Matching Samples

Whatuppes,

Been wining about this for a long time now.. Did try it, but no result, search several fora, not a particular accurate answer;

Pete Rock, Marco Polo, Damu the Fudgemunk and others are using this technique;

They use samples from different records, but how do they do it?
I know you can stretch to a desired length, but how can U make the pitch sound right and harmonic among the other samples..

I know u got the timestretch and pitchshift function, but there certainly is an another way to match the tonals and the lengths of different samples from different records to match it..but how?

You can pitch it via the TUNE parameter til it is in key, then chop it or time stretch it.

I wouldn't recommend timestretching as it sucks on the mpc and also takes a long time.

Personally I think your best bet is chopping it into smaller pieces then playing them back more in time with the other sample. You can also re-edit the phrase this way.

of course, you should try the timestretch to see if you like it, and every sample/loop is going to be different. Timestretch might work on one, chop might work on another.

Or you could just be really picky about picking samples and only pick ones that work together. When I first heard the tracks that Shadow sampled for endtroducing, I was amazed how LITTLE he actually did to make them work together....they just worked cause that's how he picked them.

There is no one way. Try them all. rinse. repeat.

You mean chopping the samples up and then thru the tune parameter? or first thru it?

Is it automatically keyed to an another sample you worked in a sequencer. It just automatically matches? seems kinda evoluted for a machine from 97

In case you got a DJ set (2 turntables and a DJ mixer) you can try to match the paarts you want to use directly with vinyl. No wonder why pete, premier, damu and many others were DJs before they start to make beats. As a DJ you know the tracks (or part of the tracks) that fit together in tempo, key, vibe.
peace

Yeah, you can match either length or key by doin on the turntables, but not both, so how to solve that issue?

NavNek wrote:Whatuppes,

Been wining about this for a long time now.. Did try it, but no result, search several fora, not a particular accurate answer;

Pete Rock, Marco Polo, Damu the Fudgemunk and others are using this technique;

They use samples from different records, but how do they do it?
I know you can stretch to a desired length, but how can U make the pitch sound right and harmonic among the other samples..

I know u got the timestretch and pitchshift function, but there certainly is an another way to match the tonals and the lengths of different samples from different records to match it..but how?

its all about having a well trained musical ear.

THIS IS WHAT I DO: start with a sample in a pattern with a drum beat, then think of the next sound u would like to place after the first sample. look for a sound like the one you thought of, sample it, assign it to a pad, then assign the note variation slider to that pad in the tune mode.
Then play around witht the slider till u feel as if it sounds good to ur ear. Once ur satisfied go to trim and trim the sample how u wud like.

This is my way of doing it im pretty sure pete rock and them do the same or pretty much close to the same.
But its all about how good ur history of music is and how well ur ears are trained towards music.

it does really come down strictly to the ear... there are only 12 notes and its only a matter of odds that you can sample records with the same notes not always necessarily in the same key... its up to your ear to recognize the notes in key and chop and arrange accordingly.. if youre trying to get 2 loops to match up well good look unless theyre in the exact same key you can tune all you want but it will only change every note in the loop by the same interval (a half step or one key up or down for every +10 or -10 you add in tuning) meaning if you have a loop in C major and another in a minor scale of a different key you could tune the loop to C but its still not in a relative scale seeing how one is minor one major however this in theory would work for loops in the same scale different key because once transposed all the notes will be relative to the scale once its tuned to the right key...

artist like pete rock and marco polo im guessing take different elements like chords, bass, guitar, piano strings in isolated parts of the record and chop and arrange them musically by ear and tuning the samples to fit the scale of the original for instance filter a bass line and maybe replay a bass over it then take a piano sample and chop and tune until the notes match the scale and key of the original sample...

NavNek wrote:Yeah, you can match either length or key by doin on the turntables, but not both, so how to solve that issue?

can you imagine how the Djs solve this "problem"??
Its really simple. If a wont fit in tempo AND key they wouldn't mix it after each other. They choose tracks that will work together and thats where layering loops comes from. Mixing records is the base for this.
Well in beatmakin you can also benefit from the possibility of cutting the sample so if two songs fit in key but not exactly in tempo you can cut the one that is a bit slower in 4th,8th or 16th slices and it will fit with the tempo of the slightly faster loop.

peace

NavNek wrote:Whatuppes,

Been wining about this for a long time now.. Did try it, but no result, search several fora, not a particular accurate answer;

Pete Rock, Marco Polo, Damu the Fudgemunk and others are using this technique;

They use samples from different records, but how do they do it?
I know you can stretch to a desired length, but how can U make the pitch sound right and harmonic among the other samples..

I know u got the timestretch and pitchshift function, but there certainly is an another way to match the tonals and the lengths of different samples from different records to match it..but how?

I really doubt that they time-stretch samples. (I think they almost never use it.)
Pete Rock, Marco Polo and Damu, they all know how to DJ. I think they all started out as DJs. Many times, ideas come with mixing or just listening different records, with a lot of trial and errors.
Once you get that aspect of making beat (if you are interested in making beats with samples, as you don't have to use samples to make dope beats), I'll know. It is like teaching how to ride bicycle by reading book. I am no expert on beat making, but their technique itself is quite simple, but they are great at realizing their ideas. But, how they process and trigger samples is often quite complex.

I agree you don't have to be a dj to have a well trained ear, but being as djs spend a lot of time making different sources 'work' together, it does help to have that background when you want to start doing it on a smaller, more precise scale with a sampler.

but yea, thats really the heart of the matter....timestretch, chop, pitch, simple selection....it doesn't matter what you use so long as it sounds good.

going back to the dj thing, when most people start djing they spend all their energy trying to match bpms and have songs mixing and overlayed with each other for as long as possible. the ironic thing about that is that if they are beginners, it likely sounds like crap, and they totally forget that whole 'sounds like' part, and instead focus on the masturbatory act of doing it anyway cause they think they know how to dj already, or think that they are somehow learning by making a horrible train wreck. yea everybody is going to trainwreck at first, but once you realise...ok...the only thing i need to do is make it SOUND GOOD, and it doesnt matter what you do to achieve that, you will quit trainwrecking.

this could translate to an mpc by somebody new to it thinking 'i have to chop this sample'. or 'i have to timestretch to make it work'.
no, you don't ;]. different techniques will work in different situations.
do what sounds good

I agree with Nogginj. I didn't imply that you have to be a DJ to have that skill, but having DJ background definitely help to match samples and more importantly, find sample bits to match your beat.

nogginj wrote:do what sounds good

I vote this for quote of the week. So simple but so true
peace

Trail and error
is what im on