16-bit sampling has never come cheap, with even used and discontinued machines costing a pretty penny. Now, everyone can satisfy their sampling urges with Roland's MS-1. Chris Kempster can barely contain himself...

Whatever your preconceptions about what a sampler should look like, behave like or cost like, put them on hold for the duration of this review. Don't expect comparisons with other machines on the market, either, since that wouldn't be doing Roland or the product itself justice. Simply put, there is nothing else out there similar to the MS-1, either in concept or price-point, so we'll take it on its own merits. Hoping to open up a new market for samplers that was previously inaccessible due to the high cost and apparent complexity, Roland have come up with an interesting package that will undoubtedly make waves in the industry.

The MS-1 is a 16-bit, stereo device that comes with 1/2 Meg of RAM, but is expandable by plug-in cards. Internal memory is of the 'flash' variety, so samples are available immediately you turn on the power, and aren't lost when you power down. The machine is incredibly compact, its portability further enhanced by being able to run off batteries, though an AC adaptor is an optional extra. Every MS-1 comes complete with a 500-sound sample CD, which features sounds from the libraries of a variety of sample CD producers (see overleaf). Clearly the MS-1 is an innovative product. But is it restricted to the beginner, or has it a use among the mainstream of music producers?

Ergonomics

The MS-1 is probably as small as you would want it to be (how long till you can get a Filofax insert?). The uninitiated could easily mistake it for a drum machine. The control surface is simply laid out, with a 16-character LED surmounting two groups of buttons. The first consists of eight pads, primarily for triggering samples, but also used as transport buttons for the simple sequencer (of which, more later). Above the main pads are four bank buttons; each of which holds eight sounds, with banks A and B referring to internal samples, and banks C to E relating to samples on memory cards. The function keys allow you to operate in either sequence mode or pad mode, the latter being the default (and where you'll spend most of your time).

Editing is split into three levels — system, sample, and utility — and also provided are parameter select and value increment/decrement buttons. Finally, you get a red sample stop/start button (doubling as 'yes'), and a hold button, doubling as exit/no.

To the right of the machine is a slot for memory cards, and on the left is a volume/value pot and minijack headphone socket. Moving to the rear, phono/RCA sockets are provided for stereo line inputs/outputs. Two mic inputs are also provided — 1/4 inch mono, or minijack stereo. A footswitch can be used for starting and stopping sampling and sequences. MIDI in/out sockets, the power switch and a power adaptor socket round off the guided tour.

In use

When you power up, samples can be played back immediately, by choosing a bank and pressing one of the eight pads. To sample, hit the record switch and choose a pad. Once you've done this, the recording level has be set, and then you're ready to go. You can choose to record in mono or stereo, as well as from either the mic or line inputs. Once a sample is in memory, you can edit the 'wave' (the actual sound) by assigning it various settings to make it into a 'sample' (in Roland-speak). You do this by pressing 'edit sample', and you can now adjust its start and end points, loop point, volume, and the gate/trig parameter.

This last feature lets you hold individual samples without having to use the normal 'hold' button. Further, by selecting 'drum', a sample will play to its end when triggered by an incoming MIDI Note On message, regardless of whether or not it subsequently receives a Note Off message.

This is great for creating echo-type effects, since the sound can be re triggered before it's finished. An example of this is the funk guitar used on the Re:Mix demo. Finally, there's the 'mute group' setting, which is used when you don't want particular samples playing back together. When you trigger a sample in the 'mute group', any other samples in the mute group that are already playing, will be turned off.

There are certain parameters which are set globally, and these are accessed by the 'edit system' button. The 'sample grade' selects the sample rate of either 44.1kHz (high), 32kHz (standard), 22.05kHz (Long 1) or 16kHz (Long 2), though this can be varied further by use of the 'pitch' function. So in high grade, for example, the sample rate can vary between 44.1 and 32.07kHz, depending on how the pitch is set.

On first impressions, it seems that the pitch can only be set for the whole machine, but this is not the case — when auditioning a sample, the pitch of the sound can be changed before it is actually recorded. So if, for instance, you want a drum loop and a bass loop to play in time, you can record the drums at 0%, change the pitch of the bass sound as you record it (to fit with the drums), then return the master pitch to 0% when you're done.

"how long will it be till you can get a Filo fax sampler insert?"

The MS-1 comes with its pads assigned with MIDI note numbers, but you're free to change these as required, with the key/pad function. Also in the System Edit mode, you can change the LCD contrast, memory protect status, MIDI local on/off, and footswitch status.

One last parameter is MIDI channel, which is a global setting. The MS-1 is not multi-timbral. Housekeeping functions are generally handled by the 'utility edit' section, and this includes sample deleting, MIDI bulk dump operations, and formatting and saving to memory cards. Here, you can also 'truncate' a wave, cutting off unused parts of a sample to free up more memory, or 'divide' a sample, to use two or more pads to trigger a sample originally recorded to only one pad.

