JSampler Manual

JSampler is an opensource, platform-independent, GUI front-end for LinuxSampler, written entirely in Java. The main goal of the JSampler's design is to be extensible and more flexible regarding the integration of different GUI implementations. JSampler consists of two parts:

The main reason for that is the TCP/IP based communication between the LinuxSampler and its front-ends, enabling the sampler to be controlled from another computer or device, which may have different display requirements and limitations.

A JSampler distribution consist of the JSampler core and at least one view, providing the GUI implementation. Each distribution has its own name, which is based on the integrated view extension. Currently, there are two distributions:

Currently, there are two distributions available for download - JS Classic and Fantasia.

The source code is available in the JSampler package, which also contains this manual and startup scripts that can be used to run a particular JSampler distribution.

The latest source code can be obtained from Subversion with the following command:

svn co https://svn.linuxsampler.org/svn/jsampler/trunk jsampler

To run JSampler you need Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 6 or higher. The latest version can be downloaded from here.

To build JSampler distribution from source you need JDK version 6.0 or higher and the Ant tool.

Let's assume that you want to run from the command line JS_Classic-0.8a.jar, which is located in /home/me/soft directory. First you should check whether the java command is in your path and the version requirements are met. This can be done by issuing the following command:

java -version

If the version is 1.6.0 or higher you can run JS Classic by issuing the following command:

java -jar /home/me/soft/JS_Classic-0.8a.jar

Otherwise, if the shell response is something like

bash: java: command not found

or the version requirements are not met, make sure that you have installed JRE (or JDK) with the proper version and find its location:

The shell should return something like:

Now, we know that we have a JDK with a proper version installed and its location is /opt/jdk1.6.0. In that case, to run JS Classic issue the following command:

/opt/jdk1.6.0/bin/java -jar /home/me/soft/JS_Classic-0.8a.jar

There are scripts In the scripts directory of the JSampler package that, with a little adjustments (if needed), can be used to run a JSampler distribution. Copy them to a desired location and edit with your preferred editor.

This configuration is optional, but necessary if you want to run jar files by (double) clicking on them. In Gnome, by default jar files are opened with the Archive Manager. To change that, run a file browser, right click on an arbitrary jar file and choose Properties, than go to the Open With tab and click the Add button.

In the Add Application dialog click onto Use a custom command label and a text field will appear below. If the location of your JRE is /opt/jre1.6.0, then enter the following command in the text box:

/opt/jre1.6.0/bin/java -jar

And then click the Add button.

To add an application launcher to a Gnome panel, right click on the panel and choose Add to Panel.

Then select Custom Application Launcher and click the Add button. In the Command field, of the Create Launcher dialog, fill in the exact command that you use to run the JSampler. For more information on how to run a JSampler distribution from the command line click here.

To run JSampler distribution on Windows, put a shortcut on the Desktop or Quick Launch, right click on the shortcut and choose Properties. In the Target field insert the command javaw -jar in the beginning.

When building from Subversion, there are some additional steps that should be done. JSampler uses two additional libraries, that should be downloaded and placed in the lib/required directory:

Download these libraries, create a lib/required directory in the JSampler root and copy the jlscp.jar and juife.jar files in that directory:

Then follow the steps in the next section.

To build a JSampler distribution, first set the JAVA_HOME environment variable to point to your JDK directory. If the JDK is installed in /opt/jdk1.6.0 directory, this can be done by issuing the following command:

export JAVA_HOME=/opt/jdk1.6.0

Windows users should do something like:

set JAVA_HOME=c:\jdk1.6.0

Go to the JSampler root directory and issue the following command:

ant [target]

Where target can be one of the following:

So, if you want to build a JS Classic distribution, just issue the following command:

ant build-jsclassic

Then copy the jar file from the dist directory to the desired location.

Manage Orchestras tool buttons:

Create new orchestra

Edit selected orchestra

Remove selected orchestra

To create a new orchestra, click on the Orchestras tab then click the Create new orchestra button in the Manage Orchestras tool:

Then choose orchestra name and description and click OK button.

