newbie question? sampling right before it gets hot?

I just bought an mpc 1000. I'm not too familiar with sampling. When recording from vinyl through a dj mixer, is it best to record right before red or black in the mpc (right before it gets hot, cuz I know the meters may not be perfect)? Or is it better to sample a little lower? I want to get the best possible quality sample. So how should I record? How do professionals like pete rock record loops? If I am recording off of a cd player, and it is just playing strings, drums, or other instruments... Do I need to record them differently? How do I judge it through the metering.

Why don't you experiment and see what's best to your own ears.

As much into the red, without maxing out is what I usually aim for. On PC I use a program called Goldwave, anything in the yellow or red is a good usable sample. You don't want too quiet, and you don't want it to max out.

what do you mean max it out? so you are always recording inside the red(hot)???? I'm not understanding.

Record as loud as possible without clipping (going over into the red on a mixer).

You can always turn down samples but turning them up can introduce unwanted noise.

In summary, record it as LOUD as you can without distortion, unless of course you want distortion

RECORD as LOUD as you can Without it becomming all Distorted or "static-ee".

from what i know,

when going into a ADC its best to max out the meter on the digital recording device (i mean max it out without ever hitting the clipping indicator). That way your digital recording will have the highest resolution.

on the other hand, levels going into/out of analog gear is a little more flexible: there is not one specific 'clipping' point but more of a curve. So it might actually sound okay to go a bit into the red or whatever, judge with your ears.

i'm no professional so feel free to correct me on that.