Which Sampler for an A1200?

[Trapscallion]

So far i have searched various threads and have come across Technosound Turbo 2, DSS8, Perfect Sound, Master Sound, Aegis, StereoMaster.

Now i have come across these and am not too sure which would be the best to get?

Normally i would process my samples on Logic on my Mac then transfer via the PCMIA slot, but i wanted to actually sample on the amiga to get an old skool feel, but with still the option of having a good sounding sample.

I think the RCA inputs are an instant win for me so that kinda cancels out Stereo Master and Master Sound, but i would like to hear peoples experiences with the jack input.

I use Octamed SS, but i have heard there is better sampling software e.g. Aural Illusion

What is everyone else`s opinions on the samplers and the software?

[lordofchaos]

Well, for me Technosound Turbo 2 works well with the A1200, although rather than use the software that came with it I use the inbuilt software on Octamed SoundStudio. I can't speak for the others.

[potato]

I only had an a500 with technosound turbo 2 back in the day (93-96) and also preferred the octamed 4 sampling facilities as mono to get best bang for buck at around 8-bit 32kHz (nyquist means limited to 16kHz frequencies, and obviously the intractable low bitrate resolution). i found that sequencing two channels as sub to mid, and the other two as mid to high meant I could eq left and right outputs with different curves to avoid aliasing on the subs and bass "interference" on the highs worked well when monoing.
will see if my ttII sampler works on my a1200

[ant512]

I had the DSS8+, which was great. Its bundled software will do some tricks to sample at 56KHz. It was bundled with a tracker, too. I generally just used OctaMED SoundStudio, because almost nothing else would play the custom formats used by the bundled software.

You'll definitely get the best quality by sampling on modern hardware and downsampling to 8-bit, though.

[aZtOcKdOg]

I use a DSS8+ on the A1200 and it's great!

[Trapscallion]

Thanks for all the input guys

Well i know i would get proper tight and clean samples off of modern day software, but also wanted to try a bit of sampling like it was done back in the day and get that low quality sound. Although i had heard certain parallel port samplers could be noisy.

So now i have found a copy of TS2 and DSS8 i now must decide which one to buy.

[source]

Back in the day me and my friend made an audio digitizer from plans from aminet. It was 8 bit mono, but worked quite well. One was made with a metal housing the other was plastic. The metal seemed to work a little better than the plastic housing (not sure if just technique on manufacturing - solder joints etc or did the metal project box gave some interference shielding?) We just used audiomaster for the digitizing software.

[Trapscallion]

Ok cool, so what i am hearing from a lot of you folks is that audio master is the best software to use.

Is there any noticeable differences between the Turbo sound and DSS8 digitizer though?

I read somewhere that the Turbosound one can pick up alot of background noise.

Which then leads onto what Source was saying, maybe i could rehouse the digitizer into a metal housing, or at least shield the inside of the plastic one with copper tape.

[TCMSLP]

I recently bought a TechnoSound Turbo sampler. On connecting up I discovered just how poor these devices were. I'm not sure if the Technosound is better or worse than alternatives but the amount of noise on the input is outstanding. It doesn't even sound retro; most samples in mods in the 90s were far superior to anything I could create using this.

I'm guessing either proper 'pro' solutions existed or people dumped sample data from Akai samplers or similar. Or, Technosound is just a terrible sampler.
I remember my TS sampler in the 90s sounding just as bad - so this isn't a one off 'faulty' example

[Trapscallion]

Yeah , from what i have read before and you confirming it is that the Technosound Turbo Samplers are pretty noisy, although is this just the first one or the second version as well? Ideally then i should try and buy a DSS8.

[daxb]

I own/use a TST2 sampler since A500 times and cannot say anything about other sampler. My experiences with it is that sample quality depends on the source you record from, used devices (amp, cd, mic, mixer, ...), cable and/or shielding. I got very good quality samples using A500 -> TST2 -> cable -> CD-Player with good CD source. Now I use A1200 (plastic tower wihtout shielding) and a behringer mixer (MX 1604A). If there are channels active (clean, no input) beside the record channel there is much noise. If I sample from the source MC-303 (analouge groovebox) there is much white noise on the record although the source is clean. Overall I cannot confirm that the TST2 sampler is bad generally.

[aZtOcKdOg]

If I get a chance and you would like me to sample something specific for you to demo, just let me know! (DSS8+)

[Amiga1992]

I use the AMAS2. Why? It also has MIDI, so it's very convenient. Sound is good with my A1200.

[Trapscallion]

Akira, is that the full name of the sampler? As i was looking into getting a midi interface as well but if i can get them both combined i will look into that sampler you mentioned.

[Amiga1992]

It's from Microdeal

http://www.bigbookofamigahardware.co...t.aspx?id=1719

I can't find AMAS2 but I am assuming they are basically the same since I see no difference in number of inputs or outputs.

[Trapscallion]

Thanks Akira, i have seen a few of the basic Microdeal interfaces around and was gonna snap one up but now i have to see if i can hunt down one of those!

[Trapscallion]

In fact after just searching around on eBay i have found something by Microdeal called Clarity 16 Bit. Seems to be exactly the same as the AMAS minus the MIDI thru and it also has an L and R output as well. What do you think?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Clarity-16-B...item4d2b994f5d

[Sandro]

Originally Posted by Trapscallion

In fact after just searching around on eBay i have found something by Microdeal called Clarity 16 Bit. Seems to be exactly the same as the AMAS minus the MIDI thru and it also has an L and R output as well. What do you think?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Clarity-16-B...item4d2b994f5d

this one is 16 bit is cheap you can buy it, but surely will work only with the software included

anyways for a sampler I recommend a DSS8 or a DSS8+ ( transparent case) because are compatible with 90% of amiga sampling software
ex audiomaster 3 or 4 best program for sampling and editing, stereomaster best one for realtime effects/voice distortion

[Trapscallion]

Ok right, that completely slipped my mind that some samplers will only work with their bundled software. When i was planning on getting a sampler years ago i did read that the DSS8+ was my best bet but alas, they are so damn rare. Hence why i was trying to see out of the regular ones that come up on eBay which one would be a good choice. Do not fancy buying a few and just testing them out one by one.

[Sandro]

Originally Posted by Trapscallion

Ok right, that completely slipped my mind that some samplers will only work with their bundled software. When i was planning on getting a sampler years ago i did read that the DSS8+ was my best bet but alas, they are so damn rare. Hence why i was trying to see out of the regular ones that come up on eBay which one would be a good choice. Do not fancy buying a few and just testing them out one by one.

the dss8 and dss8+ are not rare, along with the perfect sound 3 were the most popular amiga samplers
if you have patience surely you will find one, try amibay etc