Sample library manager / ability to move or remove stock samples

@giku I know you've got a million things on the todo list - this one is a small one that has a huge impact on workflow for sample users.


Since the stock folders and samples cannot be moved or removed, they end up cluttering the sample library. For example, I would prefer not have various drum types at the root level. I would like to have a Drum folder that contains subfolders "hits" and "loops" and each of those divided into "electronic" and "acoustic".

..and similarly for other instruments.


The sample file manager is great. Snappy menus, and easy to read. The thing it's missing is the ability to reorganize folders (move, rename, copy/paste, etc). These little touches would do wonders for managing the large libraries. A few times now I've imported several gb of samples only to realize it was in the wrong location.. delete and re-import 😐️

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Comments

  • i second this!!

  • @palms I second this as well.. Thinking about a generic File Manager in Drambo. As samples are refferenced in project files by default, this would need an additional protection (e.g. confirmation box).

  • keep the stock (factory) samples for the sake of sanity for new ppl getting to know the app also for easy patchstorage sharing noodles

  • right, I'm not suggesting they be done away with. only the option to move them or delete them if we're done with them.

  • If you delete them they will come back with next app start :)

  • I love the file manager. all I was getting at is that it needs basic functionality: move, copy/paste, delete, etc..


    couldn't any of the default samples that are used in demo projects simply be saved within the project? perhaps I'm missing a good reason that they shouldn't be able to be deleted?


    personally, I will likely never use the default samples or folders, so they only serve to clutter the file structure I'm going for.

  • yes keep em hidden from deletion, trust me its the best for the app echo system

  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • sorry, not trying to make a stink here.. still don't understand the reason why they shouldn't be deletable. "Trust me" isn't a compelling reason (unless it came from giku). Or the idea that somebody might accidentally delete them and leave a bad review.. That's the reason stock samples should sit in a library taking up space? Let's make all the sidewalks out of foam too so that nobody falls and gets hurt. An "are you sure?" confirmation dialog would solve that problem.

    I don't really care so much about deletion or no. they don't take up much space.. if there's some functional reason why they shouldn't be removable then so be it.. I'll have to put my ocd in check. The bigger issue to me is moving things around and renaming files and folders etc. Thankfully it sounds like the bossman is into implementing something of the sort.

    just sayin': If I wasn't able to move/delete of all the clutter Ableton comes with, it would drive me crazy. Pro apps are nearly always customizable. Drambo is certainly in that league and all's I'm sayin is that I would love to customize/organize my ever growing sample library because I'm going to be using this thing for the forseeable future. Seems fitting to me that a modular app would have a modular filing system to boot :-)

  • edited May 2020

    if you make a tutorial or wiki for new users its crucial to have factory content intact. sure i dont mind it beeing delete-able just seeing some more confusion for new ppl joining the boat. i dunno..

  • As giku is inferring, the factory samples can’t physically be deleted as they are part of the app install bundle and this is read only.

  • edited May 2020

    I'm not against factory samples, they also simplify showcasing functions for everybody to follow without having to download additional samples.

    Anyway, one way to solve that is a free IAP with factory samples that can be downloaded on demand.

  • Its currently an issue because it's make it impossible to create an organized structure.

    I always use two root folders for samples. OneShots and Loops.

    The 2nd layer of folders never contains any samples.

    Oneshots->Drums>Kicks

    Loops-> Instrumental->Percussion

    Samples only exist 3 folders deep.

    So it's pretty much impossible to do this in the current situation without going nuts. These pre-created folders and samples should be in a factory content folder and are a huge pain in the drambo.Either that or have the option to delete or move them ( or organize/move/rename any folder for that matter) Having structure in folders is just as important as UI and aestetics. So please give this some attention!! Thank you

  • for the first time ive actually bothered to try to clean up my sample storage and run into this. any new ideas on this subject?

  • On samples, when you import a folder that's local to the device, does Drambo import the files or reference the original location?

  • The factory samples would bother me less if they were in a ‘factory’ folder, instead of 10 top level folders: ‘percussion, snare, kick, hats, etc’

  • Agreed.

    Putting them into one folder would be a good move.

  • Hmm, got it. I'll do some tests. Mostly want to try this with macOS and dupe directories.

  • couldn't agree more. really clutters up the file system.

  • +1 on a factory folder

  • yeah it is a bit weird. Same issue plagues the MPCs, not being able to remove or hide factory content is the worst

  • So, after some testing, Drambo does duplicate samples on import. The size of my install grew when I used the Import Folder option. On main iPad, where I'm using Drambo for drums primarily, this is ok. But using another iPad as my drum experiment machine, so it would ideal not to duplicate samples across apps. Also, same issue on Mac, where I want to avoid duplicating samples.

  • edited June 2022


    Did you measure overall iPad storage before and after? iOS reports storage in a way that most people misinterpret. Let's say you have 1GB of samples in the file manager. If you import those files into two other apps the storage shown in those two apps will go up by 1GB each, but the overall iPad storage will not go up at all. This is because of the way the Apple file system works. A file appears to be "copied", but in reality it is just a reference to the original file.

    If you look at individual app storage, a file can be counted multiple times. If you look at the before and after overall iPad storage stats, it is only counted once since it's really only physically stored once. People have tested and verified this many times, including with Drambo.

    There is an important distinction with Drambo though. If you use the WebDAV server to import samples, they are actually separate files rather than clones, so they do take up more space.

  • Ah, will test again. I'm using the Import option rather than WebDAV. When I used import for files stored on an sd card, it did copy them, so maybe the OS can tell a difference. Will report back.

  • Oh, yes if you copy twice from an SD card then the files will take up twice the space. Only files stored in the local APFS drive can benefit from the cloning feature.

    On the other hand, if you copy a file from the SD card to the local device folder, and copy that into two more locations, it only takes up the original one file space. Confusing enough?

  • edited June 2022

    Who knows. One day we might have a file system that keeps some kind of hashes of file contents and automatically detects duplicates that would be appropriate for linking to instead of copying.

    The file might still be copied while calculating the hash but the copy would be deleted if a duplicate was found and linked to it instead.

  • So it seems, the files are being cloned on iPad, phew. I'll need to test similarly on MacOs. Anyone knows if it works the same way there?

  • The iOS file system is already pretty amazing. Let's say you have a file and you copy it. It is only stored once even though it exists in two places. Now, lets say you modify one of the copies. Do you now have two files in storage? No. It's still only stored once. The only added physical storage is the difference between the two files. That's pretty damn cool if you ask me.

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