SKYLIFE releases SampleRobot 6.1 update - now w/ VST hosting

[TheSteven]

SKYLIFE releases SampleRobot 6.1 update
https://samplerobot.com/blogs/news/skylife-releases-samplerobot-6-1-update

by Christian Halten March 08, 2019

We are glad to let you know about our latest SampleRobot update release which is version 6.1.

SampleRobot Pro and SampleRobot Montage now with VST host

SampleRobot Pro and SampleRobot Montage users will benefit from a marvellous new feature which is the VST host. For the first time in the history of SampleRobot you can directly load your virtual instruments inside SampleRobot and connect them digitally for automatic sampling. As you can see in the screenshot there are "VST Host" entries in the lists for the Midi and Audio devices. When selecting these, SampleRobot will connect to your plugin automatically. There is also a new audio monitoring function included so you can hear what SampleRobot is sampling right now.

This feature is work in progress and we decided to offer the current status as a beta feature to our community. At the moment only VST2 instruments can be loaded but we will expand the host functionality also to VST3 and AU standard in an upcoming update. Please note that this feature is only available with SampleRobot Pro and Montage.

A gentle note from the developers: Please respect the copyright whatever you sample. It takes a long time to design plugins and preset sounds and it is a highly creative process. Make sure you own the plugins you sample. Don't rip off someone's intellectual property. Be creative and design your own sounds for sampling!

Optimized navigation and color coded UI

Version 6.1 update includes optimizations that are also available for SampleRobot Multi-X and SampleRobot Korg+Wave. The new context-sensitive color coding makes it a lot easier to navigate through projects, multisamples and samples. Whenever you see the yellow bars in the SampleRobot GUI you are on the Projects' level (screenshot 1). Orange stands for the Multisamples area and all dedicated settings (screenshot 2) while green bars show you the recorded samples and their information (screenshot 3). Now you can easily navigate with these shortcuts:

Shift + Arrow Keys Up / Down = Browse Projects
Alt + Arrow Keys Up / Down = Browse Multisamples
Ctrl / Cmd + Arrow Keys Up / Down = Browse Samples

Big screens and 16:9

Since screens are still getting bigger and bigger we shaped SampleRobot for version 6.1 so that you can use the application very comfortably even on the largest 4K screens with various resolutions and aspect ratios like 16:9 and 21:9. When using multiple screens you can drag elements from the graphical user interface like the peak meter simply to another screen to optimize the overview in your sampling session.

Best of all, SampleRobot 6.1 is free for all users of version 6. Get it now and have fun!

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by TheSteven

[msmcleod]

I've been using SampleRobot since version 4. It absolutely rocks.

The VSTi support in 6.1.1 upgrade is significant. Up until now, I've been using Cantable or MiniHost and running it through VBAudio Cable. It was a pain.

Now it's seamless.

 

[Fleer]

I’ve got SampleRobot Montage lying around somewhere. Time to test the waters. 

[TheSteven]

I saw this and thought it sounded really interesting...
Does it ever go on sale and if so at what range?
 

[msmcleod]

7 hours ago, TheSteven said:

I saw this and thought it sounded really interesting...
Does it ever go on sale and if so at what range?
 

AFAIK SampleRobot is a one-man company, or very small at least. I don't think I've ever seen it on sale.

The learning curve is not too bad, but the manual can be a bit confusing -  i.e.  it goes into detail regarding all the features & functionality, but doesn't do much to actually show you how to use it in anger.

The project wizard is good for getting you started though, and the results are great.

I keep meaning to do a couple of tutorial videos - must get around to it soon.

I use it in conjunction with the SampleLord/Extreme Sample Converter bundle (https://www.samplelord.com/) for a couple of reasons:

1. I wanted to get my hardware/soft synths on to my V-Machine (http://www.smproaudio.com/index.php/en/products/v-machines/v-machine) for live use. The V-Machine is like a poor man's Muse Receptor, but extremely under-powered for most VSTi's. It's fine with playing back samples though. SampleLord was written with the V-Machine in mind, and makes heavy use of streaming / buffer swapping to keep both CPU & memory usage at a minimum. The PC version of the VSTi is 32 bit, but I've never had an issue with it using JBridge and I use it regularly. 

2. The Kontakt export on SampleRobot is ancient (it exports .sxt, which is actually a Reason file), whereas Extreme Sample Converter can convert an sf2/sfz to an real nki instrument. I tend to export as sf2 from SampleRobot, then use Extreme Sample Converter to convert to sfz and nki when needed.

  

[Paul_in_wales]

I have sample robot, and chickensys constructor - but personally I prefer the "auto-sampler" feature of apple mainstage for creating multisamples . I mainly use that for hardware synths, but as mainstage can also host audio unit plugins, it works just fine sampling software instruments too.  And it's cheap at $30.

[msmcleod]

1 minute ago, Paul_in_wales said:

I have sample robot, and chickensys constructor - but personally I prefer the "auto-sampler" feature of apple mainstage for creating multisamples . I mainly use that for hardware synths, but as mainstage can also host audio unit plugins, it works just fine sampling software instruments too.  And it's cheap at $30.

Can apple mainstage do batch sampling of all the patches in a hardware instrument? $30 sounds like a bargain!

[Paul_in_wales]

Not sure - I've only ever used it to do one patch at a time.

[Cookie Jarvis]

No need for a third party translator...open your sf2 in Kontakt, then save and it creates an .nki instrument :)

Bill

[msmcleod]

5 minutes ago, Cookie Jarvis said:

No need for a third party translator...open your sf2 in Kontakt, then save and it creates an .nki instrument

Bill

Thanks for this info Bill. I wasn't aware you could do that.

I got ESC as part of a bundle with SampleLord... and its SampleLord I really wanted because of its native support for the V-Machine.

To be honest, the only two times I've ever used my own sampled instruments in Kontakt was when I made them available on this forum. I normally just use SampleLord with the original sf2 as it's way less CPU intensive, and has slightly less latency than Kontakt.

[kitekrazy]

13 minutes ago, msmcleod said:

Thanks for this info Bill. I wasn't aware you could do that.

I got ESC as part of a bundle with SampleLord... and its SampleLord I really wanted because of its native support for the V-Machine.

To be honest, the only two times I've ever used my own sampled instruments in Kontakt was when I made them available on this forum. I normally just use SampleLord with the original sf2 as it's way less CPU intensive, and has slightly less latency than Kontakt.

  I wonder what is going on with this developer.

[S.L.I.P.]

On 3/14/2019 at 5:38 AM, msmcleod said:

AFAIK SampleRobot is a one-man company, or very small at least. I don't think I've ever seen it on sale.

I think you are right. Last week I wanted to install a copy of WaveRobot that I purchased in 2007. I was not able to access the challenge and response, so I sent an email to the company. Christian, (person in the above video) got back to me immediately, and helped me get the software installed. I was very impressed, especially since the software was purchased 12 years ago. I really like the features in 6.1, combined with the great customer care, has me seriously considering purchasing it.