Which comes first.. beat or other stuff?

[cartesia]

Just wondering,

do you make a beat to start with? or do you put together perhaps a little sample progression/melody/whatever...

Also do you track out all the variations straight up/soonigh, or do you just make a basic loop then not start doing fills/etc until after youve come up with the beat and all the other elements of the track?

I have always been just about making a simple drum loop to start with, but I'm thinking maybe I'll try tracking down some fills/switches, like more like 8-16 bars rather than just a 1-2 bar loop, so that I actually have some character in the basis to build off.

[tape smoke]

i usually start with a sample then find drums to match it.

[Leptic P]

i usually start with a sample then find drums to match it.

the same here ! i search a body (main sample) and i develop !

[Rabot]

I used ot drum first and somehow I had to do so much shit around the sample I wanted to use that it ended up sucking big time. Sample first now.

[houseofninjas]

Yeah, I usually find the sample, chop it up or loop parts, and then add drums on top of that.

[sleepy eyes]

i like to start with hi hats and then just go from there

edit: and delay

[UbiquitousCanuck]

I start with an 8 of Guinness...I then work way too long on drums, fall asleep...Wake up to 8 more guinness and try to flip a sample... The results are always terrible, but the guinness is always good...

Did i mention Guinness?

[cartesia]

Hahaha ubiq, sounds like my production technique...

Step 1: get messed up
Step 2: make crap
Step 3: delete and repeat

[boombapp28]

Started with the samples and chops and then built the drums around. Working in reverse these days (drums first) to really dope results!

[genn bo]

depends on situation. if i start with drums - i ussually rearrange them a bit after playing some chopped up samples or melody to match the flow. sometimes it vice versa. the thing i start with usually depends on what i find first - drums, some samples to chop or play something on synth..

[Heat Vision]

both for me. i usually start out with a simple drum loop just to practice my chops on and figure out how im going to play them.

then from there i might lay them over the existing beat, or just lay them down in a loop and then add drums after.

sometimes ill start with a hi hat and/or snare loop, lay down my chops, and then add the kick.

i just do whatever im inspired to do at the time really. it might be the same for a few beats but then different for the next 6 or whatever.

[blavatsky]

I guess usually its sample selection (melody or chords), then based on that I pick out the drums that go with it and figure out the tempo that suits the samples.

Drums first is cool too, but I guess it depends on what drives what; if the melody defines the song it can come first, if its drums that determine where the other samples fall vice versa.

[dStx]

I start with an 8 of Guinness...I then work way too long on drums, fall asleep...Wake up to 8 more guinness and try to flip a sample... The results are always terrible, but the guinness is always good...

Did i mention Guinness?

Hahahaha, so true. I'll sit down, make a drum loop, smoke an L... stare at the blinking lights for an hour... repeat process.

In terms of productivity, I don't have a single formula. If I hear a killer sample to loop, I'll go with that and make drums to support it. Sometimes, though, I just want to make a couple of alternating drum loops, in which case I look for horn or string samples to put on top. Its always different, usually

[PHeMoX]

It depends on what the limitations are going to be. I usually start by laying down a beat, then add the samples later or find some that fit better.

I rarely work the other way around because I find it difficult to add a beat later. Just feels like working blind to me or I'll end up with a beat I've done a million times before.

But if one of the limitations is going to be using specific sound texture samples (I mean non-drum samples), then I might start with those instead to get an idea of what's possible to do with them. Chop them up differently and jam some more with them.

[mr16levels]

I make everything fit around the drums.. tried structuring everything around the sample just doesn't work for me