if its to be just simple sample playback i use sample one in studio one. if it comes to more complex stuff i need to create, i use either falcon or kontakt.
Used to use LinuxSampler with libraries in SFZ format. But over the years I switched to Kontakt. I got Kontakt 5 during one of Native Instruments spring sales some years ago (and then upgraded to version 6). You can get VERY GOOD libraries for free for Kontakt, so I decided to switch.
Bitwig sampler FTW! But really, I use Ableton & Bitwig samplers most because they are very quick to drop something in and experiment with. If making a multisampled instrument, it’s going to be Kontakt because it has the most features for that sort of thing and I’m already invested in the ecosystem.
TX16WX: TBH I think this is a great sampler but whenever I use it I fail on it’s UI. But I won’t stop trying to get more comfortable with it.
shortcircuit v1: IMO the sampler plugin which get me close to the feeling I’m sitting in front of a hardware sampler (I had the Emu e64 back in the 90s). Old but so good. Luckily the developer Cleas who doesn’t update it for years made it open source so there is a project on github developing a new version.
Yeah, Shortcircuit was one of my favourites. In fact I even slightly preferred the rather unfinished version 2, which served perfectly as a Battery-style drum sampler, but also for chopping up and triggering melodic sequences on the fly. Shortcircuit v 1.x more for creating my own synth like patches based on samples.
I hope the Surge / Shortcircuit open source group manages to revive it for the current era.
Maschine for own and stock along eith 3rd party.
Kontakt mainly orchestral and the usual no stocks.
Never really entertained halin as a long time cubase user.
Native Instruments mighty Kontakt for most duties, I’m familiar with it/workflow along with the plentiful number of commercial and free libraries which are made for Kontakt that are around as well as being added to non-stop, it’s just a rock-solid stalwart.
Ableton Live’s Simpler & Sampler when laying ideas down and rough mixes/sketches inside of Ableton, the germs of the ideas laid down that are wanted/kept go into Avid Pro Tools for multi-track recording and mixing, Ableton Live is what I used for creativity and due to just always having used Pro Tools that is what I am still using for a less creative but quick workflow because familiarity when multi-tracking and mixing, either by export and import or rendering/freezing into many instances of simpler or sampler then rewired in after any/all VST2 and 3 plug-ins have been removed post-render/freeze and the set saved under an appropriate name to the original with the plug-ins still in-place should something need changing or whatnot from the creative/ideas sessions, it really just depends on the way I’ve gone about things to decide on what method is used.
Wavemachine Labs trusty but a little crusty Drumagog 5 Platinum, often for certain multi-sampled kit pieces that I have already created .gog files of.
apulSoft apTrigga is one which I use roughly as much as I do Drumagog as it works/performs very well for triggering any multi-sampled drum samples I may want to use instead of using Drumagog, I like that it is plain looking GUI wise and allows far simple rapid meddling around with in order to get the sort of sounds I need have dialled in just right.
I could just use a number of additional instances of Kontakt for the same task however it’s utter overkill for such a simple task of having a few multi-sampled kick/bass drums and the same with multi-sampled snare drums.
These are not to ever replace anything but simply to aid in the build and fortification of a modern, meaty acoustic drumkit sound which will have been captured with many microphones plus a trigger per shell as a rule of thumb in order to give a feed of each drum shell to whichever (if any) additional supplemental layers of MIDI triggered layering yields the right result, dependent entirely on the source sounds I have to work with.
preMIX is one of few goto tools which is used on pretty much every track, really pleased to have a version that is not bit-bridged or wrapped.
Variety Of Sound 
Ableton’s own mainly, for ease of use.
Kontakt for available libraries
Plogue Sfz for everything else.
if its to be just simple sample playback i use sample one in studio one. if it comes to more complex stuff i need to create, i use either falcon or kontakt.
