Korg MicroSampler Bucks the Trend

US Bah, who needs software? 07/09/09

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Another leak from that dealer conference in Japan last week saw the unveiling of the new microSampler - what appears to be a hardware sampler.

While the rest of the world appears to be fixated with software based samplers, Korg have taken the view that there's little going in in the hardware sampler world. Looks like they could be more than right - many live acts struggle to deal with the logistics involved in taking computers on the road, unless they have an spent a few quid on cases and ruggedization of their gear.

News is thin on the ground due to a worldwwide press embargo till mid September, but here's what we've found (via Synthtopia.com) on some preliminary specs.

37 key (Natural Touch Mini Keyboard with Velocity)
8 user bank (A ~ H), 1 ROM bank
5 types of sampling (LOOP / ONE SHOT / GATE / AUTO NEXT / KEY GATE)
Sample rates of 48kHz – 24kHz – 12kHz – 6kHz
Approximately 160 seconds per one bank (Mono / 48kHz sampling rate at 159.7 seconds)
Up to 14 voice poly (stereo / mono regardless)
64,000 note sequencer (one per bank notes (16,000 notes max in one pattern))
96 ticks / quarter note resolution (real-time recording)
MIDI IN, OUT and USB
DC9V or alkaline 6 x AA batteries = giving 3 hours battery life approximately
516 (W) x 238 (D) x 65 (H) mm
Weight of 1.9kg
Software editor for Windows: Microsoft Windows XP SP3 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 or later Mac: Mac OS X 10.4 or later

Obviously the key to the survival of most samplers is their ability to read and translate other formats. It's not clear as yet, whether Korg have taken this challenge on or just done their own thing - we will see....

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