Best Sampler for Linux?

Link to good samples/soundfonts at http://wiki.linuxaudio.org/wiki/free_audio_data

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777funk
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Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by 777funk »

I'm just now switching to all Linux (or trying to anyway) from using Windows with Superior Drummer and Propellerhead Reason.

So far I have LinuxSampler and I like it VERY much other than that I can't save my instrument session/rack via QSampler. I open the saved session in QSampler and it opens blank. I've tried it on 2 different computers. I'm a long time Reaper user so that's where I'm loading LinuxSampler.

Are there better samplers than LinuxSampler? I really like it as is other than not being able to use QSampler (not saving my rack).

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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by tavasti »

You don't tell much what you need. For sfz loading, liquidsfz and sfizz are thing to go. For more complex needs, Renoise Redux.

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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by 777funk »

I'm looking for a player of .gig, sfz, sf2 files. Mostly keyboards (samples of real electric and acoustic instruments, not synths) and some drum kits.

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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by Audiojunkie »

The very best product for native Linux is a commercial product called Tal-Sampler. It is made by a reliable company that has a great track record for supporting Linux. They also have a fantastic Drum sampler as well.

https://tal-software.com/products

Another very good option is Bliss Sampler:

https://www.discodsp.com/bliss/

if you are looking for the best for Linux in just Open Source, it would be a rough tie between LinuxSampler and Sfizz for me.

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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by Audiojunkie »

777funk wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 5:50 pm

I'm looking for a player of .gig, sfz, sf2 files. Mostly keyboards (samples of real electric and acoustic instruments, not synths) and some drum kits.

If you MUST have .gig, then there is only one option for you--Linux Sampler.

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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by noedig »

Linuxsampler has the widest SFZ opcode support (as far as I know).
If QSampler doesn't work for you, you can also try Konfyt (https://github.com/noedigcode/konfyt) which uses Linuxsampler as a backend and allows you to load SFZ, GIG and SF2 files. It's meant for live keyboard playing, but you can also use it for simply playing samples and connect it up to your DAW. It also has a search feature for SFZ/SF2 files.

Carla also has SFZ and SF2 support (it uses SFZero as backend IIRC). It can also be used as a plugin in DAWS which is very handy.

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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by lazyklimm »

Audiojunkie wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:31 pm

The very best product for native Linux is a commercial product called Tal-Sampler. It is made by a reliable company that has a great track record for supporting Linux. They also have a fantastic Drum sampler as well.

https://tal-software.com/products

Another very good option is Bliss Sampler:

https://www.discodsp.com/bliss/

if you are looking for the best for Linux in just Open Source, it would be a rough tie between LinuxSampler and Sfizz for me.

While Tal Sampler is absolutely amazing (am a happy user myself), it's a bit niche and to me is more like a sample-based synthesizer, than an average sampler/rompler. As for choice between LS and Sfizz - I use both, LS for old stuff (been a user for a long time) sfizz for new libraries (usually these days Sfizz has better support for modern sfz opcodes).

As for the original question (QSampler not being able to save presets), Ardour (and, most likely, other advanced DAWs) are able to save current preset in sessions.

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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by rncbc »

lazyklimm wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2023 12:25 pm

As for the original question (QSampler not being able to save presets), Ardour (and, most likely, other advanced DAWs) are able to save current preset in sessions.

true

qsampler is of no use for saving (or loading) plugin states: that's the sole responsibility of the host (the DAW).

however, due to the ootb exotic design of the linuxsampler plugin architecture, you may and probably ought to always use qsampler for plugin setup and even alter its instance parameters which boils down to no other than the current instrument sampler engine and payload (.gig, .sf2 or .sfz).

your DAW won't ever present any meaningful GUI--because there's none--nor even the stock/generic UI will show you anything useful: only qsampler comes to the rescue (or some other LS client front-end, perhaps).

you've been advised
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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by 777funk »

artix_linux_user wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 8:10 pm

liquidsfz was most stable
sfizz, I had recently mysterious buggy issues

This is my experience too. Was it cutting certain notes short in your experience?

