Is a Sampler a Synthesizer

Is a sampler a synthesizer? If the answer is yes, why? I think a sampler is a synthesizer because you can take a sound source, have it play consistently, shape it with articulation, and if you can do all that, the Wikipedia definition of synthesizer states a synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals.

And if a sampler generates an audio signal in the same way that a digital synth generates an audio signal, which is a sampled fragment of audio looped over and over again, then that is a synthesizer. Okay, and so now, Marshall, is a sampler a synthesizer? If the answer is no, why not?

Because a sampler is not a synthesizer because a synthesizer has a fixed oscillator that is built to be used as a sound source and is controllable by some sort of input device. A sampler is not a synthesizer because it does not have a dedicated oscillator. Okay.

You can utilize it to do synthesis. It does not have a dedicated oscillator. Yeah, I think the thing here is we really care about how it’s generating the sound.

And obviously, I don’t think either of us really do. So in that case, though, it brings us back to the idea of something like a melodron that operates on tape, is it a synthesizer or a sampler? The answer to the question, are we ready?

The answer is yes, it is either a synthesizer or a sampler. Bye, everybody.