Sample Sound Quality and Methods

Support and discussion for all of Akai’s modern standalone MPCs including the MPC X / X SE, MPC Live 1, 2 & 3, MPC One / One+, MPC Key 37/61.
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Sample Sound Quality and Methods

By Terrico Mon Jan 11, 2021 2:17 pm
Good Day.

Im hoping to receive some education on Sampling Sound quality. What technique would help you achieve the best sound quality in your opinion.

1) Sampling directly from your phone into the sampler or
2) Using an MP3 converter

Much appreciate the advice!!!

Re: Sample Sound Quality and Methods

By Terrico Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:33 pm
Your right brother. Just trying to get up to speed with the terminology. Brand new world for me and can be frustrating at times. Thanks for all the help

Re: Sample Sound Quality and Methods

By J.O.BEATS Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:33 pm
Friendly advice..... Focus your energy on your skills and not with sample sound quality mp3 etc. Make music and work on your art rather than worrying about things that aren't as important. It doesn't matter how you sampled something if the track isn't any good.
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But we still use mp3’s, etc, etc.

By Lampdog Tue Jan 12, 2021 12:46 am
Quality.

Uncompressed 48/24 wavs sampled from real instruments. Only.

Phone sucks azz. MP3 sucks azz.
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Re: But we still use mp3’s, etc, etc.

By EnochLight Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:38 am
Lampdog wrote:
Phone sucks azz. MP3 sucks azz.


Nonsense. In a mix, the vast majority of the listeners won't be able to tell any difference (in the context of sample content), especially between a high bitrate 320 Kbps MP3. And telling someone "phone sucks azz" is disingenuous - there is a veritable gold mine of material on YouTube that's at your disposal. Use it.
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Re: Sample Sound Quality and Methods

By Elpimpo Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:44 am
Lamp is saying "best Practices" is to prioritize and seek the use of the highest quality sound whenever possible. This is an AGES old and very common sentiment among any music producers no matter the genre or platform.

JoBeats and Enoch are saying not to limit ones self by religiously living by that rule.

You are all correct ya know.

OP: if you have access to .wav use that. Don't actively seek to convert MP3 to WAV because the converter won't magically "uncompress" the sample. It will only change the file DNA to be .wav. If MP3 is all you have just use it as-is there is no need to convert it unless the hardware or soft ware you are using it in does not read the filetype.
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Re: Sample Sound Quality and Methods

By EnochLight Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:10 am
Elpimpo wrote:JoBeats and Enoch are saying not to limit ones self by religiously living by that rule. .


Pretty much. It's just that the OP was trying to sample from Spotify in another thread, and that's already a lossy file format as it is. These days - especially with a lot of producers going for that "low fi" sound, stressing over whether you're sampling from a phone, YouTube, Spotify, or a beat up old record that sounds like it's been ran over by a truck really doesn't matter IMHO. The dirtier, the better in fact. :lol: :wink:

Fun fact: the vast majority of music is consumed on cellphones via shitty ear buds in a lossy format. It's a travesty, but it is what it is. :|
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Re: Sample Sound Quality and Methods

By Lampdog Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:11 pm
Nope, they suck azz, but we still use mp3’s is what my subject said.
I do to and I realize they suck. We all realize it’s not the best quality also.

Re: Sample Sound Quality and Methods

By CharlesRandolph Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:23 pm
Lampdog wrote:Nope, they suck azz, but we still use mp3’s is what my subject said.
I do to and I realize they suck. We all realize it’s not the best quality also.



Agree. That's why I say give me the best quality I can get, then let me degrade it as much as I want.
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Re: Sample Sound Quality and Methods

By NearTao Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:25 pm
If it sounds good it is good... but since good is subjective... what you think sounds good may not sound all that hot to others...

Ultimately if you want to use .mp3 files, or sample off of them... it's fine... but the problem with starting there is that once the "information" is lost, you can never recreate it. So... the thinking of starting with better source material is that you have more "information" to work with, and can do things like time stretching, warping, filtering... and can work your way through what you want to turn the content into. This is not always an option for working with lossy or otherwise lower quality sound sources.

Again though... if it sounds good, it is good...
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Do I always get it, nope, but, I live on.

By Lampdog Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:37 pm
CharlesRandolph wrote:....give me the best quality I can get, then let me degrade it as much as I want.



Image

Re: Sample Sound Quality and Methods

By CharlesRandolph Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:55 pm
NearTao wrote:If it sounds good it is good... but since good is subjective... what you think sounds good may not sound all that hot to others...

Ultimately if you want to use .mp3 files, or sample off of them... it's fine... but the problem with starting there is that once the "information" is lost, you can never recreate it. So... the thinking of starting with better source material is that you have more "information" to work with, and can do things like time stretching, warping, filtering... and can work your way through what you want to turn the content into. This is not always an option for working with lossy or otherwise lower quality sound sources.

Again though... if it sounds good, it is good...


Other options when working with the best quality I can get, is that I can always go back to the source. When I sample a horn, I want that sample to be as close to that actually horn as I can. Mr Davis or Mr Coltrane, didn't sample their horn to get those tones.

Sample from a MP3 that's off of YouTube or Spotify is like 8+ generations from the masters recordings. That's why we look for original pressings that are about least 3 generations from masters. But like I said before, I'll sample it all, dirty, clean, masters, direct. But when the vaults are opened to the original multi-tracks or actual instruments that's what I'm chopping.
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Re: Sample Sound Quality and Methods

By 83dude Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:33 pm
Quick tip: listening twice to the same mp3 never produces the same results, since psychoacoustical applications take place. They are not discrete in terms of amplitude and time. If possible, ALWAYS use WAV. mp3 is a so-called consumer format sacrificing quality providing usability: It‘s compact and transports well across devices. Think of it as cash: bills do transport much better, but only coins give you enough „detail“ to make a difference between 0.39 and 0.41 instead of compromising somewhere else.
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