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Make an instrument from a sample

The sample synth plays one sample at different pitches as a sound source for Bass, Melody or Chord. Sustained vowel sounds, single-note instruments and sustained synth tones work well.

Percussion, sounds with several simultaneous pitches and sounds with large pitch changes are not suitable for your first practice.

Understand how it works

After playing the beginning of the sample, the sample synth repeats a stable section of its waveform as a Sustain Loop. Releasing the pad or reaching the end of the sound closes it naturally with Release.

This Sustain Loop is a different function from the performance Loop made with Rec.

1. Prepare and edit a sample

  1. Add a single-note sample to a sampler pad
  2. In the SAMPLER part's SOUND mode, press that pad briefly twice to enter Edit
  3. Adjust Start / End, Volume and Pitch as needed
  4. Press P8 Synth

Edit a sample

2. Try Sustain

On the sample synth screen, first select P9 Sustain and change the mode with the lower dial.

Setting Behavior
OFF Play the sample normally without a Sustain Loop
AUTO The device finds a section that repeats stably
ON Use the section specified with P10 In and P11 Out

Start with AUTO. If NO SUSTAIN appears, no stable repeating section was found in that sample. Try another sample or adjust manually with ON.

Fn1 is Preview. On the sample synth screen, Sustain continues while Fn1 is held and moves to Release when released.

3. Adjust In / Out and Release

  • P10 In: Sustain Loop start position; adjust with the lower dial
  • P11 Out: Sustain Loop end position; adjust with the lower dial
  • P12 Rel: choose how the sound fades after releasing the pad

If you hear unnatural periodic sounds or clicks, move In or Out in small steps. Choose a short Release for a quick stop or a long Release for a lingering tail.

Note

Sustain and Reverse cannot be used together. Enabling Sustain turns Reverse OFF. Sustain also cannot be combined with Whole Sample Repeat.

4. Assign to Bass, Melody or Chord

Select the desired part in the top row of the sample synth screen.

Pad Assignment destination
P1 Mel Melody
P2 Chord Chord
P3 Bass Bass

To prevent accidental changes, press the same pad again to confirm assignment. Use the same two-press procedure on an assigned pad to remove the assignment.

5. Play notes on a scale

  1. Confirm edits with Fn2 OK
  2. Turn the lower dial to the assigned Bass, Melody or Chord part
  3. Play the 12 pads in PLAY mode

The device automatically estimates the sample's Pad Base Note. If the pitch is wrong, open Sound Source → Pad → Pad Base Note in that part's menu and manually choose the original sample's note name.

Suitable samples

  • A sustained voice or instrument sound with just one note
  • Sounds with a stable pitch
  • Sounds with little noise or tail, making Start / End easy to set

Slices made with Chop preserve rhythmic positions and cannot be assigned to the sample synth.