QUESTION 2: Will the sample loop in the Sampler Synth? I initially read where it won’t, but the OP-Z guide shows the ability to set loop points in the Sampler Synth: https://teenage.engineering/guides/op-z/sampling
Answers to these questions are appreciated. I’ve been trying to read up on all the functions and updates, and it’s not clear to me.
Yes they can loop. You can set loop points. And I think you have the format right. You can just plug in a USB cable though and sample off YouTube or whatever though.
You don’t need to use that sample hack tool. I imported a sample in the format I listed and it worked just fine.
As for looping, works with both imported samples and recorded samples. Just select the sample and press stop and record at the same time to take you to the sampler page.
It’s a bit tricky to get a good loop without clicks, but if you have your sample prepared beforehand it can help.
bit of a bump but, how good is the OP-Z for playing with samples, slowing them down, looping them, maybe playing two samples against each other with one in reverse or something, can it loop a tiny portion of a sound? (not to play as a waveform but just maybe quarter of a second on a loop almost granulary synth-y)
I know these are a bit general questions, but it’s honestly hard to judge the OP-Z’s sampler in videos as no one seems to similar stuff with it, I’m really just looking for how much samples can be played with and toyed with musically, or if that’s something I’d have to look into the Digitakt for or something
There’s two different sample engines, one for the drum section and one for the synth section.
The drum section is up to 12 seconds of sample slicing, which maps the slices across the keys. You can re-pitch each slice, which slows them down or speeds them up, and you can set the playback mode to loop while also being able to set the start and end point for each slice. In the main parameter section you can also set the slices to loop by envelope points.
The synth section is up to 6 seconds of chromatic playback, which means when you play different keys it pitches them up or down by slowing the sample down or speeding it up. You can also loop the sample with this engine, with the difference being you can also set the loop points on the sample.
Looping is a bit tricky, because you can encounter clicks. The adjustments are easy to fine tune to try to find the sweet spot, and I would say it’s less than ideal without micro fades, but certainly usable in loop mode.
Both engines also let you reverse. The size of the sound is up to you, can be tiny, or up to the allotted amount for each engine.
Overall you get 24mb of sample space, which doesn’t fill out every slot, but gives you enough to load up a nice amount.
Overall I’d say the sampling is very solid. You can send each engine to the send FX or the Tape track, and use punch FX and step components as well, so when factored into the OP-Z as a whole it’s definitely nice to have the two engines. The lack of micro fades is my biggest beef, to help avoid clicks.
This issome awesome info thank you, just one little extra thing, is there any arbitrary limit to how short you can make a loop of a sample? I guess I’m mostly trying to compare to the stuff going on here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhiGPgx-0EY I get that, as far as I know, I don’t think we can assign LFOs or envelopes to the loop points or anything (this would be cool though!) but can the loop start and end at least be made that short or close together? it’s a cool sound I’d like to play around with when I get an OP-Z
No, like I say the dials let you do precise adjustments, as the dials are nicely done. You can get the loop points right up next to each other. Again though, the clicks you will likely have to navigate. Pretty sure I saw a video showing the Digitakt has micro fades that smooth out the clicks. So granular on the OP-Z is achievable, but probably not as buttery smooth as a sampler like Digitakt.
There’s also the Tape track which you can route any of the tracks to and achieve some granular type stuff. The loop points you can’t get quite as close as the sampler engines, but you can still get them fairly close. You also have to mind the clicks which can show up there too, but the Tape track is another option another option.
I keep bringing up the clicks, only because they are there, not because they are an overwhelming nuisance.
yeah that makes sense, hopefully it’s something that could come in the future, but as long as I can play with it even if its not perfect the fact I can just experiment and play with it is really all im looking for, thanks again for the info
Another granular type option is to sample a bunch of short sounds into the Drum Sampler, then map them different ways across the 24 keys including re-pitching them on different keys for variety, making sure you set the end point just after the end of the sound. Then when you go back to the main parameter page use the envelope to fade in to avoid clicks on the front end, while leaving loop off, and just sequencing sounds close together.
Should have mentioned also, the Drum Sampler engine’s envelope lets you set the start point, meaning you can record start point automation on the sequence, giving granular type variety. This is in contrast to the Sampler Synth engine, which has a traditional ADSR envelope. With the Drum Sampler the envelope is: Start, Attack, Hold (or loop length with loop on), and then Decay.
Or even one long 12 second sound, then just automate the envelope start point and use the Gate playback mode, in which the note length of played notes is determined by how long you hold down that note.
Yes, there are tricks you can do, and yes clicks can be navigated.
