Welcome to the DecentSampler Developer Guide

DecentSampler is a free sampling plug-in that allows music composers to use multi-samples in the DecentSampler format. This document is a guide to creating samples in that format.

If you have no familiarity with the DecentSamples format, this video is a great place to start. After that, you’ll want to start at the File Format Overview to learn a bit more about how to create sample libraries.

Note

This project is under active development.

Contents

• File Format Overview
  • The top-level <DecentSampler> element (required)
• The <ui> element
  • The <tab> element
  • The <button> element
    • The <state> element
  • The <image> element
    • The <label> element
    • The <labeled-knob> and <control> elements
  • The <menu> element
    • The <option> element
  • The <xyPad> element
    • The <x> and <y> elements
  • The <keyboard> element
    • The <color> element
• The <groups> element (required)
  • The <group> element
    • The <sample> element
• The <effects> element
  • The <effect> element
    • Low-pass, Band pass, and Hi-pass filter
    • Notch EQ Filter
    • Peak EQ Filter
    • Gain effect
    • Reverb effect
    • Delay effect
    • Chorus effect
    • Phaser effect
    • Convolution effect
    • Wave Folder effect
    • Wave Shaper effect
• The <midi> element
  • The <cc> element
  • The <note> element
    • Bindings within the <midi> section
• The <noteSequences> element
  • The <sequence> element
    • The <note> element
• The <modulators> element
  • The <lfo> element
  • The <envelope> element
  • How to use <binding>s in conjunction with modulators
  • Modulator scope: global or voice-level
• The <tags> element
  • The <tag> element
• The <buses> element
  • The <bus> element
  • Effects and buses
  • Using buses in the sample library
• Appendix A: The Color Format
• Appendix B: The <binding> element
  • Binding Parameters for Targeting Note Sequences
  • Controllable Parameters
    • UI Parameters
    • Effects Parameters
    • Bus-related Parameters
  • Translation Modes
    • Mode #1: linear
    • Mode #2: table
    • Mode #3: fixed_value
• Appendix C: Boilerplate .dspreset File
• Useful Tutorials and Resources
  • UI Elements
    • How to Color the Keys of the On-Screen Keyboard
      • How to turn keyboard note coloring on and off using bindings
    • How to add Dropdown Menus
      • Dropdown Menus
        • The new fixed_value translation type
    • How to add Buttons to your user interfaces
    • Example: How to control two groups with knobs
  • Sample Mapping and Effects
    • How to Use Buses and Auxiliary Outputs
      • Auxilary Outputs
      • Buses
      • Examples
        • Example 1: Routing audio to an auxiliary output
        • Example 2: Applying effects to audio using buses
      • Conclusion
    • How to Use Note Sequences within your Sample Libraries
      • Creating a sequence by hand
      • The <noteSequences> element
        • The <sequence> element
          • The <note> element
      • Creating a sequence using the sample editor
      • Triggering sequences using MIDI
      • Triggering note sequences using the UI
      • Conclusion
    • How to control parameters using tags (Example: Mic-level Knobs)
    • How to do voice-muting for drums
    • How to implement true legato
    • How to add Keyswitches
    • How to add LFOs and Envelopes
    • How to use Legato in Decent Sampler [Video]
    • How to do Voice-Muting (like for hi-hats) and create Legato samples
    • How to use Convolution Reverb in Decent Sampler
    • How to add Tempo-synced Delay