What is a sampler

The sampler is simply a device that allows you to record sounds digitally (a sound recorded into the sampler is referred to as a sample), and then edit and reproduce the sounds/samples in a very flexible way. The sampler records sounds digitally in just the same way as say a DAT tape machine with the difference being that when a sound is recorded into the sampler it is stored in the sampler's memory rather than being written to tape. This allows the sampler to carry out various operations on the sounds that are simply not possible by any other means.