How to Auto-Sample a Synth for the EP-40 with EP-PatchStudio
Sampling a synth note by note is slow. EP-PatchStudio's Auto-Sampler does it for you: point it at a hardware synth or a VST, set the range, and it sends the MIDI and records each note automatically. Here's the full setup.
Capturing a synth by hand is tedious: play a note, record it, trim it, move up, repeat. The Auto-Sampler in EP-PatchStudio automates the whole thing. You point it at a hardware synth or a VST, tell it what notes to sample, and it sends the MIDI and records each note's audio for you, giving you an evenly spaced set of samples ready to build into an EP-40 multisample.
The Auto-Sampler is part of the Pro feature set, included in the free trial.
The two connections you need
Auto-sampling needs a loop. EP-PatchStudio has to send MIDI to play the instrument, and receive audio to record it. So you set up two connections.
For a hardware synth, you need MIDI out from your computer to the synth's MIDI in, so EP-PatchStudio can trigger notes, and audio in from the synth's audio output into your computer's audio interface, so it can record the result.
For a software synth (VST), you need a virtual MIDI port, something like IAC on Mac or loopMIDI on Windows, so EP-PatchStudio can send notes to the VST in your DAW, and audio loopback, a tool like BlackHole on Mac or VB-Cable on Windows, to route your DAW's audio back into EP-PatchStudio.
In the Auto-Sampler, you then select the right MIDI output and audio input for whichever setup you're using.
Set the note range and timing
Once it's connected, tell the Auto-Sampler what to capture. Set the note range, the span you want to sample across; it can calculate evenly spaced notes for you, so your zones come out tidy. And set the gap between notes, the pause between each captured note. Leave enough that one note's tail doesn't bleed into the next, especially with reverb or long releases. If you hear bleed, increase the gap.
Set your synth to a fixed, medium velocity first. EP multisamples have no velocity layers, so you want every note captured at the same dynamic.
Run it, then build the multisample
Start the Auto-Sampler and it works through the range, triggering and recording each note. When it's done you've got a clean, evenly spaced sample set, ready to map across the keyboard with correct root notes, loop the sustain so notes hold, and send to the EP-40.
The mapping and looping steps are the same as any multisample. See How to Make Multisamples for the EP-40 Riddim and the synth-specific tips in Multisampling a Synth for the EP-40.
If something's not working
If notes aren't triggering the synth, check the MIDI channel matches between EP-PatchStudio and the instrument, and that the MIDI connection is selected correctly. If nothing's being recorded, verify the audio input is set to your interface (hardware) or loopback device (software), and check the input level. And if notes bleed into each other, increase the gap between notes.
Get started
EP-PatchStudio is free to download, and the Pro trial includes the Auto-Sampler.