Redux vs Subsample

Redux is a sample-based instrument that combines a phrase sequencer with MIDI implementation. Its tracker notation lets users enter notes and control sample playback precisely, while the sequencer creates phrases using notes and program-change events. Redux can send MIDI note events to its host so the tracker interface can trigger instruments in a DAW. Effects and a quasi-modular system let devices modulate one another. The waveform editor can adjust volume, remove leading or trailing silence, apply effects, and slice samples; those edits are saved with the preset. A built-in recorder and draw tool support sample creation, and drag-and-drop import accepts common audio formats, including SFZ multisamples. Users can save and recall presets by section, add content libraries by dragging and dropping, and connect eight global macro controls to multiple parameters and functions. Redux is a plugin, not a standalone app, and runs in a DAW that supports VST3 or Audio Unit. It is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. The demo is otherwise fully functional but generates a subtle hiss. A Redux license costs $5,600 as a one-time purchase and covers versions 1.4.4 to 2.4.4.

Subsample is a standalone sampler that turns live input or recordings into collections of sounds that can be played from MIDI. It separates and sorts sound events, then maps them to MIDI notes by acoustic similarity without labels, training data, or manual tagging. In live sampling, it captures, trims, analyses, and adds distinct events to an instrument library in real time. For longer samples, onset detection can identify hits and place them on a beat grid at a target BPM. Its processors include filters, dynamics, distortion, radio, vocoder, pitch shifting, time stretching, and quantisation. It accepts WAV, BWF, FLAC, AIFF, OGG, and MP3/MPEG files, and supports MIDI input, OSC, and MIDI control bindings. Audio runs from mono through 7.1, with per-instrument routing and first-order ambisonic capture and playback. Subsample has no graphical interface and runs from a terminal, using YAML files and a MIDI map. It is an early release, and those formats may change. The open-source AGPLv3 license requires source availability for modified versions used as network services; proprietary use requires a commercial licence.