A synth that works similar to a sampler, but lacks the ability to record samples; it can only play them back. Sample playback synths were created in the mid-1980s primarily as a means to inexpensively imitate real instruments, although the genre has evolved far past being merely an imitator. With the sample-recording hardware and software omitted, a sample playback synth can be built for less than the cost of a comparable sampler.
Some sample-playback synths can have their samples augmented or replaced. In older sample playback synths, this was sometimes possible by replacing internal ROM memory ICs with different ones containing new samples. Newer ones can usually have their samples changed out by loading from floppy disk or memory card, or via MIDI or USB interface.
Many drum machines are sample-playback synths.
History[]
The use of digital sampling and looping in popular music was pioneered by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO).[1][2][3][4] Their approach to sampling was a precursor to the contemporary approach of constructing music by cutting fragments of sounds and looping them using computer technology.[3] "Computer Game/Firecracker" (1978) interpolated a Martin Denny melody,[5] and sampled Space Invaders[6] video game sounds.[5] Technodelic (1981) introduced the use of digital sampling in popular music, as the first album consisting of mostly samples and loops.[2][4] The album was produced using Toshiba-EMI's LMD-649 digital PCM sampler, which engineer Kenji Murata custom-built for YMO.[4] The LMD-649 was also used for sampling by other Japanese synthpop artists in the early 1980s, including YMO-associated acts such as Chiemi Manabe[7] and Logic System.[8]
References[]
- ↑ Mayumi Yoshida Barakan & Judith Connor Greer (1996). Tokyo city guide. Tuttle Publishing. p. 144. ISBN 0-8048-1964-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=vJbd43uxLiMC&pg=PA144. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Carter, Monica (June 30, 2011). It's Easy When You’re Big In Japan: Yellow Magic Orchestra at The Hollywood Bowl. The Vinyl District. Retrieved on 22 July 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Condry, Ian (2006). Hip-hop Japan: rap and the paths of cultural globalization. Duke University Press. p. 60. ISBN 0-8223-3892-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=37QWE3yRY-4C&pg=PA59.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Rockin'f, March 1982, pages 140-141
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lewis, John (4 July 2008). "Back to the future: Yellow Magic Orchestra helped usher in electronica – and they may just have invented hip-hop, too". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jul/04/electronicmusic.filmandmusic11. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ↑ "The Wire, Issues 221-226", The Wire: p. 44, 2002, https://books.google.com/books?id=qyFMAAAAYAAJ, retrieved 2011-05-25
- ↑ Chiemi Manabe - 不思議・少女.
- ↑ Logic System - Orient Express.