Understanding Samples |
Before you progress into working with the Wavetable you should
have a general understanding of what the term Sample refers to. In
the case of Wavetable samples, a sample refers to a small audio file
which may be triggered to produce that sound within a song. One of the powers of sampling is the ability to take a single waveform and play it at many different notes. This is known as Resampling. For example, resampling would allow you to record one note of a piano, thus play various notes. Unfortunately in most cases problems arise when playing notes too many semitones away from the originally recorded pitch (tone). This problem is solved by using Multi-samples (also called Instruments). A multi-sample is basically a group of samples with specific attributes assigned to each sample. In Buzz, this includes loops and envelopes. In most cases each audio sample is assigned a range (known as a split) of notes. Therefore when you play a specific note, the Wavetable triggers the sample assigned to that note. Other instances of sampling do not require resampling of audio. In the case of Drum Machines, only one individual note per sample is required, therefore notes are not even available but rather Triggers instead. This is true in the instance of playing a kick-drum or a snare. To add confusion, a Sample is also the term for the smallest unit of time within an audio sample. It is equal to one byte. Most samples within buzz play at 44Khz (although higher is possible through a method called oversampling). This means that they have 44,100 samples per second of audio. Unfortunately the term "sample" doesn't even stop here. To add to even more confusion, there exists a verb; "sampling". The very method of creating samples is called Sampling. Therefore to Sample audio refers to physically recording that audio for the purpose of using those samples in other music. Lastly, the term Sampler refers to a device which accomplishes all of these feats. A combination of the Buzz Wavetable Editor and any Sample-oriented machine (for instance the Mathilde Tracker) forms a nice Sampler device. Important Note: Buzz does not completely fit all of the characteristics of a sampler, as it does not allow you to physically record samples. Other applications such as Syntrillium's Cool Edit and Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge (both great tools) allow you to create samples for use in Buzz. |