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Ami Sampler Is A Free 8-bit Sampler Inspired By The Commodore Amiga

By 15 Comments3 Mins Read
Ami Sampler is a Free 8-bit Sampler Inspired by the 1985 Commodore Amiga PC

Astriid released the Ami Sampler, a free 8-bit sampler inspired by the sound of the Commodore Amiga personal computer from 1985.

The sampler is available on the Astriiddev GitHub, and it’s a Windows, macOS, and Linux release for VST3, AU, and LV2.                

The retro interface for the Ami Sampler captures the era’s aesthetic and looks fantastic. 

YouTube video

Astriid states that the sampler brings the sound and feel of the Commodore Amiga to modern productions. 

The Commodore Amiga personal computer hit the shelves back in 1985, sporting colourful 16-bit graphics and four channels of 8-bit sampled audio. 

The Amiga featured sample sequencing software such as ProTracker and OctaMED, and as a result, it was revolutionary in terms of making creating music on a computer affordable and accessible to the public. 

Astriid explains that the Ami Sampler is not an emulation or recreation of the Amiga’s capabilities, but instead “the Ami Sampler strives to take the classic sound of the Amiga but still allow it to stand up with a modern DAW setting.”

The developer notes that the release is also inspired by “ProTracker and FastTracker, [and]it also draws inspiration from trackers like Triton’s FastTracker II and MilkyTracker in addition to some modern sampler VST plugins.”

If you want to hear it in action, there are two video demos embedded in the GitHub that showcase the Ami Sampler.

The sound of the Ami Sampler demos is very striking and definitely captures an evocative retro vibe. 

The sounds showcased in the demos bring to mind ‘80s underground electronic music, synth-wave, and retro game soundtracks. 

Astriid explains that the Ami Sampler has a fairly standard control scheme that you’d expect from a sampler plugin. 

There are 12 samplers included, with each one offering volume, pan, ADSR, solo and mute controls. 

You can also set each channel to operate in one of the following: monophonic, four-voice polyphonic (PT poly) or eight-voice polyphonic (Octa poly).

Astriid’s personal favorite inclusion in the control scheme is the Paula switch. This is named after the Amiga’s audio processing chip Paula, which had the “limitation to only be able to pan hard left or hard right.”

Astriid continued, saying “This limitation in the Amiga could allow the user to create uniquely wide sounding pads when multiple channels play the same sample as a chord.”

The Paula switch creates a similar effect by alternating the pan for each note played in a sample. 

Download: Ami Sampler (FREE)

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Stephen is a musician and journalist who hails from Melbourne, Australia. He learned everything he knows about production from Google and used that vast knowledge to create a series of records you definitely haven’t heard of.

15 Comments

    • MRG

       on

      That’s because GitHub it’s primarily designed to be used with the GIT command/program in the CLI.

      BUT ANYWAY! See that ” Code” button, the big green one? Click it, then “Download ZIP”. (if on phone or tablet, ask for the desktop page version in your browser)

      You’ll get a bit more than you wished for, but you’ll have it easy. ^.^

      Reply

  4. Wing Yee

     on

    Multi-Timbral 12 Channel In to stereo out, fine adjustment for each channel to give a sample thickness, the only set back is the velocity respond they are different from Reaper’s sampler, but it can read pre-looped loop points, very good workflow, thanks!

    Reply

  7. Brenny C

     on

    I get that the dev is going for the ol’ 8bit look but yeesh that GUI is brutal on peepers. I’ll still give it a spin, though. 👍

    Reply

  8. G

     on

    Never used Amiga but love samplers. I have tried this and Amigo and seems Amigo is better/more versatile/useful Am I wrong? What are the highlights of Ami vs Amigo?

    Reply
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