Ableton/Live/UG/31 Instrument Reference/10 Sampler/05 The Zone Tab

• 31.10.5 The Zone Tab

  • The Zone tab opens the Zone Editor above the Device View, for mapping samples across key, velocity and sample-select ranges.
    • 
  • The sample layer list on the left holds every sample, or layer, of the multisample. Buttons above it:
    • Auto — selects the layers that play each incoming note while it sounds.
    • Lin/Pow — linear or constant-power zone fades.
    • RR — Round Robin on or off.
    • Key/Vel/Sel — which zone editor to show. Right-click an editor to zoom Small, Medium or Large.

  • 31.10.5.1 Round Robin Sample Playback

    • Plays a different sample on each note, cycling through layers that share a key zone; good for natural variation in repeated drums or notes, or for deliberate surprises.
      • 
    • Round Robin Mode — Forward (top to bottom), Backward, Other (random, never the same twice running), Random (repeats allowed).
    • Reset Interval — restarts the cycle at a set interval, such as each bar, from the first sample of the mode.

  • 31.10.5.2 The Sample Layer List

    • Layers can be named, for example by root key; hovering shows details in the Status Bar, and selecting one opens it in the Sample tab.
    • Context menu: Delete, Duplicate, Rename; Distribute Ranges Equally (C-2 to G8) and Distribute Ranges Around Root Key; zoom; Show in Browser; Manage Sample; Normalize Volume (peaks to full headroom); Normalize Pan (an even stereo spread, not necessarily center); Select All With Same Range; and sorting by name, key, velocity or selector, ascending or descending.

  • 31.10.5.3 Key Zones

    • The note range, up to all 127, that triggers each sample. A sample stays accurate a few semitones around its root key, and other samples cover the rest.
      • 
    • New samples span the full range. Move and resize zones like Arrangement clips; drag a top corner to fade across semitones and crossfade neighbors, linear or exponential per Lin/Pow.

  • 31.10.5.4 Velocity Zones

    • The note-on velocities, 1–127, each sample answers, so different dynamics can use different recordings. Edited like key zones.
      • 

  • 31.10.5.5 Sample Select Zones

    • A 0–127 filter not tied to any MIDI input, like a Rack's Chain Select zones. Only samples whose zone overlaps the sample selector can play.
      • 
    • Moving the selector doesn't switch a sample already playing.