Sampler
Electronic device that stores recorded sounds (samples) and plays them back at different pitches.
What it means
A sampler is an electronic instrument that digitally stores short recorded sound excerpts, called samples, and plays them back pitch-shifted and rhythmically through a keyboard, pads or sequencer control.
Musical use
Samples can be real instrument sounds, environmental noises, or excerpts from existing recordings; the latter forms the basis of many techniques in hip hop and electronic music. The sampler is distinct from the synthesizer: while the synthesizer generates sounds electronically from scratch, for instance via oscillators, the sampler always processes and varies already existing, recorded sound sources.
Performance practice
When working with a sampler, pay attention to clean edit points in your samples, so that looping or pitch-shifted playback does not produce audible clicks or jumps.