To remove an orchestra, select the orchestra and click the Remove selected orchestra button. To edit an orchestra, select the orchestra and click the Edit selected orchestra button, or just double-click the orchestra to edit.

Managing Instruments tool buttons:

Add new instrument

Edit selected instrument

Remove selected instrument

To add a new instrument to orchestra, first select the desired orchestra from the combobox then click the Add new instrument button:

To remove an instrument, select the instrument and click the Remove selected instrument button. To edit an instrument, select the instrument and click the Edit selected instrument button, or just double-click the instrument to edit.

To load an instrument from orchestra to a sampler channel, right-click on the instrument, select Load Instrument, then choose on which channel to load the selected instrument. You can also load an instrument from orchestra to a sampler channel using the instrument chooser of the sampler channel - click Select instrument from orchestra radio button, choose orchestra and isntrument from the comboboxes and click OK button

MIDI Instrument Maps tool buttons:

Add MIDI instrument map

Edit selected MIDI instrument map

Remove selected MIDI instrument map

To create a new MIDI instrument map, click the MIDI Instruments tab in the Left-Side pane then click the Add MIDI instrument map button.

Then choose map name and click OK button.

To remove a map, select the map and click the Remove selected MIDI instrument map button. To edit a map, select the map and click the Edit selected MIDI instrument map button, or just double-click the map to edit.

Managing MIDI Instruments tool buttons:

Add new MIDI instrument

Edit selected MIDI instrument

Remove selected MIDI instrument or bank

To map a MIDI instrument, first select the desired MIDI instrument map from the combobox then click the Add new MIDI instrument button:

To remove a MIDI bank/instrument, select the MIDI bank/instrument and click the Remove selected MIDI instrument or bank button. To edit a MIDI instrument, select the MIDI instrument and click the Edit selected MIDI instrument button, or just double-click the MIDI instrument to edit.

To assign MIDI instrument map to specific sampler channel, click the Options button to expand the channel options pane then select the desired map from the MIDI Instrument Map combobox:

Choose Window/Instruments Database to bring up the Instruments Database window, or click the corresponding tool button. Initialy, the instruments database is empty, so you should manually create the desired directories and add instruments to them.

To create a new directory, select the directory, in which the new directory should be created and choose Actions/Create Directory, or right-click a blank area and choose Create Directory.

To add instruments to specific instruments database directory, go to that directory and select Actions/Add Instruments submenu, where you have two options - to scan a specific instrument file and add the instruments in that file to the instruments database or scan a file system directory for instrument files and add the instruments to the instruments database.

Basic commands:

Cut - Edit/Cut, or right-click on a selected file or directory and choose Cut, or Ctrl+X

Copy - Edit/Copy, or right-click on a selected file or directory and choose Copy, or Ctrl+C

Paste - Edit/Paste, or right-click a blank area and choose Paste, or Ctrl+V

Rename - Edit/Rename, or right-click on a selected file or directory and choose Rename, or press F2

Delete - Actions/Delete, or right-click on a selected file or directory and choose Delete, or press the Delete key from the keyboard

To load an instrument to a sampler channel from the Instruments Database, right-click on the instrument and choose Load Instrument, then choose the sampler channel where the instrument should be loaded to. Note that you need to have at least one sampler channel created, otherwise the Load Instrument submenu is disabled.

To add an instrument to MIDI instrument map from the Instruments Database, right-click on the instrument and choose Add To MIDI Map, then choose the MIDI instrument map to which to add the selected instrument. Note that you need to have at least one MIDI instrument map, otherwise the Add To MIDI Map submenu is disabled. For more info read MIDI Instruments.

To add an instrument to orchestra from the Instruments Database, right-click on the instrument and choose Add To Orchestra, then choose the orchestra to which to add the selected instrument. Note that you need to have at least one orchestra, otherwise the Add To Orchestra submenu is disabled. For more info read Using Orchestras.

To start a search, choose Edit/Find, or Ctrl+F.