Dig and Sample Methods

When you guys go on a dig and come home with new records, what method do you follow to get your samples?

Lately I've been buying stuff and sitting on it, only later to pull out an LP and skip the needle around looking for samples. I don't have enough time to sit through every LP I buy. The way I wish I could.

Also, as you go through your records do you have a session where you just sample, and then when you go to work on your songs you have a folder full of certain tempo loops, or maybe a folder of drums or strings or whatever. I've been thinking about breaking my work out into 'sampling' time vs. 'composing' time. Any thoughts?

I'm just trying to get ideas for a efficient way to extract samples from my vinyl. My real-world job takes up more time than I'd like...

what i do
digging: look for dope covers/names/anything that would have instruments i like
sampling: always listen to the intro skip thru the track to find shit if u find something good keep it move on...find somethin DOPE!!! listen to the whole song and construct from there

i name all my samples after the artist i sampled from just incase i do get big and have to pay for it...rza said it himself he had beats he wouldve loved to use on albums but he **** forgot what he sampled...

Cool thanks for the reply MegaTON.

That's a good point with the 'listen to the intros' wisdom, since it seems there is more than likely a good break or just solo'd instruments going on then.

I think my new method will be:
- listen to intros, skip around
- sample the good ish, save it according to artist
- rinse, repeat.

I'm just worried about having a huge cache of samples and not being able to remember where something is.

I'm new at this so I'm sure it takes time to get your most effective method down.

pick it and flip it

it sounds to me you wont last long in this...

you have to have time to listen to music , if there's not enuff time in a day to listen to rrecords then whats the use in buyin records, or buildin a collection
what you have to do is while your cleaning your room or your house you throw on a record and listen to it. at the same tme make mental notes or take notes and put them with that record so you can remeber what was on there.

this world is goin to fast and people want to make beats but have no time to listen to records to get samples. i dont see it lasting that long may be a few yrs tops . dont fall in to the rut make time to learn your craft, it will only make you better and listening to other music will give you a better sounding ear you'lll hear thing you havent before.

good luck with this

dopedee wrote:pick it and flip it

It cant be said no better.

The more u listen to records the better you'll be able to hear for samples, the more u can hear samples the more you can construct beats in ur head, the more u can hear it in ur head before u make it the better beats you'll make.

theres no science to it

the way i do it, i find a record (best parts are usually in the beginning, middle or end ) so i start listening from the beg. If i dont hear no lava, i keep moving the needle, until i find that lava.

when i find some dope sounds, i get to sampling.

simple

covers, names, years and labels. I usually listen to how the song sounds, if I dont hear the instrumentation I like I pass it up for another time. If I like the instruments I listen and hope something jumps out. Sometimes i hear grooves and dont' sample them. Just come back to it later, everyonce in a while I will hear something so ill I gotta make a beat then and there. But I usually try to just add to my sample folder on the computer. But other times like i know what I want and I can go to the artist. I can just listen to Tom Scott and grover for a few things, or I listen to a few more artist for a few more sounds I want. It varies basicll. No method to the madness

StonesThrow wrote:The more u listen to records the better you'll be able to hear for samples.

That is Soo true.
Its funny when my friends come through and watch me make tracks. They get so amazed when I pick out my samples their all like "Yo I didnt even hear nuthin right their" And I play it back for them and this still cant tell what im gonna do until I start chopping.

It seems people that are just starting out and are not used to sampling tend to always go for the OBVIOUS sample or make statements like "Most of the hot sh!t is in the beginning middle or end" Thats totally WRONG Listen to the ENTIRE song unless its just some completely WACK shyt and you know aint nuthing on there. I think its ok for someone with a more trained ear and thats pretty good at digging to skip through some songs because they know what their looking what their listening to and can tell if their would be a break or not by who produced the tracks.

dj e.d.e wrote:it sounds to me you wont last long in this...

you have to have time to listen to music , if there's not enuff time in a day to listen to rrecords then whats the use in buyin records, or buildin a collection
what you have to do is while your cleaning your room or your house you throw on a record and listen to it. at the same tme make mental notes or take notes and put them with that record so you can remeber what was on there.

this world is goin to fast and people want to make beats but have no time to listen to records to get samples. i dont see it lasting that long may be a few yrs tops . dont fall in to the rut make time to learn your craft, it will only make you better and listening to other music will give you a better sounding ear you'lll hear thing you havent before.

good luck with this

I totally agree and that is also why djing helps alot

Jacpot wrote:

StonesThrow wrote:The more u listen to records the better you'll be able to hear for samples.

