Cartridge

A versatile sampler/slicer built around four playback modes — from quick one-shots to fully sliced loops with MIDI export. Time-stretching, realtime looping, drawable modulation curves, and a multimode filter. Works in any modern DAW, with extra integration goodies for Reaper.

⚠️ The plugin is currently in testing — expect bugs, and the full manual will follow later. Hop into the Telegram chat or the Cockos forum thread to discuss, report issues, and keep up with updates.

Playback Modes

ADSR — classic envelope-driven sampling
One — fire-and-forget one-shot playback
MSEG — draw custom modulation curves for volume, pan, pitch, and filter
Slice — full slicer with MIDI export

Features

Auto-normalize and auto root note detection
Zero-crossing snap via Shift+drag
MIDI map — build drum racks via FL Patcher or Reaper containers
Legato, reverse, and sample hot-swapping
Realtime looping with fades — Forward, Ping-Pong, and Reverse modes
Multimode filter (LP, HP, Band-Pass, Notch) with adjustable slope, resonance, and key tracking
Phase-click protection
Pitch bend and MIDI CC support
Samples stored inside the project as FLAC — safe for archiving and collabs
Scalable, themable interface
Ctrl+Shift+drag to pick a region for root note analysis
Alt+click to preview the sample at any position
Time-stretching — change pitch and speed independently, with a selectable Signalsmith mode

FAQ

The trial has no time limit and no feature restrictions — just a small badge in the UI. You can use it as long as you want, and if you'd like to support development or remove the badge, you can grab a key.

Add the DSG_ReaScripts repository to ReaPack and install three scripts:

DSG_Cartridge create track from Media Explorer.lua — creates a new track with the sample currently selected in Media Explorer (area selection supported)
DSG_Cartridge load sample to active instance.lua — loads the selected sample into the currently focused Cartridge instance
DSG_Cartridge create track from Media Item.lua — wraps a selected media item into a new Cartridge track

Bind any of them to a hotkey for an instant workflow.

Cartridge integration is also available in third-party media browsers: Simple Media Browser, TK Media Browser, and Soundmole.

Download

Windows (VST3), MacOS (VST3, AU), Linux (VST3, LV2)

Changelog

0.9.0

Video overview of the update

Everything that used to be percentage-based (ADSR, fades, etc.) now works in milliseconds
Improved time-stretching — drum transients no longer get smeared or doubled
Added a Time knob — slow down or speed up a sample without changing its pitch
New Signalsmith time-stretching mode — works well for vocals and pads; selectable from the Time knob context menu or the main menu
Loop now has three modes — Forward, Ping-Pong, and Reverse
Loop and Trim are now realtime — automating their boundaries affects notes that are already playing
Loop Shift — a new parameter that moves the entire loop using a single automation lane; dragging the loop from the middle writes Loop Shift automation
Skip — a mode that starts playback directly from the loop region: move the loop and hear it immediately, making it easy to find the right region
Double-click the loop to snap its boundaries to zero crossings
Loop context menu — choose a musical length (1/16 to 1 bar, including dotted and triplet values)
LP/HP filter next to the waveform — quickly cut unwanted lows or highs
New MSEG engine — snap points to the grid, lock movement to an axis while dragging, and use different segment types (sine, triangle, saw, square — you can even draw LFO shapes); modulation depth is also automatable
In MSEG mode, you can modulate not only volume, but also pan, pitch, and filter
The filter has 4 types (LP, HP, Band-Pass, Notch), with adjustable slope, resonance, and key tracking
Global button in MSEG mode — applies the curves to the sampler's other modes as well
Gate added to MSEG mode — the note plays only while the key is held instead of always playing the sample to the end
MSEG point multi-selection — Shift+drag to box-select points, then drag to move the whole group
Added fades to Slicer
Grid-based slicing in Slicer — right-click the waveform to create evenly spaced slices based on the sample tempo (1 bar to 1/32, including dotted and triplet values)
One Shot is now monophonic — triggering it again restarts the sample instead of layering another copy
New BPM detector — more accurate sample tempo detection
Ctrl+click the sample navigation arrows to load a random sample from the folder
Added 4 new themes — Deck, Paper, Void, and Fjord
More UI scaling options — from 75% to 200%
Sliders no longer teleport the mouse cursor after dragging, and double-clicks now register on the first try
Lots of small UI improvements and minor bug fixes

PTH (Play-Through) in Slice mode — holding a note now continues playback past the slice boundary all the way to the end of the sample; mutually exclusive with Hold
Hover tooltips for controls
Automatic transient detection when entering Slice mode for the first time or loading a new sample while already in Slice mode — no need to press Detect manually anymore
ADSR point tooltips now show the current value in milliseconds (Decay also shows Sustain in %), updated in real time while dragging
Double-clicking curve handles (ADSR shape, MSEG shape, trim fade shape) resets the curve back to linear (shape = 0)
Pitch bend slider in the bottom-left corner — host-automatable parameter (-1..+1, summed with MIDI pitchwheel and scaled by PB Range); springs back to center when released. Useful for hosts where automating coarsePitch / MIDI pitchwheel is inconvenient (e.g. FL Studio)
Slice flags in Slice mode are now positioned below the waveform, and slice lines extend down to the flags — slice boundaries are much easier to read on dense samples
Trim fade-in and fade-out can now each reach up to 100% of the trim region (previously limited to 50% each); dragging one automatically reduces the other to prevent overlap

Fix ADSR + mono: retriggering the same note now properly cuts the old tail
Fix ADSR + legato: note-off was sometimes missed and the sample played to the end
Hold in Slice mode now works even with Legato enabled

Sync in Slice mode — stretches the sample to the host tempo
Hold in Slice mode — the slice plays to the end (handy for live performance)
In Slice mode, Root Note now sets the base note of the slices (for pads like C2–G2, etc.)
Old projects load in legacy slice-mapping mode — the mapping stays unchanged
Shift+drag on rootNote/transpose/cents/MIDI range no longer breaks the note class at the edges of the range
Adaptive rhythm-based grid in MSEG mode (driven by host BPM); Shift while dragging or adding a point snaps to the grid

Sample BPM in Slice mode + MIDI export with snapping
Hot-swap samples (prev/next, normalize) works without the UI open
Fixed crash on rapid sample switching with the GUI open
Prev/Next Sample as bool triggers
Fixed a bug with sample rate mismatch between project and sample (part of the high end was lost)
Fixed pan law — no more −3 dB dip in the center
Old projects load in legacy modes — mixes stay unchanged

Get a Key

One-time purchase

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