Seems to work pretty well but every few bars a batch of sustained notes is cut to almost stacatto.

EDIT: This seems to have been user error. I ticked the sustain box in settings and that seems to have fixed the issue.

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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by AlkuK »

I've been rolling along fine with sfizz as a rompler. Although I cannot figure out why the plugin is hardwired into stereo by default. Seems like overkill.

Last edited by AlkuK on Thu May 25, 2023 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by j_e_f_f_g »

AlkuK wrote:

why the plugin is hardwired into stereo (or 16 outs)

A single plugin is limited to 16 different patches playing simultaneously. For example, you could have (waveforms for) a piano patch, a guitar, a drumkit, a bass, and a total of 12 more patches loaded into a single sfizz plugin. This "only 16 patches can sound simultaneously for each device" is a limitation of MIDI. And since plugins use MIDI to trigger their sounds, the plugin inherently has that MIDI device limitation.

So assume you want to load 16 patches into one sfizz plugin. You also want to have each patch on a separate output bus (so you can add different, additional effects to each patch). You'll use the sfizz version with 16 separate (stereo) outputs. Then you can have each patch set to its own sfizz output.

On the other hand, if you're going to load only 1 (stereo) patch into each sfizz plugin, then it makes no sense to have 16 outputs per plugin. So, you'll use the version with 1 stereo output.

Understand?

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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by tseaver »

Per the sfizz 1.2.0 release notes (https://github.com/sfztools/sfizz/releases/tag/1.2.0):

The sfizz engine now handles multiple stereo outputs, through the output opcode. The VST3 and LV2 plugins both have a 16-out version (as 8 stereo outs)

This is actually unrelated to the MIDI channel of the triggering input note: the usecase is more like the "fan out" AVL / drumgizmo drumkit pattern than a bank of separate patches selectable via MIDI (see https://github.com/sfztools/sfizz/issues/9 for the rationale).

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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by AlkuK »

j_e_f_f_g wrote: Tue May 23, 2023 2:04 am

A single plugin is limited to 16 different patches playing simultaneously. For example, you could have (waveforms for) a piano patch, a guitar, a drumkit, a bass, and a total of 12 more patches loaded into a single sfizz plugin. This "only 16 patches can sound simultaneously for each device" is a limitation of MIDI. And since plugins use MIDI to trigger their sounds, the plugin inherently has that MIDI device limitation.

So assume you want to load 16 patches into one sfizz plugin. You also want to have each patch on a separate output bus (so you can add different, additional effects to each patch). You'll use the sfizz version with 16 separate (stereo) outputs. Then you can have each patch set to its own sfizz output.

On the other hand, if you're going to load only 1 (stereo) patch into each sfizz plugin, then it makes no sense to have 16 outputs per plugin. So, you'll use the version with 1 stereo output.

Understand?

Sure, I understand. You are referring to the 16 channel MIDI standard being reflected, and a different workflow. I was mainly addressing the fact that the plugin defaults to stereo, whereas many real-life instruments start out as relatively mono.

Example: say I add 4 (st) sfizz plugins on separate tracks for 4 mono flute virtual instruments-- so that's 8 channels where 4 channels are actually needed :D

(The stereo fetish is unfortunate in the digital domain: too many 'mono' instruments are poorly designed (or: processed too far) as stereo VSTIs...)

Last edited by AlkuK on Thu May 25, 2023 10:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Best Sampler for Linux?

Post by Impostor »

AlkuK wrote: Thu May 25, 2023 11:52 am

I was mainly addressing the fact that the plugin defaults to stereo, whereas many real-life instruments start out as monophonic.

Even if a plugin would have mono output, its output would usually end up in a stereo audio file. And even if you'd release strictly mono audio, your audience will probably listen to it over a pair of speakers anyway. So what would be the point of a mono-output plugin, unless it's specifically used for processing mono input?

Btw, monophonic has nothing to do with mono vs stereo.

Edit: I'm interpreting "mono" as "single channel" here. Not as "identical signals over both the left and right channels".

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