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{{Short description|Electronic musical instrument}}
{{Refimprove|date=September 2014}}

A '''rompler''' is an [[electronic musical instrument]] that plays pre-fabricated sounds based on [[Sampling (music)|audio sample]]s. The term ''rompler'' is a [[blend (linguistics)|blend]] of the terms ''[[Read-only memory|ROM]]'' and ''sampler.'' In contrast to [[sampler (musical instrument)|samplers]], romplers do not record audio. Both may have additional sound editing features, such as layering several waveforms and modulation with [[ADSR envelope]]s, [[Filter (signal processing)|filters]] and [[Low frequency oscillation|LFO]]s.

The waveforms are commonly stored in form of [[Pulse-code modulation|PCM]]-encoded waveforms which were similar to those stored in [[WAV]] or [[Audio Interchange File Format|AIFF]] file formats, although in some hardware design other encodings and forms of (usually lossless) compression could be used. 

The core characteristic of a rompler, compared to a sampler, is that they do not have the ability to record new samples, or in case of software instruments, the ability to add user samples from disk.

Note that earlier digital synthesizers, which used short-cycle sampled waveforms, are usually not considered romplers but are either called "PCM synthesizers" or "[[wavetable synthesizer]]s" because the sampled waveform in this case is usually only made of a single full cycle (or a handful of full cycles) of the wave and would therefore be a fraction of a second in length, whereas in case of a sampler or a rompler, the recording would usually contain the sample's decay and sometimes even release sections, such as with a recorded drum hit or piano note. Also, in their usage of sampled waves, filters (usually digital) were employed to gradually alter the timbre of cycling wave which makes them somewhat similar to [[Analog synthesizer|analog subtractive synthesizers]]. However in many such designs, the attack section of a sound was often sampled as a full, longer sample, and then crossfaded or mixed with the looping PCM waveform, such as with Roland's [[Linear Arithmetic synthesis]] and its competitors from other manufacturers, further blurring the difference.

Hardware romplers emerged in the late 1980s, as price drops of memory chips allowed for longer recording storage to be used without making the instruments prohibitively expensive. They were meant to displace previous [[Frequency modulation synthesis|FM]] and PCM-based digital synthesizers in the market, by offering more realistic sound of real, acoustic and electronic instruments, and by the early 1990s they became the dominant technology for mainstream keyboards. The most successful early romplers are considered to be [[Korg M1]] workstation, and [[E-mu Proteus]] module. 

Before the emergence of software virtual instruments, computer sound hardware gradually shifted from synthesizer based sound and music reproduction (such as with [[MOS Technology 6581|Commodore SID]] or [[Yamaha YM2203|Yamaha OPN]] chips) to PCM-based chips, such as [[Amiga|Commodore Amiga]]'s [[Original Chip Set#Paula|Paula]]. Combined with computer's RAM and disk storage, these chips allowed for longer PCM recordings to be reproduced, and [[Video game|games]] and other software often used rompler-like software technology to reproduce music, most notable example being [[Music tracker|music trackers]] on Amiga. Later computer sound hardware employed hardware rompler and sample-based synthesizers (such as [[Gravis Ultrasound]] and [[Sound Blaster|E-mu/Creative SoundBlaster]]) to increase [[Polyphony and monophony in instruments|number of voices]] and reduce CPU usage for sound processing.

As the processing power of personal computers grew, these hardware synthesizers were gradually abandoned and sound hardware of contemporary computers now usually has only PCM reproduction [[Digital-to-analog converter|converters]] with all synthesis and reproduction logic implemented in software. Modern computers are capable of real-time reproduction of large number of voices, as well as real-time emulation of analogue sound circuits. With the introduction of [[digital audio workstations]], musicians started to employ more and more [[Software synthesizer|virtual instruments]], so a market for software romplers, as a source of instantly available sampled instruments, also emerged. Some popular<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/the-20-best-vst-plug-in-synths-in-the-world-today-262145/1|title=The 54 best VST/AU plugin synths in the world today|publisher=|accessdate=November 26, 2014}}</ref> examples of software romplers are reFX Nexus, Native Instruments [[Kontakt (software)|Kontakt]], [[Spectrasonics]] Omnisphere, Steinberg [[HALion]], Roland Zenology, UVI Falcon and IK Multimedia Sampletank.

== Notable romplers ==

* [[Kurzweil K250]] (1984) is arguably the first true ROMpler. It made headlines with its realistic instruments stored on ROM chips. However, it could be extended with sampler capabilities with optional additional hardware.
* [[Korg M1]] (1988), the Korg M1 was one of the first commercially successful ROMplers. It features a range of iconic sound presets, including the famous "M1 Piano" used in 1990s house music.
* [[E-mu Proteus]] (1989) was popular among producers for its high-quality samples and ease of use.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ireson |first=Paul |date=Nov 1989 |title=Emu Systems Proteus (SOS Nov 1989) |url=http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/emu-systems-proteus/5695 |journal=Sound on Sound |issue=Nov 1989 |pages=52–56}}</ref>
* [[Kurzweil K2000]] (1990) was one of the first ROMplers to incorporate a powerful synthesis engine [[Kurzweil K2000#Variable Architecture Synthesis Technology (V.A.S.T.)|V.A.S.T]], making it a favorite of musicians and sound designers alike.
* [[Roland Sound Canvas]] (1991), the first successful budget-oriented ROMpler, giving rise to the "MIDI module" market for PC enthusiasts and video game composers alike.
* [[Roland JV-1080]] (1994) was used extensively in electronic, [[film score]] and pop music in the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Corporation |first=Roland |title=Roland - JV-1080 {{!}} Software Synthesizer |url=https://www.roland.com/uk/products/rc_jv-1080/ |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=Roland}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Roland JV-1080 {{!}} Vintage Synth Explorer |url=https://www.vintagesynth.com/Roland/jv1080.php |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=www.vintagesynth.com}}</ref>
* [[Yamaha Motif]] series (2001) is known for its realistic sounds and extensive synthesis capabilities.
* [[Native Instruments]] Kontakt (2002) is a virtual instrument that offers a vast library of samples and an intuitive interface for creating custom instruments.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Native Instruments Kontakt 2 |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/native-instruments-kontakt-2 |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=www.soundonsound.com}}</ref>
* [[Steinberg]] [[HALion]] is one of the most popular and one of the most versatile software rompler <ref>{{Cite web |title= Steinberg HALion |url=https://www.steinberg.net/vst-instruments/halion/ |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=www.steinberg.net}}</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Electronic musical instruments]]