Making a sample library

I just switched from using software primarily, to an mpc2000xl. For any experienced users I would like to know if there are any good techniques for organizing your sample library. I have external zip and the internal CF reader. Would you just keep all the samples you use from one song on a zip, or create sample and drum kits. After organizing everything on my computer hard drive I having trouble establishing a good system. Thanks in advance.

Lampdog wrote:Do both, kits and whole projects on zip.
Have your library on computer. Copy kits to zip as you need them.

thanks for the reply. Ill probably just have to transfer through the compact flash atm until i can get a usb zip drive for my pc.

don't forget, very important.


MAKE BACK UPS, multiple BACK UPS.

keep a back up off-site also.

very important

i dont use CF, but i have a 250 internal zip and an external usb zip connected to my computer.
making libraries on my zips (100 and 250) i usually organize with folders.

-for a song/beat i keep it all organized in a folder -programs (PGM) and sequence (SEQ) or ALL_PGMS, ALL (all sequences) etc...
- i keep my disks categorized by samples, drums and beats/songs.
i say for cf cards that have alot of storage space just make folders, but be careful might run into trouble if you make a folder in a folder. yes, i said a folder IN another folder. sometimes when you do this it doesnt let you get back to the Root folder.

my entire drum library is on my computer and just drag them onto a drum disk when needed. so only a fraction of what i have is on disk. however im only working with 100-250mb...

hope this helps...

tm90 wrote:I would like to know if there are any good techniques for organizing your sample library.

I save .wav files from the MPC to a ZIP disk and then to my PC, named after the sampled song's title.
the mpc truncates file names, which occasionally causes a bit of confusion for me. COLD~##, SOUL~##, WOMAN~, FUNKY~...and I'll have absolutely no idea if COLD1 and COLD2 are even from the same source.

So within my samples folder I have 5 sub-folders: drum breaks, fx [one shots], Vocal, loops, drumkits. My drum breaks are in directories named by artist-song title so I don't waste time confusing which Get Out My Life Woman i'm looking for.

the fx folder is for isolated instrument samples like synths, guitar, organ...etc. It's too confusing trying to differentiate "Moog", "Sound Effects", or"synth", so I keep the FX folder pretty unstructured. everything else goes into the loops folder.

I use my PCs search function when i know exactly which sample i want, and I store my completed songs on ZIP disks with a single APS file and a single ALL file, and delete all unused sounds w/ the MPC function.

thats pretty much it.

nothing sucks more than loading an aps and not being able to find your sounds. A close second is losing your track data.

Abend wrote:

tm90 wrote:I would like to know if there are any good techniques for organizing your sample library.

I save .wav files from the MPC to a ZIP disk and then to my PC, named after the sampled song's title.
the mpc truncates file names, which occasionally causes a bit of confusion for me. COLD~##, SOUL~##, WOMAN~, FUNKY~...and I'll have absolutely no idea if COLD1 and COLD2 are even from the same source.

So within my samples folder I have 5 sub-folders: drum breaks, fx [one shots], Vocal, loops, drumkits. My drum breaks are in directories named by artist-song title so I don't waste time confusing which Get Out My Life Woman i'm looking for.

the fx folder is for isolated instrument samples like synths, guitar, organ...etc. It's too confusing trying to differentiate "Moog", "Sound Effects", or"synth", so I keep the FX folder pretty unstructured. everything else goes into the loops folder.

I use my PCs search function when i know exactly which sample i want, and I store my completed songs on ZIP disks with a single APS file and a single ALL file, and delete all unused sounds w/ the MPC function.

thats pretty much it.

nothing sucks more than loading an aps and not being able to find your sounds. A close second is losing your track data.

do you use a track sheet, i styarted that when i first started,but my music went else where, i just ran into a copy the other day, i think i better start using one again.

in 10 years i never used that function of purging .i've been thinking about using it lately but not sure . can u pm me some details on that, if you dont mind..?

thanks

dj e.d.e wrote:

Abend wrote:

tm90 wrote:I would like to know if there are any good techniques for organizing your sample library.

I save .wav files from the MPC to a ZIP disk and then to my PC, named after the sampled song's title.
the mpc truncates file names, which occasionally causes a bit of confusion for me. COLD~##, SOUL~##, WOMAN~, FUNKY~...and I'll have absolutely no idea if COLD1 and COLD2 are even from the same source.

So within my samples folder I have 5 sub-folders: drum breaks, fx [one shots], Vocal, loops, drumkits. My drum breaks are in directories named by artist-song title so I don't waste time confusing which Get Out My Life Woman i'm looking for.

the fx folder is for isolated instrument samples like synths, guitar, organ...etc. It's too confusing trying to differentiate "Moog", "Sound Effects", or"synth", so I keep the FX folder pretty unstructured. everything else goes into the loops folder.

