A word to the wise

Don't sample from the headphone/phones jack. I finally figured out why my drums sound like ****.

erb_985 wrote:Don't sample from the headphone/phones jack. I finally figured out why my drums sound like ****.

I sample from headphones sometimes, really no difference. You should put a preamp in between to sort it all out man.

I had always sampled out of the phones out but never really liked the way the drums sounded, kinda hollow. When I would turn up the gain on the receiver it had tendency to distort the sample without clipping in the mpc. So I tried the tape rec out which is a fixed volume(line level i'm guessing) but the sound is fuller to me. Idk maybe its all in my head, but I don't think the phones jack was intended for recording material. The receiver is not top of the line either so they could have skimped out on the quality of the phones jack as well.

get an audio interface. the built in soundcard on any laptop will always sound like sh!t compared to an actual interface.

I'm sampling from a turntable to a kenwood stereo/receiver to the mpc. It doesn't involve the computer in the chain.

crossings wrote:get an audio interface. the built in soundcard on any laptop will always sound like sh!t compared to an actual interface.

I think this depends on the situation, I can't recall ever hearing a track and going "that idiot sampled those drums through his generic sound card!"

drums no.. but i have sampled tons through a headphone jack as my main samples with no problem

Ill-Green wrote:

erb_985 wrote:Don't sample from the headphone/phones jack. I finally figured out why my drums sound like ****.

I sample from headphones sometimes, really no difference. You should put a preamp in between to sort it all out man.

This should do.

Yeah this thread needs a bit more specification.
Some audio gear has highly spec'ed headphone outputs...(example, roland vs2480, 2400 and 2000)
If you are talking laptops then that is one thing or the mpc then that is another. I find that the MPC 4000 headphone jack is an awesome output source (especially nice since it has a volume knob.)

I transfer sounds between many pieces of gear in many different ways. I find often that you just have to make sure you don't go too loud from one unit into another. I get great recordings through 1/8" as well.

So depends on the method and the gear. It's not universal.

Cheers,
Ian

Ian,

I agree 100% I sample thru all means and it all just depends on the gear. I have actually had gear (Roland MC-09.....) That sounded better out its headphone jack (1/8') than its main outs (rca). Less noise..... Maybe the unit I have has an issue but never sleep on any audio source. sometimes the headphone jack might just "filter" the drums or what not just the right way... I am all for the happy accidents..

Ha

****, dudes. Basic electronics would come in handy in this scenario....




What is the output impedance of the headphone jack on the device you are trying to sample? The MINIMUM input impedance should be 10x the output impedance.... (Headphones typically come in 50, 250 and 600 ohm impedances) This is only a guideline, and experimentation is key...but it's a basic starting point.

Also, a preamp is not the answer, a DI is what you need (although many preamps will have a DI input).

jonestown massacre wrote:
Also, a preamp is not the answer, a DI is what you need (although many preamps will have a DI input).

nah, they are talking about a midi preamp cause they mean the midi headphone output.

Oops, my bad..... Wish I could catch on to this new shit. I'm gonna go back to banging on pots and pans and rocking the air guitar. Maybe someday I'll be famous like Billie joe Armstrong from green day.

Bullshit.