chopping samples with perfect timing

The way I chop samples is I cut a part of the song I want to use that is 4 beats per measure and I load them onto my MPC where I use the chopshop feature and I count the number of pads to the beats in the sample I just loaded. Usually the samples will use 16 pads or 32 so I go to "Mode: Equally" and chop the sample into 16 pads.

but what I'm experiencing lately is that the timing is slightly off when I hit the pads. It's not a hardware issue, it's just because the MPC is chopping the sample "Equally" into 16 pieces, some chops don't start where the beat begins, and I don't want to have to edit the START and END highlights of each chop of my sample to get everything right.

Is there a way to fix this? Is my method of chopping samples a lot harder than what most people are doing?

thanks

kpacardo wrote:The way I chop samples is I cut a part of the song I want to use that is 4 beats per measure and I load them onto my MPC where I use the chopshop feature and I count the number of pads to the beats in the sample I just loaded. Usually the samples will use 16 pads or 32 so I go to "Mode: Equally" and chop the sample into 16 pads.

but what I'm experiencing lately is that the timing is slightly off when I hit the pads. It's not a hardware issue, it's just because the MPC is chopping the sample "Equally" into 16 pieces, some chops don't start where the beat begins, and I don't want to have to edit the START and END highlights of each chop of my sample to get everything right.

Is there a way to fix this? Is my method of chopping samples a lot harder than what most people are doing?

thanks

if i ever use auto chop, it's just for approximate measuring because it's nearly impossible for the loop to be 'perfect' there's going to be minor time differences in every sample. you might have to nudge a little here and there. you gotta manually do it man. you can play w/ velocity a little and that can help, but you said perfect so, quit being lazy and chop manually. zoom in on your samples to get pin point accuracey.

let me rephrase that then haha, not perfect but at least on time

is that how you cut your samples up? zoom in and manually cut them? or is there an easier/faster way to do these things

thanks for your help btw

Make sure that attack levels are set to zero. If you have an attack on them then they could sound delayed.

Perfect chops require perfect math skills. If you chopped a sample and it loops perfectly, then look at the End point digits (assuming the Start point is at zero) and multiply or divide that number by either 2, 4, 8, or 16.

So if you sampled some Wes Montgomery guitar, and chopped out a piece with the End point at, lets say 36000. To carve out the rest of the samples from that song, you'll have to take 36000 and divide (when chopping small) or multiply (chopping big loops) to figure the rest of the chops.
Dividing :
2 = 18000
4 = 9000
etc.
Multiply:
2 = 72000
4 = 144000
etc

As long your first sample was chopped the way you like, the numbers will give you precise chops after.

This thread make me wonder if anyone here know a software that has kind of a "intelligent slice" funcition. By "intelligent" I mean: you can set the amount of slices and it will not only chop this number of slices but also consider the transients. This would be a cool feature. Even nicer would be a feature that automatic timestrech every of these slices to the length of the longest slice.

peace

peterpiper wrote:This thread make me wonder if anyone here know a software that has kind of a "intelligent slice" funcition. By "intelligent" I mean: you can set the amount of slices and it will not only chop this number of slices but also consider the transients. This would be a cool feature. Even nicer would be a feature that automatic timestrech every of these slices to the length of the longest slice.

peace

What about recycle?

To the OP: maybe I'm missing the point... but after I slice in say 16 equal parts, I adjust ALL slices start n end points to fit the transients, because unless you're chopping straight tekno or Electro, the natural swing will place odd accents a bit further, if you see what I mean... just one of each two slices would be (roughly) in time when you automatically chop.

peterpiper wrote:Even nicer would be a feature that automatic timestrech every of these slices to the length of the longest slice

I think the MV 8000/8800 as well as the MPC5000 have something similar to this.

kaybee wrote:

peterpiper wrote:Even nicer would be a feature that automatic timestrech every of these slices to the length of the longest slice

I think the MV 8000/8800 as well as the MPC5000 have something similar to this.

Yup yup, the MV got a chop function called Divide X that can chop like that.

yea the mv got auto timestretch, and it has an auto chop feature that chops ur sample in different ways, either by volume level, or a specified number of chops, mv8k is the nutsak

Seams to me that the OP is just too lazy to chop properley, expecting the MPC to do all the work.. man tht's not how this shit works.. How you chop your samples is a major part of developing ur own style.. Shit like that is why some shitheads feel the right to say samplists are not making original music..

I use Logic to chop and then just load into the MPC. This way I can very quickly chop whatever I want. If its a one bar loop, I will just chop it into 1/4 notes if it's a faster loop, if it is slower I will chop in 1/8 or 1/16 notes, checking each chop quickly to make sure it starts where I want to. Other than that I will just chop certain sounds, sweeps, rolls, places that I think will sound cool to cut in half way....I duno, just what I got used to I guess. I probably did not help very much since I chop in Logic and not the MPC.