BLAST FROM THE PAST

This time we get to know some of the Plugin Suite’s ‘firsts’, including a software sampler that made a stir back in issue 50…

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DS-404

With but a few exceptions, the virtual multi-sampler has all but relegated its hardware counterpart to the dustbin of obsolescence. Sure, one can find a few specialty boxes designed to mangle a digital snippet beyond all recognition, but for the most part, the era of Emulators and ASRs is long behind us. Many DAWs come bundled with built-in samplers more powerful than grandad’s old Mirage, while commercial offerings like Kontakt or HALion easily outperform their hardware ancestors.

This wasn’t always the case. Back when Computer Music was but a whippersnapper, counting its issues in mere double digits, software samplers were rare and expensive. A little company called Nemesys ruled the roost with their GigaStudio – designed more as a ROMPler than a means by which to create one’s own multisamples – and both Kontakt and HALion were new to the scene and just beginning to make a splash. While none of them cost as much as one might have paid for a premium Akai box, they were flagship products with prices to match.

It was into this environment that launched its DS-404. The year was 2002, and the magazine had already caused a stir with a pair of plugins, the CM-101 synthesiser, and the SR-202 drum machine. Both were powerful, easy to grok, and – most importantly – they came free on each and every cover disc (it was a CD-ROM back then).