Top 6 Sampler VST Plugins 2023 (And 4 Best FREE Plugins)

In this article, you will explore the 6 best sampler plugins in 2023 as well as the 4 best free plugins for your consideration.

Digital Instruments are a breakthrough in the field of possibilities. Audio plugins, like a synthesizer, offer an array of modulation options to shape a unique sound from scratch. Samplers go a little beyond by shaping any recorded sound and mixing it with synthetic sounds.

To make an instrument with absolutely any recording or audio file is overwhelming. Samplers can break any creative barrier by featuring filters and effects that provide musical character and instrumental role to any raw digital audio.

With many reliable and renowned manufacturers, such as Native Instruments, Accusonus, Glitchmachines, and more working to deliver highly complex sampler plugins, technological and modern breakthroughs are constantly appearing in yearly releases and developments.

Producers can observe one exciting modern advancement on Rhytmiq, a drum sampler by Accusonus, which features an Artificial Intelligence that applies and operates effects based on the user’s preferences. Rhytmiq’s drum assistant is one of the many audio technological innovations highlighted in this article.

The 6 Best VST Sampler Plugins 2023

1. Waves CR8 Creative Sampler (Intuitive Sampler)

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

Get a multi-layered sampling engine that provides only the fundamental features you need to use sampling in your music production.

Waves CR8 is an intuitive sample management plugin that lets you edit and layer multiple audio samples to get playable instruments rapidly. Furthermore, it features several modulators, an “AI-powered” sample finder, filters, etc. It even offers a built-in mixer that allows you to make basic customizations to your sample layers.

Key Features:

• COSMOS Sample Finder
  COSMOS is a standalone sample management software that integrates with your CR8 sampler. It analyzes each sample file from your storage drives and extracts useful information like its instrument, BPM, key, loop/one-shot, length, etc. Then, it automatically organizes the files using tags.
  Simply load the sample finder from within CR8 and search up tags when you want to find a sample. Furthermore, once you type in a label (like drums), you will find many suggested tags like clean, acoustic, electronic, etc. These help you find the sample you’re looking for faster and easier.
• Sample Layers
  CR8 employs eight sample layers. You can either layer them to get multiple sounds playing simultaneously or split them across your keyboard. The latter feature is useful for creating drum instruments. Furthermore, the plugin provides a sample layering interface similar to Kontakt’s. So, you can drag each sample over the keys you want or limit them per note. Likewise, while it doesn’t allow multi-sampling per layer, you can assign each layer to play only within a certain range of velocity.
• Edit Samples
  Each sample layer offers a comprehensive set of tools to edit the sample. You can change the tuning, set the root note, stretch, set the start/end time, pan, etc. Similarly, each sample layer also features an amp envelope. Furthermore, you’ll find a filter section where you can choose from the following types: low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, and peak. Each filter type allows two slopes: 12 dB/octave and 24 dB/octave.
  Each sample layer offers a melodic and a one-shot mode named Play and Launch. You can find multiple stretching methods, too: beats, harmonic, melodic, voice, and classic. Beats mode is ideal for drum patterns, harmonic for polyphonic loops, and melodic for monophonic. Similarly, other features include playback rate syncing, unison, etc.
• Modulation
  The plugin features four LFO/sequencers and four envelope generators. You can assign each by dragging and dropping the modulator’s label over a parameter or by right-clicking a parameter and selecting a modulator from the list that appears. When you load an LFO modulator, you can also switch to a sequencer mode.
  The Sequencer allows you to make rhythmic modulation from two to sixteen steps. Of course, you can customize the rate of playback and sync. Likewise, the envelope is a traditional ADSR envelope, providing a curve option for attack, decay, and release.
  Furthermore, other modulation features include aftertouch, note-tracking, pitch wheel, modulation wheel, and velocity. And you can assign some of these controls to the built-in modulator. For example, you can set the velocity to multiply the envelope amount.

Compatibility:

Waves CR8 is available for Windows 10 or higher and macOS 10.14.6 or higher, both 64-bit only. It comes in VST 2/3, AU, and AAX formats.

Summary:

Overall, Waves CR8 is a basic but intuitive sampler ideal for people who prefer a minimalistic workflow. It comes with 2,500 free samples and over eight hundred presets. Furthermore, it offers a standalone sample manager that integrates with the sampler.

