Lo-fi sampling with TAL-Sampler

Like the old-school flavour of retro dance tracks? Then Togu Audio Line’s crusty, dusty sampler instrument will tickle your tastebuds

Primitive digital samplers from the likes of Akai and E-Mu gave early dance music a raw, crusty aesthetic that’s tough to recapture in modern DAWs. Those hardware instruments converted audio signals to digital 0s and 1s at low sample rates, and their A-D and D-A converters imparted unique aliasing artefacts that can’t really be replicated by sample-rate reduction or bitcrushing alone. Enter the TAL-Sampler. Unlike straight-up ‘degrading’ insert effects that process a sound further down the signal path, this four-layer software instrument emulates those ADC and DAC artefacts at the initial sampling level, and lets you switch between several classic sampler algorithms to give you the specific sonic colour you’re after, ie to replay a breakbeat sample chromatically for more of a retro flavour. Here’s a chord loop loaded into TAL-Sampler’s Layer A. In Mapping Editor, loop up a small chord segment within the sample. Setting up a Ping-Pong loop and dialling in a bit of Fade In creates a basic ‘back and forth’ note we can play up and down the keyboard. Back to the main interface’s Resampling section, which is where the sonic magic happens. Using the DAC Type dropdown, you can select one of seven sampler algorithms, which range from cleaner types to a bevy of crustier modes modelled on primitive samplers. For lo-fi grit, back down the SR knob. Increasing Jitter destabilises the ‘sampling clock’ for more erratic fuzz, while Saturation and Noise knobs apply colourful drive and circuitry noise. Stretch and Density can also stretch the sample in an old-school manner.