SOLUTION: Correctly Importing SampleRobot instruments to Waldorf Quantum and Iridium

 As a long-time user of SampleRobot and a recent owner of a Waldorf Iridium Core synthesizer, I was excited to learn that SampleRobot 6 has explicit support for the Waldorf Iridium and Quantum instruments. After working with the synth for several days, however, I encountered a number of unexpected roadblocks when attempting to import my own SampleRobot recordings into my Iridium Core that the existing documentation and tutorial videos didn't cover. After a couple days of research and experimentation, I have finally figured it out, and wanted to share my findings for future users.

Recent developments

So far I have only found one video describing the process of importing SampleRobot instruments, and it's the one Waldorf published to their YouTube channel, however that video glosses over a very important fact: If you follow their steps exactly as described, it will work at first- but only if you leave your USB drive or SD card inserted in the synthesizer. If you try to load any instruments you created without the original storage device connected, the synth will complain that it can't find the samples!

If you want to permanently import your SampleRobot instrument without having to leave the USB/SD storage connected, you must import the samples into flash memory, and create the instrument from there. But that leads us to another problem: YouTuber Tim Shoebridge has the most popular video that covers the process of importing samples into a Quantum or Iridium, and it is very good, but it was recorded before the 3.0 update to the Iridium system software, which changed how sample storage works. His steps involve using an "Import" action which no longer exists in current Iridium/Quantum software. That functionality has been combined with the pre-existing "Add" action, but the workflow is different from what you'll see in Tim's video.

My steps below will show you how to correctly (and permanently) import your SampleRobot instruments into your instrument, as of the 3.2.0 version of Iridium Core OS (January 16, 2024).

Importing the samples

These steps assume you have already recorded your instrument in SampleRobot and exported the project in "Waldorf Quantum and Iridium (*.map)" format. I am a heavy SampleRobot user, and have already written some guides on working with it. If you'd like to see some more info on using it to make instruments for Quantum/Iridium, let me know.

First off, after you export your instrument to Waldorf format, make sure that you copy the resulting files to your USB drive or SD card exactly as follows: The USB drive/SD card must have a directory named "samples" at the root, and that directory must contain one or more instrument directories, each one containing the instrument's samples and MAP file. There can be other stuff on the drive/card, but all your Waldorf files must follow the above directory structure.

In this image you can see we have a USB drive named "IRIDIUM" and it contains a folder named "samples" with a subfolder named "The Giant Piano" which contains all necessary samples, plus the MAP file.

Note: Because some physical buttons on these devices have the same text as some on-screen buttons on the touch screen, I will try to use the word "press" for physical buttons and "touch" for on-screen controls.

1. Insert your USB drive or SD card into your synthesizer.
2. Press the physical Load button on the synth.
3. On the Load Patch screen, touch Init to create an empty patch.
4. Press OSC 1.
5. Touch Wavetable and then touch Particle to select the standard sampler engine.
6. Touch Actions, and then touch Add.
7. In the upper-left corner of the touchscreen, toggle to the correct storage device for your samples (USB Drive or SD Card).
8. In the left pane of the touchscreen, touch samples.
9. In the right pane of the touchscreen, touch the directory name of the instrument you want to import (for the instrument in my screenshot above, I'd touch "The Giant Piano").
10. Leave the directory name selected (don't select any individual files), and then touch Add.
11. An "Add Samples" dialog will appear, asking if you want to copy the files to internal flash memory. Touch Copy.
12. The samples will be copied into the "samples" directory on the synth's internal "Samples" storage. (For example, my "The Giant Piano" directory now appears between the factory "Tanya Samples" and "Vocal chika" directories in my internal storage.)

Loading the instrument map

The MAP file contains all the information your Waldorf synth needs in order to place each sample in the correct pitch and velocity ranges.

1. With your USB/SD storage still connected, press the physical Load button.
2. On the Load Patch screen, touch Init to create an empty patch.
3. Press OSC 1.
4. Touch Wavetable and then touch Particle to select the standard sampler engine.
5. Touch Actions, and then touch Load Map.
6. Use the touchscreen to navigate inside the original directory that contained your samples on your USB stick or SD card, and touch the name of the MAP file. (In my example, I'd navigate to "USB Drive > samples > The Giant Piano > The Giant Piano.map".)
7. Touch Load.

Your samples should now be mapped the way you set them up in SampleRobot.

Testing and saving the instrument

You should now have a very basic sample-mapped instrument. Use the pads or fire up your DAW to play around with it to make sure your velocity layers are mapped properly (if you used more than one layer) and the pitches are mapped across the keyboard as you expected. You can make the necessary changes in the Timbre page of OSC 1, on a per-sample basis if only minor changes are needed. If you find massive changes are required, it might be best to go back to SampleRobot and re-record. (Again, if anyone needs tips here, let me know.)

