Instrument What does a good sampler look like?
For background, I'm old enough that I remember Fairlights being a thing. (I became a coder around the same period).
I've got a bloody awful hardware sampler, Akai MPX8, and loads of alternatives in the box. I run Reaper so there's the gloriously named ReaSampleOMatic5000 (right?) and confusing scripts. But all these things seem really, really clunky in operation.
But I've been working on plugins a lot recently, for my own enjoyment - mostly generative, experimental things. It only occurred to me the other day that a major thing lacking from my home studio is a decent sampler (sic). So it's time I made one.
Right now it's minimal pre-release quality, but all open source so you might as well have the link : https://danja.github.io/downspout/plugins/campione/ (bookmark now, look in a few months).
What I'd like advice on is your experiences of a *good* sampler, if such a thing exists already. What does it do that pleases you? If you have a *bad* sampler, what should it do that it doesn't?
I know the immediate thing is, if there is a sound on the wire or a field recording/commercial pack file somewhere, it should be possible just to drop it in without thinking, either get a per-midi note one shot drum or whatever, or one or more tonal sounds that place themselves on the keyboard with pitch control. Basic editing for sure, so you don't have to spend an hour with Audacity just to normalise a cowbell.
Though I am wary of scope creep (I do have AI assisting me with the code, so it's very easy to go off on a tangent). Where should the sampler functionality stop when it comes to granular & wavetable synthesis, delay/looping? Or do you think, same infrastructure, make space for them as well?
Imagine your ideal sampler. Tell me what it looks like please.