Sample-based synthesis: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:18, 30 June 2024

Latest revision as of 15:36, 28 July 2024

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Before [[digital recording]] became practical, instruments such as the Welte {{illm|Lichttonorgel|lt=|de|Lichttonorgel|WD=}} (1930s), [[Chromatic_phonogene|phonogene]] (1950s) and the [[Mellotron]] (1960s) used analog [[optical disk]]s or analog tape decks to play back sampled sounds.

When sample-based synthesis was first developed,{{When?|date=June 2018}}{{Who?|date=June 2018}} most affordable consumer synthesizers{{what?|date=June 2018}} could not record arbitrary samples, but instead formed [[timbre]]s by combining pre-recorded samples from [[Read-only memory|ROM]]{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} before routing the result through [[analog electronics|analog]] or [[Digital data|digital]] [[electronic filter|filters]]. These synthesizers and their more complex descendants are often referred to as [[ROMpler|ROMplers]].

Sample-based instruments have been used since the [[Computer Music Melodian]], the [[Fairlight CMI]] and the NED [[Synclavier]]. These instruments were way ahead of their time and were correspondingly expensive. The first recording using a sampling synthesizer was "[[Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants"]]" (1979){{citation needed|date=June 2018}} which used the [[Sampler (musical instrument)#Computer Music Melodian|Computer Music Melodian]] to create complex melodies and rhythms{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} from sampled sounds from nature. The first tune Wonder recorded was "The First Garden" where he used a sampled bird chirp as the lead sound in the song. More affordable{{Peacock term|date=June 2018}} sample-based synthesizers available for the masses with the introduction of the [[Ensoniq Mirage]] (1984), [[Roland D-50]] (1987) and the [[Korg M1]] (1988), which surfaced in the late eighties. The M1 also introduced{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} the ''[[music workstation]]'' concept.

The concept has made it into [[sound card]]s for the [[multimedia PC]], under the names such as ''wavetable card'' or ''wavetable daughterboard''.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} (See [[Wavetable synthesis#Background]])

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==Multisampling==

A sample-based synthesizer's ability to reproduce the nuances of natural instruments is determined primarily by its library of sampled sounds. In the earlier days of sample-based synthesis, [[computer memory]] was expensive and samples had to be as short and as few as possible. This was achieved by [[Loop (music)|looping]] a part of the sample (often a single wave), and then using a volume [[Envelope (waves)|envelope curve]] to make the sound fade away. An amplifying stage would translate key velocity into [[Gain (electronics)|gain]] so that harder playing would translate into louder playback. In some cases key velocity also modulates the [[attack time]] of the instrument, leading to a faster attack for loud passages.

As memory became cheaper, it became possible to use multisampling; instead of a single recording of an instrument being played back faster or slower to reproduce other pitches, the original instrument could be sampled at regular intervals to cover regions of several adjacent notes (''splits'') or for every note. This provides a more natural progression from the lower to the higher [[Register (music)|registers]]; lower notes don't sound dull, and higher notes don't sound unnaturally bright. It is also possible to sample the same note at several different levels of intensity, reflecting the fact that both volume and timbre change with playing style. For instance, when sampling a piano, 3 samples per key can be made; soft, medium and with force. Every possible volume in between can be made by amplifying and blending the samples.

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==Sampling synthesizers==

A more flexible sample-based synthesis design allowing the user to record arbitrary waveforms to form a sound's basic timbre is called a [[sampler (musical instrument)|sampler]]. Early samplers were very expensive, and typically had low [[sample rate]]s and [[Audio bit depth|bit depth]], resulting in grainy and [[aliasing|aliased]] sound. Since the late-1980s, however, samplers have featured specifications at least as good as [[Compact disc|CD]]s. By the late 1990s, the huge increases in computer processor speed permitted the widespread development of [[software synthesizer]]s and [[software sampler]]s. The vast storage capacity of modern computers was ideally suited to sample-based synthesis, and many samplers have thus migrated to software implementations or been superseded by new software samplers.

==See also==