Used to use LinuxSampler with libraries in SFZ format. But over the years I switched to Kontakt. I got Kontakt 5 during one of Native Instruments spring sales some years ago (and then upgraded to version 6). You can get VERY GOOD libraries for free for Kontakt, so I decided to switch.
I mainly use NI Kontakt but since I am a Cubase user I also have access to Steinbergs Halion.
Maschine software for own samples.
Kontakt for 3rd party.
Not got my head around or a need for the Cubase sampler, maybe one day.
Cubase Sampler Halion “is” Falcon (uvi)
Bitwig sampler FTW! But really, I use Ableton & Bitwig samplers most because they are very quick to drop something in and experiment with. If making a multisampled instrument, it’s going to be Kontakt because it has the most features for that sort of thing and I’m already invested in the ecosystem.
Falcon is quite nice
For library playback: Ableton Simpler and Sampler, Sforzando / Sfizz, Decent Sampler
For mangling / sound design: Ableton Simpler, Serato Sample
TX16WX: TBH I think this is a great sampler but whenever I use it I fail on it’s UI. But I won’t stop trying to get more comfortable with it.
shortcircuit v1: IMO the sampler plugin which get me close to the feeling I’m sitting in front of a hardware sampler (I had the Emu e64 back in the 90s). Old but so good. Luckily the developer Cleas who doesn’t update it for years made it open source so there is a project on github developing a new version.
Yeah, Shortcircuit was one of my favourites. In fact I even slightly preferred the rather unfinished version 2, which served perfectly as a Battery-style drum sampler, but also for chopping up and triggering melodic sequences on the fly. Shortcircuit v 1.x more for creating my own synth like patches based on samples.
I hope the Surge / Shortcircuit open source group manages to revive it for the current era.
Maschine for own and stock along eith 3rd party.
Kontakt mainly orchestral and the usual no stocks.
Never really entertained halin as a long time cubase user.
Native Instruments mighty Kontakt for most duties, I’m familiar with it/workflow along with the plentiful number of commercial and free libraries which are made for Kontakt that are around as well as being added to non-stop, it’s just a rock-solid stalwart.
Ableton Live’s Simpler & Sampler when laying ideas down and rough mixes/sketches inside of Ableton, the germs of the ideas laid down that are wanted/kept go into Avid Pro Tools for multi-track recording and mixing, Ableton Live is what I used for creativity and due to just always having used Pro Tools that is what I am still using for a less creative but quick workflow because familiarity when multi-tracking and mixing, either by export and import or rendering/freezing into many instances of simpler or sampler then rewired in after any/all VST2 and 3 plug-ins have been removed post-render/freeze and the set saved under an appropriate name to the original with the plug-ins still in-place should something need changing or whatnot from the creative/ideas sessions, it really just depends on the way I’ve gone about things to decide on what method is used.
Wavemachine Labs trusty but a little crusty Drumagog 5 Platinum, often for certain multi-sampled kit pieces that I have already created .gog files of.
apulSoft apTrigga is one which I use roughly as much as I do Drumagog as it works/performs very well for triggering any multi-sampled drum samples I may want to use instead of using Drumagog, I like that it is plain looking GUI wise and allows far simple rapid meddling around with in order to get the sort of sounds I need have dialled in just right.
I could just use a number of additional instances of Kontakt for the same task however it’s utter overkill for such a simple task of having a few multi-sampled kick/bass drums and the same with multi-sampled snare drums.
These are not to ever replace anything but simply to aid in the build and fortification of a modern, meaty acoustic drumkit sound which will have been captured with many microphones plus a trigger per shell as a rule of thumb in order to give a feed of each drum shell to whichever (if any) additional supplemental layers of MIDI triggered layering yields the right result, dependent entirely on the source sounds I have to work with.
preMIX is one of few goto tools which is used on pretty much every track, really pleased to have a version that is not bit-bridged or wrapped.
Cheers and all the best to everyone as always
Bitwig internal samper, NI Maschine for musical stuff and Battery for drums, clicks, cuts and short phrases with clear/fast transients