Mimic: New Creative Sampler

[miscend]

Serato Sample can and a lot more then this outdated NNXT/Grain Combo...smh

Not really. Mimic can do more things.

Apart from key detection and good quality time stretch, Serato sample isn't doing anything you couldn't do on an MPC decades ago.

[miscend]

Just because Ryan never uses samplers doesn't stop them being important. It depends on the genre you make. Hip-Hop or electronic music uses samplers extensively but if you don't make those genre's and I thought Ryan put together a great video which demonstrated Mimic well.

I agree but I do think the video could have used a section where Ryan handed over to someone who does use samplers everyday so they can show us why Mimic is quicker and/or better.

He said more videos were coming. This looked more like an introduction or first look at Mimic. But I don't think you should expect anything other than basic videos. You're not going to be building complex scripted, multi-velocity layer, round robined, multi terabyte sampler patches in Mimic. It's a simpler device than NNXT even. And it's definitely not Kontakt or Halion.

[Creativemind]

so, there was still room

mimic.jpg

Wrong colour, doesn't match.

[Heigen5]

Sure, it is missing few things that some of you pointed out, but still... my go to tool to make music with all those gazillions of samples I have!

[Creativemind]

Interesting device. Totally naff video. I mean really “hey kids here is how a sampler works.” “I’ve never been into sampling before” wait what that? One of the most important pieces of music technology from the past 40-50 years that has influenced and shaped key music genres and songs and a technology the company you work for promotes and you don’t really use it or get it? Ha!

They really need to bring back the old information videos with no faces and just interesting demos and information.

I didn't say I don't get it... I said that up until recently sample manipulation on a grand scale wasn't a key part of my music making process, personally, the way it is for others who make it the core of their workflow and that I know that I was wrong to largely overlook it as much as I have. I'm speaking on a personal-musician level to a very specific other type of music maker, which are the many people who also don't tap into sampling as often as they might realize they'd want to once they start messing with it.

And yeah, every getting started video on sampling needs to include a little "how a sampler" works just like my getting started on Algoritm included a bit of "how FM synthesis works." It's baked into the getting started territory. Mattias and I will be doing a livestream next week for more advanced concepts. Maybe tune into that?

Looking forward to the livestream Ryan.

[Creativemind]

Just because Ryan never uses samplers doesn't stop them being important. It depends on the genre you make. Hip-Hop or electronic music uses samplers extensively but if you don't make those genre's and I thought Ryan put together a great video which demonstrated Mimic well.

I agree but I do think the video could have used a section where Ryan handed over to someone who does use samplers everyday so they can show us why Mimic is quicker and/or better.

I'm guessing that will be in the livestream next week.

[jaeproduced]

Serato Sample can and a lot more then this outdated NNXT/Grain Combo...smh

Not really. Mimic can do more things.

Apart from key detection and good quality time stretch, Serato sample isn't doing anything you couldn't do on an MPC decades ago.

I highly disagree MPC's were very limited the earlier additions you couldn't reverse slices, key shift, pitch detect, import an entire song due to limited memory, No 32 Slices, no automatic tempo matching the sample or loop, scroll thru the sample to find favorite slices, no highlighting favorite slice points, no automatic slice points detection I mean come on man Serato Sample is light years ahead of MPCs & this new MIMC Sampler...smh

[slic]

Not really. Mimic can do more things.

Apart from key detection and good quality time stretch, Serato sample isn't doing anything you couldn't do on an MPC decades ago.

I highly disagree MPC's were very limited the earlier additions you couldn't reverse slices, key shift, pitch detect, import an entire song due to limited memory, No 32 Slices, no automatic tempo matching the sample or loop, scroll thru the sample to find favorite slices, no highlighting favorite slice points, no automatic slice points detection I mean come on man Serato Sample is light years ahead of MPCs & this new MIMC Sampler...smh

My MPC Live does key detection and far, far more than Serento Sample which is not even a sampler, its just a slice and play tool aimed at DJs, it has very limited (almost non existent) sound design capabilities. - there is a better slice and dice in FL Studio and Live if thats your bag,

[bangaio]

Interesting device. Totally naff video. I mean really “hey kids here is how a sampler works.” “I’ve never been into sampling before” wait what that? One of the most important pieces of music technology from the past 40-50 years that has influenced and shaped key music genres and songs and a technology the company you work for promotes and you don’t really use it or get it? Ha!

They really need to bring back the old information videos with no faces and just interesting demos and information.

You can't be serious. He is an individual and as such he can not cover all the possible grounds and history of music. As a such (an individual) he have the rights to be different then someone else and to create music his own way.

Anyway my point is it's not fair to judge company representative for his subjective workflow ideas and then to impose that picture onto a company itself because he is just a human being.

I could find at least one "major" thing that I am familiar with but you never used it. Does that make you obsolete. No! Just different.

Moreover I think it's just a marketing stunt so a nice way to show or to attract a people to this.

