Zampler RX is a SFZ and RX compatible sample player in VST/AU plugin formats for Windows and Mac OS X. Originally available only for 32-bit systems, the plugin is now offered as a 64-bit VSTi plugin format for Windows.
OK, so Zampler has been around for quite a while now and it has been my go-to instrument for playing SFZ sample libraries for the past few years. Truth be told, another great freeware option for playing SFZ packs is Sforzando, however Zampler was a love at first sight for me.
The easily accessible filters, multiple ADSR envelopes, a powerful effects section and the handy modulation matrix make it a perfect fit for my composition workflow. Zampler was developed by Synapse Audio, the author of the amazing DUNE synthesizer, and the two plugins share a very similar GUI and workflow. Beat Magazine offers a bunch of free sound banks which are pre-formatted for use with Zampler and most of those free banks feature some really cool samples and loops which I’ve used in numerous projects. I’m also proud of the fact that my Commodore 64 Syntesizer Sessions DELUXE sample pack is offered as a download on the official Zampler product page.
Anyways, the only real drawback of this great virtual instrument so far was the fact that it was available for 32-bit systems only. I’m still on 32-bit Windows, but I will be upgrading the RAM on my main DAW very soon (like in a week or so) and right after that I will make a switch to 64-bit Windows in order to make the best out of all that random access memory goodness. So this update comes in a perfect moment for me and I’m more than happy about the fact that I’ll still be able to use Zampler on my new system. Mac OS X users will have to wait a bit more for the 64-bit update, but hopefully they’ll be getting it soon enough.
To sum it up, if you’re looking for a great free SFZ format player, definitely check out Zampler RX and download the free sound banks available on the product page linked below if you want to expand your sample arsenal. And if you’ve used Zampler before but had to stop using it because it was 32-bit only, then this is the perfect time to give this awesome virtual instrument another go.
Video Demo
Check out the Zampler RX demo video:
Download
Zampler RX is available for free download via Beat Magazine (3.1 MB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit & 64-bit VSTi plugin format for Windows, 32-bit VSTi/AUi plugin format for Mac OS X).
8 Comments
bmovie
onNice. Zampler is a good sampler for it’s own libraries and a very nice free Rex player – it will let you play your loops stretched or sliced.
As an SFZ player, on the other hand, it’s not that good. Actually it only support 10 opcodes, while there are many many more, that means that it will mess up most of the sfz libraries available. It doesn’t support round robins, choke groups, it doesn’t even recognize the very basic “key” opcode (when lokey and hikey are the same).
So for SFZ playing I think Zampler is the worst option, the very best, as you mentioned, is sforzando but TX16Wx Software Sampler & Alchemy player will also play correctly most sfz files.
Kneebone77
onOoohhhWeeee! Glad to hear this!