Chokehold has launched Alexis D-Four, a free drum sampler instrument for Windows and Mac.
The Alesis D4 drum and percussion sound module sampled.
I didn’t just want to get the samples out of this machine, I wanted to capture and simulate the dynamic range of the device – which had an impressive -76dBfs noise floor.
Even though it was a one-shot machine, the idling noise was loud enough so that a close listener could really hear the samples fade into the noise floor differently at changing velocities.
Others have sampled D4s before, but they usually just capture one loud sample and scale its volume down for lower velocities. Which also lowers the volume of the noise floor being played back, and thereby distorting the dynamic behavior of the device. Might sound cleaner at lower volumes, but not authentic.
Younger ears used to ultra-sterile digital samples might find these sounds a little grungy and fuzzy, I find that as well. But it’s not a harsh or evil fuzz, it’s actually a very warm and pleasant hiss, and may just be what’s missing in oh so many modern productions.
Alexis D-Four features
A sampled 90s drum module with a huge 1.16GB sound library.
500 drum sounds, 3000 samples, 1 custom patch.
Plugin player for Win or Mac, VSTi or AUi, x86 or x64.
One Small Clue has updated its Poise percussion sampler instrument for Windows to version 1.50.50.
Poise features 16 drum pads, which can each use 8 samples. Sample layers have parameters for pitch, volume and balance, as well as amplitude and pitch envelopes. There are several sample switching types including random, velocity and round-robin.
A browser allows samples to be previewed and loaded via drag and drop. (Drag and drop works from several sources including windows explorer and some host applications.) Samples can also be copied/moved from pad to pad with drag and drop.
Changes in Poise v1.50.50
Bug Fixed: Sample points don’t update when they move via midi learn.
Bug Fixed: AIF files should now load correctly on 64-bit builds. Previously AIF files would only load on 32-bit builds.
Bug Fixed: Using hotkeys to change drum kits wouldn’t work correctly in Reaper. The drum kit loading dialog would pop up whenever a drum kit would change. The dialog would steal the keyboard focus from Poise. The focus wasn’t returned to Poise after the loading dialog closed. The problem has been fixed by making the loading dialog show inside the Poise GUI window.
Change: Audio Preview code has been updated to use the same sample loading code as the main audio engine. This should fix problems with some samples loading on the drum pads but not previewing.
[1.1.50.48] Change: Poise will now show a message when samples can’t be loaded.
[1.1.50.48] Some fixes to the new audio file loading code that was introduced in the last update.
Poise is available to purchase as a VST instrument plug-in for Windows, priced at $49 USD.
Elektron has announced a version 1.25 operating system update for the Octatrack, 8 track performance sampler.
Octatrack OS 1.25 is an essential download for all Octatrack owners. Three brand new effects have been implemented. A stereo image shaping Spatializer, a gritty and twangy Spring Reverb and a lush, smooth and wide Dark Reverb. With these expressive effects the power of the Octatrack just got even more immense!
The Octatrack manual has also been revised to cover the OS updates.
Peter Dines has announced the release of Frame 3, a free creative sampler ensemble for Native Instruments Reaktor.
Frame is a simple Reaktor sampler I built to implement a type of freeform looping and creative sampling I felt was missing from most other software samplers on the market.
Frame allows you to define a window of sound and sweep it across the sample as it plays without glitching or popping. Depending on the size of the sample, the smoothness, the spacing, and whether or not you’ve turned up the position / length LFO, you can get results that are reminiscent of some of the great creative sampling musicians – well alright, this also requires skill and taste; all I’m doing here is removing one of the technical hurdles. ;-)
The Frame 3 ensemble is a free download for Reaktor 5.8 (full version).
New Sonic Arts has released version 1.1 of its Nuance sample-player instrument plugin for Windows and Mac.
Nuance’s streamlined and intuitive approach will boost your productivity, while the limitless modulation possibilities will inspire you to create new sounds – fast.
The 1.1 update extends the FX section with 4 x FX slots and a choice of 8 x high-quality algorithms.
The algorithms include analog modelled filters, dynamics processing, and a suite of texturising effects, such as BitDepth and Frequency Shifting.
Nuance for Windows and Mac (VST/AU) costs 70 EUR. Until May 31st, 2013, the bundle of Nuance and Granite is available for 70 EUR.
One Small Clue has updated the Poise percussion sampler for Windows to version 1.1.50.43.
Poise makes working with drum samples quick and effortless, allowing you to focus on creating music.
Poise features 16 drum pads, which can each use 8 samples. Sample layers have parameters for pitch, volume and balance, as well as amplitude and pitch envelopes. There are several sample switching types including random, velocity and round-robin.
Changes in Poise v1.1.50.43
Added Muon SR-202 kit import.
Skins with incorrect image sizes now render correctly. (Images were not being resized in previous versions of Poise.)
Change: Improved Next/Previous sample loading.
Change: Hotkeys Debugging panel only shows in debug builds.
Bug Fix: Would crash while loading .aif files.
Improved support for 24-bit .wav files.
Known Problem: The 64-bit build will crash during drag and drop operations on some computers. This bug is being worked on.
Poise for Windows (VST) is available to purchase for $49 USD.
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