lesserchance/samplepad-editor

Kit Editor for the Alesis Samplepad

Development

This is only tested with the Alesis SampleRack, which should be functioning well. It should work with a Alesis SamplePad Pro but I do not have one to test on. If you have one, please help me test it out!

SamplePad Kit Editor

Getting SamplePad Kit Editor

SamplePad Kit Editor is released via the GitHub releases page.

The current version is v.6
Download v.6 for Mac
Download v.6 for PC
Download v.6 for Linux

Overview

SamplePad Kit Editor is an application that allows you to create and edit custom drum kits for the Alesis SamplePad Pro or Alesis SampleRack directly on your Mac or PC. It uses an intuitive drap and drop interface to quickly and easily create custom drum kits. All pad parameters are available to edit, and it's significantly easier than scrolling through all the details on the SamplePad itself.

How to use SamplePad Kit Editor

Getting Started

1. Open SamplePad Kit Editor
2. Insert your SamplePad SD card into your computer
3. Select your device type (SamplePad Pro or SampleRack) from the Edit menu
4. Click the "Load SD Card" button (or select "Load SD Card" in the Edit menu) and select the root directory of the SD card

This will load any existing samples and kits on the SD card for you to edit. It's generally best to start with a blank SD card, as that allows for better filename organization (see "importing samples" below.)

Importing Samples

Imported samples are automatically formatted as appropriate (16bit, 44.1k 8-character wav.) After importing samples through SamplePad Kit Editor you'll still see the original file name (in the case that its greater than 8 characters) allowing for better, more intuitive sample organization.

1. Click import samples at the bottom of the sample section
2. Select one or more .wav files, or a directory
3. If a directory is selected all wav files located within it (or any sub directories) will be imported

Editing a Kit

1. Select a kit from the dropdown to edit an existing kit. You can also import a kit from an existing .kit not on the SD card, or create a kit from scratch
2. Search through samples on the left, and drag them on to an individual pad to set that pad's sample
3. Tweak pad parameters by twisting knobs (click, hold, and drag an icon up and down to adjust values)
4. Change mute groups by selecting 1 of 16 possible groups
5. Access Layer B sample and velocity parameters by clicking on the dropdown icon on the right

Once you're satisfied, save your kit. Saving it as a new kit will create a new .kit file and not affect the original. Put it into your SamplePad and try it out!

Midi Control

While creating or editing a kit, you can easily test it out by connecting a midi controller to your computer. Once connected, select a device through the menu Edit > Midi Settings (or Scan for Midi Devices if it does not appear.) Playing midi notes on the selected device will show you which pad is being played and triggers the sample attached to it. Triggers are velocity dependent, and layer B is supported.

Helping Out

Testing

Samplepad Kit Editor is currently prerelease. I've only been able to test on my own SampleRack so I'm not sure if the .kit file format differs on other machines or firmware versions. If you have a SamplePad, Samplepad Pro, or SampleRack, please let me know if you try it out and experience any issues. Make sure to back up your SD card just in case!

I'd also love to know if everything works fine for you. You can contact me through my email on github.

Compiling

Want to build the app yourself?

git clone https://github.com/LesserChance/samplepad-editor.git
cd samplepad-editor
yarn install
yarn run electron-dev

samplepad-editor's Issues

Better accessibility

• Remove reliance on drag and drop for samples (maybe a searchable select box instead?)
• allow explicit values to be set for parameters rather than needing to drag
• test out tab indexes

create a HOC to share the playSample functionality

needs sonoma support

I hope it can be made to work with sonoma.

make this work with different samplepad versions

Looks like there are slight differences to the file format between samplerack and samplepad pro

drag and drop samples from OS (to upload or set pad sample)

Doesn't work in MacOS Big Sur

Are you maintaining this @LesserChance ?

store previously retrieved card path in localstorage and check that on load

implement sample limits

• The samplepad docs say that there's a limit of 512 files in the root directory, but does that affect playback, or just the ability to select all the wav files when editing a kit? if it affects playback, I should put in a heavy warning if there are too many files. If it just affects editing, who cares, remove the concept of limits.
• also the docs say "You can assign up to 48 MB worth of samples per kit. Also, please note that a sample's size will be rounded up when loaded (e.g., a 2.1 MB sample on the SD card will be treated as a 3 MB sample when it is assigned to a pad)" - warn if this will be violated before saving

delete sample

load through USB

samplepad docs say you can edit samples/kits through USB - make the app work through that mode

add tests to ensure state loads appropriately without a saved directory

since I'm only manually testing with a saved directory for efficiency, it'll help assure I'm not breaking stuff

Add Linux Support

I'd love to use this on linux.

Add Layer B support

sample and kit name validation

on import samples, offer ability to auto name fix for proper format

move all the pad value mapping to the ation creators

implement tune, pan, level, and reverb in sample wav player

not sure if this is possible, but would be nice to approximate the sound you'll actually get

I have a SamplePad Pro

@LesserChance I have SamplePad Pro - I will test and report. Thanks for the good starting point!!!

I have a problem in loop Don't walk as fast as the metronome not stable Is there a solution please?

Add support for Samplepad 4

Hi I have a samplepad 4 it is possible to add support for it?

here,s an example kit file

USER_001.zip

add appropriate system menu options

• forget/reset drive
• select midi device

Add appropriate validation

add a sample name map

the samplepad limits sample filenames to be only 8 characters, which makes it hard to really be able to name the samples appropriately. On importing samples, create a map of filenames to auto-generated 8 character filenames, so I can show full filenames in the app while limiting it to only 8 characters on disk.

split redux actions into smaller files by top-level state

set appropriate permissions on KITS directory

if created from scratch the samplepad cannot read it

Importing Samples onto SD Card Corrupts Files

I loaded the Sounds folder that is included with BandLab when downloading the program, which has 104 WAV files and many of the files were corrupted and could not be played once on the SD card (tested in the Samplepad Editor itself as well as the Windows app Media Player).