Samplers
Samplers and banks
Play sampled instruments, build drum kits and understand the banks used by Maru Sampler.
A sampler turns recordings into a playable instrument. Use a keyboard to play sampled piano notes, or pads to trigger a kit of drum hits. Maru Sampler is Maru's official player for these instruments and kits.
A bank brings the recordings together with the information needed to play them: which notes or pads trigger them, their tuning and other sound settings. Create banks directly in Studio, then play, export or share them.
Samples, banks and presets
Choose what to keep or send:
- A sample is a recording, useful when you only need the audio.
- A mapping decides which recording plays for each note, pad or playing strength.
- A bank keeps recordings and their playing configuration together, so someone can play the instrument.
- A preset recalls settings for that instrument; it does not replace the bank's recordings.
A bank can offer a keyboard instrument or a drum layout. Several layouts may reuse the same recordings. You do not need to turn each layout into a separate plugin.
Play an existing instrument
Browse sampler instruments or drum kits, choose an instrument and try its presets in the browser. Use the on-screen keys or pads, a computer keyboard, or a MIDI keyboard in a supported browser. Playback and MIDI covers setup and common checks.
Build from your own sounds
Use Create a sampler bank to move from recordings to a playable layout. Generative features can provide new source material where your account has access.
Take a bank elsewhere
Studio exports a bank as a single .mas file or a ZIP, including its recordings, mappings, presets and artwork. Reopen it in Studio to keep editing, or load it in a compatible Maru Sampler player.
The native Sampler app plays banks on its own; the Sampler plug-in brings them into a DAW. Public native downloads are upcoming. See Maru Sampler for the current download path and the difference between the player and a bank file.
Make a product from a bank
A prepared bank can become a signature instrument or a collection for other musicians. Selling on Maru explains commercial early access.
If players should make new sounds inside the instrument, plan generation in your product separately from the bank's normal playback. The beatbox example shows the relationship.