Hardware samplers are still the rage and most of today’s hardware samplers have a front end for playback and triggering and a backend that is software-driven for editing and processing. DAWs have replaced workstations, hardware sequencers, and samplers. Nowadays we do not have any of those constraints as we predominantly work in the virtual domain.

However, sampling and processing technology was still in its infancy and users were constrained with limited sample memory and basic processing tools. In effect, they were used as instruments. In the days of spandex and big hair, hardware samplers were used not only to sample but to trigger the samples in a musical context. Sound designers and producers still sample and process using hardware samplers as the interactive process is both fun and quite intuitive. Layering drum sounds in a hardware sampler is the traditional approach to layering drum samples and it has stood the test of time for decades. Drum Layering in Native Instruments Battery is a detailed video tutorial showing how to use NI’s Battery to import and layer drums samples.

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