Sample marketplace WAVS has launched AI Sample Finder, an AI-powered sample discovery tool that enables users to search for samples from its library that are similar to an uploaded audio file.
The AI Sample Finder can be accessed via WAVS' browser-based platform and its VST/AU plugin, so music-makers can drag-and-drop any sample from their timeline into the plugin to search for similar sounds without leaving the DAW and breaking their creative flow.
WAVS promises that AI Sample Finder will empower creators to "explore and experiment with samples in innovative new ways", searching for stems, loops and one-shots that align sonically with an existing project and discovering sounds that resemble their favourite samples and synth patches.
Other uses for AI Sample Finder suggested by WAVS include uploading a portion of a reference track to find samples that sound like a particular artist, or even recovering lost samples from corrupted projects by dropping an early bounce into WAVS to find the original sounds that were used.
Alongside the AI Sample Finder feature, WAVS' library can also be searched and filtered based on categories such as mood, energy, genre and instrumentation. The WAVS plugin syncs up with your DAW project to allow you to quickly and easily audition sounds in the appropriate key and tempo before dropping them into a track.
WAVS is a sample marketplace with an extensive library of over 100,000 sounds, almost half of which are royalty-free. The remainder can be used according to a unique royalty structure whereby sample clearance is only required after a track that uses a sample reaches 1m streams or is released via a major record label.
WAVS is describing AI Sample Finder as an "industry first", and while this type of AI-based sample discovery isn't entirely new, WAVS' implementation of the technology is a little different to its competitors.
Loopcloud offers an AI-powered similarity search via its Loopcloud Sounds plugin that digs out sounds from its own library that are similar to a chosen sample from the user's library, but this requires the sample to be loaded into Loopcloud's desktop app before it can be accessed in the plugin – there's currently no drag-and-drop function available.
Splice's Search with Sound feature, currently in beta, also allows users to upload their own audio to assist with discovering samples from its library, but instead of identifying similar sounds, Splice's feature searches for compatible sounds that could be layered into to a project to complement the given sample, based on analysis of its rhythm and tonality.
Search with Sound can be found in Splice's desktop app and is integrated into DAWs such as Pro Tools, Studio One and now Ableton, but isn't currently available in the Splice Bridge plugin. Output also launched a similar tool, Co-Producer, earlier this year.
WAVS is a credit-based subscription service starting at $8.99/month for the Starter tier, $13.99/month for the Pro tier and $19.99/month for the Elite tier. The WAVS plugin is compatible with macOS and Windows and available in VST/AU formats.
