Sampling Do's and Dont's

For me, personally.

Don't: Use more than seven seconds of a sample.
Do: Make sure you get a good signal to noise ratio without clipping.

I'll share a couple that are important to me:

Don't sample from re-issued copies of records. It doesn't need to be the absolute first pressing, just not a full-blow reissue...

Also, don't sample from compilation/collection albums either. That's just tacky.

esoteric wrote:You're a herb, if you say you dig all the time
but can't find a sample from beats to the rhyme
A herb, if you claim your raps is official
But everything you sample is a f***ing re-issue

Particular Cat wrote:I'll share a couple that are important to me:

Don't sample from re-issued copies of records. It doesn't need to be the absolute first pressing, just not a full-blow reissue...

Also, don't sample from compilation/collection albums either. That's just tacky.

esoteric wrote:You're a herb, if you say you dig all the time
but can't find a sample from beats to the rhyme
A herb, if you claim your raps is official
But everything you sample is a f***ing re-issue

Pinky out?

RoyGBivs wrote:Pinky out?

When in doubt, pinky out.

For me


Do: Sample from different records and layer.

Don't: Be scared to experiment, even if it sounds like shit.

also (just a side note)



Don't: make Dubstep.

DO: sample anything that is isolated sound, IE just a break with drums, or a break down with bass and drums, or a section of just vocals, or a section with just 1 instrument.

DO:: sample individual hits like drum machines, run them through your EQ/reverb on your mixer and make them different, regardless of if they sound better, different is more important than better.

DON'T: leave a sample untouched. You can at least EQ or change pitch, or filter out bass, HI-PASS filter is really great, you can effectually get more grit, Hi end and character by filtering bass then turning the signal up overall.

Try recording to tape first, or sampling direct from vinyl. or also transfering via audio outs from one sampler to the other, normalize, and trade again.

DO:: sample FM or AM radio for thier respective sound qualities.

es-k wrote:

tapedeck wrote:do what you want
don't think there are any rules

im gonna second that...

**** rules, some of my best beats have been made with 128 mp3s.... get real folks, it dont matter as long as it sounds dope..

u just gotta learn how to mix, and make it sound dope.. if it does, it does.. if it doesn't it doesn't.. no matter what u sample or where its from


my personal DON'Ts do include the fact that i havnt sampled anything made in the 90s or sooner... 89 and earlier for me. i also like using stuff by artists who i dont recognize, or are relatively unknown.. both are kinda silly and are not RULES, its just how i roll

thats crazy i have the same rule for myself...lol about sampling post 80's...lol beside scratching samples.

Can someone tell me why is it wrong or not recommended to sample MP3 files?
And if so,what kind of files is it recommended to sample?Wav?

DJ Miel wrote:Can someone tell me why is it wrong or not recommended to sample MP3 files?
And if so,what kind of files is it recommended to sample?Wav?

Because they are a fraction of the data in a full resolution file and sound thin when placed in a mix with full resolution files. I see huge numbers of people in denial about this. If you don't hear that the mp3's are thin against full resolution files I don't know what I can say. If it's absolutely necessary to sample mp3's (to me it never would be, just source the original or get a lossless file if it's worth sampling) try to use 256/320kbps ones. They at least have a fighting chance in a mix with higher quality files.

On the reals, all these crab MP3's know the deal, and when I image my lossless sound all they'll probably do is limit the temporal spread of quantization noise, but chill.

The sad part is that if your music ever makes it, it eventually turns into an mp3.

DJ Miel wrote:Can someone tell me why is it wrong or not recommended to sample MP3 files?
And if so,what kind of files is it recommended to sample?Wav?

because......

if you use an mp3 like this here




you'll miss something compared to the original.
.
.

Wanna know what you'll miss?

this here



but you might won't notice that you miss it

peace

Ian Canefire wrote:
Don't...
Sample from youtube. (unless it is movie dialogue)

cheers,
Ian

wut....

Youtube is a library of unfathomable possiblities.

Don't...
Listen to this guy. Sample anything and everything.

I agree with galganael.

On a more serious note, what I meant was (and I live by this) that you should try to capture the best quality of sound that you can if you want to sample. I sample from records because I enjoy the warm sound. Having the ability to sample at 24/44.1(or higher) sounds better than a sample taken at 16/44.1.
I find that listening to records on youtube do not sound as good as those same records I own.
When I responded to this thread it was mainly in jest. I honestly do not think artists need to seek rules. Looking for rules somehow makes one look like they are not confident in there craft or decision making.
So definitely listen to Galganael and DON'T listen to me. I guess my sarcasm was lost in here.
Cheers,
Ian

My apologies, you didn't come off as sarcastic to me. To the OP, keep in mind that the "quality" in youtube doesn't only apply to video, but audio as well. Like Ian said, get the highest quailty you can.