Regards

It’s the same marketing stuff they have used for too long now. They used to put time and effort into promoting a product with clever - funny videos that showed off their new whatever. Now we have Ryan. Kind of prepared and practised but it looks like they have a Youtuber showing off their products. No disrespect to Ryan but it just isn’t polished or professional and just comes across and amateurish and slightly false. It’s like: here is me trying to use this thing and make something that is clearly very well prepped and rehearsed. I don’t really believe him when he says he doesn’t use samplers when he is the product guy for a company who use sampling for their two samplers, grain, Kong, redrum etc. At first look I thought it looks neat then I went back into logic and carries on.

[StephenHutchinson]

Interesting device. Totally naff video. I mean really “hey kids here is how a sampler works.” “I’ve never been into sampling before” wait what that? One of the most important pieces of music technology from the past 40-50 years that has influenced and shaped key music genres and songs and a technology the company you work for promotes and you don’t really use it or get it? Ha!

They really need to bring back the old information videos with no faces and just interesting demos and information.

I didn't say I don't get it... I said that up until recently sample manipulation on a grand scale wasn't a key part of my music making process, personally, the way it is for others who make it the core of their workflow and that I know that I was wrong to largely overlook it as much as I have. I'm speaking on a personal-musician level to a very specific other type of music maker, which are the many people who also don't tap into sampling as often as they might realize they'd want to once they start messing with it.

And yeah, every getting started video on sampling needs to include a little "how a sampler" works just like my getting started on Algoritm included a bit of "how FM synthesis works." It's baked into the getting started territory. Mattias and I will be doing a livestream next week for more advanced concepts. Maybe tune into that?

Thanks Ryan for all the videos you've produce. Not everyone is familiar with a lot of the instruments you have covered, and I think it took great courage to admit that previously you were not a sampler kind of guy. I've been making music since 1999, with various different software, including the very first edition of Reason. Along the way, I tried sampling, and it just seemed so kludgy and uninspiring. Your video, which I watched yesterday gave me a renewed faith that it's not as hard as it usually appears to be.

So thanks for all your hard work, and I've already tried sampling a basic C4 looped note and it sounds great across the entire keyboard in Mimic! I'm hooked, thanks to your excellent tutorial, and as soon as I try each fun thing you showed in the video, I am sure that I will be off to the races in terms of sampling.

[jaeproduced]

I highly disagree MPC's were very limited the earlier additions you couldn't reverse slices, key shift, pitch detect, import an entire song due to limited memory, No 32 Slices, no automatic tempo matching the sample or loop, scroll thru the sample to find favorite slices, no highlighting favorite slice points, no automatic slice points detection I mean come on man Serato Sample is light years ahead of MPCs & this new MIMC Sampler...smh

My MPC Live does key detection and far, far more than Serento Sample which is not even a sampler, its just a slice and play tool aimed at DJs, it has very limited (almost non existent) sound design capabilities. - there is a better slice and dice in FL Studio and Live if thats your bag,

Yes the new mpc's do have these capabilities but you said Mpc's had these capabilities decades ago Mpc live wasn't around I said the older Mpc's 60, 2000, 3000 etc could not do these things...We are comparing Mimc to Serato Sample which serato still is better in my opinion...

[visheshl]

From all this discussion, I think the RE Dev's need to step in and build a full blown sampler RE. There is demand it seems.... people want a full featured sampler...so if reason studios isn't doing it why aren't other RE developers ?
Why do RE Dev's keep building synths ?

[okaino]

Mimic is not replacing nnxt,nn19,kong or dr octorex.

Mimic is not anything you would ask for, but it is something to advance how you can use sampling in the rack for sure.

Mimic does provide an easier work flow to playing a sampler which wont benefit everyone the same,but is fine.

I think mimic will be the easiest way to sample in the rack its just not the most indepth sampler in the rack which i have to believe jt isnt meant to be.

Which leads me to believe that sampling mimic will most likely provide the most possibilities.

technically it is a sampling upgrade for the rack. Its all in perspective...its like a sampling assistant. Its really a sample player.

[adfielding]

I think it's pretty darn cool - first time I fired it up I had some ideas going within a couple of minutes, and - without wishing to sound like a cliché - I'm all about instruments that inspire ideas.

I also think it was a smart move to focus on making a creative sampler rather than a big ol' Kontakt-type thing - for one, Kontakt already exists, and secondly I think something like Mimic fits the rack better. It's definitely one of those "I wouldn't have asked for it, but now I've used it, hey, actually it fits my workflow like a glove" devices. I think we've reached a point within Reason where there are so many devices and Rack Extensions that there's always going to be a certain amount of feature overlap on paper, but that doesn't take away from my appreciation if the device encourages new ideas via a different approach. Results are important, but the process is the bit I find the most enjoyable.

As an aside: I rather liked the video, and I think Ryan's approach resonated with my own initial experience of messing with Mimic. Of course I know how a sampler works but, lately, I've kind of eschewed creative sampling in favour of just doing it all manually by manipulating audio clips. Nothing wrong with that, but it's a totally different workflow than using something like Mimic, and also a total pain if you decide you want to change something further down the line. Seeing Ryan (who very bloody clearly knows his way around Reason!) use it and have a similar experience to my first ten minutes or so with it was really neat.