The manager alone is handy, thanks to its automatic tagging feature. So, if you have a hoard of samples that wastes your time just finding the right one, Waves CR8 is a viable, ultra-cheap option.

Related Reading:

20 Best Waves Plugins For Mixing, Mastering & Producing

2. Plugin Alliance MEGA Sampler (Simple To Use, Yet Powerful)

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

Plugin Alliance has developed a sample player called MEGA Sampler, which features access to an online sample library.

MEGA Sampler is an ever-growing library and service designed to work with your digital audio workstation. The library’s intuitive interface to find the right samples for your songs quickly. If you want to use a sample from our library in your session, you can drag it into one of the sixteen available slots, and you will adjust it to the current session’s BPM and Master Key.

Key Features:

• Playback Modules
  Loop, Ping Pong, and Reversed Loop are just a few different ways you can play sound again on the MEGA Sampler. In the waveform display, you can drag any area of the sample to magnify it. Then, simply repositioning the play/loop markers on the beat grid, you can play/loop only a portion of a sample.
• Filters
  You can apply a different filter to each of the 16 sample slots. In addition, they’ve included modeled filters like the Knifonium for a quick tube sound and a new filter from their synthesizer brand.
• Ever-Growing Content
  The team of content developers has carefully crafted over 7600 unique loops. Their sample library includes everything from film scores to electronic music to rock and pops to sound effects, so you can be sure that your productions will always feature cutting-edge production values.
• Master Key
  In this section, you can save each MEGA Sampler sample slot to the ‘Master Key. If the music you’re working on is in the key of D#min, you’ll want to ensure the Master Key is also set to D#min. Any sample you drop into a sample slot will automatically be tuned to the key of D#. You can disable this feature by selecting “Auto Key” from the menu.
• Sample Slots
  You may customize every MEGA Sampler’s 16 sample slots with its filter type, LFO quantity, playback mode, and more. The MEGA Sampler is an effective instrument for playing back and shaping samples independently because each sample slot can have individual parameters.
  You can drop loops into the MEGA Sampler’s 16-sample slot straight from the web browser. Samples currently being played are shown in each respective slot. When no sample title is shown, there is no sample data in the active sample slot. Clicking on a sample slot will bring up the associated view; you can alter its settings individually.

Compatibility:

The OS requirements for this plugin are Windows 7 or higher for PC and macOS 10.9 or higher for Mac. It comes in VST/RTAS/AU/AAX formats and supports 32 and 64 bit systems.

Summary:

This plugin would be for you if you got into the music industry to express yourself creatively rather than to turn yourself into a machine that automatically adjusts all the knobs. It’s a cheap and fun method to experiment with your music’s sound and is easy to learn and use.

Related Reading:

Top 11 Plugins On Plugin Alliance 2023

3. Native Instruments Kontakt 7 (Platform For Libraries/Sampler)

More Info & Price 

Get Free Kontakt 7 Player

KONTAKT 7 is the latest version of the popular sampler, and it includes a reworked HiDPI Factory library and new instruments from companies like Orchestral Tools.

KONTAKT is the best instrument-building tool on the market, and it also serves as a source of quick musical inspiration for composers. This mutating platform is much more than a sampler; it has fueled two decades’ worth of Oscar-winning film scores, Billboard singles, and hundreds of instruments.

We’re taking KONTAKT’s 20-year history into the future with the seventh iteration. First, the new adjustable browser makes it simple to locate any sound. Then, you can experiment with new musical ideas and find new inspiration using the updated Factory Library, new effects, and other audio enhancements.

Key Features:

• Effects
  The numerous effects modules in KONTAKT are detailed here, along with information on adjusting their settings. Audio processors that alter the signal in a typically non-linear fashion, such as reverberation, fingering, and distortion, fall under the category of “effects.” Open the drop-down menu of available effects by clicking the plus sign in the lower right corner of each effects slot to access these modules.
• New Sound Quality
  In KONTAKT 7, the Factory Library has been updated to raise the bar in terms of both sound quality and quantity, and it also brings our flagship sampler up to date with modern features like large, attractive, HiDPI user interfaces. In addition, learn to play and modify an extensive library of acoustic and electronic instruments, including Orchestral Tools’ brand-new collection of sampled, full-orchestra soundscapes.
• Faster Interface
  It can be difficult to maintain momentum if you’re constantly on the lookout for your preferred tunes. So to make things clear, we’re introducing a brand-new way to search through them. You can now import your independent libraries and homemade instruments and search, filter, and individual audition sound across your collection.
• Build Instruments
  KONTAKT 7 also comes with brand new libraries like Orchestral, Acoustic, Band, Beats, Choir, Synths and Vintage. It also includes existing Kontakt libraries Ethereal Earth, Hybrid Keys, Analog Dreams and Retro Machines MK2.
• Hardware
  Load KONTAKT into KOMPLETE KONTROL or MASCHINE to manipulate key settings with specialized knobs, listen to sound libraries, and more. S-Series keyboards have an even tighter integration because all the key switches and zones are conveniently located on the Light Guide.

