Chop samples by drum hits, vocals or transients

Choose Transients to cut at attacks in the mix, Drum Hits to cut where the drums hit, or Vocal Chops to cut around the vocal. Drum Hits and Vocal Chops use separated guides to find the cuts, but your original audio stays as it is.

Updated 7 November 2026 · S9 Audio

Pick the event you want each key to start on. In a full mix the loudest attack is often a kick, not the vocal word you’re after. For the whole chop-and-stretch workflow, see the complete guide.

For S9 Sampler 0.1.6 (paid beta). More help inside the app: Help & Shortcuts → Smart chopping.

S9 Sampler Auto Chop controls and the sample waveform
The real S9 Sampler interface. Open full size.

Step by step

  1. Choose what to follow

    Open Slice > Chop > Auto and choose Transients, Drum Hits or Vocal Chops.

  2. Tune the preview

    For drums or vocals, adjust sensitivity and Minimum Length. Move Start to skip an intro, and move, join or add cuts in the preview.

  3. Listen first

    Play the Chops with Play Chop, Space or MIDI. Even Cuts keeps Transients and Drum Hits cuts on the beat.

  4. Apply or cancel

    Apply adds the cuts as one undoable change. Cancel leaves your current Chops as they were.

Good to know

Want the vocal on its own?

Auto Chop only places cuts. To hear just the drums or vocal, use Separate Stems.

More cuts isn’t always better

A very short Minimum Length leaves tiny pieces that are hard to play. Try a longer length first.

Try S9 Sampler free for 7 days

7 days, all features, no card, no automatic charge.

Sources