Samples or Drums first?

Just wandering wat you guys like to do first. Most of the time i hit record, play around with the sample till i get a melody that i like. Then i bang out the drums surrounding that melody. So far its worked ok, but hasn't given me that "pro" feel im looking for. By pro i mean for everything to mesh well without it sounding like a bunch of chopped up stuff placed together over a tight drum loop.

Wat do u guys use?

peace......

Well, I like to hum my melodies first, then I memic it on the MPC. Then, I think of a drum pattern for it. That's not the way I always do it though. Sometimes, I'll lay down a drum pattern and add something over it later. I usually just play around with drums and sounds before I actually put something together. I dunno, I suppose it depends on my mood.

Dig to I find sumthan tight or just start a drum beat then find sumthan tight.

well put it like this.....you gotta make sure that each part of you sequence can stand on its own ..i.e. bass....drums(most def)...melody....and hits.....

Prah_860_ wrote:well put it like this.....you gotta make sure that each part of you sequence can stand on its own ..i.e. bass....drums(most def)...melody....and hits.....

Good point.

sometimes i make a real basic drumloop then find a sample and go from there filling drums in here and there and placing the chopped samples where they are needed.

Usually I start with a drum pattern and build layers around it... I let the drum beat play for a few till it's stuck in my head then I play my most recent records till I find samples that suit the feel of the drum beat. Once in a while if I got a hot sample or a hot sound or loop, I loop it first and build drums around it but that's rare, usually I prog drums first.

i cant stress how much the information that PRAH 860 gave. make sure everything can stand on it's own. if it only sounds good if you have everything playing together at one time, you'll have a hard time expanding the track. not to mention it sounds fuller and more professional

thanks for all the replies. I think thats my problem [only sounds good when everything is playing]. It seems like a logical thing wat Prah_860_ was sayin..so imma check it out...thanks for all the help..any more suggestions is appreciated