Sample edit vs Program edit: whats the difference ? beginner

I'm new to the MPC X and the MPC workflow , so keep that in mind .
Thats actually what I'm trying to find is workflow to chopping and assigning samples .


I'm confused on when to use Sample edit vs Program edit , been looking around but could not find a definitive description for when to use the both of them .

For example , Ive discovered you can chop samples strait from Program mode with out even going into Sample edit mode but it appears ( and I could be wrong ) Sample edit mode is effected by what you do in program edit and vise-versa then to make it even more confusing , Sample edit mode also has a program edit tab . This makes it very confusing to me and my sample chops end up all over the place and keeps changing my start and end points of my sample chops .

Is there a fundamental principle or philosophy of chopping samples with Sample or Program modes , like why would you want to use one over the other or maybe there ment to be used together ?

I bought the MPC Bible and I think it's excellent but I'm still confused

It's fairly self explanatory. Sample edit = edit samples

Program edit = edit the program of samples.

You can't chop or slice from program edit. You do that work in same edit. I'll give you an example workflow:

1. Sample content
2. Save and/or assign to program pad
3. Go to sample edit... Trim, chop or process however (ie normalize, crop, timestretch etc.)
4. Let's say you chop up sections then save as a non destructive slices program.
5. Go to program edit.
6. Now you can adjust envelopes, assign lfos, adjust the filters, pitch and level per pad/slice. You can also tweak the start and end points of the slices.
Hope this clears up some of the confusion. I'm certain some one will explain this better.

Sample edit let's you physically edit the sample itself (trimming, normalize, silence, convert to mono, etc ) - and the possibility to chop your samples to assign them to a new program.

In the program edit, you assign your recorded, processed, chopped samples to the pads, and per pad you can change the settings of that sample (non destructive) - filter, ADSR, effects, LFO, etc.

If you look at it like a synthesizer...

The sample=the oscillator. Thats your sawtooth/pulse/sine/triangle/etc wave you would use on any synth. Unlike a regular synth, you get to **** with the sample instead of being stuck with a single waveform.

The progam=the preset, or patch made up of that oscillator/sample+filter+amp.

The sample is just the raw sound source. The program is how you play with that sound source.

A sample is basically just a sequence, or array, of amplitude values (bit depth, e.g. 16-bits) that represents what a microphone (or alternate source) heard every so often (sample rate, e.g. 44,100 Hz). This is a "raw" sound source when used in a synthesizer. There are a number of techniques you can use to manipulate this sample, at a basic level. What pitch is it (frequency, note, etc.), the start position (could be silent in the beginning), left and right loop points, the BPM if it's a rhythmic sample, etc. Things like that don't change the sound all that much, but it defines the waveform the way you want it to be seen. This is sample edit.

You could just play the sample at this point and that would be a sample player. Not really a synthesizer, per se, so the term is (or used to be at least) sampler. You can use a bunch of techniques here too, to play the sample at different pitch, etc. However, there is some basic flaws with this method. Don't get me wrong, it works, but there are ways to make the end result sound better.

Imagine a piano for example... the lower pitch sound is distinctly different than the higher pitch sound. Duh! Well, I am not talking about the pitch itself, but the timbre of the sound. The characteristics of sounds tend to change at different frequencies. So just pitching the one sample up and down by frequency, just isn't enough to make the program sound really good. What can we do?

We could increase the number of raw samples attained from the source, and spread them out across the frequency spectrum. Now when we play the sound, depending on which note is struck, we instruct the MCP to pick a raw sample closest in pitch to the note we want to play. This is where Programs come in.

We could literally sample a sound at every pitch (note) of a MIDI keyboard, and the result could be very realistic. Compared to the single sample being pitched up and down the frequency scale, sounding like either a squirrel or a trailer presenter of a 70's movie, it generally produces a better result. Not automatically though, because it takes a lot of work to get all samples at the right volume, played at similar pressure or thrust, strength, etc.

All these things of combining samples into an arrangement, is Program Edit.

There are also other reasons for a Program. What if we are not interested in this elaborate piano? Well, perhaps you want a setup with 13 different drum samples as one "drum machine"? That is a Program, as well. So...

Is it really the point of this question ?
or are you talking about the prog edit within the sample edit menu ?

I've been struggling with this issue as well, and I'm disappointed that nobody has really been able to answer your question. What I can't figure out is: If you chop up a sample in Sample Edit and use the chops to create a new drum program, and then go back into Sample Edit and change the chops/add new chops/etc, why do those edits sometimes get applied to the drum program, and sometimes not? That's one of several issues I've had related to your question. If you ever do find an answer, I'd love to hear it.

When sampling something new or loading a new sample always make sure your in a new program or have the pad selected you want it to go. Also keep in mind Al slices are linked unless you unlink them.

Then there are several bugs atm with sample chopping so that could give issues as wel.

brockvelocity wrote:and I'm disappointed that nobody has really been able to answer your question.

Okay. I am dissapointed that some people can't read...

bees80 wrote:

brockvelocity wrote:and I'm disappointed that nobody has really been able to answer your question.

Okay. I am dissapointed that some people can't read...

Great value-add again dude, keep it up grumpybutt.

Cases wrote:
Great value-add again dude, keep it up grumpybutt.

Thanks! Always gratefull to get loving words from cuntbuckets like yourself!

brockvelocity wrote:I've been struggling with this issue as well, and I'm disappointed that nobody has really been able to answer your question. What I can't figure out is: If you chop up a sample in Sample Edit and use the chops to create a new drum program, and then go back into Sample Edit and change the chops/add new chops/etc, why do those edits sometimes get applied to the drum program, and sometimes not? That's one of several issues I've had related to your question. If you ever do find an answer, I'd love to hear it.

New here too.
First you must search and understand non-destructive vs pad parameters slicing
In sample edit when editing in non-destructive ,edits apply to the drum program
On pad parameters it doesn't ,since parameters are tight to the drum pads (it's my way to memorize it)
But if you go to sample edit , there is also a "program" option. There the edits apply to the program too.

Curious if I am right or wrong...

You can manually chop samples directly in program edit.. copy the loop to several pads, go in one at a time and edit starts and stops, and FLATTEN each pad. I find this method quicker, for my purposes. I initially use sample edit mode to match a loop's tempo.. then I do the rest in prog edit mode.

I think they made it like that so you can retune your previously chopped samples from the program screen without having to jump back to the sample edit page. But yeah, it's confusing.

Sample Edit it Editing the Sample itself. Program Edit is Editing the Parameters of the Sample without Altering the Sample...

Kinda lol