Sampling fresh for each beat or preparing a bunch of sounds

[V-F!]

When I first started I would just sample everything fresh for each beat. For the past while (my best work) I've been getting more than an albums worth of samples and just focus on banging them out. What do yall do?

[kel]

i try to just sample, play with them a little or do some chops, and then leave it alone. keep all my samples on my desktop in a folder, organized by keywords or the date, and throw a bunch in my ipod if i think they'll sound good together. then i proceed to smoke a bunch of pot and talk a walk, and listen to just the samples playing all in a row. i think about the tuning and the format of the track or whatever, but i stay away from my samplers while i'm doing this or i'll just wander around the sounds and get nothing done. so i already know exactly what i'm going to do before i get home. and at that point i'm just starting to come down off the weed, which is the 30-45 minute window where i'm most productive. i can only sample fresh in the battles, cuz there is no other option.

[springwater]

nice one kel. thats a good tip, sample and walk away. i sampled a bunch of shit that i didnt even like, just like a note or 2. left for the weekend and came back and them chops was sounding hot as shit. so i think you got something there.

[V-F!]

Ya it's cool to just get a bunch of samples, then when you listen back, you can really decide if they are any good or not. I find if you just sample straight off the bat you do more tricking yourself into liking the sample because it;s what you have to work on right at the moment. Time to get another batch!

[kel]

if you just sample straight off the bat you do more tricking yourself into liking the sample because it;s what you have to work on right at the moment.

egg-zachary

1000 posts what!

[Les Braun]

Hmm, lately I've been just preparing a bunch of sounds. I'm not really satisfied at all.
My best work is when I concentrate on only one beat, but this only works if the sample is long-enough and choppable...

[LoneStar]

I would really hate restricting myself to either approach mentioned in the topic. I always take whatever I have at hand at the moment, may it be self-prepared samples, drumkits from a sample library or a synthesizer patch, whatever works. Most of the time though I rely on sounds I already have available, and tweak them to my liking.
To be honest, I don't get questions like this one, or the "Do you only use samples from one song, or outside samples too?" one. What's the point? Just use what you think works best, done. And if you find out having your mom bang on pots and pans in the kitchen and recording that works best for you, so be it. Simple as that.

[V-F!]

I would really hate restricting myself to either approach mentioned in the topic. I always take whatever I have at hand at the moment, may it be self-prepared samples, drumkits from a sample library or a synthesizer patch, whatever works. Most of the time though I rely on sounds I already have available, and tweak them to my liking.
To be honest, I don't get questions like this one, or the "Do you only use samples from one song, or outside samples too?" one. What's the point? Just use what you think works best, done. And if you find out having your mom bang on pots and pans in the kitchen and recording that works best for you, so be it. Simple as that.

All valid points. This is a discussion forum and it's something I wanted to discuss. I have my own way of working and don't need any help, I was just curious as to what the other board members do. I find work flows interesting.

[springwater]

yeah work flows are interesting. like im an animator and its cool to see behind the scenes stuff. like special features on a dvd. it there were a sampling school, the teacher would teach you many ways of sampling and arranging, but you'd take something from that and interpret it your own way. some people are technical, other work on the fly, some do both. its not always, find something and make it sound good. cause once ou do that, whats the next step. might be hearing anothers way of working and mushing it into your workflow and stepping up another level with that information. i love to learn. even the greats still have something to learn, and discussion is the best learning tool cause people are different and everyone has something to bring to the table.

[Mr. Davenport]

depends on what sampler Im using, really. If its the MPC I have a shitload of samples Ive collected over the years and just pick from those. On the 303 I usually start from scratch. I like that Im limited with the number of samples(I dont back up samples on computer) so Ill start with a loop to get the bpm then add drums, then I track the sample and the drums. After that I manually "sprinkle" with other random samples. It's different every time.

[Ill Green]

Dope thread

Yeah usually I sample stuff and work on them the same day for like 3 or 5 hours, then I turn off the machine and let it marinate for a while. When I come back, I come fresh and bang out a whole different idea than what I started with and it'll be doper.

Like Dorkus, it depends on the machine too. I sample tunes as soon as I hear them with the MPC and would just spend the day sampling and building a library. But on the SPs and the MV I could just give a lot of attention to one sample at a time.

I'm also that type that likes to clear the entire memory when I'm done doing a track. Like a blank canvas to work on.

[polyphonics]

I do a lot less than you guys - mainly because I dont have the time anymore (and probably never the talent). I tend to listen to a lot of music - that I can do while I work - and so whenever I hear some shee that yanks at my ears, I drop it into a playlist. Different playlists for different things- some are more like 'Back to Mine' - where its more plundaphonics than sampling because I like a chorus, or multiple measures - others are more like 'ringtone' comps- where it might be a couple of seconds sample I hear.. stuff like that.

I work when I have the time and the energy - but like I said, Im cheese- I do it because it brings me closer to music - not really because I am any good at it.. or have aspirations outside my bedroom.

[Unfolding]

I do it because it brings me closer to music - not really because I am any good at it.. or have aspirations outside my bedroom.

Good call man, very humble! The best music comes from those who do it for the love of it, not for commercial/critical gain. Give it time & remember to focus on what's tasteful to your ears, that'll make all the difference to how you get.

These days with my sampling, its more spur of the moment than most others here. Most days I'm listening to 4-5 albums (yep, ipods at work are a great idea), so when I get behind the samplers I'm pretty confident & familiar with what's worth grabbing & what isn't. Usually within 30 mins of starting an idea I'll know if its worth finishing, then in a few more hours the job's done (if there's no live instruments or singing to record & sample, they'll usually add another day).

[V-F!]

[ Usually within 30 mins of starting an idea I'll know if its worth finishing, .

The key to a good beat maker in my opinion.

[mezZo]

What i usually do for sampling vinyl is just sit down with pipe in hand and listen to each song on a record looking for one shots mostly. but then i might find a loop and cut that loop into 8 parts and build a completely diff loop out of it. i will just start playing with start and end points for hours on one sample sometime. other times i will just collect samples and go back to them later and cut them up.

lately i have not been sampling as much