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Sample-playback synthesizers

What is a sample-playback synthesizer?

The majority of the synthesizers on today's market are sample-based synthesizers. These are synthesizers that contain hard-coded samples (stored onboard in ROM on the synthesizer). Synthesizer patches are created by using these hard coded samples as a sound source and processing the signal through various filters, envelopes, etc. They are known in general as sample-playback synthesizers (although some sound card manufacturers call the process "wavetable").

Although these can be a limiting synthesizer type to some extent, they tend to have several advantages. First of all, they're cheap. ROM is cheap and digital technology is getting cheaper. Second, polyphony is cheap and extensive on these machines: Some sample-playback synthesizers can play up to 64 notes at one time! Third, they are very realistic sounding (due to the use of samples). Fourth, they are easy to use: Simply call up the patch you want and play. However, they often lack real-time control and warmth, and you are limited to the samples in the ROM. It's a judgment call. For beginners, I do think they are the best choice, but for those wanting to create their own sounds, I don't...

Some of these synthesizers are called workstations. Workstations are nothing more than synthesizers where several related components of a synthesizer (sequencer, effects processor, data storage) can be found on one unit. Although there are certainly analog workstations out there, all workstations sold today are entirely sample-based (with other synthesizer techniques looming in the background, such as sampling and physical modeling, sometimes).

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