When you pick them up, the first thing that strikes you and strikes you hard about this series of four sample CDs from German company Masterbits, is the sheer number of samples you have in your hands. The number in the title of each disc gives you a fair idea of how many samples are to be found on that particular disc - the running total for all four is some 2672 samples, or four hours and 55 minutes of recorded sample time if you prefer. Add to this the fact that each sample appears only once - the convenience of two passes at each sample to assist the sampling process having been sacrificed to accommodate more samples and you're talking about a shed load of samples.

But what on earth could possibly fund such a wealth of samples? It could have been the rich variety of sounds derived from a selection of acoustic instruments, I'll admit, but somehow it seems appropriate to the pages of MT that it's actually... a selection of synthesisers, samplers and drum machines. There's something satisfyingly obsessive about using technology to imitate technology, wouldn't you say?

Spread across the four discs of Masterbits' Sampling Collection you'll find Matrix 6s, Micro Waves, Prophet 5s, MKS70s, Prophet VSs, PPGs and Matrix 1000s - all recorded in glorious stereo. You'll also find M1s, DX7s, Emulator IIs, S1000s, TR909s and Linn 9000s. In short, Masterbits have ensured that - whether your taste is for analogue or digital synths, for samplers or drum machines - there's sure to be something in this collection for you. It's no mean feat either - there are hours and hours of work tied up in these discs, and the boys at Masterbits have invested that time well.

So, what have we got in almost five hours of samples? While you can generally (if unkindly) regard an acoustic instrument as having a "characteristic" sound, the same is certainly not true of a synth or sampler. It's less informative than it at first appears, then, to say that there are Prophet VS samples to be found on the Sampling Series 600 disc - what exactly is the Prophet doing? Well, it's actually presenting 19 examples of the sort of sounds which make the VS valuable to its users - fat filter sweeps ('Dirty Analog'), pulse basses ('VS Sequencer 4') and string/bells ('Carlos? Sweep'). Most of the Collection's samples appear at three, four or five pitches (octave-spaced Cs), although there are exceptions - drum sounds in general and the selection of CR78 rhythm patterns (including 'In the Air Loop 1 & 2'), for example. Then there's the one minute 18 second-long sample of a Micro Wave wave loop to consider...

While the drum machine sounds don't need much explaining - there are drum machines on every disk as well as drum sounds culled from various of the synths - the sampler sounds obviously do. If it's difficult to imagine what a "VFX sample" sounds like, what can be said about an S1000 sample? What Masterbits have done, of course, is to pilfer the libraries of the samplers they've included - rather like early samplers' libraries often featured sounds "borrowed" from that of the Fairlight. So for Akai S1000 HD sample (also on Sampling Collection 600), read 27 samples of saxes, violins, bass guitars, pianos, orchestral strikes and, of course, other synths, originally made by Akai and now presented by Masterbits for you to feed into your sampler. It's all starting to get rather complicated, isn't it?

Let's forget the background then, and look at what mileage there is to be had from 2672 samples. To begin with, the recording quality is as good as the source instruments permit. Add to this the fact that the recordings are in stereo (though you only need sample in mono if you prefer) and we're off to a good start. Now consider that however large your collection of synths may be, there's still a limit on the sounds you have at your disposal. It might be that you've already got everything your music requires - but in that case you probably wouldn't be reading a review of sample CDs. It's far more likely that lack of cash (or lack of space) is depriving your musical imagination of some of the sounds it craves. Given that you're already using a sampler, the Sampling Collection gives you access to an incredible range of instruments (did I mention the SY77, Wavestation, D50, TR808, MPC60, R8...) to complement those you actually have. If the theory isn't enough, remember that some of the sounds here are the sort of thing that sold whole instruments in the first place.

Realistically, it's impossible to cover the variety of synths, samplers, drum machines and sounds that make up the Sampling Collection without fully documenting the entire series, so you'll have to take it from me that there is an incredible variety of sounds from an impressive collection of instruments amassed here.

When you actually get down to the business of making samples, you'll find that the Sampling Collection's samples form the basis of multisample maps well. While you need to resample a piano every three or four semitones for convincing results, synth patches reproduce happily given Masterbits' octave spacing of samples. In terms of their length, I found the samples here more than long enough to give you abundant (attempts to find) loop points. And it's here we encounter our first problem - not that it's confined to these discs. Given the harmonic complexity of many of these sounds, satisfactory loop points are often hard - frequently impossible - to find. You'd be well advised to get straight into crossfade looping if your sampler supports it. To Masterbits' credit, however, the samples are generally long enough to use as one-shot samples even in the case of "sustained" sounds. Obviously this limits the length of time you can hold down a chord, but if the sound in question is good enough (and many are) you may settle for an unlooped but usable sample rather than a badly-looped unusable one. If it's any consolation, there was no looping on the Mellotron either...

Although I can't claim to have tested all of the Collection's 2672 samples, I can tell you that amongst the samples that will remain in my collection are the TR909 (in one of its rare "sampling" appearances on Sampling Collection 700), 'Thumber' (Sampling Collection 800), a synth-style M1 kalimba and 'Sitar' (Sampling Collection 500). These samples certainly won't suit everybody's tastes, but as I mentioned earlier, the variety of samples available makes it pretty unlikely that anybody could fail to get some mileage out of it - unless you're adamant that all your sounds should be genuinely original.

That's enough praise for now; let's have a moan. While I agree it doesn't affect the actual use of any of the samples here, it would have been useful - interesting, at least - to know where they all came from. Yes, we're talking documentation. While the 600 and 800 discs are helpful enough to divide the sounds into sections which are listed under the synth of origin, the 500 and 700 discs contain lists of sounds without any indication of their source - all you have is a list elsewhere on the sleeve itemising the synths used on the disc as a whole. And it's not even clear whether that list is complete... Then there's the question of originality: how many of these sounds have been created specifically for the Sampling Collection, and how many have appeared as part of the instruments' patch libraries? Patches from non-programmable synths obviously can't have been selected from the manufacturer's factory presets, but those from programmable synths could have come from the factory, subsequent releases of manufacturers' sounds or from third-party sound houses. Even if the sounds aren't original, it would be interesting to know whether the names given to the sounds here are the names of patches as they previously appeared. I know none of this directly affects the value of a sound, but can see it pissing off a few synth purists, all the same.

Another consideration when contemplating whether or not the Collection is a worthwhile buy, is that you're obviously not getting the full potential of any of the original instruments, just the examples of their sounds that Masterbits have chosen to give you. But that's almost certainly a sample (sic) of sounds from a hell of a lot more synths, samplers and drum machines that you presently have access to. Now take into consideration the cost of the collection: around a ton all in. It's not a trivial amount of cash to lay out for four CDs, but when did you last have the chance to add a little piece of all these instruments to your collection for the price of a solitary second-hand monosynth?

Price £29 each or £100 for all four discs.

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