Discuss the various methods you use in music production, from compressor settings to equipment type.
By Beginner Sat May 01, 2004 4:38 am
I've been experimenting with sampling like how kanye west do with his songs, but don't really know the proper way to do this right.

Can some of yall who do this type of sampling give me some advice and technics?
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By MistaMike4u Sat May 01, 2004 5:24 am
Best technique is to mess around wit it and find yourself.... don't try to sample "Like Kanye" or sample "Like Just Blaze" or "Like this producer" sample like urself... Chop some stuff up, do some crazy shyt wit it... and no technique but to go to your trim screen, chop shyt up, and put it together in a way that is pleasing to your ear.... Good Advice? Nah... not at all, but hey, it works, trust me, it works

By elmacaco Sat May 01, 2004 5:40 am
Not this speil again, just analyse what you've heard and work it out from there, join in if you like, but let him explore what he feels. A lot of cats started by imitating what they heard and are now very creative original artists. People don't want to know this to make tracks like him, just to learn techniques. Me and my homies ask each other "how did you do that!?!" all the time not to jack a style but to learn how certain sounds are achieved. We won't use them the same way, and we may never use it at all.

By phatbeats Sat May 01, 2004 12:37 pm
All you have to do is loop certain parts of the song together and sequence them.
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By MattMatiks PG Tue May 04, 2004 4:54 am
Another thing I'l tell you, Beginner... Kanye is down wit a big label... As a result, he gets a hold of the original reel-to-reel tapes and, therefore, has access to individual tracks of the songs he samples... Back in the day he didn't, but now that he's payin the big bucks for sample clearances he is... And he also includes a lot of original material on top of his samples... He's got that one girl that plays violin... She plays on like half of his album as well as that new Twista single he produced... So on top of having the master tapes to the recordings he has real musicians play on top of the samples to add originality and break the monotony... There's nothign truly special about what Kanye does in his sampling... He just has an ear for what sounds good... The best advice is to gain a good record collection of some rare off the wall sh*t and just sample what you feel...

Also, this question is a little too general... I could prolly give you some advice if you cited a specific song or style of his production... Are you referring to the sped-up vocals thing he does... Are you referring to the crazy chopped up voices he does sometimes... Or are you referring to something completely different.... Hit me back man... I'd love to help... oNe

By shabeatz Tue May 04, 2004 3:32 pm
Whats the advantage of havin the original reel to reel stuff...i can do the same thing he can do wit a regular album....I heard all his original samples he used and sounds the same to me....so that must not be the case
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By skalawa Tue May 04, 2004 4:13 pm
shabeatz,


individual tracks thts what it is, vocals not over lapping with snare(same frequency domain) so you can do more stuff, with the sounds at will

By Toecutter Tue May 04, 2004 8:57 pm
That master tape thing is a myth, but all the violin stuff is new, someone else told me also that he has a guy that plays MOTIF keys on top also... I can't cosign that cause I didn't hear that from anywhere other than word of mouth.
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By Sketchman Tue May 04, 2004 9:11 pm
Yup.

He has someone who plays keys for him.He shouts out his name in interviews, forgot the name though.

By Beginner Wed May 05, 2004 6:25 am
When I sample.. I play with the pitch on my TT until I get that nice chipmunk sound going..then I sample the part that I want into my 2000xl, and edit then loop it. I do the same thing over until I have all of the parts that I want.
But I'm not sure if I am doing the looping thing straight because sometimes I can't even recognize how many bars I am looping on a certain song.

How do some of you guys sample? What are your steps, and how do you count bars if there are no beats(kicks, snare)?
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By Cheech Wed May 05, 2004 8:01 am
Just snap your fingers or clap your hands to the music
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By sensewondah Wed May 05, 2004 7:28 pm
instead of sampling on 33 1/3 rotation, play a 33 1/3 record on 45rpm rotation.
chipmunks galore.
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By MattMatiks PG Thu May 06, 2004 8:09 pm
Kanye does get original master tapes... Just Blaze does the same thing... Plus it's pretty obvious that he does... You show where he got that bass from on Through the Wire... Have you ever heard Chaka Khan - "Throguh the Fire"... The vocals on that song have heavy strings and synth sounds in the mix that would be damn near impossible to filter out... And the bassline is almost non existant in that song it filters right into the mix... Yet on Kanye's "Through the Wire" you have a nice punchy bass with no synth sounds and the vocals are perfectly clean... It's a result of having the Master Tapes... Plus as skawala said... You can put your own drums and sounds on top without everything sounding muddy or clashing... You're less subject to having to match the snare or kick sound on the original recording.

I love Kanye's beats... There's no denyin he's got a talent for production... I'm jsut tryin tell beginner that some of what Kanye does is easier cause he's comin from a Big label with cash and the ability to do certain things that you just can't do in a bedroom studio...

Don't let that hold you down though... Everybody gotta start somewhere... The best tip I can give anyone tryin to pick up anyone's style is to just EAT , SLEEP , and BREATH their music... Listen to their songs over and over and try to mimic it by imagining how they might've done that particular beat and experimenting till you get that sound... Also if you happen to have the original sample that they used... That helps a lot too...

For instance, when I started out I was tryin to figure out how DJ Premier gets his sound... I loved the instrumental for "Above the Clouds" in particular... I researched online and found that he sampled John Dankworth and his Orchestra... I forget the name of the song... Anyways, I got a hold of the original sample and just chopped it until I figured out how he put it together... Those can be the best lessons in production because even if you can't figure out how the person did what they did... A lot of times you come across another technique that you wouldn't have though of otherwise... Then you got a new signature technique to add to your style....

Keep it up everyone... Peace.
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By enotide Thu May 06, 2004 10:00 pm
I think Madlib has some Master Tapes too, He has like a bunch of original Blue note stuff.
That would be dope to isolate and sample clean as hell.
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By sensewondah Thu May 06, 2004 11:12 pm
blue note gave him permission to use the vaults for a project. he doesnt have access to them anymore.

im sure with the success of that, theyll want him back for a round 2, but that was just for the shades of blue project.