That is Soo true.
Its funny when my friends come through and watch me make tracks. They get so amazed when I pick out my samples their all like "Yo I didnt even hear nuthin right their" And I play it back for them and this still cant tell what im gonna do until I start chopping.

It seems people that are just starting out and are not used to sampling tend to always go for the OBVIOUS sample or make statements like "Most of the hot sh!t is in the beginning middle or end" :wink: Thats totally WRONG Listen to the ENTIRE song unless its just some completely WACK shyt and you know aint nuthing on there. I think its ok for someone with a more trained ear and thats pretty good at digging to skip through some songs because they know what their looking what their listening to and can tell if their would be a break or not by who produced the tracks.

i agree to an extent...even marley marl dont waste his time wit samplin anymore lol he just pays people to find him loops/samples thats **** up to me but shit hes raw as **** so no hate

dj e.d.e wrote:
what you have to do is while your cleaning your room or your house you throw on a record and listen to it. at the same tme make mental notes or take notes and put them with that record so you can remeber what was on there.

good luck with this

I basically listen to my records whenever I can, like what you said, when I"m cleaning I throw records on reading, etc. The point of my post was to try and find efficient methods when you are listening.

So what I'm taking away from this is:
- Listen whenever you can
- Make post-it note remarks on record sleeves about what to sample

I was also looking for tips on organization schemes, you all have to forgive my compulsive need to organize shit buy I'm an engineer and it comes with the territory.
What I'm doing now is making folders for each album then storing samples from the album in a program in that folder. I can see all you older cats being like NO SH!T, hah, but now I've figure it out.

And as for that 'i won't last long comment' you don't quit what you love -- so, yeah, I'll be around.

Thanks for everyones input, I wish I had a record player at work...

risch wrote:

dj e.d.e wrote:
what you have to do is while your cleaning your room or your house you throw on a record and listen to it. at the same tme make mental notes or take notes and put them with that record so you can remeber what was on there.

good luck with this

I basically listen to my records whenever I can, like what you said, when I"m cleaning I throw records on reading, etc. The point of my post was to try and find efficient methods when you are listening.

So what I'm taking away from this is:
- Listen whenever you can
- Make post-it note remarks on record sleeves about what to sample

I was also looking for tips on organization schemes, you all have to forgive my compulsive need to organize **** buy I'm an engineer and it comes with the territory.
What I'm doing now is making folders for each album then storing samples from the album in a program in that folder. I can see all you older cats being like NO SH!T, hah, but now I've figure it out.

And as for that 'i won't last long comment' you don't quit what you love -- so, yeah, I'll be around.

Thanks for everyones input, I wish I had a record player at work...

sorry for that comment but from your post it seemed like you had no time to listen at all, maybe i just have to much time and i forget that the world still turn as well.

but are you talking about folders in your zip drive for your MPC or are you literaley talking folders and storing your records in them?

i dont originize the records i sampled but they are pretty close to , to some originizing i just throw them in a pile of soul breaks section and rock sections, yeah the notes help out when you need to get back to a record,at least for me.

Jacpot wrote:

StonesThrow wrote:The more u listen to records the better you'll be able to hear for samples.

That is Soo true.
Its funny when my friends come through and watch me make tracks. They get so amazed when I pick out my samples their all like "Yo I didnt even hear nuthin right their" And I play it back for them and this still cant tell what im gonna do until I start chopping.

It seems people that are just starting out and are not used to sampling tend to always go for the OBVIOUS sample or make statements like "Most of the hot sh!t is in the beginning middle or end" Thats totally WRONG Listen to the ENTIRE song unless its just some completely WACK shyt and you know aint nuthing on there. I think its ok for someone with a more trained ear and thats pretty good at digging to skip through some songs because they know what their looking what their listening to and can tell if their would be a break or not by who produced the tracks.

lol i actually find that to be true, most of the hot stuff is in the bg mid or edn, tru words. But i mean ofcourse i can find stuff anywhere on the record, ill take like 0.5 second chops that sound like nothing when u hear them but them flip it and get some nice stuff out of it. But from my experience i generally like the beg and end parts of records, or when they change up the vibe/mood, (which is generally somewhere in the middle).

But nonetheless, dont sleep on records, LISTEN CAREFULLY! u never know where they lava is