be used on more hit records than any other drum machine, and has thus attained an iconic status within the music industry. The machine's successor was the Roland TR-909.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_coVK7QgjERoland TR-808 Rhythm Composer