Sampling vs. Instrumentation

K

Kaedenz

New member
Ever since I began making beats i've always used instrumentation and did virtually no sampling whatsoever. I had always thought of sampling as stealing other peoples' work in order to improve your own and would only hinder the creativity of the beat. You gotta understand all the Sample beats I was hearing at the time were from the local high school producers in my area and they would sample an oldie song ,loop it and just throw drums over it and that was their beat.
The irony behind my dislike toward sampling is that I actually like old music and I liked when producers like Kanye would sample a song (like Touch the Sky,"Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield) or when they'd sample something relativitely obscure like Eminem and Wayne's No Love ("What is Love"-Haddaway). It seems like those producers are bringing an artistic and musical creativity to the sessions where it doesnt matter that they're sampling because the end-result is going to sound different. So my question is :are they able to do that because of their years of producing, professional studios, or is there something that most people lack that they have?I think i want to get into sampling more and I know very little about the process.
 
If you do 'instrumentation' I'm going to assume you have some good synths or VSTs...and hopefully a little theory concept...even if self taught.

This is of course a raging debate, I personally do not 'Sample' in terms of what most people consider 'sampling'..that is 'dig through crates' searching the world for obscure sounds...or cutting up well know tracks, or the same drum loops we've heard 4 million times, and putting my own 'spin' on them.

I won't get into that as much here...because I tend to write long posts, and that would be a doosey.

The fact is, in any step of the process...listening to others music is HUGE. Be it for inspiration..or even in the mixing phases, comparing to see how your sound competes.

Also, things like MPC's or certain drum machines/samplers...should be considered 'instruments' in there own right...and they do give a certain, 'sound'. I can always tell when something was cut up on an MPC.

What I do, to get that 'cut' or control that 'pocket' is I 'Sample myself'.

I do have quite a bit of theory training, so maybe that's a bit of a plus...but regardless...whether it's a bassline I heard, or a sound I liked, if I can play it out, and then 'cut it' I can still get that 'Hip Hop' sound if that's what I'm going for.

Honestly though, most of the time..I'll just sit down and play...let the beat make itself...so I'm not even trying to 'copy' someone...or play replay a 'Queen' baseline, change a rhythm and call it orginal (AHEM: Vanilla Ice).

I sample for the 'sound' for what the listener is going to perceive as that classic 'Hip-Hop' sonic quality, that is simply just sample triggers...yet has almost become the timbre of an instrument 30+ years later!

Honestly, I like it better...A) I have much more control, B) I don't waste time 'cleaning' up samples, when I have the native sound and midi files at my finger tips, and C) I always know I control my orginality.

This is not to say I disagree with 'crate diggers' I love what they do...and am of the thought process that 'recreating the wheel' can often times take as much if not more creativity...

Anyway, just some thoughts...don't know what sampler you have access too, but alot of times just throwing your sound through it can help give it that 'sound'...even if you're not chopping it...tough to explain..but you know that 'sound'..ha..


Just some insight. Good luck.
 
well most high school producers aren't gonna be good. I think i suck right now personally and i try to do both, but im moving more towards sampling because its what i like doing
 
^ Yup do watcha like. only downside to sampling is having to pay the sample clearance fees
 
After watching an interview from Kanye, he was talking about how hip hop was originally based on taking something someone else did and putting your twist to it...Things have changed a bit, but i was suprised to see how many tracks were samples on Jay z's new album...knowing me being a rookie, i dont know much about sampling and the game and what not...but i was quite shocked to see that many, because i alwayz thought that EVERYTHING was original...but when you get in deeper, you learn that sampling can have a whole other creative side to it...like you chopping up something, and turning it into something- that most wouldnt even know you sampled from..which ive seen and heard..

but i have yet to even come even close to breaking the tip of the iceberg on sampling or instrumentation lol..
 
the reason why people sample before is because they couldnt play the piano or the guitar or whatever so they sampled to find the sounds they wanted. I compose and sample. Theres certain sounds that you can get from records that you simply cant reproduce in your own home studio
 
i just got into sampling to and i also thought it was for people trying to make a quick hit or that didn't have instrumental talent,but now i like to sample and it sounds good. But the thing you gotta do is start off with a sample and some drums and then add your own sounds over it. For example recreate the bass line over it,add hi hats and percussion,add synths,motion synths,and what ever else you can do to make it your own. I actually made a real nice beat that i can hear bobby valentino and drake on and i will post it so you can hear both the sample and my beat. Thats if you wanna hear it if so Private message.Also have the right sample is important cause if you have to manually chop your samples it will take the fun out of it and you will dred sampling. I got maschine and i never thought sampling could be so easy.I had a mpc mpc 2500 which was cool but maschine is way better.
 
