Round Robins¶

A round robin is an alternate take of the same note at the same velocity. When you play a note repeatedly, the sampler cycles through the round robins instead of replaying one identical sample — so fast repeated notes sound natural rather than mechanical.

This avoids the so-called machine-gun effect, where retriggering a single sample over and over makes an obviously looped, robotic sound.

Set the number of round robins¶

The Round Robins slider records from 1 to 5 takes per note (default 1). Sampling Assistant captures each take as its own recording, so your exported instrument can rotate through them.

Like velocity layers, round robins multiply your sample count:

total samples = notes × velocities × round robins

Three round robins triples the number of recordings versus one. Check the ESTIMATED TIME and ESTIMATED SIZE in the summary box before committing to a large library.

How many do I need?

Percussion, plucks, staccato sounds — these benefit most; 3–5 round robins keep fast passages lively.
Sustained pads and slow evolving sounds — repetition is rarely audible, so 1 is usually fine.