Saving & Loading Instruments

A session captures everything about an instrument-in-progress: its parameters and the map of recorded samples (including your per-sample trims). Saving lets you close the app and pick up exactly where you left off, or keep a re-editable master alongside your exports.

What's in a session

A session file is a small JSON document — it stores:

• Parameters — name, MIDI channel, note range, velocities, round robins, sustain and duration, and the rest of the panel settings.
• The sample map — which recorded .wav belongs to each note, velocity, and round robin, plus each sample's trim and reverse settings.

The session references your recorded audio rather than embedding it, so keep the session file next to its samples. Session files use the .sai extension.

Load an existing instrument

Click "Load an existing instrument." and choose a saved session file. Sampling Assistant restores the parameters and the grid, ready for you to audition, edit, or export.

Session vs. export

A session is your re-editable working file — reopen it to change settings or re-trim. An export is the finished, sampler-ready instrument (SFZ, Kontakt, or Decent Sampler). Keep the session if you might revisit the instrument; share the export with your sampler. See Exporting Your Instrument.