Hi,
What in your opinion is the best sampler with amazing filters and effects, I’m talking octatrack, digitakt, Mpc, op-1f, mc707, bastl microgranny, sp404, pioneer, electribe etc anything really
I’m not talking manipulation of the sample just the raw sound quality and quality of the filters, bit crushing maybe, effects etc
1 Like
Favorite Filters, Drive and overall sound - Toraiz SP-16. The FX are decent on the Toraiz, but I wouldn’t say great. For best FX, the SP404mkii is the one, and gives the most variety and creative happenings.
5 Likes
Toraiz for sound 404 for effects, brilliant thanks, will need to check them out in more depth
1 Like
Probably not what you’re after, but the Koala Sampler app beats most hardware, and has amazing fx.
8 Likes
Electribe2/2s has some great if unsophisticated fx, they are very simple 1 parameter + depth, but sound very pleasing to me, quite lofi but not garbage.
I also like a lot of the OT fx, some sound great some so so, but all fully automate-able.
Yamaha samplers such as A series had a lot of cool fx too.
Roland cosm based fx such as in MC range are also very usable IMHO.
4 Likes
Sp404. But I’m also a Maschine MK3 user, and I would say SP404 for the immediacy.
2 Likes
Bit of a PITA interface and no effects but the filter on Yamaha tx16w is amazing.
1 Like
As far as the filters go, the Novation Circuit Rhythm is my pick. Its filters aren’t as flexible as the Digitakt’s since there’s no filter envelopes or LFOs. But I find that it’s easier to dial in the sound that I want. Each channel has a dedicated high pass and resonant low pass. And there’s a bipolar DJ style master filter.
As far as other fx goes, it’s a mixed bag. The reverb and delay are master fx that work off a preset system. I don’t like most of the presets and they can’t be edited, let alone modulates. (You can modulate the send levels though.) On the other hand, there is a nice bit crush and sample rate reduction effect. It’s what they call a grid effect and those can all be edited and modulated.
The problem with the master fx is that, aside from reverb and delay, you can’t set send levels. So you can’t do something like use the master filter on just your melodic tracks but leave your drums unaffected. You also can’t change the effect order. So you can’t do something like apply the sample rate reduction effect to a track and then run that through the reverb. The sample rate reduction is after the reverb and that’s all there is to it.
Also, you can send incoming audio through the master filter and the grid fx but not the reverb and delay.
So overall, I think it’s pretty good but it’s by no means perfect
3 Likes
Emax
4 Likes
OT Cue Outs.
8 Likes
Besides Octatrack? Ensoniq. ASR-X Pro effects use the same chip as the DP/Pro effects processor. And its filters – while a heckofa pain to program & adjust using the two knobs (old software editors are available but none are perfect) – are extremely flexible, with two in series and many modulation options (LFOs, envelopes, key tracking, etc.).
I’m also a fan of the digital filters in the Roland samplers of the 1990s, but those don’t have built-in effects.
5 Likes
Some great replies here guys, much appreciated 
…“best” for me was on my old mpc2000…but for this one, u had to purchase the single outs as a board on it’s own, so the ram AND the fx board…all xtra…
while all akai filters were pretty sharpy back then…emu’s had the better take on filters…
but hey, apart from ot, i really don’t see any need for hardware samplers anymore…
i mean what’s “best” and what’s the point in 2023 anyways, really…
the old song of ot sounds great, no bad, i want bad, but i need clean, no gritty please, crush hush hush aaaand what else…
3 Likes
I’ve never been a big fan of the built in fx on anything. Some are useful in a pinch but I’ll take individual outs over fx any day. This has been on my OT cue in/out for ages, BugBrand workshop crusher and crossover filter…
11 Likes
Koala app + AUM + au3 plugs killer combo. Koala in itself beats the SP404 in terms of bang for buck, functionality and ease of use.
5 Likes
The quality of the filter is my biggest problem with most samplers out there. Some sound better (of course subjective) than others but there’s no modern sampler that has really “amazing” filters. And with “amazing” filters i mean filters that are comparable to really nice analog synths’ filters. They are all digital and they sound like it imo. I still use them all the time and they get the job done. And i’m not saying i need the best filters for making good music. But a nice analog filter is a wonderful thing to play with.
Almost all analog pedals and effects units i tried so far had better filters than the modern samplers. And of course samplers would be much more expensive if they had analog filters.
The E-MU e6400 for example had these lovely Z plane filters that got praised a lot. But i never had one and i wouldn’t want to work with one now. I like the workflow of my Digitakt too much and the filters are good enough for me. But they lack any kind of mojo.
1 Like
IMO Ensoniq ASR X Pro had the best internal FX (same algos as the DP FX processor series). Too bad that the sequencer timing was a bit unpredictable under heavy (CPU) load. But as far as overall sound quality (converters, sampling engine, filters, internal FX) it was a really killer machine.
Roland S760 for maybe the warmer sounding filters in a hardware sampler. I even updated mine with mouse and monitor interface!
5 Likes
+1
forgot about that one
Out of samplers I own or have tried: Isla Instruments S2400. It doesn’t have a huge list of features especially in effects, currently. But the analog filter on the input as well as the filter on the output and the whole analog circuitry make samples really come alive. The digital filters are pretty good as well. I’m excited to see how the analog filter expansion card sound.
Oh, and of course it has the classic Sp-1200 sample rate and bit crush and those sound phenomenal as well.
6 Likes
I think Gotharman samplers have a very nice sound and the variety of analog filters to choose from are awesome. The digital FX are pretty unique, can sound rough, and some are an acquired taste. The digital filters sound nice too.
2 Likes