As part of my ‘No Gear 2024’ New Year’s Resolution (4 months in and still holding fast!), I’ve been spending a lot of time learning the deeper features of #Eurorack modules that I already own. Perhaps my most formidable mountain to climb has been the Disting EX by #ExpertSleepers. In the past I’ve learned it well enough to navigate the UI and menus (really it’s not so bad once you get the hang of it), but all of the cool algorithms involving sampling had eluded me. So I buckled down, and after going through the manual (repeatedly) and watching a couple YouTube videos (Andrew Osler’s short and sweet instructional videos are really on point (see below)), I dove into the Disting EX Multisample algorithm.
So what the heck is multisampling anyway?
Although now somewhat familiar with sampling, until very recently I was completely unaware of #multisampling and it’s power. Essentially what one does in multisampling is to take an instrument (physical or software VST), record or otherwise individual WAV files corresponding to individual notes or semitones (you can also have additional files for velocity, accessed via MIDI).
Multisampling software (like the Multisample algorithm in the Disting EX) will then play the individual notes accessed either by MIDI (i.e., keyboard presses), or by control voltage (the latter more relevant for Eurorack). A multisampled library played in this fashion is not unlike playing a rompler (for good examples, see the various (and excellent!) Audiokit synths available for iOS).
Why multisample?
There are many reasons why one might get into multisampling, depending on their gear and workflow. In my case, I wanted to add something interesting and melodic to my usual Eurorack workflow. Once one feeds the Disting EX with a multisample library, it can then play back the samples at Eurorack signal voltages making it accessible to all the other modules in my system via patching. Furthermore, there are a ton of useful configuration options available for the algorithm, and I’ll go into more detail on those in a later post.
Creating my first multisample library
I’m an OG fan of Blade Runner (still prefer the theatrical release – fight me!), and have always loved Vangelis’ soundtrack, much of which was performed on the legendary Yamaha CS80 synth. So yeah, I love the sound. Fortunately I own a license for the Arturia V collection , and it has a very nice software version of the CS80 (named, unsurprisingly, the CS80-V), so I decided to start with that. I’ll save the details on how to create a library like this for another post, but below you can hear the end result of the library I created and played through the Disting EX from a recent #ModularTransmission session.
Here the Disting EX Multisample algorithm was controlled mostly by the After Later Pachinko (a clone of Mutable Instruments Marbles), both in terms of tempo (T2) and pitch (X2). The X2 output of Pachinko was quantized using the After Later uO_C (Ornament & Crime) module (CopierMaschine algorithm). It’s a simple, evocative, and gradually evolving piece that nicely conveys the iconic characteristics of the CS80.
Later on we’ll delve deeper into using the above modules for more elaborate quantization options and ways to generate interesting melodies in the polyphonic realm.
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