The Digging Advice Thread (great for beginner diggers)

[jyri]

Do your homework. Some starting points for the very beginner: What labels generally put out the music you like? Artists you like? How many records/what records have been released by them? There are plenty of resources online that can help figuring things out a bit.

I'd personally advice starting by getting a few solid listenable joints to avoid possible frustration. Sure, it is fun to pick up cheap random records and it can be fruitful regarding sampling, but in the beginning of your digging career, you might simply end up with stuff you don't feel (and stuff you wouldn't want to sample too). Picking up cheap records you haven't heard of before will get easier as you build up your knowledge. And hey, if you bought something you don't feel, at least you got those solid listenable joints you got earlier.

Some useful links:
Discogs - Database and Marketplace for Music on Vinyl, CD, Cassette, MP3 and More
www.the-breaks.com, AKA The (Rap) Sample FAQ
AllMusic
eBay | Electronics, Cars, Clothing, Collectibles, and More Online Shopping

Soulman's World of Beats articles are a nice read too.

[Nicro]

Nice job with the links^^

I forgot about that soulmans place, ish is dope.

[jeepz]

Don't give up on a song after 10 seconds. You never know what might pop up half-way through a track. Doing so also means you might pick up on a nice section that not been have gotten down with flip-wise. Personally, I like to take chops from spots throughout the track.

[PinkytheBrains]

my advice jus be true to ur self , an dont lose focus on the dream ..an stay humble no matter the situation .. whaut else .. give props were its due.. an dont be blind sided by others accomplishments ..

lol... he meant.. when your digging be true to yourself... dont sample some shit you cant vibe with... dont looose focus on the dream RECORD! that perfect sample that you could find... stay humble... nobody like some dude. talking about hpw many awesome vinyl he has.. haha and give props to the artists you sample some how... dont be blinded by other records... them covers is shiny but you gotta focus and do 1 thing at a time.>!

[Halma]

Here is what I do when I´m on the flea market or somewhere else where I have no chance listening to the record before buying it. I try to figure out what kind of music could be on the record. For that I take a closer look at the rear side of the record.

- Who are the musicians? Do I know one ore more of them (E.g. Bernard Pretty Purdie appeared on many records as a drummer, you can´t go wrong with him)?

- What kind of instruments do they play (E.g. Arp or Moog might be some cool funky stuff or some cheap crap)? Is there a string and/or horn section on it (could be disco or soul)?

- When have they recorded this one (E.g. no cheesy disco before 1970) and where (Detroit sound differs from NY or Miami)? Does the recording date match with the publishing date (probably a reissue)?

- Do I know a composition? Who wrote the songs (E.g. Holland-Dozier-Holland) and did he/they play(s) on the record as well or are most of the songs cover versions?

- Who was the recording engineer (E.g. Rudy van Gelder was the studio engineer from Blue Note Records but did jobs at other companies like CTI as well)?

- Is it a live recording (could be a lot of atmospheric sound that sits over the actual recording)?

- What kind of record company is it (E.g. a big one like Motown or a small label like Red Greg)?

Just a few of my thoughts from my "crate diggin´kung fu".

Edit: browse online record shops like John Manship´s for additional inspiration (damn, some rare shit over there if you can afford it...good luck bidding on them )

[Gilson]

GREAT post Halma

[Nicro]

Yeah that was a good post

---------- Post added 06-04-2011 at 05:38 PM ---------- Previous post was 06-02-2011 at 08:14 PM ----------

OK I need some advice from my sensei diggers on here.

I'll see someone be like "I'm looking for such and such record from whoever"

How do you guys know you want it? Do you find stuff on the youtubes or blogs and you decide to get it? Do you have that persons other albums and are just trying to get there discography? Because some of you will say I want this, or I need this for this break, etc.. And I'm just like "The hell?"

[Xabiton]

Yeah that was a good post

---------- Post added 06-04-2011 at 05:38 PM ---------- Previous post was 06-02-2011 at 08:14 PM ----------

OK I need some advice from my sensei diggers on here.

I'll see someone be like "I'm looking for such and such record from whoever"

How do you guys know you want it? Do you find stuff on the youtubes or blogs and you decide to get it? Do you have that persons other albums and are just trying to get there discography? Because some of you will say I want this, or I need this for this break, etc.. And I'm just like "The hell?"

Sometimes I just hear the song randomly. I listen to oldies radio a lot and if I hear a song I dig I go after it. Sometimes I am just a fan of an artist or band or I want to check them out. And then there are other times where I just want a loop or a break. For example I only bought the Bill Withers album I posted about today because I wanted the song Rosie. That was it. I fell in love with the song after hearing Kanye West's Roses which to this day is one of my favorite Kanye songs and one of my favorite samples that hes flipped well interpolated.

[Nicro]

Damn, oldies radio is a great idea! I don't know why I never thought of that, seems obvious. How do you know about these breaks though? Like how did you catch word that some random record has a break? I understand the famous ass ones like, Impeach the President, Synthetic Substitution etc.. But I have never had any idea about random lesser known ones.

[Xabiton]

conversation, whosampled.com, youtube, and Gilson