[Timo]

I thought modulating the phase of a sample would be simply changing where the sample starts playing when you hit a key. A start offset. A start offset value of 180º, for example, would start the sample halfway when triggered - as long as the sample had loop data (otherwise the samples would end at different times each time you hit a key). Of course if you had samples with specific attack regions before loop regions (such as a piano sample) it would be fairly useless, but for strings, pads, synth leads et al it would be useful.

If you otherwise make a duplicate of a sample, and detune it from the original, and then trigger them both at the same time, you otherwise end up with that "peoww, peoww" effect when you hit keys, due to them both starting in phase and being summed together (causing a peak) before detuning away from each other. Not a great asset for ROMplers.

Modulating the sample start point would lessen this effect, but admittedly not get rid of it entirely as it's still a game of chance as to what phases (start offset) both samples are when you hit a key (if start points are modulated by LFO), although the longer the sample loop the less chance of the latter occurring.

That said, the Hypersaw works this way.

Whereas standard Unison (at least on the Virus) modulates the start offset (of an oscillator) in a very controlled way, almost like a triangle LFO waveform would, the Hypersaw's individual saws' start offset(s) on the other hand are all random. You can hit a key and find nearly all 9 oscillators are triggered in phase, but you can hit the note again straight afterwards and find they're all completely mixed (all have different phases) regardless of detune amount.

Unison and Hypersaw are two very different beasts. The latter would be much harder to sample.