Regal Mandolin (Decent Sampler instrument, VST/AAX/AU)

Regal Mandolin was sampled from a 1920s mandolin made in Chicago. The company was called Regal, which at the time was owned by Lyon & Healy. For one set of samples, I had standard roundwound strings in pairs. For another set of samples, I had mellower flatwound strings on. There's also a layer of samples recorded with one string of each pair instead of both. I recorded these samples with my AKG Perception 420 large diaphragm microphone. I did minimal processing in Logic Pro 12 before building the instrument for Decent Sampler. There are 60 samples total across four layers, all of which can be blended together or played separately.

You can get an authentic mandolin sound right out of the box. The on-board effects help to elevate the sound to a different world. Here's a breakdown of what is included:

Low Pass Filter (LPF): Turn this knob counterclockwise to mellow out the sound. The knob will go all the way down to 500 Hz.

Chorus: This is a fairly slow, moderately deep chorus effect. Turn it up slowly to achieve a pseudo-doubling effect in stereo.

Delay: Turn this knob clockwise to bring up the delay effect. Notes will repeat somewhat quickly which can send this mandolin pretty far up into the mountains.

Reverb: Turn this knob clockwise to send this mandolin into a very large room.

Attack: Increase the attack time to hear the samples fade in rather than start immediately at full volume. This can cut off the initial transient of the plucked string and achieve a somewhat eerie, bowed string-like effect.

Release: Shorten the release time to make extra snappy staccato sounds. Increase the release time to let the notes linger around longer, much like holding down the damper pedal. (Pedals work on this instrument too!)

Tremolo: Turn the knob clockwise to increase the tremolo speed. Tremolo is when the note repeats several times. Turning the knob to about 30-40% will achieve a traditional tremolo style. Turn the tremolo on about 25% and the attack time up past 50% to create some otherworldly pads!

Decent Sampler is compatible with:

• Mac (VST, VST3, AAX, Audio Unit, standalone)
• Windows (VST, VST3, AAX, standalone)
• Linux (VST, VST3, standalone)
• iOS (AUv3, standalone)

Download the Decent Sampler plugin for FREE here: https://www.decentsamples.com/product/decent-sampler-plugin/

As seen on Bedroom Producers Blog: https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2026/02/27/regal-mandolin/