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FREE Pianobook Libraries for Decent Sampler

Download 103 FREE Pianobook Libraries For Decent Sampler

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Over 100 free Pianobook sample libraries are now available for the freeware Decent Sampler plugin.

To fairly describe the journey that led to this point, I should mention three names; Christian Henson, David Hilowitz, and Frédéric Poirier.

See also: Free Piano VST Plugins

You may already know Christian Henson as the founder of Pianobook and co-founder of Spitfire Audio. Pianobook is a peer-to-peer community of creatives who upload and share their sounds/libraries. We should give thanks to the many Pianobook contributors, too.

Even though Pianobook is a free and welcoming community, there was still a perceived paywall because libraries often require a full version of Kontakt or Logic’s EXS24.

As a potential sample playback solution for users who don’t own Kontakt, David Hilowitz created Decent Sampler. You can download Decent Sampler as a freeware plugin for Windows, macOS, Linux, and iOS directly from the Decent Samples website.

The plugin is available in 64-bit VST, VST3, AU, AUv3, and standalone, playing libraries in the Decent Sampler format (.dspreset or .dslibrary). Decent Sampler is awesome because it’s free, simple, has some fantastic libraries, and David has a great video detailing how to create your own DS instruments.

You’ll find compatible libraries on the Decent Samples website, and it’s worth noting they offer free Kontakt/SFZ libraries, too. Another way to find libraries is to use the following Google search: site:pianobook.co.uk/library (“DecentSampler” OR “Decent Sampler”) – provided by David.

While Decent Sampler provided a welcome alternative, most Pianobook libraries weren’t DS compatible, leaving users with the same paywall issue.

Frédéric Poirier is the man who converted over 100 Pianobook libraries to the Decent Sampler format. Now, on Pianobook, if you search instrument types using the EXS24 tag, almost all are DS compatible. Frédéric created a tool that converts EXS data to DS data, and it might be available to download at some point.

Anything that helps people access creative tools that might otherwise be unattainable is a great thing. Pianobook was a remarkable project from day one, with the very best intentions. With his time and effort, Frédéric Poirier has taken Pianobook one huge step closer to being the community it was always meant to be.

I’ve focused on the story more than the sounds because there are too many to mention. But, you’ll find everything from cinematic pianos and strings to random objects like fire extinguishers. If you can make a noise with it, it’s probably in there; enjoy.

More info: Pianobook for Decent Sampler (YouTube video)

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James is a musician and writer from Scotland. An avid synth fan, sound designer, and coffee drinker. Sometimes found wandering around Europe with an MPC in hand.

27 Comments

  1. Rafael

     on

    Nothing against that, but if the idea was to provide an alternative to commercial samplers, why not just use SFZ instead?

    Reply

    • Thomas M

       on

      That is something that I also didn’t understand. Also I found the Decent Sampler to be relatively unstable (in Windows OS). In any case I don’t understand why it uses a proprietary format and not just SFZ (or SFZ + some additional data like Zampler, if they want to include a nice picture or whatever).

      But generally speaking it is somehow frustrating that so much is created in Kontakt, so that you basically need to buy it one day. With Halion there is at least the free player if I understood this correctly and no need to buy the full package.

      Reply

      • Tomislav Zlatic

         on

        Word from the developer is that the bugs are currently being ironed out on a daily basis and that the stability will be improved across the board.

        Reply

        • Dave Hilowitz

           on

          Dave here. I’m the developer of Decent Sampler. Thanks for all the kind words! If you run into crashes or bugs, especially ones that you are able to reproduce, please report them here: https://www.decentsamples.com/contact/.

          The main reason I chose not to use SFZ format exactly is because I don’t love the syntax. Having the plugin be able to read/write XML makes it easier to write tools to export in and out of DecentSampler format since just about every language has an XML parser available for it. SFZ also doesn’t have provisions for GUI stuff, and I wanted to add those. That being said, I do have an SFZ-to-DS converter that I use on a daily basis. The converter will be making its way to Github in the next day or so. :)

          Reply

          • Rafael

             on

            Thanks for the clarification AND for the sampler! Yeah, it’s always good to have alternatives. I’ve never tried to write SFZ so I don’t know the pitfalls of the syntax, but I can see how you would try to make your own.