Compatibility:

This plugin is available for macOS 10.10 or higher (64-bit only) and Windows 10 or higher (64-bit only). It comes in VST/RTAS/AU/AAX formats and supports 32 and 64 bit systems.

Summary:

The music industry is reacting positively to this upgrade. This software improves complexity, efficiency, and audio reproduction every day. Developers have provided us with a rich palette of virtual instruments thanks to their work, and this upgrade will undoubtedly aid in the progress of that effort.

Related Reading:

Top 20 Native Instruments Plugins & Kontakt Libraries 

4. Arturia CMI V (Fairlight CMI Recreation)

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

 

Arturia CMI V is a software synthesizer that emulates the legendary Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument) from the 1980s.

The Fairlight CMI was one of the first digital sampling workstations, and it revolutionized music production by allowing musicians to manipulate and transform sounds in previously impossible ways. The CMI V brings this iconic instrument into the digital age, providing modern musicians and producers access to the groundbreaking sound and workflow of the original Fairlight CMI.

Key Features:

• Sampling capabilities
  As a sampler plugin, the Arturia CMI V is a powerful tool for manipulating and transforming sounds. The instrument’s sampling engine allows you to import and manipulate your sounds, with controls for adjusting the samples’ pitch, duration, and timbre. The sampler also includes tools for slicing and looping samples, which can be useful for creating complex rhythmic patterns.
• Granular synthesis
  The granular technique involves breaking down sounds into tiny grains and manipulating them in various ways to create new sounds. The CMI V’s granular synthesis engine allows you to adjust parameters such as grain size, pitch, and density to create unique and interesting sounds that are difficult to achieve with other sampling plugins.
• User-friendly GUI
  CMI V’s interface is modeled after the original Fairlight CMI, which can take some time for those unfamiliar with the instrument. However, once you become familiar with the interface, you will find that it provides a powerful and intuitive way to manipulate sounds.
• Sequencing capabilities
  Along with the plugin, you get a sophisticated sequencer that allows you to create complex musical arrangements. The sequencer includes various editing tools, such as quantization and swing, and the ability to sequence parameters like filter cutoff and resonance. This allows you to create dynamic, evolving sequences that add interest and movement to your tracks.
• Advanced synthesis capabilities
  The instrument includes several sound engines, including additive, spectral, and virtual analog synthesis. This allows you to create a wide range of sounds, from lush pads to biting leads and everything in between. The instrument also includes a variety of built-in effects, such as reverb, chorus, and delay, that can be used to shape further and enhance the sounds.

Compatibility:

The Arturia CMI V is compatible with various digital audio workstations (DAWs) and operating systems. The plugin is available in several formats, including VST, AU, and AAX, and is supported by the most popular DAWs. That means it can be easily integrated into existing production workflows regardless of the DAW used.

Summary:

5. Algonaut Atlas 2 (Sample Organizer & Much More)

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

Atlas 2 is a sample browser, kit creator, and drum sequencer by Algonaut.

It uses AI technology to analyze your countless samples and organize them into categories based on their common characteristics. It aims to speed up creating cohesive and interesting drum kits and make creating beats an easy process.

