Enough praise, wat do you look for when listening??

Aiight, crate diggers index, dope, now lets start this sh*t. You roll in2 your local vinyl store {for me there is only one in this town but it is hella old skool and packed full of very cheap wax} and pick some discs to listen too. What do you look for first - jazz, orchestra, piano?
Lately i've been doing a bit of a pick in mix with this sh*t an grabbing watever, because the record player in the store is f*cked no doubt, but then i'll come home and find that some are either warped or completely the wrong music for sampling!!!!
So, with respect to the saying, how can you judge an album by its cover?? I cant be farrked listening to all this wax - I just wanna see somethin and think "yeh, thatd be dope" take it home, get about 20 seconds of gold from it, then drop it in my crate never to be seen again until I need to find track or artist information a few years later.
What y'all think?
pz
ess.

I rock the portable turntable, so that has made me picky these days.

Mostly, i just look for flavor, something that will be able to retain it's essence when i freak it. I like piano solo's...... horns, love horns.... of course breaks, also though... i like to listen for melodies that i may be able to filter down into a hot bassline.... shit anything, you know?

For me to actually say what i look for would be hippocritical though. I mean, i just look for flavor you know? Could be a loop, a stab, a break, a vocal, shit i'm REAL big on finding obscure vocals (go to my acidplanet page, and see for yourself.....).... i like hearin' old, seasoned cats like "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we present..... " or whatever. I love everything about that shit. I also look for storybook wax that i can cut in over a beat. You'd be surprised what a crab scratch can do to an old storybook record......

anything usable. Word. I'll cop a record for a half-a-second guitar lick if i have to.

if you dont have a portable then you have to do your homework before you go dig cause u dont wanna spend 50 beans, come home and be pissed you only got one hot sample outta the bunch... if you got records you like at home read the credits for drummers, guitarists, producers, etc so you get a feel if they rip ish everytime their on a track.. if you do have a portable then you will be sittin on the floor for hours snatching records, putting them aside cause you like em then putting it back cause you think you found another one thats better.. i basically dont have a set technique when diggin, whatever catches my ear, if i wanna make some dark underground ish i look for records with alot of pianos, strings orchestral type stuff, if i wanna make some sped up vocal sample ish then i look for soul and ish cause them beats be sellin like hot cakes where im at and u gotta get that cake up to dig for some more vinyl..lol

Word, jorge.....

i said this in another thread:

You need to find some musicians that you like. Look for producers, studio drummers, studio guitarists, etc........ for example (and this is an easy one) anything with Clyde Stubblefield on the traps will have sick drums. Anything with Chick Corea on the keys will have sick keys. Hank mobley on the sax, etc....

Get your music history weight up before you go out and drop 100 beans on a gang of records with cool covers.

Look at dates, where the LP was recorded, who sat in on the session, who contributed to the album, who's featured, etc etc etc........

I don't look for anything in particular records really unless I see something from an artist or old school producer that I 'm familiar with.For the most part I just buy anything on wax I don't care what it is.I also stay away from record shops(way overpriced) unless I am looking for something real particular or I am going to hit the dollar bins on 20% off day.I mainly hit up The Goodwill,Salvation Army,Surplus stores,Flea markets and just random neighborhood folks.I am always talking to people about music and when they find out I collect records I usually offer them a few bucks just to take them off of there hands if they have any.I try to listen to every purchase all the way through once I get to the crib.I'll usually just fire up the Xbox or PS2 and just let whatever play,if I hear something I like I 'll make note of it and keep going.I can make a banger off of any record using whatever sounds are on the record except for drums cause I've got probably got 500 drums and tons of funky breaks.My main thing is to be creative and to not loop whole sections of songs because anymore folks want big money and 60-80 percent of the publishing just to use a 2 second sample.I recently tryed to get a Ashford and Simpson sample cleared and they freakin wanted $50,000 upfront and 90% of the publishing...The song is a complete banger the cat rapping has some lyrical genius but due to all the money they want I am unsure if his label will ever let the song see the light of day.

Archetype_J wrote:For me to actually say what i look for would be hippocritical though. I mean, i just look for flavor you know? Could be a loop, a stab, a break, a vocal

Hellsss yes man I'm feelin that - it could be any instrument right? Or something thats not even an instrument - or just a mixture of sounds at a certain point in the track that is catching - watever catches you I say..
pz
ess.

i always to to the orchestral section, and look for solo instruments.

I have this joint around here where classical are 3 for $.99 cents. and there are just literally stacks and stacks and stacks...so i sometimes just go random.

but i listen for those emotional sad type instruments, whether its guitar, violin, or contrabass, vocal....but definately sad or dramatic.

Also, peep out records like "Begginers guide to the Hammond" or "Basic Scales".... instructional type shit. You can get some straight wide open samples. I got a gem of a record called "The definitive guide to drumming" which is a lame ass title (how is expression gonna be "definitive"??) but good lord.... the name says it all. Drums for weeks, yall.

true that ^^^^^^^^

I look for the albums with the most tripped out covers... I'm talkin distorted faces and reflections of people in like nothing but purple pink and orange... I'm always lookin for those trippy loops... That's my favorite sh*t to sample... It's hard because alot of that music is out of timing so you gotta chop it like crazy sometyimes just to get a loop... But it's worth it for the organ and bass sounds you can grab off those records...

Storybook records are the sh*t.... I found some great sh*t to lay cuts with on those records...

Also old 45s or Lounge singers and sh*t... I found one vocal sample that I have yet to use on a battle... It's these back-up singers at the end of a 45 singin

"Nobody Likes You"

It's gonna be so awesome to use someday when like one of my MC's is doin a battle track...

cyrus wrote:but i listen for those emotional sad type instruments, whether its guitar, violin, or contrabass, vocal....but definately sad or dramatic.

I still do that, but that used to be my focus a while ago.. I've moved into some more upbeat and less serious beats recently... I can't escape it though... Sad or Dramatic is what I always seem to flock to..

fo' real on the "guides" and "basics to..." tip, I look mainly now for "instrumentals" and "Easy listening" - sh*t crocks up quite a bit even though they are simple titles.... youd be surprised
pz
ess.

the records i like to buy are spainish rock/soul from 75-85. im lookin for those grimey piano solos or some unique keyboard sounds anything nice and melodic

when i buy american soul records i look for some nice horns anything that is nice and easy and smooth

orchestral shit, ill just grab anything idont know much about this genre yet so im still trying to find those bands that have that nice sound

visual wise, i look for anything that looks quality im not sayin it has to be in amazing condition but if the cover is drawn with crayola crayons and looks like sh1t i prolly wont buy it. it needs tolook catchy and convincing
and i always check for labels,producers,instruments

thats about it

non-pop movie soundtracks. 1.8million hip hop beats have been made w/ the deathwish soundtrack. if you have this original lp i will trade or give cash.

Soundtracks are definitely what's up, they have all kinds of sounds and some have dialogue from the flicks, too. Foreign and french movies almost always bump.