Arturia even went the extra mile and added new creative features that weren’t possible back in the day. In 1980, the Fairlight CMI turned heads with the introduction of digital sampling. Now Arturia's VST instrument pays homage and lets you turn some heads yourself. Check out our article on the top 5 free piano plugins. U-he Tyrell N6 Roland Juno 60 The Juno-60 is one of the most famous synths which shaped pop music. Back in the 80s it won with the Korg Polysix thanks to its 56 presets bank. The Fairlight CMI Users Group has an archive of audio and video files here, with a very cool custom FTP interface that looks kind of like Fairlight Page 2! There's a VST virtual instrument (MAC/PC) called Cult Sampler from www.soundsonline.com. They used one of my screen snapshots on the virtual box without credit. Wavelight VMI is a powerful sample-based virtual synthesizer containing legendary sounds of the Fairlight CMI IIx. Featured Synthesizers Professional Virtual Analogue Synthesizers for VST Hosts. A completely free multitimbral instrument that provides integrated effects and arpeggiator, unlimited parts, live performance features, and a smooth real-time workflow, UVI Workstation is our powerful sample player and more. With over 15 years of development under the hood, UVI Workstation is a tested, proven and trusted industry staple.

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The sound heard around the world

Many cutting edge ‘80s songs were fueled by the equally cutting edge sounds of the CMI. Now you can relive the glory days of MTV.

You know the sound of the CMI because it was everywhere—and still is. Consider the ear candy on Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”. The rhythmic frenzy of Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit”. Peter Gabriel’s exotic “Sledgehammer” shakuhachi. The impossible horn line on Yes’ “Owner of a Lonely Heart”. The breathy vocal-flute on Tears for Fears’ “Shout” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”. Trevor Horn’s pulsing Page R bottom-end collage on “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Speaking of Hollywood, there’s Duran Duran’s “View to a Kill” Bond theme. How about Jan Hammer’s pitch-processed drums on his weekly “Miami Vice” TV scores? And MTV favs like “Close (to the Edit)” by Art of Noise and Yello’s “Oh, Yeah” are poster children for all things CMI.

Developed in Australia during the ’70s and ’80s, the Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument) was the first commercial sampler and screen-based rhythm sequencer. Today every sampler, digital synthesizer, sequencer and audio workstation can trace its lineage back to this legendary machine. Download CMI V - Add a touch of awesome to your musical projects by turning to this comprehensive virtual reproduction of the famous Fairlight CMI.

Whether for cover-gig authenticity or just basking in nostalgia, CMI V delivers the fun novelty of songs that still fill the classic rock airwaves.

Last Updated on December 15, 2020 by

Samples can be used to create some pretty cool soundingmusic and the way most producers use them can vary a lot.

You can drag and drop the samples into your DAW, or you canuse a dedicated sampler plugin… which is the way most people are using them.

In this post I will list the best 5 free sampler plugins aswell as the best 8 professional/premium ones.

Let’s get started…

5 Free Sampler VST/AU Plugins

Let’s start things off with a brief list of the best freesamplers currently available before we get to the premium stuff!

Grace Sampler (Windows only)

Despite being a full sample player that provides all therequired features, Grace’s UI is extremely intuitive and simple to use,allowing you to navigate through all those features quickly.

This is mainly due to the plugin giving you access to allthe essential controls right on the main panel, which means that you won’t haveto dig through loads of menus in order to find what you’re looking for.

This will make your workflow that much faster…

It also features a set of multi-mode filters, a pair of stepsequencers, and several XY pads which are helpful in live performancesituations.

It absolutely is an excellent sampler, however it’s Windowsonly, which is a shame!

But if you’re a Windows user and you need a powerful yeteasy to use sampler, this one is definitely for you.

Features

• 2 filters per voice (LP, BP, HP, comb, lofi& ring modulation)
• 2 x AHDSR envelopes
• 2 x LFOs
• 2 x step sequencers
• 4 x XY control pads
• …and more.

You can download it here.

Related: You might also be looking for other free VST Plugins such as;

Sforzando Sampler (Windows, Mac)

Here we have an extremely simple sampler plugin;

It doesn’t provide a fancy user interface, effects or amixer, plus it only has one instrument slot.

Sforzando is basically a free and simple SFZ player which iseasy to use and just only does what you need it to.

“Sforzando” is a name given for a sudden change in musicdynamics which, in musical notation, is represented by the “sfz” symbol.

You can download it here.

Zampler//RX (Windows, Mac)

Zampler//RX is a powerful sample workstation developed by Synapse Audio.

