This is an audio recording and editing package for Windows. Samplitude comes in Multimedia, Pro and Studio versions. The top-of-the-line version, Samplitude Studio, allows up to 16 tracks, simultaneous record/playback, and support of up to 4 sound cards for 8 independent outputs. It has a fairly full complement of editing features. Its unique organization allows true non-destructive editing, which makes it very flexible, and suitable for many different tasks. Samplitude Studio would be at home in a post-production facility, a radio station, or a Hip-hop house. People who work with samplers will find it particularly useful.
February 25, 1999
This is a powerful program, but it is not especially easy to learn. Samplitude has its own unique way of arranging audio files. The actual sound files are saved as "hard-drive projects" or "RAM projects", while a complete song or work is a "virtual project". Something like a Cakewalk "work file", a virtual project is composed of one or more "physical" projects, or sections thereof. The advantage to this system is that you can do any kind of editing you want to a virtual project, and it doesn’t change the original sound files. This is true non-destructive editing. For some situations, this system is perfect. For example, if you wanted to have several different mixes of the same set of tracks, you could just create different virtual files. Each virtual project could mix and match sections of different tracks, without altering the original track files, or using more hard disk space.
Although this can be a very efficient way to work, you have to learn how Samplitude works before you can get much done, so it isn’t the kind of program that you install the night before the big deadline. In other words, expect to read the manual. I advise that you make sure you understand exactly how RAM projects and hard drive projects relate to virtual projects before you get started. Another thing that makes the Samplitude learning curve a bit long is that they do not adhere to all the standard Windows conventions. Control S saves, but Control O doesn’t open. Copy, Cut and Paste are found not on the Edit menu, but on the "Cut" menu. Some keys do what you expect, some don’t.
The powerhouse of Samplitude is the virtual project. A virtual project can have from 1 to 16 mono, or from 1 to 8 stereo, tracks. Clips of audio can be arranged on the tracks however you like. These audio clips are considered "hard-drive" projects or "RAM" projects, depending on where they are stored, and they are your basic building blocks. They can be recorded right into the virtual project, or imported from existing .WAV files. Once a clip is part of a virtual project, it’s an "object", and it can be manipulated much like an object in a desktop publishing program. Naturally, you can drag it forward or backwards in time, or from one track to another. If you click on an object, it will show 5 little handles. Moving the bottom handle at either the beginning or the end will change the length of the object. Moving the top handle raises or lowers the volume. The 2 handles in the upper corners are for fades. Pulling one of these handles towards the center creates a fade-in or fade-out from the desired location. All of these changes are part of the virtual project, but the original sound file is not changed.
Edit functions include Invert, Fade, Normalize, Compressor/Expander, Resample, Echo, and Reverb. The EQ department has highpass, bandpass and lowpass filters, a 5-band graphic, and a 3-band parametric. The usual commands for viewing and moving around in files are well implemented, although as I mentioned, it takes a while to learn some of the non-standard aspects of the interface. Samplitude includes no MIDI capabilities, although of course it can sync to other applications that do.
To sum up, Samplitude Studio is a powerful, if idiosyncratic program. If you want true non-destructive editing, Samplitude is the thing for you. If you’re looking for a flexible multitrack recording/editing package, Samplitude is worth a look. You may also want to check out competitor Cakewalk Pro Audio, especially if you are into MIDI. Sek'd also makes an audio CD recording package called Red Roaster, which would be a good fit with Samplitude Studio. If you want to record CDs, check it out.