Roman' said:
...... but i was suprised to see how many tracks were samples on Jay z's new album...knowing me being a rookie, i dont know much about sampling and the game and what not...but i was quite shocked to see that many, because i alwayz thought that EVERYTHING was original.....
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you ll be very surprised how much music is sampled out there. unless the original is pointed out to you you ll never know
 
actually i jump on my motif and i just didn't even get in the creative mode like i used to. I just felt the same old chords and same progressions i used to and i was real bored. When i am sampling i just gotta find the sample and everything kinda fits together with unique sounds and stabs. What is this feeling?
 
Sampling is the ONLY option for those who can't play and don't want to hire players. I on the other hand sample my OWN playing. So sampling isn't bad, doesn't make you less creative..Its WHAT you sample. If you use someone else's sample, you're gonna have to pay them whatever they want for you to use this and sometimes you won't make money "like Just Blaze's "Show me what you got" (he had to pay lots of royalties to some Africans who originated those horns).
 
it depends on where u want to invest ur money u could pay tons to sample a track or u could pay a pro 2 play the track for u....either way u better make sure whatever beat u made is well worth it in return
 
JBlongz said:
Sampling is the ONLY option for those who can't play and don't want to hire players. I on the other hand sample my OWN playing. So sampling isn't bad, doesn't make you less creative..Its WHAT you sample. If you use someone else's sample, you're gonna have to pay them whatever they want for you to use this and sometimes you won't make money "like Just Blaze's "Show me what you got" (he had to pay lots of royalties to some Africans who originated those horns).
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I very much disagree, i have been producing professionally for 4 years, dont sample and still havent got around to purchasing a MIDI keyboard let alone learning to use it. If you understand the fundamentals of music, you can do lot without playing.

And to the OP, both. Some producers are good at sampling, some producers are good at instrumentation, but the best are good at both. Having said that, I've never seen a big producer that could sample but couldn't make the best of instruments, as they all tend to stay relatively underground, but there are plenty of big producers that dont sample.
 
sampled beats sound most of the times better and more organic. thats why i enjoy it so much. most composed beats sound generic and that bores my ear. i dont like it when everything comes out the mac. look at ryan leslie and his first mixtape and compare it to "transition", where a lot of live instruments were used.. sounds completely different. or compare the live instruments dre used by chronic 2001 to the reason sound of dj khaled by kush.. worlds...

the best IMO at the moment is kanye west. his productions are sooo damn good and his team works perfect when it comes to mix samples with composition.
 
@Amsterdamned - Well its all really down to the producer..you can make a good tune through instrumentation its a matter of making the instrumental varied enough to be different all the way throughout to stop said boredom.. irregardless i agree with you in the sense that sampling does have a unique sonic quality that tends to be interesting throughout. I tend to prefer instrumentation but i am still a huge fan of sampled work. i tend not to take sides on the matter..Their is a degree of skill and musical creativity needed to create a well sampled track (well ones that dont just loop the same 8 bars over :/ )people that usually knock it need to understand this.
 
Gen_ said:
I very much disagree, i have been producing professionally for 4 years, dont sample and still havent got around to purchasing a MIDI keyboard let alone learning to use it.
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What do you use to make beats?
 
4thside said:
@Amsterdamned - Well its all really down to the producer..you can make a good tune through instrumentation its a matter of making the instrumental varied enough to be different all the way throughout to stop said boredom.. irregardless i agree with you in the sense that sampling does have a unique sonic quality that tends to be interesting throughout. I tend to prefer instrumentation but i am still a huge fan of sampled work. i tend not to take sides on the matter..Their is a degree of skill and musical creativity needed to create a well sampled track (well ones that dont just loop the same 8 bars over :/ )people that usually knock it need to understand this.
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yeah i feel u. i think its very important by composed tracks that u dont quantize everything. but u need good equipment to do that. i work on a 1ghz laptop with reason and the asio 4 all driver. i have nearly zero delay but a little bit and that forces me to quantisizing. i think most people have that problem. it also needs a lot of skills to play it nicely and to make it interesting.
 
robel g said:
What do you use to make beats?
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Logic Pro, but originally Reason, and I spent a year and half on Ableton before taking the plunge and investing in a Mac. Suppose I just grew out of them both.

Getting back on topic, there are times when I will use the on screen keyboard (aka magic caps lock) in logic, but thets usually when I want to do trills, experiment with groove etc. otherwise I pretty much think up a melody, turn that melody in to a list of notes and instructions (such as automation and shifting certain notes off thier perfect timing) and then carry them out.
 
i dont think one is better than the other. NO IDEA IS COMPLETELY ORIGINAL.point blank. u use wat uve heard. wat u like nd apply it to ur music. even if u play an instument like a piano. wen u make a piano roll do u think the ONLY person to create that 4 bar piano roll. No. my only problem wif sampling is when ppl jus sample sumthin nd throw sum drums nd hi hats nd den post on FP "new banga!!!!!!!" wat matters at the end of the day. is the product. fcuk how u made it.lol
 
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