H
harsh.jha
New member
I just thought I might start a little discussion, I think it would really interesting to see everybody's point of view on this topic.
The year is 2006, and many purists talk about sampling strictly from Vinyl? Do you think we should change a long with the times? I won't lie, I sample from CDs all the time. I make a trip once every 2-3 months to a used/vintage CD store downtown Toronto, and buy 50-60 CDs for $300.
I understand that vinyl has a certain sound to it, and it's a very 'dirty' 'grimey' hip hop sound. It's the original hip hop sound, and it keeps it sounding like 'real' hip hop. However, sampling has been going on since the 1980's when the only medium to sample from WAS vinyl, and possibly tape. During the 1990's, it became standard to sample only from vinyl because it sounded old school and were what producers and DJs were sampling from for years. It's like breaking a tradition. In the new millenium, plenty of mediums started getting old. Tape was standard during the 1980's, and CDs during the mid-90's. Nowadays, it's more so MP3s.
I personally do not feel bad sampling from CDs, because at the end of the day, it's the music that counts. I'm sure plenty of producers pretend that they're keeping it real, by sampling from vinyl, but are most likely sampling from tape or CD and just adding that vinyl sound using a special effect. I won't lie, I have done that before and told people I sampled from vinyl (...haha..yes, yes, my secret is revealed). Plenty of producers HAVE sampled from CD at least once and admitted it (Kanye West, being the most popular, No ID, Jay Dee, 9th Wonder) and all of these producers are legends.
Will the beat really be all that different if sampled from CD other than vinyl? It's hard to say. For example:
Illmatic was all vinyl, and had a certain sound to it. However, tracks like "NY State Of Mind", "The World Is Yours" and "Memory Lane" would sound a lot cleaner, and in my opinion, a lot worse if sampled from CD. However, songs like "Half Time", "It Ain't Hard To Tell" and "Represent" would sound the same if sampled from CD. It's just a very subtle sound but it makes it sound so much different. The CD sound is a lot more soulful and cleaner. The vinyl sound is a lot more street and rougher. Could you imagine if "NY State Of Mind" did not have a dirty piano sample? Would it still be the flawless beat that it is?
In the 1980's, people were sampling from 1970's vinyl. Technically, 10 years after the vinyl release date. So, is there an issue if I sample from a CD that was released in 1996? I personally do not see any issue in it. You have to move on with the times right? What if every emcee still used only one syllable rhymes? Can you imagine how awful that would be? If emcees can progress and adapt to change over time, why cannot we as producers?
I love sampling CDs and will never stop doing it. There is so much music out there it is literally amazing. I've gained so much knowledge through sampling. I recently bought a Fantom X6, was wishing for one since 2004. I finally bought it, so I can strictly compose like DJ Quik and Dr. Dre. After fooling around for a month, I realized how much I missed sampling. It only made me sample even harder, and find better samples.
Sampling CDs is the new era. I don't think MP3's will take over for another 20-30 years, because CDs are still available. Once CDs are no longer available, I give it 10 years after that, people will start using MP3's as a standard.
I like the clean sound I can sample from CDs. I can make it as dirty or as clean as I want. I can make it sound like dirty vinyl, or I can make it sound as if it's a live band and not even sampled.
I do not know enough where I can say "Sampling CDs will take over" because who knows? It may not. Vinyl is STILL in production, and even with Final Scratch, CD Turntables, and Scratch Live, people still buy Vinyl. Vinyl will not die. But there's so much more music available on CD now. I think that producers should move on, and even if you still cannot leave sampling vinyl, just give sampling CDs a shot.
I personally know some producers who found a sample on CD, but did not want to sample it because they couldn't find it on vinyl. That sample could've been the sample that got them a major deal, however, they were being too much of a purist to bother.
What's your take on this?
The year is 2006, and many purists talk about sampling strictly from Vinyl? Do you think we should change a long with the times? I won't lie, I sample from CDs all the time. I make a trip once every 2-3 months to a used/vintage CD store downtown Toronto, and buy 50-60 CDs for $300.
I understand that vinyl has a certain sound to it, and it's a very 'dirty' 'grimey' hip hop sound. It's the original hip hop sound, and it keeps it sounding like 'real' hip hop. However, sampling has been going on since the 1980's when the only medium to sample from WAS vinyl, and possibly tape. During the 1990's, it became standard to sample only from vinyl because it sounded old school and were what producers and DJs were sampling from for years. It's like breaking a tradition. In the new millenium, plenty of mediums started getting old. Tape was standard during the 1980's, and CDs during the mid-90's. Nowadays, it's more so MP3s.
I personally do not feel bad sampling from CDs, because at the end of the day, it's the music that counts. I'm sure plenty of producers pretend that they're keeping it real, by sampling from vinyl, but are most likely sampling from tape or CD and just adding that vinyl sound using a special effect. I won't lie, I have done that before and told people I sampled from vinyl (...haha..yes, yes, my secret is revealed). Plenty of producers HAVE sampled from CD at least once and admitted it (Kanye West, being the most popular, No ID, Jay Dee, 9th Wonder) and all of these producers are legends.
Will the beat really be all that different if sampled from CD other than vinyl? It's hard to say. For example:
Illmatic was all vinyl, and had a certain sound to it. However, tracks like "NY State Of Mind", "The World Is Yours" and "Memory Lane" would sound a lot cleaner, and in my opinion, a lot worse if sampled from CD. However, songs like "Half Time", "It Ain't Hard To Tell" and "Represent" would sound the same if sampled from CD. It's just a very subtle sound but it makes it sound so much different. The CD sound is a lot more soulful and cleaner. The vinyl sound is a lot more street and rougher. Could you imagine if "NY State Of Mind" did not have a dirty piano sample? Would it still be the flawless beat that it is?
In the 1980's, people were sampling from 1970's vinyl. Technically, 10 years after the vinyl release date. So, is there an issue if I sample from a CD that was released in 1996? I personally do not see any issue in it. You have to move on with the times right? What if every emcee still used only one syllable rhymes? Can you imagine how awful that would be? If emcees can progress and adapt to change over time, why cannot we as producers?
I love sampling CDs and will never stop doing it. There is so much music out there it is literally amazing. I've gained so much knowledge through sampling. I recently bought a Fantom X6, was wishing for one since 2004. I finally bought it, so I can strictly compose like DJ Quik and Dr. Dre. After fooling around for a month, I realized how much I missed sampling. It only made me sample even harder, and find better samples.
Sampling CDs is the new era. I don't think MP3's will take over for another 20-30 years, because CDs are still available. Once CDs are no longer available, I give it 10 years after that, people will start using MP3's as a standard.
I like the clean sound I can sample from CDs. I can make it as dirty or as clean as I want. I can make it sound like dirty vinyl, or I can make it sound as if it's a live band and not even sampled.
I do not know enough where I can say "Sampling CDs will take over" because who knows? It may not. Vinyl is STILL in production, and even with Final Scratch, CD Turntables, and Scratch Live, people still buy Vinyl. Vinyl will not die. But there's so much more music available on CD now. I think that producers should move on, and even if you still cannot leave sampling vinyl, just give sampling CDs a shot.
I personally know some producers who found a sample on CD, but did not want to sample it because they couldn't find it on vinyl. That sample could've been the sample that got them a major deal, however, they were being too much of a purist to bother.
What's your take on this?
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