I use my PCs search function when i know exactly which sample i want, and I store my completed songs on ZIP disks with a single APS file and a single ALL file, and delete all unused sounds w/ the MPC function.

thats pretty much it.

nothing sucks more than loading an aps and not being able to find your sounds. A close second is losing your track data.

do you use a track sheet, i styarted that when i first started,but my music went else where, i just ran into a copy the other day, i think i better start using one again.

in 10 years i never used that function of purging .i've been thinking about using it lately but not sure . can u pm me some details on that, if you dont mind..?

thanks

abeen's process seems really good and structured. me too after a while when i have so many FX sounds or samples or whatever i just pile them into one folder and scroll through that. its always good to search with a computer than just only your mpc. it saves mucho time.

i find that its very good to PURGE. i purge when im def sure that i dont want certain sounds on a specific beat. it basically helps save space if thats something you want to maintain. if you have a CF reader and can supply up to 2GB or more then it really isnt necessary i guess, but if you want to free up internal memory on your akai especially if you have an old school one like myself(2kxl) then you'd want to purge.
PURGE:
shift+6
drum1(f1)
f3 for purge

now, it will say a certain number to the right, which will most likely be "0". that is how many sounds you dont have programed meaning you have that many sounds NOT programmed to a particular pad. what sucks is that if you dont remember which sound it is you have go search for it. in order to make a sound un-programable (if that makes any sense) you simply go back to program mode (shift+6), hit the pad of the sound you dont want, highlight the sound name and then scroll all the way to the left until it says OFF. then when you go to purge mode, it will show "1" if your it was zero before. (unless that sound is on another pad).

purging is really good for me since i come back to beats that i made years ago and it just gives me kinda clean slate for the beat... its the worst to have a beat and i only used 7 drums, but theres 36 more drums on the program. if the beat is 2 years old i have to go back from the beginning and find which sounds i used on each pad --a tedious process.

ok i hope this makes sense. good luck!

mumkai wrote:
abeen's process seems really good and structured. me too after a while when i have so many FX sounds or samples or whatever i just pile them into one folder and scroll through that. its always good to search with a computer than just only your mpc. it saves mucho time.

i find that its very good to PURGE. i purge when im def sure that i dont want certain sounds on a specific beat. it basically helps save space if thats something you want to maintain. if you have a CF reader and can supply up to 2GB or more then it really isnt necessary i guess, but if you want to free up internal memory on your akai especially if you have an old school one like myself(2kxl) then you'd want to purge.
PURGE:
shift+6
drum1(f1)
f3 for purge

now, it will say a certain number to the right, which will most likely be "0". that is how many sounds you dont have programed meaning you have that many sounds NOT programmed to a particular pad. what sucks is that if you dont remember which sound it is you have go search for it. in order to make a sound un-programable (if that makes any sense) you simply go back to program mode (shift+6), hit the pad of the sound you dont want, highlight the sound name and then scroll all the way to the left until it says OFF. then when you go to purge mode, it will show "1" if your it was zero before. (unless that sound is on another pad).

purging is really good for me since i come back to beats that i made years ago and it just gives me kinda clean slate for the beat... its the worst to have a beat and i only used 7 drums, but theres 36 more drums on the program. if the beat is 2 years old i have to go back from the beginning and find which sounds i used on each pad --a tedious process.

ok i hope this makes sense. good luck!

Good info... so in a nutshell, purging is the process of removing all un-used sounds in the memory?

Dude... is there ANYWAY that you could post a youtube video of you going through this??

Good info... so in a nutshell, purging is the process of removing all un-used sounds in the memory?

Dude... is there ANYWAY that you could post a youtube video of you going through this??

ask and you shall recieve

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EYRPAqrrxw

peace
m

Mumkai THANKS MAN.
AFTER ALL THESE YEARS I FUINALLY UNDERSTAND IT.

IVE TRIED IT BE4 BUT DIDNT GET NOTHING LIKE YOU SAID IT READ 0, SO I HAVE TP TURN OFF THE SOUND IN THE PROGRAM TO GET IT TO SHOW UP ON THE PURGE SCREEN

GOT YUO
THNKAS AGAIN

regarding memory usage,purging program/songs....


you should never, evereverevereverever, run out of sample time. ever


ever


32mgs=189.2 seconds @44,100khz 16-Bits. that's over 3 minutes.

hiphop's most common break is 4 seconds at most.

even with 10 other sounds at the same tempo, you're 130 seconds short.

I use my PC to audition sounds before I throw them onto a zip disk by opening multiple files and playing them in different media players. Cuts down having to load sounds, see what they sound like , load another, etc etc.

may sound stupid, but it works.

Abend wrote:regarding memory usage,purging program/songs....


you should never, evereverevereverever, run out of sample time. ever


ever


32mgs=189.2 seconds @44,100khz 16-Bits. that's over 3 minutes.

hiphop's most common break is 4 seconds at most.

even with 10 other sounds at the same tempo, you're 130 seconds short.

I use my PC to audition sounds before I throw them onto a zip disk by opening multiple files and playing them in different media players. Cuts down having to load sounds, see what they sound like , load another, etc etc.

may sound stupid, but it works.

I run out of sample time most of the time due to drum layering. id have 4 of the same SOUNDING kick however all four are just a bit different from each other. i always purge to make more room, but sometimes i have cut up a sample to make even more room. its a very subjective topic because every beat is different.

dj e.d.e wrote:Mumkai THANKS MAN.
AFTER ALL THESE YEARS I FUINALLY UNDERSTAND IT.

IVE TRIED IT BE4 BUT DIDNT GET NOTHING LIKE YOU SAID IT READ 0, SO I HAVE TP TURN OFF THE SOUND IN THE PROGRAM TO GET IT TO SHOW UP ON THE PURGE SCREEN

GOT YUO
THNKAS AGAIN

were you drunk when you typed this , Ed?

mumkai wrote:

Good info... so in a nutshell, purging is the process of removing all un-used sounds in the memory?

Dude... is there ANYWAY that you could post a youtube video of you going through this??

ask and you shall recieve

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EYRPAqrrxw

peace
m

I owe you a six pack! cheers