when do you eq the sample

Wilby89

New member
Do you EQ the sample before or after you lay it down, I ust to do it after but now ive started laying my drums down first I should really do it before.
 
Depends on the sample, how you sample and what you are doing. Generally if a drum is a little weak of wax but its an otherwise solid sound Ill EQ it on the way into the computer to get it sounding right. Then Ill make the track and EQ some more during the mix phase.
 
EQ'ing the sample is the first thing I do when loading it, so I can hear all my other sounds and frequencies clear.
 
Depends on the sample. Sometimes I dont want the bassline, or the kicks and everything. So ill put a HPF on it.But most the time Ill slice it up, then import and eq acordingly. So i have full control. Ill filter out a bassline and use it. I have have that same smaple 3x 1 as a main, a bassline, then for a section I may put a steep HPF on it...Who kknooowwss!!.lol
 
It depends on what I'm trying to EQ out of the sample.

I will almost always use a low pass filter, sometimes a band pass though.

That will get rid of the low frequencies as well as high if that's what I need.

Next I'll see if rolloffs, notches and or bell curves can improve the sample.

Depending on what effects I use I'll either EQ before or after the effects.
 
Like They Have Been Saying. It All Depends. I Personally Do Alot Of Filtering Before I Lay Down Drums. But Most Of The Time. I End Up Tweaking Them Some More Anyways.
 
I lay down the sample first then see what frequencies I want to use and which ones I dont. Its easier for me to hear what direction Im headed with the chops before I Filter or EQ stuff out.
 
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I record the sample (generally from vinyl or an MP3 file). Load it up in my audio editor and trim it. Then I chop it up in my DAW. Then I might play around with the chops on my MIDI controller until I get a good idea of what I want to do with the sample. If I want to use 'the low-end theory', I make a clone of the sample, and HPF it. If I want to play my own bassline on top of the sample, I LPF it to get rid of the sample's internal low's.

Then I play the sequence of chops, and from here on I have an on-going process of carving out the right sound that I want from the sample with a parametric EQ.

It depends on my mood whether I EQ for mixing purposes while making the beat. ATM I generally don't - it ruins workflow.

Tip: it's (almost) always desirable to put the EQ after the compressor in an effect chain. If you keep altering the EQ settings through-out the beatmaking session (as most do!), then the dope compressor settings you set earlier likely won't fit any new EQ settings.
 
Man... audio software has come such a long way. I remember using $10k+ worth of mixing boards in the day to do the same thing a $200 bundle of software does today...
 
When it's needed.. I often tend to lay the samples after the drums, or that kinda depends from time to time actually.. But overall I eq (if needed) the samples when I have the drums rolling as I want.
 
seems like everybody here is in agreement. EQ only if its necessary. other than that just leave it alone. i for one EQ while producing, mixing, and mastering.
 
I use to filter them before sampling.. just a little bit.. in order to make them sound better but not different as the source vinyl.
When the sample is chopped on the MPC and depending on the beat I was doing I can even go further and eq in a crazy way
 
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