Key Features:

• Excellent user interface.
  Atlas 2 uses AI technology to split your samples into categories such as kicks, snares, open hi-hats, closed hi-hats, toms, etc. If the sounds are not percussive but synth one-shots or vocals, they are in the “others” category. These categories are color-coded, and once you focus on one, you will see that there are further sub-groups of sounds with similar timbre and character. For example, if you zoom in the snares category, there will be multiple sub-categories with similar snares, making sound picking a very easy and fun process. You also can display the samples in separate maps based on genre, brand, style, etc. The interface is clean and easy to use and can save a lot of time wasted on mindlessly scrolling through hundreds of drum samples.
• In-depth editing.
  Once you load the samples of your choice in a new kit, you can modify them in great detail. You get pitch controls for each sample and volume, pan, filter, resonance, and velocity controls. Another great feature is the time control, which will nudge a sample forwards or backward in time by a few milliseconds. This is a handy feature for creating more humanized sequences, as is the shuffle knob that works universally on the entire sequence.
• Easily save kits and sequences.
  You can save a kit and a sequence to use them in future projects. Once you save a kit, you can load it in a new sequence by dragging and dropping it, or drag and drop an old sequence to a new kit for inspiration.
• Smart technology.
  Atlas 2 is meant to cater to each producer’s needs. Its smart AI technology uses machine learning, meaning the more you use it and the more loops and kits you create, the more it understands and learns what sounds you prefer to use in your productions.

Compatibility:

Atlas 2 is available on macOS and Windows, in VST3, AU, and Standalone formats, 64-bit only.

Summary:

Atlas 2 is a smart and useful software for modern music producers. It helps organize your samples in a manner that sparks your creativity rather than slowing down your production sessions. Its AI technology will organize your samples in useful categories and learn what sounds you gravitate towards to suggest the most appropriate samples for your style. It’s a great tool to have if you own hundreds or thousands of samples and need a handy tool to organize them.

Related Reading:

Top 15 Plugins 2023 For Techno, Tech House, UK Garage

6. Native Instruments Battery 4 (Specialized Drum Sampler)

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

Battery 4 is a Native Instruments’ sampler focused on producing predominantly electronic and hip-hop drum samples. Its constructive library and interface are great for fast-paced productions.

The Native Instruments plugin is highly intuitive. While featuring a pleasant interface, all the resources and parameters will be easily accessible through an interactive color-coded display.

With a fully complete library easily placed in the interface, any producer will have the ability to drag and drop factory samples quickly while also loading their samples.

Key Features:

• Main Panel
  You will have access to an extensive library of kits and samples that he can drag and drop freely in the main panel. The cell-matrix is where samples will stay. Cells can provide parameters like colors, sizes, and other applicable settings to make the central board organized and friendly. You can choose a preset size or make his custom by adding rows and columns. By adjusting and experimenting with the Cell Matrix, the user can create interesting layering patterns with randomness and creative potential, which can also be present in Native Instrument’s Polyplex Drum Design plugin.
• Engine
  In an exciting segment called Engine, Battery 4 will provide impressive options for shaping the sound. This segment has a Standard and Vintage button. When “standard” is selected, the sample will play as usual. The Vintage option will offer six modes to affect your sample with the vintage and authentic characteristics of the S1200 and MP-60 models.
• Effects
  Battery 4 equips complete and intuitive controls. In a volume envelope, you can set parameters, such as Attack, Hold, Decay, Sustain, and Release, to add flavor to the note. There will be Amount, Decay 1, Break and Decay 2 controls for adjusting a pitch envelope. You can also assign Velocity to volume or pitch. This value can be proportionately adjusted using knobs. A filter is easily accessible in the Main Panel. It can provide high-cut and low-cut in the sound’s frequency range. A compressor, which features a monitor for measuring compressed information, is also displayed, and a Delay and Reverb effect on the main panel. Apart from these commonly built effects, the plugin also has LoFi and Saturation. LoFi works interestingly by changing the Bits, Hertz, Noise, Color, and Output signal.

Compatibility:

This plugin is available for Windows 7 or higher and macOS 10.13 or higher, both 64-bit only. It comes in VST 2/3, AU, and AAX formats.

Summary:

Native Instruments Battery 4 is straightforward to use and provides any producer with an optimal workflow for designing drum patterns and loops. Battery 4 also offers highly accessible effects and customization options to improve every user’s creative experimentation, along with its handy library to provide easy drag and drop solutions.

The Native Instruments drum sampler is crucial for beatmakers wanting to craft unique and one-of-a-kind beats.

Related Reading:

Top 9 Drum Machine Plugins (And Groovebox Plugins)

The 4 Best Free Sampler Plugins 2023

1. NI Kontakt 7 Player (Sample Player)

More Info & Download

KONTAKT PLAYER 7 is a plugin that can run Native Instruments’ sample-based instruments and any third-party products developed for the KONTAKT platform.

