Serato Sample
Serato Sample
Serato Sample has quickly become one of the most influential modern samplers in contemporary music production, bridging classic sample-chopping workflows with forward-thinking machine-learning technology.
Designed for speed, musicality, and inspiration, it strips away unnecessary friction and focuses on what producers actually want to do: find a sound, chop it fast, flip it creatively, and move on while the idea is still hot.
In version 2.2.0, Serato Sample continues to refine that vision, introducing deeper stem control, improved automation, and tighter hardware integration, while maintaining the ultra-fast workflow that has made it a staple across hip-hop, electronic, pop, and experimental genres.
System Requirements:
- 64-bit
- VST 3 / AU
- Windows
- Mac
Sampling at speed
At the heart of Serato Sample is a workflow built around immediacy. Drag in a full track, loop, or one-shot and the plugin instantly analyzes the audio, allowing you to sync it to tempo, pitch it independently, and trigger slices across pads with near-zero setup time.
The interface is deliberately minimal, prioritizing waveform interaction and performance over complex menus.
Time-stretching and pitch-shifting are powered by Serato’s Pitch ’n Time algorithm, long regarded as one of the cleanest in the industry. This allows samples to be pushed far from their original tempo or key while retaining clarity, transient definition, and musical feel.
Quantization options help lock chops to the grid, but nothing forces rigidity, making it equally suited to loose, human grooves and tightly programmed beats.
Stems, separation, and modern flipping
Serato Sample’s defining modern feature is its integrated stem separation. With a single click, full tracks can be split into vocals, melody, bass, and drums, opening up creative possibilities that previously required external tools.
Version 2.2.0 expands this further by allowing independent level control for each stem, making it possible to rebalance samples directly inside the plugin rather than committing to destructive edits.
Stem activation and stem levels can now be automated in the host DAW, turning Serato Sample into a dynamic arrangement tool as well as a sampler. This enables techniques such as dropping drums out mid-phrase, fading vocals in and out rhythmically, or morphing between instrumental and acapella sections over time.
Native hardware control support for the AlphaTheta SLAB pad controller further reinforces Serato Sample’s performance-centric design, offering hands-on waveform scrubbing, cue placement, stem control, and pitch manipulation without breaking creative flow.
Key Features:
A fast, modern sampler built around chopping, stems, and musical manipulation.
- High-quality time-stretching and pitch-shifting powered by Pitch ’n Time
- One-click stem separation for vocals, melody, bass, and drums
- Independent stem level control inside the sampler
- DAW automation for stem activation and stem levels
- Ultra-fast sample chopping and pad-based triggering
- Tempo sync with flexible quantization options
- Native hardware integration with AlphaTheta SLAB
- VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin formats
- Apple Silicon and HiDPI Windows support
FAQ
Serato Sample prioritizes speed and musical decision-making over deep manual mapping. Most tasks that take minutes in traditional samplers can be done in seconds, particularly chopping, syncing, and pitching full tracks.
The stem engine is designed for creative use rather than forensic isolation. While not perfectly artifact-free in every case, it delivers highly usable results that are more than sufficient for sampling, remixing, and beat construction.
For many producers, yes. Between chopping, time-stretching, pitch-shifting, stem separation, and basic mix control, Serato Sample often eliminates the need for separate audio editors and stem tools.
Absolutely. While popular in hip-hop, it is widely used in electronic music, pop, experimental genres, and even sound design due to its fast manipulation and high audio quality.
Key performance elements including pitch, time-stretch, cue triggering, and stem controls can be automated, allowing it to function as an evolving arrangement tool rather than a static sampler.
