Well, I was reading about Pro Tools DJ mixes and realized I can't come
up with the hate for a "DJ" who uses DSP to mix tracks. So I can't
really argue against someone using samples or samplers either, because
this is more or less the same thing. In fact, the more I thought about
it, the more I think I'd really enjoy it if I heard a sample from
something of mine stuck in someone else's track.
My dislike of samplers stems more or less from the innate fear I have
that if I go and buy one for myself my music will immediately descend
into conceptual in-joke hell and wank crap. Now I've used my computer
for such much remanipulation and noisemaking I'm thinking about getting
a sampler anyway, mostly for utility purposes, but what's the difference?
What people have said is generally true; the tool/design matters little
compared to the idea or feeling of the output. So fuck it; I'm never
going to evangelize the sampler (a la Matthew Herbert) but there's no
reason not to like it. Hell, I love Amon Tobin!
Tom
Disclaimer: none of this makes the chembros any more palatable.