In addition to REX-Loop and SFZ-compatible sampleoscillators, this plugin offers some awesome shaping:

The integrated multi-mode filter offers the typeslow, high, bandpass and bandstop as well as various combinations of these.

Additionally, it features an extensive number of includedeffects such as; chorus, tube saturation, phaser, delay and reverb.

Even though Zampler//RX isn’t the easiest-to-use freeSampler out there, it’s still not as complicated as the TX16Wx, which is thefinal sampler I listed in the free section.

Still, it’s pretty versatile and brings a lot to the table.

Features

• Sample oscillators with SFZ, REX and REX2support.
• Multi-mode filter.
• Three LFOs.
• Three ADSR envelopes.
• Complex modulation matrix.
• Arpeggiator / step sequencer.
• Effect section with overdrive, equalizer,phaser, chorus, delay and reverb.

You can download it here.

Sitala (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Sitala is a very simple, free and great sounding Sampler plugin which doesn’t have any of the advanced and complex modulation and mapping featured that other samplers like TX16Wx have.

It features a drag & drop interface where you can movesamples around, as well as swap pads with ease.

Sitala also offers sixteen sample slots and each of themfeatures six control parameters; Tone, Shape, compression, Tuning, Volume andpan.

If you need to import samples, you can use Sitala’s built-infile browser or simply drag and drop files into the user interface.

Sitala offers a super fast workflow, and I think that it canreally come in handy if you ever need to have a drum kit ready to go in amatter of seconds.

You can download it here.

TX16Wx Software Sampler (Windows, Mac)

I listed TX16Wx last on the free sampler list because I think that it’s the best one.

However, it’s also the most advanced which means that it’snot exactly suited for beginners.

It’s based on the Yamaha TX16W hardware sampler, however theTX16Wx (the plugin version) comes with numerous improvements and features whichare unique to it.

Like I mentioned earlier, it’s much more complicated to usethis plugin than all the others I listed above, but if you are someone who islooking for an advanced sampler, then the TX16Wx will most likely fit yourneeds.

Features

• Extensive sound shaping
• File browser and active preview
• Record your own samples
• Complex trigger switching
• Built-in arpeggiator
• …and more.

You can download it here.

Moving on…

8 Premium Sampler VST/AU Plugins

Premium, or Professional, samplers come in all shapes,sizes, and especially prices.

Most of the ones I listed are quite affordable, howeverthere’s one in particular which is pretty damn expensive.

But it’s the best one on this list by far…

And it’s also the first one on this list, so let’s have alook at Kontakt.

Kontakt by Native Instruments (Windows, Mac)

When it comes to samplers, Kontakt is probably the first name that pops into anyone’s head.

It’s the go-to sampler of almost every producer simplybecause it offers a huge library of third-party banks and sample sets.

There are currently around 600 licensed instruments fromother manufacturers that run in KONTAKT, plus thousands more so-called ‘indie’instruments, which is the biggest collection of playable sampled sound outthere.

It is mostly geared towards realistic-sounding samples,meaning that you could create full simulated orchestras that sound almostidentical to the real thing, but it can honestly do anything you want it to.

While not being the most affordable sampler out there, it isthe industry standard and for good reason.

Find out more about Kontakt here.

Arturia CMI V (Windows, Mac)

The Arturia CMI V is based on the Fairlight CMI, which is a digital synthesizer introduced in 1979, and it’s because of this synthesizer that the term “sampling” came about, because it was describing one of the functions of this synthesizer.

The plugin provides all the characteristics of the originalsynth but at a much lower price tag, about $200, which is nothing compared tothe $300.000 the hardware version sold for when it was released.

This synth was used on some of the biggest hits back in the80’s, and now you can have access to all of its sounds right in your DAW.

Find out more about Arturia CMV I here.

Related: You might also be interested in other VST plugins, so make sure to check out these posts;

Recycle Sampler (Windows, Mac)

ReCycle is a creative tool that helps you make the most of your grooves, allowing you to do with sampled loops what you can do with beats programmed from individual drum sounds.

It’s basically a tool for quickly editing sampled parts,chopping up riffs, remixing and doing mash-ups.

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You can slice your sampled loops and turn them from boringand rigid recordings into flexible musical elements that blend easily with yourmusic.

When you load a sound into ReCycle, the program will “look”at the file, analyze it, and break it up into its rhythmic components, which isdone automatically.

However, the slices are completely yours to control (move,delete, audition, etc.) Free vst plugins for windows 64 bit.

All in all, it’s a very handy sampler that definitelydeserves to be considered.