KONTAKT PLAYER aims to provide its users with various creative instruments and sounds. This version of KONTAKT, available for no cost, includes 50 instruments and a 500 MB sound library and gives users access to various additional instruments and libraries made by developers worldwide.

Key Features:

• Outputs Section
  The outputs panel emulates a classic mixing console layout and includes controls for routing and mixing. The Rack’s Instruments feed their output signals into this section, sending them to the audio interface or host program’s physical outputs. Create, delete, rename, and configure Output Channels in the Outputs section to serve as final stops for mono, stereo, or multichannel Instrument signals.
• On-Screen Keyboard
  When a MIDI keyboard is unavailable, you can use the On-Screen Keyboard in KONTAKT PLAYER to play instruments with the mouse. When a key on the keyboard is depressed, it triggers a note event sent to the active Instrument. When you click higher on a key, the resulting notes will have a slower velocity, and the resulting notes will have a faster velocity when you click lower on the key.
• Snapshots
  Snapshots make it simple to try out different configurations of any KONTAKT PLAYER Instrument and store them for later recall. You can create your custom sound presets with Snapshots, then save them as .nksn files for usage in future projects, across machines, or to share with other users.
  During the editing process, you can save snapshots at any time. It is possible to create a User Snapshot by loading a Factory Snapshot and then modifying its settings. To show off all of KONTAKT’s features, you’ll need to save a Snapshot outside the KONTAKT Factory Library.
• Rack Multi-Instrument
  Whenever you’re working in KONTAKT, you’ll be in the Rack. Rack instruments can be seen and edited in both Multi and Performance views when in Multi-Instrument mode. Instrument Edit mode is included in the full version of KONTAKT, allowing you to modify a single instrument’s internal structures.
  When in Multi-Instrument mode, the name and associated settings for each Instrument in the Multi are displayed in a horizontal Instrument Header. With a maximum of 64 Instruments, you can break out your Multi among four pages of up to 16 Instruments each.

Compatibility:

This plugin is available for macOS 10.10 or higher (64-bit only) and Windows 10 or higher (64-bit only). It comes in VST/RTAS/AU/AAX formats and supports 32 and 64 bit systems.

Summary:

The younger sibling of Kontakt 7, this plugin is useful for any music producer or artist. Many free sound libraries are compatible with it, and using it is a good way to test the waters before investing in the full version. If you want to learn piano but want to save time and money to buy a piano, this plugin could be just what you need.

Related Reading:

20 Best FREE Kontakt Libraries 2023 For Various Categories

2. Big Fish Audio Momentum

More Info & Download

With inspiring tools for shaping the sound, this free sampler will deliver quality and workflow to any project while also on budget.

Momentum has an incredibly well-thought interface, features exceptionally intuitive controls, and a great library that you can access at any time, and is vital for fast-paced projects.

You will enjoy a very modern and acclaimed loop technology and slicing effects, giving him the ability to produce impressive tracks and notes for any project.

Key Features:

• Store
  The built-in library in Momentum is complete and easily navigatable; this segment will organize categories, styles, and genres exceptionally well. Professional and award-winning samples and loops will also be easily accessible through the built-in store, which provides many well-made audio files to any producer’s reach.
• Effects
  The effects featured in Momentum are beneficial and make this free plugin complete and fully operational. While offering 18 slice effects, the samples can go through pitch-shifting, stutter, delay, and reverse for each slice. The BPM and stretching algorithms featured in the Big Fish Audio’s plugin are also convenient and provide informational changes for any sound. Momentum also offers a unique One-shot Engine that delivers one-of-a-kind one-shots with high quality and performance.

Compatibility:

This plugin is available for Windows 7 or higher and macOS 10.11 or higher, both 64-bit only. It comes in VST 2/3, AU, AAX, and RTAS formats.

Summary:

Momentum is a handy tool for any project. Its great one-shot engine will focus on delivering One-Shot sounds that stand out perfectly in a mix. The many featured effects are also intuitive and effective. They are incredibly high-quality and surprising for a plugin that’s budget-friendly.

3. ApisonicLabs Speedrum Lite

More Info & Download

ApisionicLabs delivered an easy-to-use and user-friendly drum sampler with Sppedrum. Its customizable and intuitive interface makes any fast-paced project hugely easier.

