(03-23-2018, 12:10 PM)Samulis Wrote: [ -> ]So, I decided to start a new open sample library project, titled Versilian Community Sample Library.
Great idea. Any new source of quality free sampled instruments is good news. I really like the idea of crowd sourced projects. Maybe this can become the Wikipedia of sampled instruments.
This is exciting! Your CE stuff has been extremely useful for me, especially the winds. I will be releasing a new album soon in which you can hear it in action; I'll post a link when the day comes.
(03-24-2018, 07:19 PM)Nayrb Wrote: [ -> ]This is exciting! Your CE stuff has been extremely useful for me, especially the winds. I will be releasing a new album soon in which you can hear it in action; I'll post a link when the day comes.
Can't wait to hear it, Nayrb!
Eventually this set will have some new winds that are better than what's in CE, although that may be a few months down the road depending on how well commercial projects go (i.e. the source of the funding that makes stuff like this possible).
Sam, do you have any advice on cutting samples? I mean specifically going from a single audio track to having multiple wav files. My current approach is to record several takes of the notes I want to capture all in one go, pick my favorites, zoom in really close in my DAW, use the scissors tool to slice the audio track as close as possible to where each note starts, and slice it again after the end of each one. Then I export each slice as a wav file. Can you recommend any simplification to this workflow, or is it pretty much standard operating procedure?
I noticed something in your project documentation about sampling in whole tone intervals. I've been thinking about what notes make the most sense to sample, and I realized that the clarinet has a series of half steps around Ab4 that have quite district sounds (at least on my instrument). I'm inclined to sample semitones around there, but whole tones would probably suffice along the rest of the instrument's range. Also there are some very high notes that are generally considered in range but are notoriously hard to control, and from my experience they aren't used much. I'm trying to decide whether to sample them or not.
(03-26-2018, 03:44 AM)Michael Willis Wrote: [ -> ]Sam, do you have any advice on cutting samples? I mean specifically going from a single audio track to having multiple wav files. My current approach is to record several takes of the notes I want to capture all in one go, pick my favorites, zoom in really close in my DAW, use the scissors tool to slice the audio track as close as possible to where each note starts, and slice it again after the end of each one. Then I export each slice as a wav file. Can you recommend any simplification to this workflow, or is it pretty much standard operating procedure?
I noticed something in your project documentation about sampling in whole tone intervals. I've been thinking about what notes make the most sense to sample, and I realized that the clarinet has a series of half steps around Ab4 that have quite district sounds (at least on my instrument). I'm inclined to sample semitones around there, but whole tones would probably suffice along the rest of the instrument's range. Also there are some very high notes that are generally considered in range but are notoriously hard to control, and from my experience they aren't used much. I'm trying to decide whether to sample them or not.
Slicing is a good way to do little things. If you have a big thing, you can try looking for a 'cut at transients' or 'tab to transients' hotkey which will jump to each transient. You can then jump back a discrete amount of time (say, if you want 10 ms of start before note hits its transient), do your cut (should be a hotkey for that or you can map one), then cut at the end after it fades. With end cuts, I like having a spectrograph view so I can see where exactly it finishes fading, but with attacks, you shouldn't use that as it isn't temporally accurate enough.
If there is a way to create markers of some kind, that's also a good method- to mark the start and end, then export the ranges within those markers. That way you can batch process or re-edit the audio then re-export it very quickly and easily. You can also typically name these markers as you go and export the files with those marker names, although depending on your DAW, functionality with all of this varies wildly.
Simon Dalzell goes over a comprehensive method for Reaper which is pretty much how folks do it at a professional level-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2wW_bf9VMQ
Regarding pitch, it's all very subjective. The largest interval I would do is thirds (minor or major). Wholetone is sufficient for most cases, but chromatic is of course the 'gold standard'. Obviously with wholetone you divide the amount of recording (and end size of the library) by two, meaning for example, a chromatic instrument at two velocity layers takes the same amount of time and end-user hard drive space as a wholetone one at four velocities (or two velocities and two round robins).
You can also do 'composite' mappings, where you sample wholetone for a less-critical or more homogeneous part, and chromatic for one part or for an extra funky note. I've subbed out 'bad' notes for 'good' ones in sessions before (e.g. skip a tricky or unpleasant G# in favor of an A or G).
---------
In VCSL news, I just added three FM synthesis based patches I made using my TX81Z. They're nothing overly special, but I noticed in the Musescore soundfont files that the guy was looking to replace some standard synth sounds with FM ones and I figured I'd stick them in since I already had them lying around.
Wow you samplers hurt my brain. I'm amazed at all you do.
Anyway probably a bit premature, but I can never wait. A couple Kontakt instruments which helps no one here... How did an innocent Kontakt guy end up in the great hotbed of SFZ programming anyway? If I ever get rich I'm gonna buy you all full Kontakt and VSCO2 Pro!
http://bigcatinstruments.blogspot.com/20...ntakt.html
I said 'Samples CC0: Sam Gossner and Versillian Studios' is that cool or do you want something else?
(03-26-2018, 08:20 PM)bigcat1969 Wrote: [ -> ]Wow you samplers hurt my brain. I'm amazed at all you do.
Anyway probably a bit premature, but I can never wait. A couple Kontakt instruments which helps no one here... How did an innocent Kontakt guy end up in the great hotbed of SFZ programming anyway? If I ever get rich I'm gonna buy you all full Kontakt and VSCO2 Pro!
http://bigcatinstruments.blogspot.com/20...ntakt.html
I said 'Samples CC0: Sam Gossner and Versillian Studios' is that cool or do you want something else?
Hey, you do you, man. I'm sure there's someone out there right now who is thrilled to see these.
That's fine attribution. CC0 has no specifications on how to do it correctly, so you can do it however you'd like.
Awesome. Just wasn't sure if you wanted your name or the studios name or both. Just had some fun with the piano and recorders on Blue Eyes Crying in the rain. Piano has a cool distinctive sound.
(03-26-2018, 08:54 PM)bigcat1969 Wrote: [ -> ]Awesome. Just wasn't sure if you wanted your name or the studios name or both. Just had some fun with the piano and recorders on Blue Eyes Crying in the rain. Piano has a cool distinctive sound.
Put it up! I'd like to hear.

I risked 15 seconds... hopefully Sinatra's lawyer don't permaban me from the interwebs now (nm Sinatra never sang it, I'm losing me mind, Willie will sue me)... Ripped from a midi.
https://soundcloud.com/bigcat1969/grey-is-sighing
On an unrelated note loving the train sounds. Made a Train & Whistle instrument stretching them both a bit.