Using a DAW‘s built-in or plugin alternatives for creating take folders, noodling with ideas by copying and pasting, setting up MIDI triggering, programming, routing and all other kinds of computer and mouse-driven methods is all very well, and has its place, but how about being able to stay in the creative zone at your master MIDI keyboard without back and forth to tweak this or that parameter?
Move over grid controllers (great though they are) — for those of us more happy on a piano-style keyboard, Note Sampler from Osterhouse Sounds (Ben Osterhouse is the creative genius) offers huge, nigh-on-unlimited, control over MIDI snippet recording, triggering, looping and much more.
It feels like it’s an amalgamation of an ideas sketchpad, looper, accompaniment creator, MIDI router, and more.
Working fully at the MIDI level means it should be relatively light on processing, remaining speedy to use, while your DAW does the heavy lifting with whatever sounds are being triggered from the MIDI data.
The VST/AU plugin plays nicely with all compatible DAWs. Seeing it in action, its greatest potential will come with a full-size (88 key) controller keyboard — the smaller range you have, the more cramped it could feel because the keys can be used to trigger a number of actions (record, step, layer, undo/redo) which take up an octave, and keyboard splitting for more creative effects naturally demands more keyboard range.
This video gives a really good overview, and it doesn’t take long to see how diverse, useful and inspiring Note Sampler can be. Used alone or combined with other plugins it could be fantastic for both studio and live work.
An interesting take, based on some comments on the video, is that it could prove useful for those with reduced physical dexterity, allowing for triggering of more complex arrangements than it would be possible for them to play directly.
A trial version is available, and the full version costs just $29, which seems like a bit of a steal given just how much potential it has.
If you’re a keyboard fiend and want to spend more time interacting with instrument keys rather than computer keyboard keys, check it out.