Your freshly-imported instrument has a "gated" envelope (extremely fast attack and release) and does not adjust volume in response to velocity changes. It WILL trigger the appropriate samples if you imported multiple velocity layers, but it won't adjust their playback volume without some modifications.

To change the amp envelope to attack/release like you want, press the Envelopes button, and then make the appropriate adjustments on the Amp tab. (For example, I increased the Release to 1.54 seconds for my piano instrument.)

To make the instrument adjust volume in response to different velocities, touch Mod Targets on the Amp tab and then dial in the appropriate "Amp VeloAmt" value. In my case, 80% gave me the best velocity curve for my MIDI controller and playing style.

When your instrument is ready to save, do the following:

1. Press the physical Save button.
2. Enter a name for your patch and fill out the appropriate attributes. (I put all my patches into an "ultimateoutsider" bank so I can find everything I've created quickly by just selecting that bank in the preset browser.)
3. Touch the blank space beneath the Save and Cancel buttons on the touchscreen to bring up the patch number entry dialog.
4. Type in a patch slot number as a starting point to find where to save your patch. At least on my unit, the first available patch slot was 164. You can use the selector dial to scroll through existing patch slots until you find a blank one.
5. Touch the red Save button to store the patch in the current slot.

And that's it! I do hope I save some future Waldorf-owning SampleRobot fiends some time with these updated steps!

Arturia V Collection - All Versions Compared

 

UPDATE (April 28, 2025): I originally made this post when V Collection 9 was released, but I have updated the comparison worksheet to include both V Collection X and V Collection 11. Updated worksheet here.

In May of 2005, French music software developer Arturia announced a limited-time bundle they called the Vintage Collection pack. It featured four emulations of classic synthesizers: Moog Modular V, CS-80V, ARP 2600 V, and minimoog V- all for the low, low price of $649USD (€555). This collection was only available for purchase during the month of June that year. Five years later, they released another bundle, the newly-dubbed V Collection 2.0; adding two new instruments that emulated three vintage synthesizers (Jupiter-8V emulated the Roland Jupiter-8 and Prophet V emulated both the Prophet 5 and the Prophet VS). Ever since then, Arturia has blessed us with a new V Collection about every two years.

I collected all the information I could gather on the various iterations of Arturia's trademark series to build a worksheet that compares the contents of every version. There's also a tab with quick details on each version of the collection (release date, intro price, total # of products), etc.

Some random Arturia V Collection trivia

• V Collection 2.0 and 3.0 used the Syncrosoft USB licenser for copy protection (the same thing as the Steinberg USB eLicenser), while V Collection 4 was the first version distributed with and activated by the Arturia Software Center (ASC). (They originally called it the Arturia Software Centre.)

• Arturia's drum sampler plugin, Spark 2, was included in V Collection 4, but it was dropped from subsequent V Collection releases, although it's still an actively supported product.

• V Collection 7 was the first to include a sound bank (a collection of presets called Synthopedia) in addition to the variety of virtual instruments. V Collection 8 added the PatchWorks sound bank. Owners of these bundles could install the sound banks from their respective collections in the Arturia Software Center.

• V Collection 9 introduced 14 new sound banks to the collection, but instead of installing these from ASC, the banks are now available on the Store tab of Analog Lab V. (You can click the "Owned Banks" control to display only the sound banks included with your collections.) NOTE: As of this writing I am unsure whether PatchWorks and Synthopedia are still included with V Collection 9; the details page currently up says there are "14 exclusive sound banks" but if PatchWorks and Synthopedia were included I think the number would be 16.

• Not every version of every Arturia emulation is included in a V Collection release. For example Modular V was already at 2.0 by the time of the original Vintage Collection pack, and Jupiter-8 had already seen two releases before its introduction in V Collection 2.0.

• Some of the instrument names have changed over the years. To keep my chart readable, I opted for the more recent/modern names of these plugins. Some examples of changed names: Jupiter-8 V to Jup-8 V, Moog Modular V to Modular V, minimoog V to MiniMg to Mini V, Wurlitzer V to Wurli V, OB-Xa V to OP-Xa V.

• Spark Vintage Drum Machine was included in the original release of V Collection 3, however that product is not listed as an installable option under V Collection 3 in the Arturia Software Center.

Native Instruments Acoustic Pianos Compared

Native Instruments has produced sample-based acoustic piano instruments in one form or another for quite some time. Because the company offers so many piano options, I frequently see people asking which ones are best, or what the differences are between the various piano products. I hope to answer most of those questions here. I'll also provide some audio demos of every current and recent Native Instruments piano- so you can hear the differences for yourself.

