Going sample crazy?

[T-Vo Beats]

Is it normal to go sample crazy? What I mean by "sample crazy" is just sampling a bunch of **** even if you might not be able to use it and trying to MAKE it useful. I've sampled **** that I can't use because I don't realize I can't use it until after the fact.

I recently decided to get into sampling. I usually compose everything but now I want to do a mixture of both. With me being new to the sampling game, it just seems like I'm trying to sample any and everything. A lot of times, I spend hours sampling and trying to get the sample to sound how I want and when all is said and done I come up blank. I got over 200 records that I want to use but it seems harder to sample (at least for me) than it is to compose because I have to try to manipulate the sample to get it right.

What are some good sampling techniques to practice? What methods do YOU use?

p.s. You don't have to share your methods if you don't want. I know some people are sensitive about that kind of stuff. Don't want people biting and all.

[initialproductions]

Wats good, USUALLY wat I do, which is the most common thing for me inless it calls for some other type of chopping is find a two bar loop then chop it into 8th notes. Basically just look threw ur records for a hot 2 bars then chop into 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & pattern. Youll get 16 chops in total. Try to make them even. This way u get almost total control out of the sample to do wat u want. If your just starting out sampling tho I would just loop things at first and add drums.

[producingLC]

Is it normal to go sample crazy? What I mean by "sample crazy" is just sampling a bunch of **** even if you might not be able to use it and trying to MAKE it useful. I've sampled **** that I can't use because I don't realize I can't use it until after the fact.

nothing wrong wit that. sometimes its hit and miss.

[jizzer]

Wats good, USUALLY wat I do, which is the most common thing for me inless it calls for some other type of chopping is find a two bar loop then chop it into 8th notes. Basically just look threw ur records for a hot 2 bars then chop into 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & pattern. Youll get 16 chops in total. Try to make them even. This way u get almost total control out of the sample to do wat u want. If your just starting out sampling tho I would just loop things at first and add drums.

^^That's kinda bizarre to me...to do by that formula I mean. I'll take the whole 2-bar loop if I can, and if it's good i won't touch it.

[aeon grey]

I don't think anyone really has a set sequence of methods for sampling. Sometimes I sample long loops from rare source material, sometimes I chop the hell out of long loops from well known source material. It really just depends. Sometimes I will cut tones and stabs and manipulate them to the point that they don't sound like the original at all. I would say if you have an interest in sampling, and want to incorporate it into your composition, try sampling everything, even things you wouldn't normally, and altering the sound of them to get something entirely new.

If you want to talk further about it.. more detail of how I might do something email me.. aeon@aeongrey.com

[LevLove]

^^That's kinda bizarre to me...to do by that formula I mean. I'll take the whole 2-bar loop if I can, and if it's good i won't touch it.

doesn't sound bizarre at all to me. he's giving the man an exercise to help develop his chops (pun intended) it's not really a formula, he's counting the beats, thats how u verbally count when playing real music, those are eight notes, if he said 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a, i'd know he's countin 16th notes now. same 2 measures, just shorter beats (or notes, 16ths as opposed to 8ths). you said you'd take a whole 2-bar loop and if its good, you won't touch it. thats cool, nothing wrong with loopin, but if he does not want to loop and wants to chop, the above is a good exercise in honeing your chopping skills. after some practice and he gets that down, he'll be able to chop anything anywhere...notes that are on upbeats or syncopated and slightly off beat. for those samples that he recorded and could'nt use in loop form, he may find new life in them if he chops them down into smaller peices and one-hits; as opposed to merely loopin'em up. again, nothing wrong with loopin, choppin, samplin or any of that, as long as you enjoy your creation, can't tell you nothing. me choppin one-hits might sound strange to some. so to each his own, long as the end product is good, thats all that matters.

LevLove

[balma]

Anyone with a Roland SP 808ex goes sample crazy.
SP 808ex can sample more than 1 hour of samples.
I even sample TV commercials scanning for hidden subliminal audio messages. You have so much memory for samples...
I always sample myself jamming, and 10% of that thrash is very useful...

[T-Vo Beats]

Thanks to everybody for your help. I also hear some people talk about filtering out certain frequencies in a sample. Do any of you do that?

Check out this song I sampled on my Myspace page. It's one of the first sampled songs I was experimenting with. Let me know what you think. It's called "Keep looking."

www.myspace.com/beatsbytvo

[veck]

Thats happened to me, at least with trying to sample all sorts of **** that sounds like it could be hot, but in reality just cant be sampled. I sample a lil differently then most people, i usually just ignore bars cause i work alot with solos. I cut by sound and notes most times. When certain 2 or 3 beat lil samples stick out to me i keep that two or three beats and work em in differently.

For filterin, get to know your eq. Read up on some equalizing methods and experiment on your own with different samples - see how boosting or cutting certain frequencies effects the sound.

[T-Vo Beats]

I cut by sound and notes most times. When certain 2 or 3 beat lil samples stick out to me i keep that two or three beats and work em in differently.

That's sounds a bit like what I did with the song I was talking about "Keep looking." I ignored the bars and just chopped by sound like you said.

How do you determine what tempo to use when sampling?