Find out more about Recycle Sampler here.

Structure 2 (Windows, Mac)

Structure 2 is a sampler that comes with a huge library of sounds, 37GB to be precise, which means that you can get started immediately.

It is a multi-timbral sampler that provides you with a greatdeal of flexibility in the way you layer the samples.

At its core, Structure 2 has a powerful 128-levelmulti-timbral universal sound engine that can support up to 8-channelinterleaved samples and it allows you to create complex patches by blendingtogether multiple samples and effects.

Each patch can have an unlimited number of parts, and eachpart can consist of a single sample, multiple samples, a sub-patch, a MIDIprocessor, and audio and MIDI effects.

The sample editor is excellent and provides you completecontrol over every single parameter.

Find out more about Structure 2 here.

Phalanx (Windows, Mac)

Phalanx is a powerful, flexible, and fun sampler that comes with a host of drum and loop features.

It comes with an included sample library which not only isextensive, but also sounds phenomenal.

Additionally, it features a browser “tag” system that helpsyou find the samples quickly, which is essential when you’re in “the zone” andneed to find that desired sound as fast as possible.

It’s especially good for electronic music, but it candefinitely deal with anything you throw at it.

If you’re looking for a sampler that not only sounds great butis also fun and easy to use, then give Phalanx a try.

Find out more about Phalanx here.

Serato Sampler (Windows, Mac)

Serato Sampler is a very simple yet powerful sampler plugin that allows you to quickly find, chop, key-shift and time-stretch samples.

It features the built-in Pitch n’ Time algorithm, which isone of the best time-stretching algorithms to date.

Even though this isn’t a sampler that provides all thefeatures that others do, its chopping-, pitching- and time-stretching capabilitiesare definitely one of its strongest points, plus it’s one of the moreaffordable ones.

Basically, if you need a simple sampler that can do thesethings extremely well, then Serato Sampler is definitely for you.

Find out more about Serato Sampler here.

Drop-X Sampler (Windows, Mac)

The first thing that stands out about this plugin is itsease of use, since it features a drag and drop interface, which makeseverything more intuitive.

Not only that but everything you need can be found rightthere on the main window, which means that you won’t have to scroll throughendless menus all the time.

Drop-X comes with a pretty big sample library and you canquickly map the samples across the keyboard by dropping them into the samplewindow, making your workflow that much faster.

All in all, it is a pretty rudimentary sampler plugin,however it more than makes up for it with its fast and easy workflow, the hugesample library, and the price.

Find out more about Drop-X Sampler here.

Palindrome (Windows, Mac)

The basic concept behind Palindrome is to combine four granular samplers with a coordinate plotting grid and complex modulation sources in order to facilitate the creation of morphing sound effects and unusual instrument patches.

This one has clearly been designed to create more “experimental”sounds than all the other ones on this list.

Its architecture might seem simple, but it’s actually anincredibly powerful system that can create awesome and complex sounds from eventhe simplest of samples.

If you’re looking for a plugin to spice of your music thatcan create completely different sounds, then Palindrome is definitely for you.

Find out more about Palindrome here.

Now, in order to take full advantage of these sampler plugins you should probably also get a MIDI Controller.

You’ll need a MIDI Controller

In order to be able to use these plugins properly, you will need some sort of MIDI Controller.

While you can use your mouse to map the MIDI in your DAW, it’s a lot faster and easier to do it with a keyboard/controller.

My recommendation here is for you to get something like the M-Audio Oxygen 25 MK IV MIDI Controller which you can find at Amazon at a very affordable price, plus it comes with some extra software like Pro Tools First.

Conclusion

In most cases I don’t think that you will really need tospend your money on a premium/professional sampler plugin.

However, if you tried the free ones and feel that they are fallinga bit short, then by all means try one of the eight I listed and see how youlike them.

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I hope this information was useful.

Have a wonderful day!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a sampler in music?

A sampler is an electronic or digital musical instrument which uses sound recordings, also known as samples, of real instrument sounds, or excerpts from recorded songs , which are then played back by the program to compose music.

What are some uses of a sampler in music production?

Used primarily in electronic music, the sampler allows music to be made out of any sound recorded by the user, rather than relying on tones generated by oscillators, computer chips, white noise or other synthesiser technology.

Is it legal to use samples in music?

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Generally, you need to get permission from both the owner of the sound recording and the copyright owner of the musical work.
Assuming you have the permission to use the music, you can leverage it in your own sound recording, but never use a sample without getting the proper permissions or you might have to deal with legal issues.