Its main controls panel is fully equipped with the best effects and controls that any paid sampler could offer. Along with its complete performance, the plugin also is surprisingly effective for delivering high-quality drum patterns.

With exciting effects, Speedrum will color the drum patterns of your project with any vibes and textures that it needs. It can be more in-depth customized by waveform changes and layering effects.

Key Features:

• Main Controls
  Highly intuitive controls are present on the plugin’s main panel. Apart from being incredibly handy, you can assign these controls to MIDI Learn, which improves workflow and quality. You can also set the pads featured in the main panel to any 16 stereo outputs. An envelope for both volume and pitch is also present in each pad. In addition to that, Velocity, Pitch, Time, and Pan can also go through a humanization function.
• Effects
  Some interesting effects can serve exceptionally well for tuning and fine-shaping whatever drum samples in Speedrum. You can apply many distortion effects for unique sound creation. Filters and compressors work well in Speedrum, as well as an exciting Transient Shaper. With a Gain Control and a Hard clipper, you will be able to set the final adjustments before creating a solid drum sample.
• Layers
  Speedrum features eight sample layers assigned to every pad individually while also giving an edit option. With controls such as Lowpass and Highpass filters, every layer is highly customizable and you are able to rearrange and multi-edit layers with simple clicking and dragging. A waveform view of a loaded signal is also convenient to organically adjust the parameters of any sample.

Compatibility:

This plugin is available for Windows 7 or higher and macOS 10.7 or higher, both 64-bit only. It comes in VST 2/3, AU, AAX, and RTAS formats.

Summary:

Speedrum is a convenient tool for shaping and setting unique drum patterns. The plugin’s many featured effects and controls will deliver the best options for customizing and coloring a sample for a brilliant drum impact in any mix. While Speedrum is an extraordinarily complete and fully-featured sampler, it is also free, which gives every producer an unmissable chance to upgrade whatever drum loop they want in their projects.

4. Decomposer Sitala

More Info & Download

Sitala’s editing controls are incredibly crucial in the process of creating a drum pattern or loop that stands out in any mix.

The Free drum sampler by Decomposer is a fantastic addition to any producer’s arsenal. By featuring a tremendous amount of options for operating the signal’s characteristics, you will be able to edit, slice, and shape whatever sample it’s implemented in the track.

With a complete interface, this plugin delivers satisfactory results while still being on a budget.

Key Features:

• Editing
  The complex algorithms of Sitala work exceptionally well in your favor. With automatic silence detection, the sample inserted will feature ideal start and endpoints, ensuring that the signal will start precisely on its first sound and resume on the last noise instead of featuring the whole audio file. Along with this brilliant algorithm, the plugins also has a Beat slicing assistant that automatically detects individual hits and slices them out.
• Effects
  Sitala offers four primary effects. You can determine the attack, length, and sustain of the sounds with shape while keeping the volume steady. The compression works intuitively well in Sitala, and it’s a fine addition to the effects panel. A tuning feature will be responsible for pitching the sound while giving you a handy monitoring display. With tone, you will be able to emphasize the high or low-end of a sound. The volume and pan offer intuitive controls and high-quality results.
• Management
  The Decomposer’s plugin has a constructive way of delivering freedom to you in its interface. While simply dragging and dropping, any producer will manage sounds quickly and effectively. The 16 assignable pads are also fascinating, allowing you to use Sitala’s built-in 808-kit. With many straightforward controls, you will make dynamic adjustments in the sample with musicality.

Compatibility:

This plugin is available for Windows 7 or higher 32-bit or 64-bit and macOS 10.10 or higher 64-bit only. It comes in VST 2/3, AU, AAX, and RTAS formats.

Summary:

The straightforward interface of Sitala makes it optimal for producers who want to make subtle sampling applications while still controlling every parameter in a quick and learning way. With complete main effects panels, you’ll be able to shape the characteristics of the implemented samples with some great tuning, pitching, and dynamic algorithms.

Sitala works delivering high-quality sounds while still being incredibly accessible.

3 Bonuses:

1. Initial Audio Slice (Slicer Sampler)

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

Slice is excellent for shaping, stretching, reversing, and all kinds of modulations in any recorded sample. It focuses on delivering high-quality loops and beats.

Initial Audio made Slice deliver a precise service for producers and beatmakers wanting to create unique, colorful loops. By offering exciting patterns, parameters, and effects to help shape the loop, the brand new plugin by Initial Audio is efficient for genres such as hip hop and EDM.

