STS 5000
by Creamware

Realtime Audio Transforming DSP Sampler 

Without a doubt the STS-5000 is the most capable sampler available today. In fact, the term “sampler” is an understatement when used to refer to this revolutionary instrument. Because the 5000 offers much more than just the set of features found in a professional studio sampler. This instrument permits spectacular realtime manipulations of the sound which, not too long ago, were considered impossible to do with samples. We are talking about realtime pitch-shifting and time-stretching, with formant correction, formant shifting and the Robot Mode.

The STS-5000 as a Sampling Machine

Of course, the STS-5000 has all the features of its smaller brother, the STS-4000. And these features compare very favorably with those of professional hardware samplers. Highlights include most extensive editing capabilities at both the sample and program levels with an integrated graphical editor, full compatibility to the large sample libraries, up to 64 stereo voices and pristine sound owing to 32-bit/96 kHz sampling support. You can find more detailed information about the feature set of the STS-series of samplers here.

Filters galore

One of the big pluses the STS-5000 has over its little brothers is its filter section. There is absolutely no compromising here: you can select from no less than 25 available filter types! From the resonance-capable 24 dB low-pass to the 6 pole, bandpass and shelving filters, to the more effects-oriented flanger and phaser filters – it’s all on board.

Of course such a filter section isn’t limited only to cope with the standard tasks. These filters are also entirely suitable for sonic experimentation and highly creative sound design.

Realtime time-stretching and pitch-shifting

This surely is the STS-5000’s ultimate highlight. With this sampler you can alter the audio material’s pitch and playback speed independently and flexibly. And in realtime. Play samples faster or slower, without changing their pitch. Or change the pitch while maintaining the original playback speed and tonal character. Bend and twist your audio in ways previously possible only with MIDI note data.

Here are a few examples to give you a hint of the vast possibilities these features open up:

* Say good-bye to tedious and time-consuming multisampling! With the STS-5000, a single sample is enough to program an entire instrument that can be played with life-like realism over several octaves.

* Transpose vocal samples. Not only does the playback speed remain constant, the formants are automatically corrected to avoid the notorious Mickey Mouse effect.

* Create an entire choir from a single vocal sample. The STS-5000 operates in both monophonic and multi-voice modes.

* Because the STS-5000 does not have to compute offline you can, within seconds, adapt a drum loop to fit a song tempo perfectly. Or, in the post production studio, you can adjust a line of speech to fit perfectly to a specific amount of time. Flipping and stretching the sound while retaining the original tonal character is child’s play for the STS-5000.

* Perfect those vocal tracks! Adjust the speed of a word or phrase, or fix the singer’s imperfect pitch.

These are only a few of the possibilities the realtime time-stretching and pitch-shifting functions open up for you.

Formant Shifting

The STS-5000 not only automatically corrects the formants when it shifts the pitch – it also lets you shift formants manually. You can also perform this easily with an external MIDI controller, or record the shifting in your sequencer. Using formant shifting you could, if you wanted to, have a female voice emerge out of a male vocal sample (or vice versa). With a drum loop or other sound material, formant shifting produces other quite different effects. From subtle nuances to completely wild effects, the possibilities are almost endless.

We are the robots – The Robot Mode

In this mode the first thing that happens is that all pitch information is removed from the sample. The result: a completely monotonic sound. However, you can now provide new pitch information via MIDI which the sampler interpolates into the prior pitchless sample. In real time! And, of course, with multiple voices. You could also, for example, create a complete vocoder-like choir by hand, live, from a single speech sample. This is just one example. Experiment with other sound material, additionally shift the formants, change the pitch or the playback speed. The creative potential is boundless!

STS-5000 highlights at a glance:

* Stereo sampling with resampling function

* 16/24/32-bit sampling at 44.1/48/96 kHz

* Import/export formats: Akai S1000 & S3000, Soundfont 2, WAV, AIFF

* Realtime time-stretching and pitch-shifting with formant correction

* Formant shifting, Robot mode, Auto Chord Function

* 25 available filter types, with resonance

* Integrated graphical sample editor with extensive editing capabilities

* Keygroup editing, velocity switching, velocity crossfade

* 3 envelope generators, 2 LFOs, mute groups

* All important parameters controllable via MIDI controllers

* Program Pool for up to 999 programs, selectable via MIDI

* Samples loadable directly from the PC/Mac CD-ROM / hard-disk

* Polyphony up to 64 voices*

* Less when using realtime time-stretching or pitch-shifting.