            If I’m being honest I’d rather use what I already have, so for the sake of interest, will there be a DS-to-SFZ converter too?

            Reply

    • James N

       on

      Hey,

      It’s an alternative, but not the only one, you’re right. They could have used SFZ, but from what I understand, SFZ templates can vary slightly in structure since Cakewalk’s early guidelines, and Decent Sampler wanted to have a more unified approach, like Kontakt does, but free.

      Whether or not that’s an issue that bothered many people, I’m not sure, but as long as Decent Sampler is free, I don’t really mind that the creator chose to use his own format. Especially now there is far more content available, and it’s seems relatively easy to create your own instruments.

      Cheers

      Reply

    • MRG

       on

      100% agree. SFZ supports extensions, and you could even provide basic SFZ mapping plus another file for sampler-specific data. What about portability? These days people are building their own setup using mini-PCs or even Raspberry Pis, etc…
      That said, all my best to Decent Sampler anyway.

      Reply

    • MonkeyGenius

       on

      It may have been easier to convert EXS24 files to the Decent Sampler format. I’ve tried a couple of scripts that supposedly can convert EXS24 to SFZ, but I couldn’t get any of them to work properly.

      Reply

  2. AJ

     on

    Definitely recommend this – Some very organic and imaginative stuff and a great community too. Primarily all Kontakt libraries so you really have to hunt for the decent sampler stuff but below is most of ones I have found so far. These are the ones from the piano book website (lyra has a file missing and Tongue drum has a file in the wrong place and can be rectified). There are also instruments free where you download the DS (Decent sampler) but like I said the majority of the stuff on the pianobook page is for Kontakt but the stuff below can be searched without trailing through everything( there is quite a lot).

    Recommend winter voices, winter piano The family grand , a piano in rome , the soft string spurs,

    001 – Autumn Piano (DS)
    002 – Reissue Stratocaster (DS)
    003 – ASAT Classic Variations (DS)
    004 – 12 String Guitar Piano (DS)
    005 – Waves (DS)
    006 – Family Piano Pads (DS)
    007 – Synth Glimmers (DS)
    008 – A Piano in Rome (Pad) (DS)
    009 – Ethanolia (DS)
    010 – Steinway Pads (DS)
    011 – Yo Pad (DS)
    012 – Lyra Pad (DS)
    013 – The Lamp (DS)
    014 – Hurum Pad (DS)
    015 – Fuckbox Samples (DS)
    016 – Clustered Cloud Piano (DS)
    018 – Thrumming Textures – Pads (DS)
    019 – DX7 Clockwork Swarm (DS)
    020 – Singing Bowl (DS)
    021 – Wine Glass Tool Kit (DS)
    022 – Bedroom Drum Kit (DS)
    023 – Timpani (DS)
    024 – Lorenzo’s Drums V1 (DS)
    025 – Tongue Drum (DS)
    026 – Romantic Guitar Harmonics (DS)
    027 – Pointillism Guitar (DS)
    028 – MVP Prototype (DS)
    029 – Water Trumpet and Double Bass (DS)
    030 – Ice Choir (DS)
    031 – Glass of Water (DS)
    032 – Insta Found Sounds – Vol 1 (DS)
    033 – Cream Soda Atmos Pad (DS)
    034 – Yamaha C3
    035 – Family Grand

    Array M’Bira (DS)
    Broadwood (DS)
    Dead Line Samples (DS)
    Everett Upright (DS)
    Hildur’s Harpsichord (DS)
    Kristiansand Concert Steinway (DS)
    MS20 and SH01 A (DS)
    Soft String Spurs (DS)
    Soft String Spurs Extras (DS)
    Winter Piano (DS)
    Winter Voices [Decent Sampler]
    Yamaha C2 MVP

    Reply

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