With over 300 samples, you can shape and experiment with exceptionally recorded beat starters and drum patterns.

Key Features:

• 760 Samples
  Initial Slice packs more than three hundred unique beat starters produced by Initial Audio. It also has three hundred loops and one hundred and sixty well-recorded Drum sounds, all royalty-free. With these many alternative sounds, the plugin gives you room for experimentation and high-quality creations. The factory presets are highly rich in texture and fullness.
• Sample
  The process in which the samples go through in the plugin is exciting. By dragging and dropping samples, you can then apply fade-in, fade-out, stretching, pitch shifting, formant shifting, and a noise gate in the entire signal. You can also preserve a sample’s formants and loop or reverse them. The Sliced parts of the sound can be detuned pitch-shifted, looped, and reversed. There are three effects racks in Initial Slice. You can choose between eleven effects to add in one of the three effects racks. The effects, even though being standard for samplers, are extremely rich in textures and quality.
• Slice Sequencer
  The Slice Sequencer is a fantastic tool that has tremendous importance in the creative process. By selecting this feature, you’ll be able to compose directly in a built-in piano roll. This fantastic and unique option works accurately well with whatever sample is inserted and offers an intuitive and easy-to-use piano roll.
• Drum Sequencer
  The plugin also has a drum sequencer segment. The drum sequencer will give any producer the freedom and tools to create a drum pattern or sequence intuitively. With ten slots for holding drum samples, this feature will provide you the control over every individual slot’s gain, pan, pitch, and reverb. The possibility to add each of the slots to the sidechain is also pretty solid.
• Bass Sequencer
  By offering a slot to let you drag and drop their bass sample, the Bass Sequencer also features a piano roll for melody creation. The slot has knobs to control the sample’s Gain, Pan, Pitch, Fine-tune, Threshold, Release, and a handy Side-Chain button, which, when activated, will duck the bass concerning the drums.

Compatibility:

This plugin is available for Windows 7 or higher and macOS 10.14 or higher, both 64-bit only. It comes in VST 2/3, AU, AAX, and RTAS formats.

Summary:

Initial Slice is a convenient sampler for creating unique and exciting loops. The plugin provides a Drum Sequencer feature that will intuitively help anyone achieve fantastic results for crafting unique drum patterns and sequences. With a Bass Sequencer and Slice Sequencer, you will explore different melodies and rhythms in a piano roll display.

Apart from the unique Sequencer features, Initial Slice provides a brilliant design with easy-to-use controls and effects to shape any sound with precision and swiftness.

Related Reading:

Top 13 Sequencer Plugins (Synth, MIDI & Step Sequencers)

2. Audiomodern Loopmix (Loop Remixer, Sequencer)

More Info & Price (Trial Available)

Loopmix by Audiomodern is a creative loop remix and rearrangement plugin for transforming your loops into interesting and artistic sounds. 

It allows you to work with loops unconventionally and mix full-length loops with one-shots, other loops, sounds, etc. It inspires new beats and songs and does detailed sound design. It’s also a good way to recycle old ideas, melodies, grooves, etc., into something fresh.

Key Features:

• Presets
  The plugin has a great preset management system, using which you can import presets, create preset packs, and browse through a great collection of sounds, including presets of Late House, IDM Kits, LoFi kits, and more.
• Workflow
  Loopmix sequencer window has six tracks on which you can fix different loops on different time stamps.  In addition, there are windows for rearranging, reversing, and adjusting density, volume, and pitch for different loops. That can help you create interesting loops and track beds. You can also set the tempo for the Loopmix session.
• Utility
  It’s an interesting and creative way of creating drum loops, melody loops, basslines, and other elements. You can also drag in your loops, slice them, pitch them, edit them, etc., and create something new. Using a MIDI instrument, you can also trigger different clips from six tracks.
• Multifunctional keyboard
  You can arrange your stems and clips and assign them in up to two keyboard octaves to trigger sequences, loops, and arrangements with a single button click.

Compatibility:

The plugin is available in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin versions and is compatible with Mac OS X 10.12 or higher or Windows 10 or later operating system and 2 GB of hard disk space.

Summary:

Loopmix is one of the best looper plugins due to its detailed editing window and simple drag-and-drop workflow. The controls are intuitive, and the interface is attractive. However, it may seem a bit intimidating and all over the place at first, but it’s quite easy once you get your hands on it.

