Create a sampler bank

A sampler bank combines audio files with a configuration that tells the sampler which sound to play for each note and velocity. It can be a melodic instrument, a drum kit, or a set containing both. You can build one without writing DSP or a custom interface: the generic sampler presents a piano keyboard or drum pads from the mapping, with a view toggle for auditioning.

Open Studio, choose New project → Sampler bank, and describe the instrument you want. For example:

Build a soft piano bank from my uploaded notes. Map each recording around its root pitch, keep the original files, and make a second positioning with a narrower keyboard range. Add a quiet preset for practice.

Add sounds and shape the mapping

Use Sources to drop audio, choose files, or import an existing bank. Files named with their root notes and velocity layers help the filename mapper; inspect its result before saving. Upload errors and conversion warnings explain which sounds or features could not be used. Sample count and size limits apply.

The agent can inspect the attached bank and sound inventory, help map those sounds, adjust zone and group settings, and save supported edits as a revision. Ask it to read the current configuration before proposing changes. You can also attach a WAV and ask for silence-separated one-shots, or assemble suitable sounds through the available sound tools. In Sources, describe a sound or kit, generate a take, preview its clips and choose what to add to the current bank. The selected sounds become bank sources; review their mappings, audition, then save. Generation requires a configured provider and storage. The local development mock returns audible fixture audio for testing this journey; it is not a real inference model or evidence of generated sound quality.

Use Mapping to inspect key and velocity ranges, root pitch, tuning, gain, loops and group settings. Select a zone to edit its details. Play the result in Preview using the keys or pads. The shared playback bar provides sound, computer keyboard, MIDI, output and stop controls, as it does for other instruments. Text fields do not trigger computer keyboard notes. Supported browsers offer MIDI input through the shared device settings. Keep an eye on load errors and unsupported-feature notices. Some imported settings can be retained as data even when the reader cannot reproduce them; the import report identifies settings the editor cannot retain.

Positionings and presets

A positioning is one mapping of the bank's shared audio pool. Make another positioning when the notes, velocity splits or drum layout should differ. The same sample can appear in several positionings without another copy of its audio being added to the bank export.

A preset selects a positioning and stores sound settings, such as level, attack or release. Create a preset under the positioning it should play. A different mapping belongs in another positioning, with its own preset if useful. The Presets tab also gives access to the existing bank metadata and artwork controls.

Round-robin takes alternate recordings of the same sound across repeated strikes. Velocity layers choose recordings by how hard a note is played; choke groups let one sound stop another, such as a closed hi-hat stopping an open one. These are sampler settings, not reasons to create another playback engine. Support for imported selection modes and other advanced settings varies by runtime; audition and check the reported limitations before distributing a bank.

Save and inspect

Save bank creates a new revision. Versions lists those saved revisions; Files shows the bank configuration and selected instrument mapping alongside the source inventory. A bank contains configuration and audio and uses the regular sampler module. An expansion can add an optional interface without adding its own playback engine. Editing and preserving custom bank interfaces in Studio is still in progress.

If an agent saves while you have unsaved edits, Studio keeps your local work and reports the newer revision. Reload the latest bank and reapply the changes you want to retain; a stale save is refused.

In Info & export, choose Public or Unlisted link and publish the current saved revision. Saving later edits leaves the public instrument on its published revision until you update the publication. Unpublish withdraws the public viewer and its hosted bank files. Public instruments appear in Community and on the creator's profile; an unlisted instrument opens through its direct link and stays out of visitor listings. The same published page uses the generic Maru Sampler reader for keys or pads and authored presets.

On an official or published bank page, choose a preset, adjust the sound and use Share sound to copy a link to those settings on that bank's page. Shared community sound links name the active publication version. If the owner replaces that publication, an older version link reports that it is unavailable; it does not silently play the replacement. Sharing a sound does not save a new Studio revision or publish your unsaved edits.

Export and reopen

Open Info & export → Export bank to download the existing sampler bank ZIP. It contains bank.json, instrument mapping documents, presets, referenced artwork and audio. This is content for the Maru Sampler, not a newly compiled VST3, AU or CLAP plugin.

In Sources, import a Studio bank ZIP directly, or choose a folder containing bank.json. Compressed ZIPs from other tools need to be extracted first. Imports copy audio into the destination project, preserve the supported mappings and report conversion losses. Review the import report and audition the result. Keep the original download: Studio currently imports global preset parameters but cannot retain per-zone preset treatments or optional custom interfaces. Playing those banks in the sampler and importing them for editing have different coverage.

Keep the manifest and its relative audio paths together when moving a bank folder. bank.json by itself does not contain the sample bytes. A self-contained JSON file with embedded audio is planned, but is not an export option yet.

Saving, exporting and publishing are separate actions. A private Studio revision or owner download does not make a bank publicly available. A published bank offers a public ZIP download only when every sample has explicit redistribution permission; other published banks can still be played in the browser. Publicly playable browser audio can be retrieved even when its URL uses an opaque ID. Downloaded bank ZIPs can be reopened through Sources; an import may not retain the original provenance. Verify each sound's source and redistribution rights before publishing or sharing a reopened bank.

See Studio workflow and Publishing for the wider authoring and release process.