im sittin here sampling some cool "ish" and i came to this realization point, "my samples sound like trash". i read on here about people using the isolator as they sample so i started trying that but the sound is still all dry, so i just sampled with the compressor on (probably should have tried this waaaaaaay earlier, im new) and my sound is nice a thick. i was wondering what people do to get their samples in shape. i feel like i dont want to get into the habit of compressing all my samples when i know its other things i should be considering while sampling.
peece

i know some people are big fans of pre-EQing everything that they sample. I haven't messed with it so I can really say one way or the other. I think a lot of it is just getting to know the tools and how they can be applied. once you have a basic knowledge you start to hear things in the samples and how you can maximize or minimize them using any variety of filtering,EQing, compressing, layering etc.

i don't know if i'd sample everything with compression, you can always add compression, but can't remove it.

compressing every sample is definitely not a good idea haha

FYI if you sample from a record you will be bringing alot of noise up from the needle when you compress the sample by itself

like said above its all about recognizing what something needs. if its lacking punch then you should try layering a kick in first. maybe hipass the kick to get rid of the very low content

What I've found is that some samples can be way to clean, such as snares and hits.. this can be a problem when you raise the volume and you end up with hits and snares that almost cut your head off or make your eardrums bleed!.. remember that you must layer kicks, snares and hits etc.. Now I drop pretty much everything I sample back to 4-track tape and with a touch of eq (cutting frequencies, rather than boosting) makes everything a bit less harsh and tinny.. And yes, I eq every sample before and usally after to get that sample sounding sonically best as you can to your earholes!.. Delicious

think of the samples yr bringing in, in terms of their frequencies. you wanna make a little pocket for each sound. you eq to cut out unwanted (or simply unheard - like the "low" end on high-hats) sounds or boost up stuff you want brought out (mids in brass, perhaps?).

but try to think of yr samples in terms of low- middle- and high-sounds and it gets a little easier to 'clean' the samples accordingly.

i use the drive/filter button sometimes, rather than eq, cuz it allows me to sweep thru a frequency pocket a little bit. you can get shit a little brighter and then warm it up a touch, without stepping too deep into the mid-range samples.

i donno if that helps or not, but i hope it does!

hey, what is this "sweep through the frequency pocket"? ive heard this before and a sound guy i work with tell me about sweeping through stuff, i just thought it was slang for "get your eq on".
so when im sampling im looking at the samples not as just samples but as frequencies that go together. that make some sense. cause im always sampling something that has low in it and i like the low cause its the bassy part of the sample but i know im trying to get a melody going so i have a hard time cutting out those lows even though i only want, lets say, the mid range piano samples. got dam sampling is hard.

well, i'm not a professional, but with the frequency pocket i just mean allowing sounds to have some room where the bulk of their frequencies are, and cutting out the other frequencies (cuz that leaves room for other samples).

so for example, there's usually no need to have high-end in yr bass samples. so filter it out (either via filter or via eq / isolator). you may not even hear high end in yr bass stuff, but it's pro'lly there, just adding noise. filter it out, and you leave more room for hats, synths, or whatever that DO have high-end to have some space.

and obviously, the reverse (cut out low end) for stuff like hats, flute samples, etc.

what i meant with 'sweep thru the frequency pocket' is that the 2 main knobs on the drive / filter set up the treble / bass ratio (one sets up where in the ratio you are, and the other directs the sound from bass to treble and back). so if you have some sample that you want to jump out, you can cut out un-needed frequencies first, then you can set yr knob in a sweet spot (the pocket!) that cuts through the mix, and then you can shift from treble to bass to make those frequencies more noticeable as the sample (or track) plays.

i donno if this makes sense, but it's a pretty simple idea. just cut out shit to give each sample some breathing room, and remember that the filter (like a wah-wah pedal) can help boost or cut, or sweep thru, specific frequencies to bring sounds out a bit.

hope that helps.

that definitly helps, i already got some ish sounding pretty good. im just still confused with some phrases like "sweep thru" and "cutting thru the mix" i think cut through the mix is if you get the sample to sit right in your mix, if im correct. and when i hear sweep im thinking of a broom so im waaaay off.
but i think i got what i needed from this post, lost of good info. thanks to all who helped!
peece
Spring

sweeping just means "turning a knob"

oh, ok. thats simple enough. well then im getting my sweep on tonight.

Another thing you want to do is play with panning your samples. This will create even more space and when doing some soft (or hard depending on your style I guess) panning it can really give you a much clearer mix and improve overall quality.



Yeah, this is very important if you want to prevent stuff from getting all clutched up together, making samples drown in the overall mix.

Good thread.

@ phemox - yr totally right about the panning. the real way to make 'the pocket' is to have every sound in their own place, both thru frequencies and in the 360 spectrum.

the panning thing is a little tough on a 202, 303 or 404 tho, with no pan (workarounds a plenty tho!)

Don't the 303, 404 have panning? To give others a direct solution here too, uhm what's the work-around then?