The Sample Page

The sample page contains a large set of controls to manipulate and maintain the sample associated with the current split. It is also used to record new samples and to set loop points for the sample as well as to change the current sample rate. It also displays a graphical representaion of the sample and allows you to edit the sample.

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The Sample page consists of

The Sample Display

The sample display shows a graphical image of the sample associated with the selected split. The display can be zoomed using the slider on the left. Zooming allows more sophisticated settings for selections and loops. You can select parts of the sample by holding the mouse down over the sample display and drag it to the end of the selection. Selection can also be changed by changing the selection size. To do this, move the mouse over the selection start point or the selection end point until a size mouse cursor appears and drag the selection.

The "Sel" and "Loop" radiobuttons determine whether a selection in the sample display changes the current selection range or the current loop range (see selection and loop controls below). The selection range is displayed in dark grey whereas the loop range is displayed in light grey. Overlapping portions of the selection and loop range will be displayed in black color.

You can scroll through the sample by using the scrollbar on bottom of the sample display. The current position of the mouse cursor within the sample display (measured in sample data units) is displayed on top of the sample display.

The Effects button

This button allows you to apply sound effects to your sample and make the changes permanent.

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You can apply up to two effects to a sample. The "Preview" button gives you a preview of the modified sample while the "Apply" button makes the changes permanent and updates the sample within the split. The "Properties" buttons open the appropriate property window for the selected effect plugin.

Note that this button is only available if you are using a Virtual Sampler Version that supports DirectX plugins (true for version 1.5 beta and higher) and if you have the DirectX Media runtime installed (available at www.microsoft.com). You can apply 2 effects to a FM voice. What effects are actually available depends on the effect plugin packages that you have installed (for demo versions of effects plugins, have a look at www.waves.com or www.sonicfoundry.com).

The Selection and Loop controls

When you select a range with the mouse within the sample display, the "Sel" and "Loop" radiobuttons determine whether the selection affects the current selection range or the current loop range. You also can change the selection and loop points manually using the "SelStart", "SelEnd", "Loop Start" and "Loop End" controls. This is especially useful for fine tuning the selections. The selections are always measured in sample data units (16 bits).

The "Enable   Loop" checkbox indicates whether the loop points are used for the current split. If it is disabled, no looping is performed. If it is enabled, the split will continuously loop between the given start and end point.

The Sample edit controls

The sample edit controls are used to change the whole or parts of the sample. The available buttons are:

The Sample rate conversion controls

The sample rate conversion controls display information about the selected sample (like the original filename for the sample, the sample length measured in sample data units and the current sample rate) and can be used to resample the sample with a different sample rate. The new samplerate is specified within the "Sample Rate" drop down box. You can choose from a list of common sample rates or enter a specific sample rate. To apply the change to the sample, press the "Change sample Rate" button. Note that if the sample is used in different Presets or Splits, you will be asked if you want to create a copy of the sample or if you want to apply the change to all existing copies of the sample.

The Sample record controls

The Sample record controls are used to record a new sample with your soundcard. The record control panel allows recording, playback, stop and pause operations. Note that the playback button has only effect if you previously have recorded a sample. After recording you can create splits for the recorded sample using the "Splits from Sample" button. The record level can be viewed by the level indicator on the right side of the sample display. Note that you must activate the "Monitor" checkbox in order to activate this level meter. The "Stereo" checkbox indicates if you want to record mono or stereo samples. When you create splits from a stereo sample, Virtual Sampler will automatically create two splits, one for each channel, with the pan position set to left and right respectively.