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AKOUSTIK PIANO

In 2006, Native Instruments released Akoustik Piano, an instrument that included sampled versions of four different pianos. While it used the Kontakt engine under the hood, Akoustik Piano could run as a standalone application or a plugin. Native Instruments discontinued this product in 2009, however the sample content was reused in several ways in subsequent products.

You can learn more about Akoustik Piano and other legacy Native Instruments products at my Complete History of Komplete.

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KONTAKT FACTORY LIBRARY

Kontakt ships with several basic pianos. They don't have fancy user interfaces, but they offer most of the standard tweakable parameters- and a number of not-so-standard parameters for pianos. Some of the piano samples in the Kontakt factory library come from Akoustik Piano, but the library also includes some piano sounds that don't appear anywhere else.

The Kontakt pianos are split across the Band and Orchestral categories, which have different feature sets. Despite their basic appearance these pianos do feature multiple velocity and microphone layers. Most of these pianos also have a very small memory footprint, partly because they are not one-sample-per-note.

• Features (Band instruments): Mic and resonance control, compression, chorus, delay, convolution reverb, amp simulation, EQ, velocity curve, pitch bend range, transpose, tuning, parameter randomization.
• Features (Orchestral instruments): EQ, tuning/scale, convolution reverb, velocity curve, pitch bend range, transpose, parameter randomization.
• Presets/variations: None of the Kontakt acoustic pianos include presets or variations, although they are highly customizable.
• Available in: Komplete 10, Komplete 10 Ultimate, Kontakt 5.

August Foerster Grand (Orchestral)

• Original piano: Unknown model manufactured by August Foerster
• Preset or NKI file used in sound demo: August Foerster Grand.nki
• Sample data size: 0.38 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/16-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 16/605
• Velocity layers: 10
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.0.0
• Notes: This is one of the oldest pianos in the Native Instruments catalog. Its default maximum voice setting was only 64, which was simply not enough voices for this sample clip, which includes a lot of sustan (making it a rather voice-hungry composition). I doubled the voice count to 128 for the demo recording.
• Sound demo: Listen

Concert Grand (Orchestral)

• Original piano: Steinway D
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Concert Grand.nki
• Sample data size: 0.82 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 93/985
• Velocity layers: 10
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.0.0
• Notes: This is a "lite" version of the New York Concert Grand.
• Sound demo: Listen

Grand Piano (Band)

• Original piano: Boesendorfer 290 Imperial
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Grand Piano.nki
• Sample data size: 0.16 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 6/155
• Velocity layers: 3
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.0.0
• Notes: This is a "lite" version of the Vienna Concert Grand.
• Sound demo: Listen

Ragtime Piano (Band)

• Original piano: Steingraeber 130
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Ragtime Piano.nki
• Sample data size: 0.17 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 6/189
• Velocity layers: 3
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.0.0
• Notes: This uses the same samples as Upright Piano.
• Sound demo: Listen

Upright Piano (Band)

• Original piano: Steingraeber 130
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Upright Piano.nki
• Sample data size: 0.17 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 6/189
• Velocity layers: 3
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.0.0
• Notes: This is a "lite" version of the Upright Piano from the Classic Piano Collection.
• Sound demo: Listen

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CLASSIC PIANO COLLECTION

From 2010 through 2014, these pianos were available for separate purchase or as a bundle, but they were dropped from Native Instruments' product lineup at the time of Komplete 10's release. These all take sample content from Akoustik Piano, like some of the instruments in the Kontakt library do- although the factory library versions are more compact and do not ship with any presets/variations. These versions utilize more individual samples than the Kontakt library versions, explaining their significantly larger memory footprint.

• Features: Mic and resonance control, pedal style, velocity curve, tuning, convolution reverb, lid position.
• Presets/variations: While the individual instruments do not use snapshots or have any built-in preset facility, each of these pianos includes several different NKI files, each representing different variations.
• Available in: Komplete 9 and Komplete 9 Ultimate.

Berlin Concert Grand

• Original piano: Bechstein D 280
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Berlin Concert Grand.nki
• Sample data size: 2.56 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 93/984
• Velocity layers: 10
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.0.1
• Notes: This is the only one of the Classic Piano Collection pianos that doesn't appear to have any representation in the Kontakt 5 factory library.
• Sound demo: Listen

New York Concert Grand

• Original piano: Steinway D
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: New York Concert Grand.nki
• Sample data size: 2.15 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 93/985
• Velocity layers: 10
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 4.8.0
• Sound demo: Listen

Upright Piano

• Original piano: Steingraeber 130
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Upright Piano.nki
• Sample data size: 2.49 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 93/991
• Velocity layers: 10
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.0.1
• Sound demo: Listen

Vienna Concert Grand

• Original piano: Boesendorfer 290 Imperial
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Vienna Concert Grand.nki
• Size in RAM: 141 MB
• Sample data size: 2.96 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 102/1071
• Velocity layers: 10
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.0.1
• Sound demo: Listen

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DEFINITIVE PIANO COLLECTION

Introduced in 2014, these pianos are considered a higher-quality replacement for the "Classic" models that have since been dropped from the library, although they represent a different set of original pianos. These were produced by Galaxy Instruments, the creators of another Native Instruments piano, The Giant.

