How do u sample

BoomBapBlue

New member
Yo everyone , whats ur technique for sampling and chopping?
Im new to the game of sampling and i would like to hear how do u approach it.
I usually listen to the whole song , then i start sampling the sounds i like the most and then make a melody out of it , or sample a complete melody , chop that up and then make my own version of it.. i rarely loop an entire melody ( has got to be dope to not make it my own )
Let me know..
 
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I sample vinyl records. I throw the lp on the turntable, listen to it entirely. If I find something I record it into my MPC through the dj mixer.. Then I chop it up. usually into 16 - 32 pieces... never a straight loop (that's just me).
 
I tend to lift the needle and skip through tracks... I usually get a sense of a track within 10 seconds as to whether there's gonna be a sample in there I can use and with the kids - time is limited so I do all I can to speed up my workflow.
I'm a Maschine user - I'll cut (truncate) the sample to as close a loop as possible then chop into either 16 or 8 slices.
Once I've chopped I'll set up choke groups (sometimes more than one) and then bang the pads til something pops.
 
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I used to do the vinyl approach, but now I just look for it on the web. I never do a full loop, (unless its a rare off the hook sample) and I layer my vocals if any. It gets easy once you get used to it.
 
I'm sampling from vinyl or wav, or good mp3. It depends if i like the sound and how much the vinyl costs :cry:
Then i chop the samples on the beat (on the kick and on the snare). I never chop long loops. Maybe i try to look for tracks with drums are not leading (if i'm not looking for drum samples). Change pitch of the samples and i pass them through external effects (filter or delay often). There isn't a standard process, but often i start from here
 
usually its just grid chopping like 4 or 8 chops a bar, but if theres no rythm or any drums in the background i go note for note, it depends really. im using recycle and fl studio 6 so theres no option for me to timestretch or change the start/ending points in real time, gotta play it safe.
 
So many ways to go about it. Having a couple methods always helps me when I'm feeling stuck. I usually use maschine to sample in from a turntable and then chop it up that way. Sometimes I'll switch it up and use logic to chop as well. So many ways to chop a single sample.
 
Not sure why people frown on looping so much. Pretty much most hip hop from the 80s & 90's are loop based tracks... if its dope, and you layer your own sounds on top of it, more power to ya! I don't loop lol... BUT if i find a bangin loop, id use it in a second!
 
Not sure why people frown on looping so much. Pretty much most hip hop from the 80s & 90's are loop based tracks... if its dope, and you layer your own sounds on top of it, more power to ya! I don't loop lol... BUT if i find a bangin loop, id use it in a second!

Man, I'm trying to get more into looping myself. I got my first MPC over 15 years ago and learned how to use it without the manual. So I've become accustomed to recording everything in bits. So now I want to get into looping and layering. Been listening to a lot of Prince Paul and Bomb Squad lately and it's amazing what they did with layers. The same can be said for Q-Tip and Shadow.

You're absolutely right though... if it's dope it's dope. I guess the stigma attached to using loops makes some cats apprehensive. They probably don't wanna feel like all they did was add drums.
 
A lot of cats skip learning how to edit loops properly and so they often don't understand that there is a relationship between tempo and the length of a measure when time-stretching etc and they often can't determine the tempo of a track properly either so if you throw them some remix work they need to be told what the correct tempo is.......seriously if you can't cut a loop that will play autonomously (without sequencing) from a single key press without drifting off tempo you are missing out.....in other words a producer should know how to edit audio properly.
 
for finding samples.. sometimes i'll pick up random vinyl/tapes/cds from a local store or eBay. other times i scout around youtube. if i really cant find anything i'll hop on whosampleddotcom and find out which artists my fav producers sample. sometimes i'll find the original sample for a beat i like and there'll be another sick sample-able section on the same exact track that the producer didn't use.

once i got some sample material, i usually listen to each track in full, taking note of any parts i want to sample, then i'll go back and grab those and chop them up on the kick and snare. i'll mess around on the drumpad until i get something. if nothing i come up with is as dope as the original loop, fuck it, i'm just using the original loop.
 
Sometimes I loop a section of a sample and speed it up or slow it down then filter out the bass using EQ. I normally add some reverb to the sample to push it back in the mix and to create an ambient vibe. Then I'dd add my drums, bass, synths and other sound on top. Other times I chop up the sample into smaller sections, re-arrange it and then create a new melody of my own. If it's really choppy and I don't want that vibe I may add some delay to it so that the sample flows more naturally...the delay fills in the gaps.

Another thing I do is duplicate the sample and place it on different mixer tracks and pan them left and right and then I add unique effects to each track. So I may for instance add a flanger on one track and then add a gate on the other to create a pumping effect. Then I route those 2 tracks to another track and do some more EQ on the final sound. There are many other techniques I use...you just gotta be creative.
 
I usually look around on YouTube too for samples these days. I also have the Shazam app on my phone so when I hear a dope song I'd like to sample I just open the app, let it listen to the song and get the song info from there, it has helped me quite a bit.
I also mix the band at church sometimes and we record almost everything so there's a wealth of samples to use from there. The best stuff always comes up during rehearsal when people are playing random stuff.
That approach is cool coz there's no sample clearance stuff to be bothered with in the case that your track is placed or released commercially.
 
There are two major approaches I take. Ill just give you guys a summary, can't give away secrets.
At first when I find a song Ill usually make around 15-20 chops of 1 to 2 bar loops thats standard for me..

#!: Using this approach Ill listen to the loops Ive just chopped. Ill find one usually the bassline and ill replay it. Once I have it replayed (in midi) Ill rearrange a few notes to create a different bassline but in the same key as the sample. Then Im able to cycle through the bass sounds in whichever VST I'm using. Layering different bass sounds to create my own sound.

Once thats the done thats the meat of the track (Your groove). Then I audition my other chops see what I can use and delete whatever is not needed any more. Next I start to work on my drums. mixing and tweaking sounds along the way. Depending on the track ill add in some chords or whatever else is needed to make it complete.




#2. This approach I cycle through the (15-20) 1 to 2 bar chops I have find one or two to work with. I then chop those up in half notes. Then I replay the chops creating a totally new beat from my chops.
Once I have a 4 bar loop I find out what key its in. OR. Ill record the 4 bar loop then hit it with a low pass filter so I can hear only the bass. Then I replay the bass on one of my VST's from my 4 bar chopped loop.
Once thats done take the lo pass filter off and put a high pass filter on your 4 bar loop. That way your sample doesn't clash with your new bassline. Boom now all thats need is add your drums and all of the extras...
 
Listen to the whole record dont just skim alot of jems are at the end of records. I tend to chop it into little pieces so I can manipulate it how I want it to sound
 
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