sample hoarding is a disease that kills creativity

^^ I keep almost everything... from started and failed projects too... Don't know how many new tracks i've started just from taking old parts from failed tracks and reusing them and finding a better use for the material.. The thing is (imo) no matter how shit a sample or project sound, there aren't really any bad sounds.. Just bad uses, wrong sound in the wrong context etc... I've come to that conclusion from many occasions of finding the right spot for a sound I previously thought were shit.. So now I tend to keep everything and only delete stuff when I need the space.... But external HDD's are pretty cheap these days!

Ibunshi wrote:^^ I keep almost everything... from started and failed projects too... Don't know how many new tracks i've started just from taking old parts from failed tracks and reusing them and finding a better use for the material.. The thing is (imo) no matter how shit a sample or project sound, there aren't really any bad sounds.. Just bad uses, wrong sound in the wrong context etc... I've come to that conclusion from many occasions of finding the right spot for a sound I previously thought were shit.. So now I tend to keep everything and only delete stuff when I need the space.... But external HDD's are pretty cheap these days!

Yeah I kind of lean towards your views and the value of having it be likely you already have the sound you need through deep archives. One time I was doing some dub/reggae stuff and I had a crazy thought I wanted a Sistrum, an Ethiopian instrument that is described as being used in Israel in Biblical times. I figured I'd need to substitute a finger bell or whatever. Typed in the search box, bam! I had two samples of one.

Totally agree on saving everything and resampling/recycling/re-arranging you own stuff. HDD's? ...I got 7 running total.

it is defo worth while spring cleaning and deleting them wack samples that u know are not up to par

but dont delete everything in one session cos u might have off hearing one day and regret it.

but when i go thru my samples if i find i am consistently considering the same group of samples for deletions that lets me know the shit is prolly wackness.

but trust as u get new sounds some of ur older sounds seem less viable so gotta cutaway those useless weeds.

but defo helps to have shit sorted inso sub cats and favorites

It's similar to staring at a blank canvas with a million colors and not knowing where to begin. Too many options and confusing interfaces. Maybe sorting samples by their sound rather than their commercial pack name would help.
BTW; Is there a sample pack exchange thread in this forum,other than the vinyl digging section, I've got heaps of arabic sounds for trade., no Aladdin Arabian nights cliché,

Ill-Green, you collabed Tigermoth right? That's one of my best friends, small world. He came and stayed with me in the US/San Diego.

Keep your setup simple. I have got 2.5 terabytes worth of samples through the years. I never use them either. If its out of sight it's out of mind. The largest sample library I use is the kontakt 4 library. I try to streamline my drum kits too because you forget about them if you haven't used them in a while.