Sampling in Sequencer Mode with the Motif ES

This (downloadable) tutorial/article will go over the steps of sampling audio into the sequencer modes of the Motif ES. With expansion capability of 512MB, you have more than 50 minutes of stereo record time at the highest resolution (44.1kHz), that’s over 100 minutes of mono recording. This means serious recording can be done. The Motif ES is a sampler however and a sampler is different from a hard disk recorder in many ways. They both are tools for music creation via recording audio. However, in a sampler in order to trigger playback you must use MIDI events. Any advantages that a sampler has over a HD recorder are not measured in record time (the HD recorder easily wins that contest every time), but in how you can manipulate and utilize the audio data that you record. It should be mentioned here there is a ‘limitation’ to the longest single sample that you can take – 6 minutes and 20 seconds. This is a 64MB stereo sample at 44.1kHz. This should not be a limitation really but recognize that you cannot open a mic and record for 50 minutes straight…if that is what you think you need, can we recommend a tape recorder or hard disk recorder like the AW16G!!! This is the reason we stress the point that this is still sampling and the art of sampling is quite a bit different from the art of Hard Disk recording. We will concentrate on recording vocals.

This article assumes that you have properly installed a pair of matching DIMMs and have verified that they are working properly.
Here’s what’s covered in the article:

Understanding Audio Sampling: What is it?
The SEQUENCER
‘OVERDUBBING’ Audio

Sampling Audio to a Motif ES Song
• Set the A/D Input
• Set the Metronome
• Setup Audio PART
• Setup the Sampler
• Playback the Sample Voice: Confirm
• SETUP for Overdubbing additional data

Sampling Audio to a Motif ES Pattern
• Set the A/D Input
• Set the Metronome
• Setup Audio PART
• Setup the Sampler

Setting up a Compressor
Making your sample fit the Mix
Creating a USER VOICE
Creating a MIX VOICE

Download a .pdf of this article