From c_schonberger@yahoo.com Thu May 13 08:19:18 2010
Subject:Re: sample over synth

I would think that sample would be more true the original tone than synth. I would like some opinions on thia.
Bill

In my humble opinion: Using samples is just a comrpomise technology. Sample one Note of a Hammond and play it back. Sounds great. Reapeat that note and you are in trouble. Samples wre very bnd during decades to truly emulate: note decays, note transitions, timbre variations, especially after the sample is playing (swells on bowed and wind instruments for example), polyphonic behavior, sympathetic resonance, avoiding the re-trigger effect (modern software does that recently, but it's still not the ultimate solution for various reasons), then the pehavior of percusion instrumens with long decay (if you strike a cymbal which stands still, it's something different than when you strike it a second time when it's already in vibration, same with toms. There are tons of other problems, which are all being solved (or at least addressed) step by step as we speak, and the future points to complete physical modeling. The only problems are finding all parameters,
emulating them convincingly and finding a playable interface.
 
Sampling basically is a sophysiticated version of the Mellotron. It freezes something in time, taking out the life. It can be convincing, but it is most likely a passing technology (check how sophisticated recent software sample players are  like Kontakt 4. Yet it would fail miserably to emulate a Hammond or a theatre organ. Why? On a Baroque organ you have 61 pipes for each rank, not so on a theatre organ. Some ranks are made by extension (add one octave at te low end to the open diapason, and you got 16' and 8'. so you only need 73 pipes instead of 122. BUT if you play both simultaneously, and play a simple octave on the keyboard, you will hear four pipes on a baropque organ, but only three on a theatre organ. You need software to manage the samples according to the architecture of the original.
Recently I listen to tons of online demos. String ensembles and guitars are getting very good, but take a string quartet or a single brass instrument (like the tenor sax) and it's not much more convioncing than 20 years ago.....
 
Sampling is a compromise solution. A virtual computer model is the only accurate method I see. It's still too complex for most instruments, but some talentd pioneers point into the right direction.
 
.....Just my usual ramblings and musings,
 
Christian
 



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