been sampling for years, dont know how to use a sampler!!!

[springwater]

man, im so frustrated. i been sampling like forever using fruityloops and other software but now that i got this 555 im like "duh" whats do i do. when it comes to fruityloops i have a workflow that works but i cant seem to get a workflow. anyone got any tips, ive read almost every dam post on this forum over the past month or 2 and im still not figuring it out. maybe im overthinking it like smalls in the sandlot (dont act like yaw dont know about the sandlot, benny "the jet" rodriguez is the man!)
ok im back, but uh im like sampling then im like should i add effects, should i do the drums first and get my groove, then im like let me get every nook and cranny i can sample from a song, then im like "oh, what do i do now. i havent even gotten into resampling that much and i read alot of post about people resampling like a mother fizz. im just flat out asking for help.
i feel like a tool and a newbie but im just a newb to the hardware.
i posted some "ish" in the music section "original hip hop from philly" and i made all the beats on that so you can see where im coming from, like i dont suck ass, i just suck ass on the 555.
all help appreciated!

[Beanz711]

FOR-EV-VER, FORR-EVV-ERRRR....
great movie!

As for the tips, this is what I would do. Enter the battles in the arena. That wil def get you rollin. But if you feel uncomfortable doing that right away, I would go back to some of the older battles (not the open challenges because the rules for the battles are strictly sampler only) and download those samples. Load em up sit on your bed, couch, chair, floor, gf's tits....whatever and just mess with them (the samples on your 555, not her tits). Then go and listen to some of the beats from that battle and try and think how they may have come up with what they got. What parts of the samples they used. Just messing with it really is the best way to get to know your hardware, or anything for that matter. mess with the effects and see how each mangles the sound. Resampling is great to keep effects on a pad, or layer drums. I usually chop up my sample first and figure out how I would like it to go, then add drums accordingly. Sometimes drums come first but it's all about what your into at that moment. Good Luck and Have Fun..


Music is Love

[hurlingdervish]

battles battles battles

manual manual manual

instinct.

[springwater]

yo, squints is the man, yo!!!
i wish i made my rap name squints.
squints peffercorn in the hip hop game!!!
but uh its funny how hurling said everything you said in like a few lines of dialogue.
thanks guy. i just think im totally overthinking it. im used to seeing sequences visually and and programming my samples in midi. but i did the battle thing a few times, not joining em but i checked out a few old battles and some dibiase beats and im like, these dudes are resample masters.
and my manual looks like a 13 year old kids hidden porno mag all sweated up and half held together by the 2 strongest staples the world has ever seen. so i think im on the right track.
i just get frustrated and i dont have a group full of sp users locally so i vent on here. i gotta get my confidence up before i get down with the battles, and some free time to focus but ill get it.
thanks again.

[hurlingdervish]

dude even if you dont post the battle result its cool just to mess with samples that you would have never picked

and yea my manual is missing the first and last cover pages haha

i came from midi first and i still do it, but i like both...the thing to keep in mind is you know what you want to hear now

so you just gotta place the parts where they fit inside your head

well if you dont know what you want to hear....than you probably wouldn't have gotten into music

[springwater]

dam hurling your like a knowledge guru!
and i had a question for you from another post, the one with all the "things you should have known when you first started using your sp" post. you say always resample in mono. is that just cause of sampling times or is it a quality thing. cause you do lose some wuality when you flip it to mono, its like its flat.
well just wondering

[fauna]

hey springs -
i hear you. that transition from pcs to hardware can be tricky, esp if yr using gear without a screen. it was tough for me too (going from a pc to a 404).

i haven't listened to yr stuff, but i'm assuming like a lotta cats on here yr making 'outsider' instro hip hop / electronic stuff. either way, here are my tips to help get over the hump:

--just work to get one little beat going; quantize yr hats at 16ths, yr kicks at 8ths, and yr snares at 1/4ths - just to get them to land okay
--make yr beat just 8 bars to start
--sample in 4 or 5 bass notes or synth notes, dif pitches
--find some textural stuff (pads, grit)
--maybe some voices or sounds from yr kitchen or whatever (random)

then get yr beat looping and just trigger yr other sounds over it. this will just get you into the headspace of NOT thinking in terms of grid layout or multitracks and just get you thinking in terms of positive and negative space in yr beat. putting shots in where other shots are not, etc.

but yeah - in the early days, the key is just to wind it down, and take yr time making really basic stuff - then build out once you got the workflow down. it took me awhile to get my head around it too.

hope that helps.

[springwater]

thanks a hell of alot man. that gives me some ground work. i didnt even think about sampling bass and pads, thats a dam good idea. id just hope to the midi controller but im thinking less is more right about now. and i like your comment about positive and negative space. its like art school. you must be an artist of some sort.
but uh, i think your comments will definitly help and hurlings "get into the battle" comment will put me on the right track. my buddy is coming down this weekend with his electribe and we're gonna try and make some beats and record some rhymes. ill post what we come up with. hopefully i can make a youtube vid as well, i always like those.
peece