Question: Is MachFive a Sampler or a Sample Player only?

MrVideo · Post by **MrVideo** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 8:50 am

It just occured to me that I don't know that answer. It is advertised as a sampler. That should allow to record read sounds as samples.

How do you record with MachFive?

thracks · Post by **thracks** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 9:47 am

Mach Five doesn't record, it only plays back. When I do my own sampling I just record in DP, then export the edited soundbites. It's much easier than what I used to do with my Emu E6400, or my Emax2, or my Mirage!

MrVideo · Post by **MrVideo** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 10:22 am

Are you saying that you can load your own soundbites in the sample player.

I think if you can not record or make your own samples then MOTU ought to advertise it as a Sample Player and be completely honest about the plugin.

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 11:14 am

MrVideo wrote:Are you saying that you can load your own soundbites in the sample player.

I think if you can not record or make your own samples then MOTU ought to advertise it as a Sample Player and be completely honest about the plugin.

This is for practical purposes you can record samples. You record the real sound into a DP track, edge edit the soundbite, and then just drag the soundbite from Tracks Editor to a key on the piano keyboard on the MachFive window.

It's been a while since I've done this, but refer to your manual. I made my own D4 drum kit by recording onto a track and dragging the soundbite onto the Mach Five.

MrVideo · Post by **MrVideo** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 12:45 pm

Thanks for that information. I will give that a try. It never dawned on me to question this but knowing there is an ESX24 Sampler and ESX24 Sample Player got my interest on wat Mach5 was. I wonder if any of the usual suspects can actually record of if they are just sample players (Kontakt - Sample Tank?)

thracks · Post by **thracks** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 7:33 pm

Well, I'm old school. As indicated above, my first sampler was an Ensoniq Mirage. I've spent many hours sampling all my own stuff. In my opinion, a sampler is something that records samples and plays them back. I guess it's just a given that anyone using a soft sampler will also be using a DAW, so building in recording capabilities would be redundant in most cases. I don't think any software sampler would really benefit greatly from having audio recording capabilities, and I wouldn't want MOTU to try to build this into Mach V. Although it would be appropriate for them to call Mach V a sample player, which is what it is right?

bongo_x · Post by **bongo_x** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:26 pm

I think many would think of a software sample player as one of the ones that you can't load your own samples into. isn't sampletank like that? machfive and kontakt and the like let you load your own samples.

bb

billf · Post by **billf** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 1:32 pm

thracks wrote:Although it would be appropriate for them to call Mach V a sample player, which is what it is right?

Hmm, well I view it as a sampler.

If MachFive were true standalone, then in order to qualify as a sampler it would have to include the ability to record and edit sound files. However, since it is a plugin, and requires a host DAW that handles the recording and trimming of sound files, but still allows you to add new samples to the library, do keymapping, tuning, etc., then it to me it qualifies as a sampler.

When I think of sample players, I think of plugins like Atmosphere, which largely bind sounds and playback together in single package.

chrispick · Post by **chrispick** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 2:19 pm

billf wrote:
thracks wrote:Although it would be appropriate for them to call Mach V a sample player, which is what it is right?
Hmm, well I view it as a sampler.

If MachFive were true standalone, then in order to qualify as a sampler it would have to include the ability to record and edit sound files. However, since it is a plugin, and requires a host DAW that handles the recording and trimming of sound files, but still allows you to add new samples to the library, do keymapping, tuning, etc., then it to me it qualifies as a sampler.

When I think of sample players, I think of plugins like Atmosphere, which largely bind sounds and playback together in single package.

Yeah.

I believe the industry buzzword for modules that can only play a fixed library of sounds is a ROMpler. For instance, VIs like EW Silver or USB UltraFocus output a limited library of recorded sounds via interfaces based on Kontakt and UVI engines respectively. So, they allow some of the aural manipulations of samplers, but they're closed systems. They qualify as ROMplers.

MachFive and Kontakt (full) ship with a library of recorded sound; however, you can import and key-assign any other sound you can obtain (within rate and file format limitation). So, they qualify as samplers.

At least in the 21st century.

mongoose · Post by **mongoose** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 6:52 pm

Well, I'm old school. As indicated above, my first sampler was an Ensoniq Mirage.

Man, I loved that thing. Such a unique sound. I sort of wish I hadn't sold the one I had.

-m

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 1:23 am

mongoose wrote:
Well, I'm old school. As indicated above, my first sampler was an Ensoniq Mirage.
Man, I loved that thing. Such a unique sound. I sort of wish I hadn't sold the one I had.

-m

I still have my EPS 16+ rackmount. There is something I just really dig about that sampler. I haven't yet made a real concerted effort to get the sounds I like from it into MachFive, but I think it would be a pain.

russhughes · Post by **russhughes** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 11:40 am

James Steele wrote:
mongoose wrote:
Well, I'm old school. As indicated above, my first sampler was an Ensoniq Mirage.
Man, I loved that thing. Such a unique sound. I sort of wish I hadn't sold the one I had.

-m
I still have my EPS 16+ rackmount. There is something I just really dig about that sampler. I haven't yet made a real concerted effort to get the sounds I like from it into MachFive, but I think it would be a pain.

Surely if Mach V is a real sampler then you would just sample the sounds?;)

Akai96 · Post by **Akai96** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 12:39 pm

I view Machfive as both a sampler and sampler player.I use as a superior sampler because what ever sampler or module that you like the filters on,
You can just record it as aiff files in DP,or any other app,and then drag the files to the m5 window.And it plays back with the same filters as say the
akai S5000,or an MPC-3000.What you put in is what you get(besides tweaking that is).But I have tryed converting Drum samples from The Akia MPC 2000,straight to m5.And it sounded ok,but it lacked the same punch as the mpc.But when I recorded the sounds directly into DP
And Draged them to m5,It sounded identicle,if not mabye slightly better.