Not all sampler owners have access to every instrument they might wish to sample, hence the appearance of Sample CDs containing all manner of digitally recorded sounds. But how useful are they? Are they value for money? Keyboardist Dave Stewart recently spent many hours sorting the wheat from the chaff. Here are his findings.

In the second part of his piece on sampling the human voice, Tom McLaughlin discusses making up vocal multisamples and how to solve the problems you can expect to encounter.

As you've probably already got your sampler playing drums, horns and strings, getting it to sing to you may sound deceptively easy. Tom McLaughlin explains there may be more to sampling the human voice than you'd heard.

Stuck for a good string sound or one you haven't used a hundred times before? Tom McLaughlin explains how an old guitar, a violin bow and a little ingenuity can work wonders.

Well, not quite, but a hardware add-on for the original Powertran DDL that brings it up to scratch in the contemporary world of sound-sampling. Circuit designer Patrick Shipsey reveals all.

If you're short of a new source of samples you could do worse than to turn to the glass (not the bottle). Tom McLaughlin explains how a wine glass can provide a wide variety of unusual tone colours.

It may be at the bottom of the mix, but it's often the heart of the song: the bass. Tom McLaughlin offers some sound advice on sampling the electric bass guitar.

If you intend to make samples of acoustic instruments or events, you're going to need a microphone - but which one? David Bradwell checks the various types and their uses.

Sampling and the law: where do you stand when you plug your record deck or CD player into your sampler? David Bradwell investigates the legal position and the attitudes of the music industry.

Ignore them at your peril!

Using Samplers for Vocals

With a creative mind and a decent digital sampler you can work wonders for your music. Brian Howarth provides a sampling strategy for constructing and manipulating vocal arrangements.

Sample CDs

First they were sampling off other peoples' records, now they're selling records to sample off. Tim Goodyer listens while Simon Harris, Pascal Gabriel, Norman Cook, Ed Stratton and Coldcut put the case for sampling CDs.

With Sampling Keyboards

Vocal line out of tune? Lead guitarist fluffed his solo again? Craig Anderton reveals some ways of using a sampler to fix these, and other problems, in the mix.

Even the biggest sample library never seems to have quite enough drum sounds. The solution? Roll your own. Craig Anderton passes on some hot hints and tips on how to get the best possible drum sounds out of your sampler.

The start of another series, in which Chris Meyer reveals just how useful the new MIDI Sample Dump Standard can be in everyday applications.

The industrious Chris Meyer again, with the latest news on MIDI Sample Dump Standard. What exactly is the value of transferring a sample from one machine to another?

Sound quality has long been a grey area in the world of sampling. Chris Meyer finds out it takes more than "bits" to make a sampler sound good.

Another world first for E&MM: Jim Grant takes us through the creation of a sound without using the CMI's sampling facility.

With A Sampling Keyboard

Sampling keyboards offer far more creative scope for sound manipulation than most people give them credit for and they can be a real life-saver during studio mixdowns. Craig Anderton reveals some modern day production tips that will allow you to put your sampler to good use.

Emu Emax II

The first in an occasional series in which David Mellor looks at well-established and respected pieces of musical and audio equipment, and tells you what you need to know to start making music with them.

There's an S1000 in every studio — almost. David Mellor presents an introduction to this popular sampler.

David Mellor throws away the Roland S750 manual and gets down to some practical advice for novice users.

Sampling The Emulator

Share reality with Culture Club producer Steve Levine, the Attractions' Steve Nieve, and keyboard whizz Dave Stewart.

Such a simple thing, a tambourine line, yet it's one of the lines drum machines can't handle. The Sample Workshop's Tom McLaughlin explains how to make convincing samples.

As sound-sampling becomes accepted as a technique, what will musicians do with their machines after the novelty has worn off? Chris Meyer takes a sideways look.