Triggering the sample

There are several ways to trigger XSampler:

Click the XSampler keyboard keys (see Keyboard view)

Use an external MIDI controller as the Sampler track’s input (see Playing a soft synth)

Use the Virtual MIDI Controller while the XSampler track has focus (see Virtual Controller/Keyboard)

Play back MIDI notes from the Piano Roll view (see Adding and editing notes in the Piano Roll and Piano Roll view)

There are three primary settings that determine how a sample behaves when triggered:

Sample Playback Mode.  The sample playback mode determines whether sample playback stops on key release or plays through the entirety of the sample (see Setting the sample playback mode)

Root key. The root key specifies which key plays the sample at its original pitch and speed (see Setting the root note).

Stretch Mode. If the Stretch Mode control is set to Original or n Bars, the sample can be pitch shifted +/- 1 octave from the root key. The keyboard highlights the valid key range. To transpose the valid key range, you must change the root note.

Key mapping

The sample is mapped to keys above and below the defined root key. Keys below the root key will play the sample at a lower pitch, and keys above the root key will play the sample at a higher pitch.

By default, XSampler automatically maps the sample across the entire MIDI note range (0–127) and sets the root note to C3.

If the Stretch Mode parameter in the Controls panel is set to Original or n Bars, the sample can be pitch shifted +/- 1 octave from the root key. Any incoming MIDI note events within this range will trigger the assigned sample. The keyboard highlights the valid key range (blue root one +/- 1 octave). To transpose the valid key range, you must change the root note (see Setting the root note).

A. Key range B. Root key 

 

See:

Keyboard view

Setting the root note

Control panel

Setting the root note

The sample is mapped to keys above and below the defined root key. The root key defines which keyboard note value is used to play the sample at the original pitch. Keys below the root key will play the sample at a lower pitch, and keys above the root key will play the sample at a higher pitch.

To change the root key, do one of the following:

To the left of the keyboard, drag the Root value up/down

Hold down the CTRL key and click the desired keyboard key

 

A. Root key (drag up/down to adjust; double-click to reset to C3) B. Root key (hold down CTRL and click to set) 

 

Note: You can only click highlighted keys. If the desired root key is outside the current key range, hold down the CTRL key and drag the blue root key to the desired key.

Setting the sample playback mode

The sample playback mode determines whether sample playback stops on key release or plays through the entirety of the sample.

To specify the sample playback mode, select one of the following modes in the main toolbar:

Gate . The sample plays through its entirety or until a note off is received, at which point amplitude decreases steadily to -inf over the duration specified by the amplitude EG Release time.

Loop . The sample play through until it reaches the loop end marker, at which point it seeks to the loop start marker, repeating until a note off event at a volume level specified by the Sustain level. When a note off occurs, volume decreases to -inf for the duration specified by the amplitude EG Release time. For details, see Looping the sample.

One-Shot . The sample plays from start to end whether a key is held or not, following only the Attack portion of the amplitude EG. If you retrigger the sample while it is already playing, it will play again from the beginning, and the previous instance will decreases to -inf for the duration specified by the amplitude EG Release time. One-Shot mode is suitable for single drum sounds or sound effects where you always want the entire sound to play.