3. Accusonus Rhythmiq (Drum/Slicer Sampler)

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The level of practicality and control offered by Rhythmiq is exceptionally sophisticated. Using the central knob, you can adjust quickly and effectively any drum’s track characteristics.

Rhythmiq works phenomenally as a Drum Sampler. The plugin offers many options for performing drum patterns and variations accurately, allowing for exciting breaks and build-ups.

The Accusonus plugin also delivers fantastic assistance with a one-of-a-kind virtual assistant that helps any beats reach a unique level of quality.

Key Features:

• Beat Assistant
  Rhythmiq has a fantastic tool that uses a unique and formidable technology by Accusonous. The groundbreaking virtual assistant will analyze every beat character and apply changes to subtlety to make drum patterns and textures reach perfection. The variations offered by the Beat Assistant will constantly be evolving throughout the musical performance so that the beat will stay at a safe and high-quality standard.
• Stems
  There are three stems in Rhytmiq’s interface. They organize themselves so that the first stem controls the kick, the second the snare, and the third the hats sounds. Each of the stems has controls for Freeze, Arrange, Reverse, Silence, Pan, and Gain. With a giant library easily accessible on the plugin’s interface, any of the 100 preset factory samples can be added and customized with the stems. After setting the effects and parameters on the stem, a universal knob featured on the Beat Assistant display will provide general changes to the whole output.
• MIDI Learn
  The Accusonus plugin also has an exciting and exciting MIDI Learn function. For a quicker workflow, you can assign a midi control on any feature found on the main interface. This beneficial tool will make any producer operate in the most practical and fast-paced way. Almost every interactive part in Rhythmiq can be assigned to a MIDI learn option, making the plugin highly customizable and adaptative.

Compatibility:

This plugin is available for Windows 7 or higher and macOS 10.10 or higher, both 64-bit only. It comes in VST 2/3, AU, AAX, and RTAS formats.

Summary:

With the Accusonus drum sampler Rhytmiq, anybody can produce exciting and detailed drum patterns and loops. By providing a high amount of freedom to assign controls and operations in your MIDI devices, Rhytmiq fits perfectly for fast-paced productions. The Beat Assistant will work with you to deliver perfect changes in textures for smooth or aggressive delivery.

What Does A Sampler Plugin Do?

A Sampler uses actual recordings, referenced as samples, and offers modulations and synth-like processings to play these samples back through a remote or native device. They use digital audio instead of digitized synthesized signal and offer many controls to change and shape the inserted sample’s sonic textures and characteristics, which then play as any virtual instrument.

Some samplers are adequate to create pads and particular lengthy sound effects, while others, known as phrase samplers, or drum samplers, are usually optimal for one-shot effects, such as a kick or snare sound.

Often featuring effects such as filters, compressors, reverbs, and more, samplers also have synthesizer processes such as LFOs, Glide, and ADSR commands.

A good amount of samplers can store many audio samples for playing them simultaneously; for example, after inserting two recordings of different voices, you can align those to belong at the same instrument, producing one individual voice.

By featuring these varieties for controlling the nature of a sound, any audio recording can become an exciting fully-scaled musical instrument, regardless of the recorded quality.

How Do You Use A Sampler?

Samplers will use the recorded sound information of any audio sample to create something musical. Generally, you will be adding a recorded audio file or using the factory audio files of the plugin and setting specific parameters for the sound they want to come out of the sampler.

With filters, a piece of frequency information can be delineated so that the notes will only play a specific frequency range of a recorded audio file. One can, for instance, set two values for Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release in two different samples, which the plugin will play simultaneously to get a fuller or more rhythmic sound.

For example, combining a tractor sound’s higher frequencies with the low frequency of a recorded waterfall in a unique instrument is possible and will deliver fantastic results.

Composers, such as Ludwig Göransson, used sampling technology to produce an exquisite Bass-line with the recording of a Firetruck in the soundtrack of Christopher Nolan’s movie Tenet. By integrating the recording of a Firetruck in a sampler, he used the plugin’s properties to pitch the sound until it reached a musical note.

He then equalized the signal for low-end enrichment and layered it with another audio featuring the same note, strengthening its musical presence.

By getting the plugin to play these customized sounds, you can produce musical scale and chords with the unique-sounding virtual instrument he created with actual recordings.