Introducing... One of the most common uses of a sampler is sampling loops (often called breaks). This is where you sample a pattern such as a Drum or Bass line and then set the sampler to repeat it whilst it is activated. To do this you will need to set up the point at which the sample will loop and the length of the loop. Usually these are the same value. The first thing you need to know is the tempo of the loop... Feeling the Tempo Many sample CDs come with inlay cards that tell you the tempo of each loop. Unfortunately, for some reason, many don't. If you're sampling from another source then you probably won't know the exact tempo. In these cases you are going to have to work it out for yourself! It's not that hard if you've got a sequencer. Simply create a repeated loop of the same number of beats as your sample (eg 8 beats) then put a note on message at the beginning of the loop to trigger the sample. Then start the sequencer playing and adjust the tempo until the loop triggers exactly on the beat. This will give you the tempo or bpm of the sample. With a bit of practice this is relatively easy. Finding the right spot When creating loops many samplers set the loop points using sample locations. This is certainly the case with the S3000XL. To calculate the point at which to loop you need to know a few things: The sampling frequency (in kHz -eg 44.1) The tempo (in beats per minute -bpm: see above) The duration of the sample (in beats) Then the loop point (the length in samples) will be: Loop Point = ( (Frequency x 1000) x 60) Tempo x Duration The table below shows the number of samples that a loop of 8 beats takes up when sampling at 44.1kHz. Simply read off the appropriate number of samples for the bmp of the loop. If your sample is longer or short then just divide the number of samples by 8 and then multiply by the number of beats. A zipped Excel version of this is available here. Simply enter the sampling frequency and sample duration in the boxes and it'll do the calculations for you! BPM Sample Point 50 423360.00 52 407076.92 54 392000.00 56 378000.00 58 364965.52 60 352800.00 62 341419.35 64 330750.00 66 320727.27 68 311294.12 70 302400.00 72 294000.00 74 286054.05 76 278526.32 78 271384.62 BPM Sample Point 80 264600.00 82 258146.34 84 252000.00 86 246139.53 88 240545.45 90 235200.00 92 230086.96 94 225191.49 96 220500.00 98 216000.00 100 211680.00 102 207529.41 104 203538.46 106 199698.11 108 196000.00 BPM Sample Point 110 192436.36 112 189000.00 114 185684.21 116 182482.76 118 179389.83 120 176400.00 122 173508.20 124 170709.68 126 168000.00 128 165375.00 130 162830.77 132 160363.64 134 157970.15 136 155647.06 138 153391.30 BPM Sample Point 140 151200.00 142 149070.42 144 147000.00 146 144986.30 148 143027.03 150 141120.00 152 139263.16 154 137454.55 156 135692.31 158 133974.68 160 132300.00 162 130666.67 164 129073.17 166 127518.07 168 126000.00 BPM Sample Point 170 124517.65 172 123069.77 174 121655.17 176 120272.73 178 118921.35 180 117600.00 182 116307.69 184 115043.48 186 113806.45 188 112595.74 190 111410.53 192 110250.00 194 109113.40 196 108000.00 198 106909.09 In practice Below is a the section on the S3000XL which deals with looping. It can be found under the Loop menu in the Edit Sample section (see manual pages 136-140): Simply enter the value you calculated above (loop point) under the at: and lng: headings. A little adjustment my be needed (usually to the at: figure) but otherwise this should turn out fine. S3000XL Tips By Stephen Tallamy