Temecula DSP NIBBI is a free plugin (mac/win) that brings the open-source CHOMPI sampler to your DAW.
Yesterday, Chase Bliss announced that it had discontinued the Chompi sampler and made it open-source.
In the conclusion of my article, I wrote that I’m waiting for virtual Chompis. Well, it didn’t even take 24 hours. Temecula DSP has released NIBBI, the virtual CHOMPI I was expecting.
Temecula DSP NIBBI
NIBBI is a new free sampler plugin for macOS and Windows based on the open-source CHOMPI firmware. It brings all the features and workflow of the original hardware into a plugin directly in your DAW.
Temecula DSP has already released several emulations of vintage hardware effects developed with AI-assisted coding. Given the speed of this release, I strongly assume that AI was used here as well.
NIBBI is a 7-voice polyphonic sampler plugin into which you can sample directly. Alternatively, it ships with the original factory samples of the hardware which you can use.
Samples are fully tweakable with various parameters, including the playback speed and direction, varispeed control, fixed start and end points, and AD envelope.
It also has single-knob effects with filters, Lo-Fi effects, saturation, granular, and delay. You can play these samples in different ways. For example, like on a keyboard sampler, chromatically as one-shots and melodic sounds.
The tape-loop recorder is even more fun, with sound-on-sound looping and an overdub function. It also has transport controls for live scrubbing, adjusting the playback speed and direction.
In terms of workflow, the plugin is hard to compare to the original hardware. Here, the mouse is the star, whereas with the hardware, you have real knobs, buttons, and your fingers to work with. An iPad version with touch would certainly simplify things here.
First Impression
It was to be expected that the Chompi would be released in a virtual form. I didn’t think it would happen so quickly, though.
Temecula DSP NIBBI is available now as a free download. It runs as a VST3, AU, and AAX plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel) and Windows.
More information here: Temecula DSP
“An iPad version with touch would certainly simplify things here.”
So this time tomorrow, then?
with the App Store submission delays with vibe coding apps/plugins, that should be then in 3 weeks 😉
Chompi’s own release says “The graphic set and CHOMPI logos have all been removed for copyright purposes. If you choose to create your own hardware, we ask that you name it something else to avoid trademark infringement.” I don’t think vibing a 95% copy is what they had in mind.
The mere use of AI coding is controversial enough because AI relies on stealing open-source content without consent. Without that knowledge, the AI would be incredibly stupid and these hundreds of new developers couldn’t create their “new” plugins. To this day, I haven’t heard a word of thanks from these new developer companies.
Before discussing whether it’s feasible, you first have to question whether you should be doing anything open-source at all these days because in 3, 2, 1, it ends up in AI code.
I shared these concerns yesterday with Chase Bliss on YouTube. They didn’t have much of an issue with it; they think it’s great when people do something with it even virtual Chompis
“AI relies on stealing open-source content without consent”
I’m not sure that’s the end of it. These coding assistants seem to be very good at understanding proprietary code as well.
Sure, but they also learned from open-source projects.
It looks like the CHOMPI, but not so much that people would think it comes from Chase Bliss. That makes the software easily recognizable and prevents people from thinking CB sponsored or endorsed its development. After all, it says “by Temecula DSP”
Regarding the vibe coding comment, the creator of Ruby on Rails and arguably one of the most influential programmers in the world, DHH just gave a conference about how people are crazy to type software. This is coming from him, not me, but I fully agree as I’ve been programming since Rails 1.0 was released in 2005.
I understand there is a disconnect between music production and vibe coding, but music creation has always been about human expression. Software development is about leverage. AI-assisted development makes it so I can develop high-quality plug-ins and run a profitable business without a team of the 50 people it would require otherwise. That’s a win for the small-time developer!
I am not sure I understand the point of such a plugin. For me, the “appeal” of Chompi hardware is interacting with its physical interface with my fingers. I think using it with a mouse would be much less fun.
Working on MIDI mapping right now! Trying to make it as intuitive as possible.
That’s very good news.
I found him “sexy” and cute.
And what I hear in the video is interesting.
What would its true sonic character be compared to others of this type ?
Thank you! It matches the sonic characteristics of the firmware 1:1. I’m working on adding Tempo and Wave mode. This thing is a little beast!
That sounds good.