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Sample Design : Vintage Editors
Overview
Whilst the first innovative software products for sample editing have been out of production for some years, the lack of good support for vintage samplers in modern software means that the best of these vintage editors still have a place in the studio today. Tracking one down is hard work, and you will usually need an older Mac (pre-PowerMac/G3/G4), but Sound Designer II is not too difficult to find and it runs on some of the recent Mac's.
Digidesign The innovators of Digital Audio Editing are Digidesign, who introduced the first stand alone computer sampling editing software in 1986. Sound Designer developed through numerous versions of Mac
software that ensured it kept its place as the top sample editor for nearly 10 years, before its old Mac design finally killed it off. more »
Passport Alchemy
Originally created by Blank Software, this Mac sample editor matured quickly from version 1.0, then 2.0 (with DSP features) and finally the networked version 3.0. The software was high quality (the first to support stereo sound files), and supported RS422, SCSI and MIDI Sample Dump transfers for a range of samplers. Certainly the second best vintage editor. An entry-level version called Alchemy Apprentice was also sold. Passport went bust in the 1990's and although the software was bought by another company, Alchemy is no more.
Steinberg
Better known for their range of sequencers Steinberg used their Atari ST knowledge to develop Sample Editors and synthesizer editors. Starting with specific software for each sampler (Soundworks for Emax, etc.), Steinberg than went on to create a generic editor called Avalon. This software made it to Version 2.0 before Steinberg gave in, and focused on sequencing software.
Drumware
The route from EPROM drum chips to sample editing was also pioneered by Drumware in L.A., although they didn't make the distance and folded in the early 1990's. They become Interval Music Systems by 1989. After initially selling SCI TOM cartridges, Drumware branched into sample editing software for the Atari ST platform. Their first software was for the Akai S900 (Soundfiler ST), followed by Genwave 12 which supported the Emax and other 12-bit MIDI sample dump samplers. Genwave 16 supported 16-bit samplers and was their final software product. The gradual death of the Atari ST as a computing platform meant this software never really made its mark.
Turtle Beach Whilst the Mac gained immediate favour with Sound Designers, the IBM PC flounded due to its initial lack of a graphic interface, the limitations of DOS and its corporate image. Turtle Beach bravely launched Sample Vision with a GEM interface, and then in 1994 they upgraded the software to support Windows. The software works with a wide range samplers including the EIII, Emax and SP1200. Whilst the company still prospers the software is long gone.
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