How to chop and time-stretch samples in S9 Sampler
Load a sample, switch to Slice and run Auto Chop by drum hits, vocal phrases or transients. Edit any chop on its own, branch it into variations, then open Time: Match Tempo follows your DAW tempo, Bar Lock fits a sample or chop to a number of bars, and Warp moves single hits inside a chop. Here is the whole workflow, step by step.
Chop and time-stretch, step by step
Load your sample
Drag an audio file onto S9 Sampler, use Open File, or find a sound in the built-in browser by folder, key, BPM or length. You can also record a source with Record Audio.
Switch from Keys to Slice
Keys plays the whole sound chromatically. Slice plays pieces of it, called chops, from your MIDI keyboard or your DAW’s piano roll. Each chop gets its own key.
Run Auto Chop
Open Slice > Auto and choose Drum Hits, Vocal Chops or Transients. For drums and transients, Even Cuts keeps the cuts on the beat. Set the sensitivity and Minimum Length, click chops to audition them, then choose Apply. Beat grids and equal slices are there too.
Fix any cut by hand
Drag a divider to move a cut. Double-click inside a chop to split it, or join a chop with the one before it. Moving a cut keeps the MIDI keys of your chops.
Edit a single chop
Set Editing to Edit Chop and select a chop. Change its Pitch, Reverse, Envelope, Filter, Half-Time and effects without touching the others. Shift-click to select several chops and edit them together.
Branch a chop into variations
Create a branch from the selected chop. A branch keeps its own pitch, playback direction and processing and stays linked to its source chop. Play a specific branch or cycle through the variations as you play.
Match the tempo
Open Time. Set the Original BPM with Detect, or with Set from. Choose Match Tempo: DAW to follow your project tempo, or Manual to play at a Target BPM you type. Choose a stretch Quality for the result.
Lock it to bars
Turn on Bar Lock to fit the whole sample, or a chop, to an exact number of bars at your DAW tempo. Bar Lock keeps the pitch you chose; Pitch and Half-Time stay editable.
Warp single hits
Open Warp at the top right of the waveform. Choose Add Point, click a hit and drag it earlier or later. The chop’s start and end stay fixed. Snap to transients or to 1/4, 1/8 or 1/16, turn on Protect attacks, then choose Done.
Export the result
Export WAV or MIDI, with or without effects, or render the edit back into the sampler with Render & Replace.
Which timing tool should I use?
| You want to | Use | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Play a loop at your song’s tempo | Match Tempo: DAW | Speed follows the DAW tempo from the Original BPM |
| Play at a fixed tempo | Match Tempo: Manual | Speed follows the Target BPM you set |
| Fill an exact number of bars | Bar Lock | Duration in bars; your chosen pitch stays |
| Nudge single hits | Warp | Timing inside a chop; its start and end stay fixed |
| Get the slowed-down sound | Half-Time | Three speeds and a four-step sequence, without changing the sample length |
New to S9 Sampler? The 7-day free trial includes every feature and needs no card. Inside the plug-in, Help has searchable topics for chopping, timing and Bar Lock.