Using wav files of drum kits. Where to assign? Sampler or using a standard midi keyboard.

Creed_Clicks · November 2022

Hi all. I have some nice wav samples of 80s electronic drum kits, and my question is, do I need to buy a dedicated sampler, and assign the kick to one pad, snare to another etc.
Or can I use a standard midi key controller with pads e.g. an Arturia Minilab with keys/pads?
I have never attempted this.

andy_k · November 2022

Get yourself the free drum machine VST , Sitala, which allows you to import your own samples, and then you can use any midi controller to trigger them.

Creed_Clicks · November 2022

andy_k said:

Get yourself the free drum machine VST , Sitala, which allows you to import your own samples, and then you can use any midi controller to trigger them.

Thanks. I will have a look. When I am playing it and recording, is it recording as an audio or midi file do you know?

digitalkettle · November 2022

It'll be recording in your DAW as MIDI but it's easy enough to render that as an audio file.

personalnadir · November 2022

What’s your setup? An app like Koala Sampler can load sound files. Once loaded they can then be trigger by playing the apps, midi or a sequencer

Creed_Clicks · November 2022

personalnadir said:

What’s your setup? An app like Koala Sampler can load sound files. Once loaded they can then be trigger by playing the apps, midi or a sequencer

Just Reaper and a midi keyboard. I got some drum samples recently that are WAV files, and would only really be using those specific files for recording, so not sure if I would need a sampler, or a regular midi controller keyboard with pads would work. e.g. I assign a WAV file to each pad, kick, snare, tom roll etc... but assume they would not be recorded as midi files then? (I would not be able to quantize after the fact?)
Other option is just to copy in the wav files where I need them on separate tracks e.g. kick, snare, kick, kick, snare etc

PolarityMan · November 2022

I quite like just dropping them in the track as media items for some stuff, anything more complex i reach for battery for this kinda thing.

personalnadir · November 2022

Creed_Clicks said:

personalnadir said:

What’s your setup? An app like Koala Sampler can load sound files. Once loaded they can then be trigger by playing the apps, midi or a sequencer

Just Reaper and a midi keyboard. I got some drum samples recently that are WAV files, and would only really be using those specific files for recording, so not sure if I would need a sampler, or a regular midi controller keyboard with pads would work. e.g. I assign a WAV file to each pad, kick, snare, tom roll etc... but assume they would not be recorded as midi files then? (I would not be able to quantize after the fact?)
Other option is just to copy in the wav files where I need them on separate tracks e.g. kick, snare, kick, kick, snare etc

You'll need something to respond to the midi controller. A midi controller is just a middle manager: it tells other things what to do, but makes no noise itself.

Looks like you can set Reaper up to play the samples in response to midi: this tutorial might be able to point you in the right direction, though you may need to skip the beginning:

stratman3142 · November 2022

Many years ago I used Poise in Reaper, which I think is free. Link below.

https://www.onesmallclue.com/

stratman3142 · November 2022

There's ReaSamplOmatic in Reaper as well.

https://www.reaper.fm/videos.php#nJFcRF-D9Sk

https://www.reaper.fm/videos.php#0p9r_QYU0CA

andy_k · November 2022

Reaper can do most things by itself, Reasamplomatic can do this, one instance per sample, and there are many templates available which will make an fx chain work as a drum machine for example, in essence, you will assign a sample to a midi note, which will then be either triggered by your choice of midi controller, or by midi you write and edit in the piano roll.
I mentioned Sitala as a first choice, because it simplifies a lot of this, and allows for a lot of built in editing of the sample, which can tighten up things a lot.
It comes with 808 and 909 sample packs already, but is fully customisable, and very simple.
You could also look at Decent sampler, which has come out of the Spitfire group, and it is also free, but I'm not sure how easy it is to work with.
I began to get into sampling myself, with the EXS24 sampler built into Logic, until they suddenly 'updated' it, after a long time, and Christian of Spitfire has done a few videos going into why this was both a good and bad thing.
TBH, a lot of MIDI stuff goes over my head, I got into it too late, but have got good use out of Sitala, and it sounds perfect for your use.
In Reaper, any FX chain you set up, can easily be saved as a template, or preset, so when you have something working, it can be used instantly if saved as a preset, and as you get more advanced so does your template, so some of the freely available stuff might not be suited for your own purpose, I'm still trying to get my SSD5.5 template working, I know it can work--but I can't get any of the free ones to work for me--a drum mix really doesn't NEED 48 tracks, but that is what Slate makes available, or a stereo mix, two extremes that just don't work for me.

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Using wav files of drum kits. Where to assign? Sampler or using a standard midi keyboard.

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