Facts and figures

Because the MS-1 is such a different concept to most other samplers on the market, its spec sheet is slightly unorthodox, and needs some explaining. Maximum polyphony is four voices, although in high grade, only one voice (in stereo) will be available.

Also, when using samples on a card, sounds in different banks can't be sounded at the same time. The upshot is that you'll probably be using standard grade recording most of the time. So is the sound quality using the lower grades good enough to use? Listening to the demo on the Re:Mix CD, which was recorded in standard grade, you'll notice that the sound quality is pretty usable, even at 32kHz. Obviously you'd use high grade (44.1 kHz) if audio quality is critical. Sampling time, again, is dependent on the sampling grade that you choose.

The unit comes fitted with 1/2 Meg of internal RAM, and when recording in mono you can have up to 19.6 seconds in high grade, down to 54 seconds in Long 2 grade (half that, if recorded in stereo). However, if you're using a 20Mb card (the maximum available), you now have up to 1040 seconds — that's nearly nine minutes of CD-quality stereo sound!

This capability could come in handy for recording complete mixes, and collecting sounds on location. It also means that with the MS-1 and a few cards, you can have a large library of loops, sounds and grooves instantly ready to go, as soon as you switch on. Assuming you have one memory card, you have access to up to 16 samples internally, and 24 on the card, plus four sequences.

One thing I haven't mentioned is the sequencer, which can only be used with internal sounds. Four sequences can be recorded, with a maximum of 900 pad operations. Recording a sequence is simply a matter of pressing the Seq function button, selecting a sequence (1-4), and pressing the Rec button to prepare for recording. Recording then begins when you hit the first pad, and finishes when you hit Rec again. Simple. You can then control playback using the lower row of pads, which double as transport-type buttons. Playback of a sequence can be continuous using the Repeat pad.

Verdict

In rethinking the role of the sampler, Roland have come up with a sure-fire winner in the MS-1. Not only are they going to attract a new breed of samplist in the form of DJ/producers and those on a tight budget, but I can also see a lot of existing sampler owners buying an MS-1 for its supreme ease of use, portability and high fun-factor.

Many people will use it as a type of drum machine, but instead of using single-shot samples, you'll be using loops. The sequence facility allows you to construct a whole rhythm track from start to finish, and there's no doubt this is the perfect companion to all those sample CDs out there.

The trump card of the MS-1, however, is its expandability. With only 1/2 Meg of internal RAM. MS-1 owners are going to be buying their first card fairly rapidly, but a 20meg card should keep most people going for a while. Considering that the cheapest 16-bit sampler up until now has cost nearly twice what an MS-1 will go for, it has to be looked upon as a good buy.

But if you're expecting a cut-down S760, for example, look elsewhere. That's missing the point. The MS-1 is a lot of fun, and that's what making music should be about...

The sample CD that comes with every MS-1 has been put together by Time & Space, in conjunction with a clutch of other sound developers. It features over 500 sounds, from drums and basses to atmospheres and sound effects. We've chosen a selection for you to sample and use...

'Mo' Funky Elements' (Time + Space)
Drum loop 1 100B.P.M

'DNA/Clyde Stubblefield' (WC Music Research)
Drum loop 1 96 B.P.M

'DNA/Armando Borg' (WC Music Research)
Bongo loop 120 B.P.M

'The Rhythm Of Life' (AMO)
Cold sweat 1 percussion 91 B.P.M

'Clockwork' (Best Service)
Machine loop 1 150 B.P.M

'Technotrance' (Time + Space)
Evolving

'Paul Hardcastle' (Time + Space)
Guitar riff 1

'Funk Guitar' by Vlad Naslas (Time + Space)
Funk guitar riff 9

'Hit CD3-Guitar' (AMG)
Wah Rhythm Chord Cm

'Funk Bass' by Vlad Naslas (Time + Space)
Funk bass riff 11

'Brass Super Section' (Best Sevice)
Rock riff in Fm

'Barbera Dennerlein's Hammond B3' (Best Service)
Hammond riff 2

'Ambient Volume 1' (Time + Space)
Ambient texture 1

'Bizarre Planet' (Best Service)
Soundcollage 6

'Bhangra beats' (Time + Space)
Rolled Gold Master Loop 123 B.P.M

'Zero-G Datafile' (Time + Space)
Human beatbox:
BB Bass Drum 1
BB Snare 2

'Zero-G Datafile' (Time + Space)
CR78 drums:
Bass drum
Snare

'Ambient Volume 1' (Time + Space)
Windchime 1

Using the standard grade (32kHz) on the MS-1, we've had a bit of fun with some of the sounds from the Sampling Showcase CD, plus the voices of a certain pair of TV characters...