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TEN MINUTE MASTER No86

Sample mapping
From round robins to release triggers, modern sampling is all about mapping and triggering sample data. Mark Cousins gets a slice of the action...

ust ten or so years ago (when the chances of finding a sampler with more than 8MB of RAM, let alone 32MB, was pretty slim) the art of sampling was a quite a different beast from what it is now. Back then the real skill of sampling was one of compromise trying to squeeze the bare bones of an instrument into what was, on the face of it, a pitiful amount of RAM. Multiple articulations, playing styles, even some form of velocity switching were all way off the map, and all the samplists had at their disposal was a collection of crude amplifiers and filters to somehow re-create the expressive qualities of a real instrument. Todays software sampler, however, represents a significant evolutionary leap from early samplers such as the Akai S900. The size of most instrument samples has increased ten-fold (if not more) and sampling today

is defined as much by how you map and trigger samples as the samples themselves. Software samplers such as Kontakt 2 and GigaStudio 3 lead the way, providing a number of ways by which a MIDI performance can be understood and decoded, courtesy of how the sample map responds to signals from the keyboard. So, what exactly are these tools, and how do round robins, release triggers and legatos create such realistic output?

Terminal velocity
Any sampled instrument is assembled from a series of snapshots of the real thing put simply, the greater number of snapshots you have, the more realistic the overall output will sound. The first point to address is pitch: although a sampler can easily transpose any sample over five octaves, the chances of it sounding like the real instrument more than five notes away from its source are slim. The reasons behind poor transposition is not only the unwanted munchkinisation that a transposed sample produces, but also that the notes an instrument produces in one octave can be quite different from the next. Ultimately, then, the only solution is to record every note, creating a unique keyboard zone for each sample. The next variable to consider is velocity how loudly or softly the instrument is
A typical sample-mapping screen showing the various zones for both keyrange and velocity switching as well as velocity crossfading.

Kontakt 2s Script Processor enables users and third-party developers to construct complex MIDI processing for the task of sample triggering.

played. Again, different dynamics dont just produce a slightly louder or quieter note, but often a note with a completely different timbre the soft, mellow tone of a pianissimo trumpet, for example, contrasts sharply with the bright, aggressive tone of the same instrument played loudly. So, not only do we need to consider sampling every note, but we also need to consider at least sampling a range of dynamics to create a velocityswitched instrument. Whats more, it might also be important to smooth the joins between the different dynamic layers (rather than simply jumping from loud to quiet), therefore creating a velocity crossfade.

Robin reliant
While multiple zones and velocity switching/crossfading can cover the basic qualities of an instrument, what it cant provide is a means of creating different articulations. An articulation corresponds to the different playing styles an instrumentalist can perform short staccato notes, for example, or a fast trill between two adjacent notes. Placing different articulations on different MIDI channels is one solution, but a more preferred option is to use keyswitching, so that different keys in the lower or upper regions of an attached MIDI keyboard trigger the different articulations available in the instrument. Using

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keyswitching, therefore, a player can easily switch samples on the fly, without having to undertake any subsequent MIDI editing to make the performance appear realistic. For some applications (such as switching between up-bow and down-bow samples) a round robin feature can automatically toggle between the two articulations when a note is played the first time, for example, the down-bow is triggered, with the next note triggering the upbow sample. Round robin triggering can also be used as a means of curing the machine gun effect that occurs when a short sample (like a snare drum, for example) is triggered twice or more in quick succession. Using a random round robin, a number of samples can be mapped to the same note and triggered so that the ear becomes less aware of any form of repetition caused by the same sample being used over and over again.

Main sample

Release sample

Key on

Key off

Key on

Key off

Release triggering plays short segments of audio after a MIDI Note Off command has been received.

Leg it!
Equipped with all the complex sample data required for velocity switching, keyswitching and release triggers, you would think that you have all the components to re-create a realistic and responsive instrument that is, until you consider the space between the notes. When an instrumentalist slurs between two notes, they create a smooth transition otherwise known as legato. Looked at more closely, a legato effectively negates the attack portion of the note, and simply slides up to the new pitch. Following this principle, some samplers now implement a legato triggering mode, so that when two notes are slurred together, the attack portion of the sample is missed out and a

Release
One of the many innovations that GigaSampler (now GigaStudio) brought to the world of sampling was the notion of release triggers. Release triggering works on the

Of course, true flexibility and an almost limitless source of creative possibilities comes from a truly open-ended approach to sample mapping. The systems weve looked at so far (release triggers, legatos and so on) certainly cover the majority of situations, but what if you want to create a response that lies somewhat outside the box of conventional sample mapping? Kontakt 2s Script Processor is one such example of openended sample mapping, whereby MIDI data can be intelligently analysed and processed to control sample data (and the functions of Kontakt 2s processing tools) in any number of ways. Although scripts can be quite a challenge for new users to write, they are

access, and, given features like iMIDI and scripting, theyre rarely restricted by inflexible mapping systems. But as sampling reaches a technological peak in its development, what does the future hold? In truth, what is apparent is samplings finite ability to capture the qualities of an instrument even with velocity-switched, releasetriggered legato samples were still collecting only snapshots of an instrument rather than its full range of expression. Ultimately, it might be that emerging technologies such as physical modelling will see the real future of acoustic instruments in a virtual universe, but for now it seems that the sampler is still king. MTM

As sampling reaches a peak in its development, what does the future hold?
assumption that identifiable audio events occur in the release phase of an instrument, and as such are an important part of its sound. Take a violin, for example: even though the players bow might have stopped delivering energy to the string, both the string and the violins body continue to resonate and decay over a short period of time. Equally, many sample libraries make a deliberate attempt to sample the instrument with its associated reverb another example of an audio event occurring after the main note has ended. Release triggering, therefore, simply triggers a short release sample once the sampler has received a MIDI Note Off command. smooth crossfade is made between the original sustained sample and the sample at the new pitch. Arguably the best exponent of the use of legato has been Vienna Symphonic Library, and the company has gone on to develop its own player engine specifically to cope with the complex task of sample mapping and triggering. What makes the Vienna Library particularly interesting is the use of intermediate samples specific to the interval in question. The Legato tool, now incorporated into VSLs own playback engine and interface, analyses the played interval and then finds the appropriate transition sample to map between the two notes. the ideal tool for third-party sample library developers trying to push the boundaries of realism and creativity. GigaStudio 3s iMIDI option also takes on the concept of scripting and the intelligent mapping and processing of MIDI data. Previously, GigaStudio users would have run discrete, third-party applications ahead of GigaStudio to process MIDI data for tasks such as the mapping of sustain-pedal samples, but now the same open-ended functionality is accessible from within the application.

Tech terms
I Munchkinisation

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I For more information on samplers and sampling, read Sound Synthesis And Sampling, Martin Russ (ISBN 0-240-51429-7) I Sampling And Soft Synth Power! Michael Prager (ISBN 1-592-00132-7)

Mapping out the future

Todays sampler is no longer restricted by the limited quantity of physical RAM it can

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