[PhillipOrdonez]

I think it's pretty darn cool - first time I fired it up I had some ideas going within a couple of minutes, and - without wishing to sound like a cliché - I'm all about instruments that inspire ideas.

I also think it was a smart move to focus on making a creative sampler rather than a big ol' Kontakt-type thing - for one, Kontakt already exists, and secondly I think something like Mimic fits the rack better. It's definitely one of those "I wouldn't have asked for it, but now I've used it, hey, actually it fits my workflow like a glove" devices. I think we've reached a point within Reason where there are so many devices and Rack Extensions that there's always going to be a certain amount of feature overlap on paper, but that doesn't take away from my appreciation if the device encourages new ideas via a different approach. Results are important, but the process is the bit I find the most enjoyable.

As an aside: I rather liked the video, and I think Ryan's approach resonated with my own initial experience of messing with Mimic. Of course I know how a sampler works but, lately, I've kind of eschewed creative sampling in favour of just doing it all manually by manipulating audio clips. Nothing wrong with that, but it's a totally different workflow than using something like Mimic, and also a total pain if you decide you want to change something further down the line. Seeing Ryan (who very bloody clearly knows his way around Reason!) use it and have a similar experience to my first ten minutes or so with it was really neat.

Several new ideas in a very short time with this here too. That's extremely valuable to me. I'm loving it.

[Quarmat]

I think the only bummer for me is that it only does 8 samples. I tend to do live pad playing:

Woah! I am impressed and also a bit envious... Very good!

[Liimusic]

Some question about reason 12:

1. Do my loops sync with the bpm in the browser?
2. do the new sampler sync with the bpm?
3. why no pitch detection? Nnxt and grain can do it, but not the new one?
4. can i slice in 1/8 or 1/16 notes in miniks?

[jaeproduced]

From all this discussion, I think the RE Dev's need to step in and build a full blown sampler RE. There is demand it seems.... people want a full featured sampler...so if reason studios isn't doing it why aren't other RE developers ?
Why do RE Dev's keep building synths ?

Very good point...

[madmacman]

I don’t really believe him when he says he doesn’t use samplers when he is the product guy for a company who use sampling for their two samplers, grain, Kong, redrum etc.

He clearly explained what he means with this statement: "Sampling" in the sense of what people do who build entire tracks on creative use of mangled samples. Akai MPC etc. Or for lack of better examples: even the early Depeche Mode ("People are People")

Everyone, even Ryan, uses sample drums for years. But that was not his point.

[miscend]

Not really. Mimic can do more things.

Apart from key detection and good quality time stretch, Serato sample isn't doing anything you couldn't do on an MPC decades ago.

I highly disagree MPC's were very limited the earlier additions you couldn't reverse slices, key shift, pitch detect, import an entire song due to limited memory, No 32 Slices, no automatic tempo matching the sample or loop, scroll thru the sample to find favorite slices, no highlighting favorite slice points, no automatic slice points detection I mean come on man Serato Sample is light years ahead of MPCs & this new MIMC Sampler...smh

I said "Apart from key detection and good quality time stretch". An MPC 1000/2500 running with JJOS can do all those other things including importing entire songs, 32 slices, automatic slice detection etc etc. And of course modern MPCs like the MPC Live can do even more than that.

[jaeproduced]

I highly disagree MPC's were very limited the earlier additions you couldn't reverse slices, key shift, pitch detect, import an entire song due to limited memory, No 32 Slices, no automatic tempo matching the sample or loop, scroll thru the sample to find favorite slices, no highlighting favorite slice points, no automatic slice points detection I mean come on man Serato Sample is light years ahead of MPCs & this new MIMC Sampler...smh

I said "Apart from key detection and good quality time stretch". An MPC 1000/2500 running with JJOS can do all those other things including importing entire songs, 32 slices, automatic slice detection etc etc. And of course modern MPCs like the MPC Live can do even more than that.

My man come on again you said decades ago those mpc's are all new age I'm a former fellow mpc 2000 & 2000xl user so I know the limitations mpc's had especially with the blue zip drives freezing up. I'm an old school producer so clearly your not familiar with the early mpc's roger linn additions which is what i'm talking about...I would like to see a mpc vst sampler that has all the features of the new hardware additions to replace serato sample...

[StephenHutchinson]

More cowbell !!!

Yassss!

[ravasb]

I wonder if it would be possible to use slice mode with all eight slots at once for some unique mayhem that would distinguish this from other samplers I use. I still think it could use returns for the fx. I know I can set up other mix tracks, but one of the only advantages of Mimic is working quickly without a lot of setup.

[lowtom]

After playing with Mimic few things I would love to see in an update:
- Option ifor Slot Select to follow pressed MIDI key, so that when I trigger a sample in specific slot, Mimic shows parameters for that sample.
- Edit button for sample and sampling. Not sure why it's not there already.
- Key detection as in Grain

[PhillipOrdonez]

I wonder if it would be possible to use slice mode with all eight slots at once for some unique mayhem that would distinguish this from other samplers I use. I still think it could use returns for the fx. I know I can set up other mix tracks, but one of the only advantages of Mimic is working quickly without a lot of setup.

I think you can