Samples

Samples

Besides the dub siren, a slot can play an audio file. Sample slots use the same trigger modes, choke groups, volume, pan, FX send, attack and release as sirens, plus tune, start/end markers, loop and reverse. Sirens and samples can be mixed freely in one kit.

Choosing a sound source

• Empty pad: click it and choose Synth (the factory siren of that slot) or a sample.
• Sample slot: the slot editor has a button with the sample's file name that opens the same menu to pick another file. Right-click a pad and choose Clear Slot to make it empty again.

The menu lists all files in the kit's sample folder. Add File… copies a file you pick into that folder and assigns it to the slot.

Where the files live

Samples belong to a kit: they sit in a folder named like the kit, next to the .dgkit file (Kits\Dub.dgkit → Kits\Dub\). The folder is created when you add the first file.

• Supported formats: WAV, AIFF, MP3 and FLAC, up to 60 seconds. Stereo files are mixed down to mono.
• Samples need a kit file. A new, unsaved kit has no folder yet, so the menu shows Sample (export the kit first) greyed out. Export the kit once, then add samples.
• Exporting to a new kit copies the samples it uses to the new kit's folder.
• Sample references are saved in your DAW project and in the .dgkit file (the file name relative to the sample folder), so projects and kits find their samples again.
• A missing or unreadable sample mutes its pad (shown in orange) and shows a notice. The pad keeps its sample and plays again once the file is back; reopen the project or reload the kit to pick it up.

The waveform strip

The slot editor of a sample slot shows the waveform with three draggable markers:

Marker	Parameter	Meaning
S	Sample Start	Where playback starts.
L	Loop Start	Where the loop begins.
E	Sample End	Where playback ends.

The markers cannot cross each other, and a minimum length is always kept. They are normal automatable parameters (Sample Start, Loop Start, Sample End), stored as shares of the sample length, so they survive replacing a sample by a longer or shorter one.

Loop and Reverse

• Loop on: the section from L to E repeats while the note is held. Loop X-Fade (0 – 50 % of the loop length) crossfades the seam so it does not click.
• Reverse on: the sample plays backwards. With Loop on, the repeating section is then the one from S to L.
• Tune (−24 … +24 semitones) transposes the sample by changing its playback speed. The performance Pitch control adds to it.

Stretch

Sample slots have a vintage time-stretch in the style of the Akai S950: the sample is cut into short pieces (grains) that are repeated or skipped and joined with short crossfades. The duration changes, the pitch does not. The slightly metallic, robotic seams are part of the sound — this is not a clean modern algorithm.

Control	Range	Default	Meaning
Stretch	Off / All / Loop	Off	Off: the sample plays exactly as without stretch. All: everything from S to E is stretched. Loop: the beginning (S to L) plays normally, only the loop region is stretched — needs Loop on (the editor shows "needs Loop" otherwise).
Factor	50 – 800 %	100 %	Duration relative to the original: 200 % = twice as long, 800 % = eight times as long, 50 % = half as long. The knob centre is 100 %.
Grain	5 – 100 ms	20 ms	Grain size. Short grains sound metallic and rough, long grains softer with audible repeats.

• Tune and the performance Pitch only change the pitch while stretching, not the duration.
• With Stretch on and Loop on, Loop X-Fade has no effect (the grain crossfades take its place) and is greyed out.
• Reverse stretches backwards from the end of the region.
• Typical uses: fit a break to a new tempo (e.g. 130 → 170 BPM is a factor of about 76 %), or stretch a short sound into a long pad or drone (400 – 800 % with grains of 50 – 100 ms sounds smoothest).
• Changing the factor while a note plays glides smoothly; a new grain size applies from the next grain.
• Stretch, Factor and Grain are automatable parameters and are saved in kits. Replacing or resetting the sample resets them together with the markers.

Trigger modes with samples

Mode	Behaviour
Gate	Plays while the note is held (a looped sample repeats until the note ends), then the release starts. Without Loop the voice ends at the sample's end.
Latch	With Loop on: the first note starts the sample, the next one stops it. Without Loop, Latch acts like Gate.
One-Shot	Plays the sample through to its end, whatever the length of the note.

Choke groups work as for sirens. Of the Performance Controls only Pitch acts on samples; Rate, Depth and Sweep only move sirens.

Good to know

• Samples are decoded in the background when you pick them; a slot is silent for a moment while its file loads.
• Playback uses cubic interpolation. Sample playback and the stretch factor are not tempo-synced.