Mirage DSK-1 Manual page 29

Also, acoustic instruments have different dynamic and harmonic qualities at different pitch
levels.
The solution to recreating an instrument is to sample it at different pitch intervals and not raise or
lower the pitch of any one sample too far from the pitch of the original wavesample. The Mirage
can accommodate up to 8 separate wavesamples per keyboard half, so very accurate reproduction
of acoustic instruments is possible with the Mirage;
Catch number two is the sampling time. There are a finite number of locations in the memory,
and the greater the number of wavesamples, the less memory is available for each, This reduces
the actual time available for each wavesample.
One solution to this problem is a process called LOOPING. Looping is the replaying--again and
again without interruption--of a certain part of the wavesample. In practice it's very much like
creating a tape loop. A part of the note is cut out and the end is spliced to the beginning, resulting
in an unending and uninterrupted sound.
The Mirage's digital circuitry lets you choose the loop start and end pointers electronically, Now
you can play through the attack portion of a note, and then loop the sustain portion, giving you a
high quality note of infinite duration. The playback envelope parameters can now tailor this
looped sound so that it matches the original sound.
There's more to the details of Mirage sampling and programming than we'll address here. A very
extensive Advanced Sampler's Guide, along with a special Mirage Advanced Sampling
Operating System (MASOS), are available from your authorized Ensoniq dealer. The Advanced
Sampler's Guide examines the capabilities of the Mirage in great detail.
When you become familiar with the capabilities of the Mirage, we're sure you'll want to move
into the advanced area. At that point, a personal computer will be a great help in showing you
exactly what's going on inside the Mirage and how you can best release its musical power.