• Features: EQ, transient shaping, compression, mic and resonance control, pedal style, velocity curve, tuning, convolution reverb, lid position.
• Available in: Komplete 10, Komplete 10 Ultimate, Definitive Piano Collection.
• Presets/variations: All of these pianos include different variations, but rather than using a built-in preset selector, these instruments use Kontakt's snapshot feature. To choose a preset you click the Snapshot button and then select the desired preset from the list:
  
  

The Gentleman

• Original piano: Bechstein Model A Upright (1908)
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Basic Gentleman
• Sample data size: 5.70 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 48kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 105/3148
• Velocity layers: 16
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.4.1
• Sound demo: Listen

The Grandeur

• Original piano: Hamburg Steinway D Concert Grand
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Basic Grandeur
• Sample data size: 7.16 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 48/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 105/3358
• Velocity layers: 18
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.4.1
• Sound demo: Listen

The Maverick

• Original piano: Bechstein Model A Grand (1905)
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Basic Maverick
• Sample data size: 7.55 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 48kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 105/3282
• Velocity layers: 18
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.4.1
• Sound demo: Listen

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OTHER RELEASES

These items are all available as separate products.

Alicia's Keys

• Original piano: Yamaha C3 Neo
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: 01 Dry
• Sample data size: 6.92 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 46/6200
• Velocity layers: ~12 (10-15 depending on the aspect of the piano)
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 4.8.0
• Developed by: Scarbee
• Features: Mic and resonance control, pedal style, velocity curve, convolution reverb, attack/release adjust, repetition control.
• Presets/variations: Preset selector in UI.
• Available in: Komplete 10 Ultimate or separately.
• Sound demo: Listen

Discovery Series: Cuba

This package includes two piano variations. At the time of writing, this is the only piano instrument in the Native Instruments lineup that has a groove/pattern playback system built-in. It is not very deeply sampled, but has a distinct and useful sound.

• Features: EQ, compression, tape saturation, reverb, groove/pattern support.
• Presets/variations: User interface has separate Mixer and Instrument preset selectors.
• Available in: Komplete 10 Ultimate or separately.

GRAND PIANO

• Original piano: unknown (possibly a Kawai KG-1C?)
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Grand Piano / Classic mixer
• Sample data size: 6.92 GB (shared with upright piano)
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 20/749 (shared with upright piano)
• Velocity layers: 2
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.4.1
• Sound demo: Listen

UPRIGHT PIANO

• Original piano: Steingraeber 130
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Upright Piano / Classic mixer
• Sample data size: 0.57 GB (shared with grand piano)
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 44.1kHz/16-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 20/749 (shared with grand piano)
• Velocity layers: 6
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.4.1
• Notes: This uses the same samples as the Upright Piano from the Kontakt Factory Library, although they have been converted to 16-bit.
• Sound demo: Listen

The Giant

• Original piano: Klavins Model 370
• Preset or NKI file used in demo: Basic Giant
• Sample data size: 3.49 GB
• Sample rate/bit-depth: 48kHz/24-bit
• Number of groups/zones: 98/2003
• Velocity layers: 13
• Minimum Kontakt version required: 5.4.1
• Developed by: Galaxy Instruments
• Features: EQ, transient shaping, compression, mic and resonance control, pedal style, velocity curve, tuning, convolution reverb.
• Presets/variations: Preset selector in UI.
• Available in: Komplete 10, Komplete 10 Ultimate, or separately.
• Sound demo: Listen

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ABOUT THE SOUND DEMOS

For each of the pianos described above, I recorded a minute-long excerpt of Felix Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, Book 2, Op. 30: No. 1 Andante espressivo. This piece makes liberal use of pedal/sustain and is fairly dynamic, velocity-wise. The full playlist of clips follows, and I'll also provide links to individual clips in the descriptions below.

All clips were loudness normalized to -20 LUFS, and there is no processing or effects outside of what was already included with the instrument. For every example, I tried to use each instrument's "default" or "basic" setting. In the detailed instrument descriptions above, I list the presets used for each of the sample recordings. In cases where the instrument doesn't have a preset or snapshot facility, I simply list the NKI file I used, since Native Instruments sometimes includes separate NKI files as "presets."

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SOUND DEMOS

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CREDITS

Thanks to the following folks:

• nielsdolieslager at the Native Instruments forum for filling me in on some details and recommending I check the voice count on the August Foerster piano.
• kbaccki at the KVR forum for inspiring me to find a better metric to judge sample content size than the active RAM buffer.