Discuss the various methods you use in music production, from compressor settings to equipment type.
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By mfbeta Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:29 am
Waddup yall....I have a question dats been bugging me forever and this may sound like a stupid ass question but bear with me I'm not some noob and this is kinda complicated to explain so hopefully someone understands wat I'm tryin to get at ill try to be as descriptive as possible w/o confusing u...

Most producers I study [Alchemist, Kanye, etc.] make beats where the chopped up sample[stabs] plays out and it sounds like its stretched out[example: the beginning loop of Jadakiss' "We Gon Make It or the "chipmunk scream"in the beginning of Kanye's "Two Words"] but its not timestretched though. Its more like it "sustains" the sound and lets it "BREATHE" until the next stab plays and it gives the beat a dramatic melodic touch to it[like the sound of a beautiful horn melody]...

I chop up my samples n rearrange them but the stabs will only play for a second so sometimes when I sequence the new loop I get silent gaps in it if I don't play the pads fast enough to cover up the silence n it sounds wack[like the loop is stuttering]...

I tried many diff reverbs in Pro Tools but to no avail it still doesn't sound the way I want it 2...so THE QUESTION IS...

Is this "stretched out breathing dramatic sound" achieved by using a *sustain pedal* with my MPC 4000/Fantom X8?...

My ears tell me its not timestretching because the sound quality and tempo aren't changed and reverb doesn't make it sound like its "infinetly" playing until the next stab goes off...anybody have a clue wat I'm tryin to get at???please help n thanx in advance!!!
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By binger0 Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:32 am
try delays or chrous effects.

By grimaybeats555 Thu Feb 24, 2005 11:01 am
Sample the end of the record. I mean the very end where the record just slides down to the paper. Sample that or from the beginning of a song on the record. Put some of that "air" in between your samples.
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By mfbeta Thu Feb 24, 2005 11:42 am
Thanks for the suggestion binger ill try a delay/chorus....that other tip about sampling air I doubt would help because the sounds don't stretch into silent air they let off a sustaining decay but thanks for the suggestion...

Any other advice fellow beatheads????a sustain pedal wouldn't help me achieve what I'm tryin 2 get?
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By mfbeta Thu Feb 24, 2005 11:43 am
Thanks for the suggestion binger ill try a delay/chorus....that other tip about sampling air I doubt would help because the sounds don't stretch into silent air they let off a sustaining decay but thanks for the suggestion...

Any other advice fellow beatheads????a sustain pedal wouldn't help me achieve what I'm tryin 2 get?

Cmon yall somebody must know the answer to this!

By Van Glorious Thu Feb 24, 2005 2:17 pm
There's probably an easier way of doing it.

But I'd copy the sample again.

Find a point in the 2nd sample where the sound is fairly constant ie; if the sound is 'funky fresh' put your start point at the 'sh' part of 'fresh'. Find an end point in the sample where the sample is about to end ie; the 'h' part.

Make a third copy of the sample and put your start point at the end point of the second sample and then the end part at the natural end of the sample.

You should then have the start of the sample, the middle part which you can loop as much as you want the end part for when you want the sample to naturally end.

That should be it unless you mean something else.
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By cyrus Thu Feb 24, 2005 7:48 pm
i know what your talkin about.

WEll, with notes its pretty easy, but ivetried differant things and sometimes they work and sometimes they dont. I have found its differant for every sound and youve most likely just gotta experiment.

BUt. If you can find a "loop point" and loop it like you would a multisample... but sometimes you cant find a perfect loop point, so you gotta do other things.

Ive also tried loopoing it like a multisample, even if there isnt a perfect loop, like a small portion of the end, but where the levels are still fairly consistant, then apply a filter over it, so you dont get pops, or big jumps.

Also adjust your decay so ther is more of a fade at the end, not just a cut. Then copy the end part (the part you want to sustain) then do the same thing with the attack and decy, then just overlay that with the first part.

Sometimes you can search the the track you are sampling, for the same note, but sustained.........this also works. I mean, its easier cause then the quality of the sample is the same, and you can just layer the second chop over it. Look in between sounds, it takes some very detailed listening.

Sometimes you can cover it up with some hum, or hihats, or even bass frequencies and you wont even notice. Some sort of texture that is part of the beat, so its not a blatent hum noise or something, but its frequencies cover the shit up. I mean, even things like back ground percussion that distract you from the chop, like a crash symbol.

Also ive noticed that sometimes ive heard artist lay the loop points, or chop points on main beats, like snares, and kicks....since most hiphop is mixed with the drums as the most important part, it ends up hidding the chops, just from pure fact that they are mixed louder.

Also try to interpolate a similar sound with your keybaord. Like if its a piano sound, find just one note, that you can combine with the sample that wont take from it, but that you can sustain with. Mix it real low, but get it to cover up the fact that its a chop.

IVe also noticed, that if i loop the end, if there is not a real smooth looping point, i can still incorporate it into the rhthym of the track, like even if the sound goes up or kind of pops, it can still get lost in the rhythm. SO just make sure the loop length is long enough that it matches the tempo of the track.

I mean, im just trying to give you ideas of what to try, as i have no straight answer. PEace.
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By binger0 Thu Feb 24, 2005 7:51 pm
nah i think he just trying to say make a sample have a longer tail or sustain and release. a pedal wont work cause it works with what u got allready. u could also drop the pitches to half the speed. i would mess with delay and chrous. delay would make it drift off.
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By Freedom Thu Feb 24, 2005 11:00 pm
You gotta learn how to multisample truly to get this down....

1 of two ways....If you are chopping notes that are piano type and are notinterupted by another note.. You can find the very end of the mote and loop it at a part where it is calm but still the note ..
So loop the waveform at the beginning of the calm and end of calm..
Then with that loop you set it to loop and then mess wit sustain....

So when you press down the pad the decay and sustain should be togheter matchd so when you let go it sustains out from the loop..

So the sample plays then the tiny loop decays out...
U can also set the lfos to filter just the last end of the note decay so it muffles like if fading...


2nd method..

Put reverb on the Sample and a tiny bit of croxx over delay.. Make sure they go from right to left..
Then record that And chop that up ...
Use that and then repeat until perfect..

By elmacaco Fri Feb 25, 2005 12:46 am
Sustain loop and release loop, if it works and you are good at it.

A sample's got to be pretty unique for me to mess with it like that though.
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By BRAVO Fri Feb 25, 2005 1:29 am
elmacaco wrote:Sustain loop and release loop, if it works and you are good at it.

A sample's got to be pretty unique for me to mess with it like that though.


Very true.....That can be more work than its worth.

Can I jus add, the pitched up vocal ur talking about at the start of two words is how the sample goes. He adds the suspence type effect to bridge it. Thats all....Nothing fidly going on there
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By punchdrunk Fri Feb 25, 2005 3:58 am
recycle is another alternative.

when you chop up stuff in recycle, it adds a longer tail that fades off of your original chops. you can control the length to a certain degree, but if you do it too long you can start to hear it basically playing the end of your sample backwards over and over.