OK... I just did a lil' experiment to figure this out. Basically, the sample start parameter lets you control the point of playback for a sample up to +/- 500 milliseconds from the anchor point.



Say you had a sample that was 1000 ms long:



S = sample start point

E = sample end



S E

[ ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]

1000 ms



And let's say that you trimmed the sample so that the start point was 500 ms in:



S E

:::::::::::::::::[:::::::::::::::::]

500 ms 500 ms



•By modulating the sample start parameter in the positive direction you can move the playback start point up to the point where you're playing back the very end of the sample.

•By modulating in the negative direction you can hear the material that's to the left of the currently set sample start point.



Now, here's a concrete example! You have a sample of someone saying "one... two..." and your sample was trimmed like this:



S E

:::::::::::::::::[:::::::::::::::::]

One... Two....



Play the sample back normally and you'd just hear "two". Then, by modulating the start point in a positive direction just a little you'd start to clip the "t" of "two". Increase the modulation and you'd just hear "oo". Modulate all the way and you'd hear nothing (end of the word, and end of the sample).



Modulating in the negative direction, you'd start to hear the end of the word "one", maybe just the "n". Modulate fully in the neg. direction and you'd hear the full "one... two..."