And tried alot of different ways of executing that. But it doesn't completely replace the option of sampling for me.

A friend and I used to bring a portable dat recorder with a boom mic to the music store and quickly capture some instruments like vibraphones and acoustic bass. We got kicked out a couple times. I rent a drum set every other year for a week and record a bunch of material for future use.

But still....I can't afford the mics they used on those old records...nor do I have access to the recording environments. Nor do I own the myriad of instruments available to a sampler. It's extremely rare that I sample a record because of the 'performance' or the playing of a phrase/passage. It's almost always because of the tonal quality or the inability to rent/play a certain instrument.

I don't have access to an orchestra or a string section....I don't own a celtic harp....I can't afford expensive mics and amps.....I can't play a horn....All reasons for incorporating sampling into music production.