Creative Sampling, Without Slowing Down

Waves CR8 Creative Sampler turns your samples into playable instruments with a fast, hands-on workflow. Drag in a sound and start playing, or reshape it with stretching, looping, layering, reverse playback, freeze and modulation. From beats and bass lines to evolving pads and experimental textures, CR8 puts detailed sound design within easy reach.

Build your own sounds from scratch or find a starting point in the included library of 800 creative presets and over 2,500 royalty-free samples. Integration with the AI-powered COSMOS Sample Finder helps you locate sounds quickly and bring them straight into your instrument.

Create Unique Textures with 8 Sample Layers

Stack and mix up to eight samples to build rich, layered instruments, or split samples across your keyboard to create your own playable setup. Each layer offers independent control over pitch, velocity and more, so you can shape the individual parts as well as the combined sound.

Five Stretching Algorithms

Choose Voice, Beats, Melodic or Harmonic stretching to control pitch and time independently for vocals, rhythms, melodic lines and polyphonic material. For traditional sampler behavior, Classic mode links pitch and playback speed, stretching pitch and time together for an old-school resampling sound.

Get in Key and in Time

Key and BPM detection help bring samples into tune and into sync with your session. Use CR8's playback controls to loop, reverse or freeze your audio, then adjust loop length, speed and direction to turn a simple recording into a fresh musical idea.

Easy Drag-and-Drop Modulation

Add movement by dragging LFO/sequencer and ADSR modulators onto nearly any CR8 control. Choose from 25 LFO waveforms or 25 stepped sequences, or draw and save your own patterns. Trigger, retrigger, loop or free-run your modulation, smooth its movement, and use Warp to accelerate or decelerate time within the LFO while maintaining its overall duration.

Four ADSR envelopes provide further control, with adjustable attack, decay and release curves for shaping how your sounds develop over time.

Shape the Sound and the Performance

Go beyond basic sample playback with unison voices, transient preservation, host sync and trigger-locked sync. Tune across a four-octave range and explore freeze, reverse and looping controls to create anything from tight rhythmic parts to sustained, shifting textures.

Assign your keyboard's aftertouch, velocity, modulation wheel and pitch wheel to most CR8 controls for responsive, expressive playing. A static sample can become an instrument that changes with the way you perform.

800 Presets for Instant Inspiration

Explore 800 creative presets covering leads, pads, bass and sub parts, modulated effects and more. Find a sound that sparks an idea, then customize its layers, playback and modulation to make it your own.

Includes Over 2,500 Royalty-Free Samples and COSMOS Sample Finder

The included COSMOS Sample Finder integrates with CR8 so you can find and load sounds quickly. Get started with over 2,500 royalty-free samples, or search the samples already stored on your computer using COSMOS's Musical AI detection to help locate the right sound for your track.