hi guys i'm a long time lurker who has benefited greatly from the amount of knowledge on this board, so first i want to say thanks. i was wondering what people's take is on using the isolator vs. using one of the filters. say, a low pass vs. just cutting out the mid and highs. is there a difference?

I prefer the filter. I like using just one knob instead of jacking with all three. I also like having the ability to sweep all the frequencies while resampling if I feel like it. Isolator is handy for silence drop outs and I do use it for that.

thanks for replying. i swear i'm not selling steelers jerseys or coach handbags. i am experimenting with using the isolator to drop out sounds in patterns which is pretty exciting for me. i'm also really interested in using the isolator to create a wide frequency range in my patterns.

since borrowing this sampler from my homie, i pretty much have been banging on it all night and daydreaming about it all day at work. the backup pattern copy trick was a goddamn revelation! this thing is pretty much ableton in a box.

any advice for nabbing classic TR kit waves? i have pretty much just been sampling my mfb-503 and vinyl.

the internet has all the samples you need.. just google

i use isolator as like a full cut eq when treating samples.

Filter i use as an effect for patterns etc.

I prefer the isolator/eq filters. I sweep all the frequencies by lying my palm against all the knobs

Isolater can be very nice at boosting bass that is not present enough, or rolling off highs on a sample that is too shrill / tinny too.

i use isolater for filtered basslines- then resample them with filter and a little wah mfx usually..with the sp,at least the 404-the isolater is definitely the best way to pull out all the lows..then resampling with filter and some wah gives it some more of that 90's low pass sound.for instruments like keys,horns,guitars and strings i want to have that filtered sound,i usually layer(resample) a version of the sample with most of the lows/mids isolated out,filtered,and sometimes wah'd (depending on the instrument) with the untouched sample....dont do sweeping much,but it sounds real dope w rhodes & string samples imo...

thanks for the input guys. i appreciate it.

The filter adds sometimes unwanted characteristics if you're simply trying to capture only part of the sound. Also, 505's filter doesn't go as low as isolator does, so sometimes filter can't even cut it really.

It's always situational.

Learned some new tricks in this thread, can't wait to play around with them when I get home. Thanks for the knowledge.

i think the low pass on the voice-canceller (21) is great. if you keep resampling you get deeper and deeper bass without the 'boxy' sound of the isolator... just straight deep subbbbb. only drawback is you must sample in stereo each time... the channels will cancel if playing back in mono

i do this to my kicks in the arena if the drums are too thin