good tip for 12-bit s-900/950users

B

breakbeat-cafe

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i posted this up on another forum but thought some peeps here might like it to :)

the thing with the old skool 12-bit sound is that it's a combination of sampling from vinyl and the sound of the 950, i think alot of producers used to sample quite 'hot' as well and get a little distortion in there.

I gotta another interesting tip for ya'll to, due to the fact that those old machines were limited in terms of sampling time, loops would be sampled at 45 plus 8% off technics (even if it was a 33) and then slow the sample down in the 950, this was to be economical with the sampling time, this was more than just a time saver though because by doing this the sample has a certain sound to it, it's like sprinkling the sample with magic dust, but hey, don't just take my word for it, i read it in a article with uk producer mr scruff, besides try it for yourself, it's a cool trick
 
Yep. That's the two things I do. It works very well. Turn the mixer output loud, and the recording volume all the way to the dots. If you have one you'll know what I mean lol. And I sample in pretty fast. One of these days I'm going to go at 78 plus 50% :D and see how it goes.
 
we used to have a 900 and a 950 but sadly they are gone now :(

still think they are cool though,we use an mpc now. I heard another idea that i haven't tried that dj shadow mentioned, which is that he uses a really good quality hi-fi needle on his decks when he samples, he said that the stanton type needles add compression which loses you frequency, i'd like to find out if there's anything in this.

cool idea about the 78 he he.
 
Thanks for the tips Cafe & Big Tim!! I've been waiting for a thread like this...I own an S950, and while I've figured out how to sample *1* thing at a time, I'm a little lost as to how to create 'multi-sound' programs/patches.

Do you guys usually sample mono? Do you play with the panning and use stereo outs? or just leave it mono?

Great S900/950 tips!! PLEASE keep them coming!

p.s. A 'step-by-step' guide to using the S950 would be awesome if anyone feels adventurous!:)
 
I'm lazy so I don't have the necessary cables for stereo lol. I really don't do anything but use it for the slowed down sound and the filters and getting a loop.
 
i think the 950 has primarily been used for drum samples, this why it's usually used in mono, the low pass filter in the 950 is one of it's key features and is a hallmark of dj premiers sound, there's some good examples on the boom bap album with krs-one.

there's supposed to be some great stuff about the s-950 in the beat tips manual by sa'id,i've not read it, don't know if anyone on here has, could give some input?
 
say i record a 33and 1/3 record @ 45 at the note C3. what note would i play for it to come back @ the same pitch?
 
Just keep turning the knob up and pressing the play button until it's right. There's a fine tune you can mess with too until it's perfect.
 
^^^ I think he told you more correctly than if he would have given a specific number of notes to transpose...all the tuning gets rubbery in real life, and you have to nudge it manually if you really want the sample to be in tune good. You wouldn't even need to limit it to 45rpm...you could record as fast as your record player will spin if you want to totally maximize sampling time.


keep the S900/950 tips coming!:)
 
"I think he told you more correctly than if he would have given a specific number of notes to transpose"

i dont agree. theres only one pitch that is gonna produce the identical result to the original played in 33 1/3
 
My bad for not giving you an exact number. There's waaayyy too much work to do it yourself :rolleyes: .
 
anyone know of a good program which allows you to make s900/s950 programs on your computer, and then just put them on a disc and put them in?
 
i'm not aware of any sofware dude, but i think having a good midi controller can make the mapping a little easier, as i've said these machines are all about the sound, it's the kind of thing where a pinch of patience goes along way :)
 
o.k. how about some clarification on "the filters". We've all heard people say "oh the filters on the S950 blow my mind" or "the filters on the ASR make you see God" or something like that;)...

..well anyway, aren't "filters" just Low-Pass filters? basically just EQ? and from my S950 it seems I can only make it bassier, I haven't found the High-pass yet..

..I can also make the sample reverse. but is there any other "effect" type things I'm missing about it?

Also, anymore guidance on recording "hot" levels etc?
 
ye, i got sum guidance on the hot levels thing: i record samples by audio trigger. if i wanna get filthy drums i use relatively low sample rates (specially for kicks) and then record so the loudest part is actually "in the red" (not literally of course). also when im playin my beat into pro tools, i make it real hot, so that the kicks & snares are too loud- gives it sum serious crunch.

i never realy got the whole lfo thing- sum1 explain???
 
i sample at 45 most of the time and in my mpc i need to tune down -52 to match exact speed as 33. you can sample a sound at 33 and 45 and have them trigger simultaneously and tune down the 45 pitched one until phasing goes away and both samples are locked. i always thought tuning down to 50 will match up until i experimented myself. sampling at 45 has same effect as sampling at lower resolution(not bit depth). 950 can sample from 7.5 to 48khz, which can make your sample alot dirtier than sampling at just 45 rpm.
the truthe™ said:
"I think he told you more correctly than if he would have given a specific number of notes to transpose"

i dont agree. theres only one pitch that is gonna produce the identical result to the original played in 33 1/3
Click to expand...
 
isnt that just resampling at a different frequency? ie downgrading from 20k to 10?

-Lodger
 
actually, if it were lower sampling rates, it would decrease the number of steps that the sample could use to reproduce volume levels... what this is doing is just restricting the amount of higher frequencies in the sound- definately lo-fi, but the bit rate is staying the same.

recording off of a record spinning faster is essentially the same thing as resampling, only with less control over the ending pitch of the sample.

-Lodger
 
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