Sample release envelope, where is the setting?

I used one of my old EMU E4 didgeridoo samples. It's only about 2 secs long, so I looped the middle section as I need it to occupy the whole bar at a BPM of 78 .This was fine, but I can't find a setting that will play the final 'release' section of the sample, when the key is released? Obviously, a sound like a didgeridoo, has a final envelope. Does the sampler on the FORCE not have this facility? I'm not talking about the ENVELOPE section in the drum / keygroup section, which I think is merely a VCA envelope...I mean, the sample's own envelope.
Cheers, Al

This is the answer I received from AKAI:

'There isn’t a function on the unit to adjust the envelope of individual samples only options to control fade, fade out and gain.
You might be able to use the time stretch function to adjust the sample to your track bpm rather than looping the middle section.
The Time Stretch process lengthens or shortens the sample without changing its pitch. This is useful for matching the durations of two samples with different pitches. You can enter the original tempo of the sample and the desired tempo after processing. Use the Beat field to set the desired value number of beats. Use the New Tempo field to set the new tempo. The Ratio field will then automatically show the time stretch factor. Alternatively, to adjust the ratio instead, use the Ratio field to set the desired ratio. The New Tempo field will then change automatically based on the new time stretch factor.'

I replied:

I think this is a serious oversight in a product by AKAI (the grand-daddy of sampling) and one which I'll put forward as a software update request. So many sampled sounds rely on the attack, the sustain and the release section of a sound which has been supported in many EMU/ AKAI samplers of the past. I realise we can now time-stretch samples, but this is only of any use when you're using the whole sampled in a 'time-locked' environment. ie. the sample begins and plays for this length of time. It is of absolutely no use whatsoever in a musical sense. How are you going to represent the sound of an oboe, playing a 1 sec note or a 30 second note? Unless I've missed something, this is a real oversight.

I've really loved getting under the skin of the FORCE. The recent updates make it a real 'portastudio' of a machine, where it can sample, sequence and mix, both midi and audio. Brilliant.

There is no option to play the original release portion, that portion is effectively 'gone' in a looped sample, in fact it's typical to completely discard it as it's just taking up memory unnecessarily.

Typically you loop the sample and use the program amp envelope to create a custom release. It works well with synths and some acoustic instruments, but is never going to replace using the 'real' release.

A workaround is to use the new NOTE OFF' feature (I think the Force has this now?). Two keygroups per note range, one 'normal' playing the bulk of the note, the second keygroup (same note range) set to 'note off' in the TRACK EDIT > MASTER screen which is triggered only when you release the first keygroup. It's not perfect but can sound pretty good. I used in in Electric Keys 2 to create the key release sounds in the Clavinet D6.

The sampling engine of the MPC is still moderately basic, it's just not a 'fully fledged' sampler, it still is and always has been a jack of all trades, master of none. The MPC4000 was the exception, but that was made by a different Akai. Basically the sampling architecture is effectively the same as the one found in the MPC5000, and 'sample edit' is very basic compared to having a dedicated audio editor or a software sampler such as Kontakt. I think changing this would require some serious work.

Plus I suspect Akai would consider this a more niche feature in the overall scheme of things. As a sound designer I'd love to see it, but I think priority goes to more headline grabbing features.