5th Sequence
Hip Hop Head, Certified
Fellow wax enthusiasts, share your tips, tricks, techniques and methodology to digging!!!
I'll start it off. Keep in mind, a lot of the stuff seems basic but it may help someone else out who would otherwise not know much about this art.
When Digging
- Leave no record unturned! The one you skip could easily have been that one jem you found last week.
- Inspect the unique looking covers for a unique sound. I love buying records that i don't think anyone else would fuck with. It's also good to have unique sounds in general (i'll get more into it later). I also buy records with hot or naked women on them whenever i randomly come across them (if she's compelling enough lol). Yeah, i dont know why aha, I've yet to make a hit from this. If you don't have a dozen hawaiian chicks in your sample library yet, shame brotha, shame.
- Inspect the year - As any experienced digger knows, a lot of 80's stuff has a stiffer processed sound then the soul of the 70's era records do. Check out a record by its cover, then check the year and see if it still seems like something you want to cop.
- Check the instruments!! Look on the back and see if it gives any details about musicians and what instruments are played on the track. You can peice together a very vague idea of what you'll be dealing with before you buy it. If you see banjo, put the record back.
- Check the instruments part II!! Look at the instruments and then think in terms of what you have, don't have, and what you want more of in your sample library. (I'll touch more on this later).
- Cop some solo instruments. anytime you see "Concerta" I think? someone correct me if i'm wrong but i think thats the term for solo that is used a lot. Either way, look for solo's of whatever you can.
- Do multiple record shops. If you can, hit multiple locations (till you get a feel for who gets new stuff, and the quality of it). This is somethin i personally need to change cuz my lazy ass goes to the same place and it's not even that good lol. You also gotta keep in mind quality vs quantity. Right now i'm going for quantity so i'm getting ALL my shit out of .25 and .50 cent record bins. Sometimes i splurge and blow my money in the jazz section.
When listening to samples
-start with the hawaiian chicks. Don't lie!! You know you buy those records everytime!! (LOL.. na.. we figure out it's the same sound after around the 8th record lol)
-As far as listening to your newly purchased wax treasury, think about building your sample library with as many sounds as you can. When I say sample library, I mean an actual folder on your computer, extra zip disks or whatever to just store sounds that you sample. I'm not sure how difficult it would be to store sounds on zip disks, but try to keep it organized. I have folders for every instrument i can think of inside my main "Vinyl Samples" folder.
I break it down to the obvious orchestra, keys, bass, brass, guitar, pads, synth, drums (nside drums i have kick, snare, hihat, rolls, breaks, misc), full samples and unique. I may have missed one, but you get the idea. What I personally do when I listen to my vinyl is i'll record anythingthat I think could be remotely useable and store it into one of those subfolders.
As soon as i put the needle on the wax, i'm listening analytically for what I can record. Fuck I even record the different "vinyl crackle" at the beginning of songs from different records (they do sound different you know). This is great for adding more vinyl texture to a sound that needs to be dirty'd up. Great for drum work right there.
As your listening to the record.... listen for the intro. The intro may be a build up of instruments that gets into the body of the beat. This is great for getting usable material to sample and manipulate because the drums and rest of the song arent fully into their thing yet.
Or.. you may be lucky enough to have a drum fill intro in whichcase you sample the drums and then add it to your drum folder. This is KEY, you will have so many raw drum samples that you're stuff will never sound the same.
Keep listening.. as the song is going on.. listen to anyspots where the bassline sounds prominent or any spot where a low pass filter will give you a gritty textured bassline. All you need really is one good note, two if possible and you're set. I find that 70's jazz records are great for basslines if you can scoop one out.
If you do this to every single song you should be on your way to buliding a massive sound library of random sounds, textures and vibes. The advantage of this is that you may be stuck somewhere on a beat and then you can browse through your other sampled material and find inspiration or samples that fit the track perfectly. it's about having a large soundbank to go through to find that special something your track needs.
Understand this shit is hella time consuming too.. believe me, You'll be into it for about a 20 minutes or so and then you'll just say fuck it and start making beats out of eagerness from your new samples and ideas.
Recording/Flipping Tips
- Unfortunately for you digital diggers, you can't really benefit from this. For the vinyl guys though, sample your records at 45rpm to save time (for your samplers limited time sake) and to get a richer sounding sample. Once you've recorded your sample, pitch it down the correct number of semitones so it sounds normal and you should have an added texture to your sample.
-Make sure you aren't clipping anywhere in the recording process. Make sure your dj mixer isn't clipping or any other source in your recording line. It's easy to overlook, I do it everyonce in a while.
- Record different versions of the sample when you want to mess with the EQ, pitch or time stretch. It's easy to add EQ to a sample, record it.. then later wish you hadn't added all of that Treble, but can't find the record you used.
- If you have a tube preamp.... try running your turntable into the preamp and then the preamp into whatever recording device you have. Tube saturation can sound great on certain samples. Record 2 versions if you like, one with or without.
- Try and mark your records if you record something off of it. I use to mark all of my records with mini post it notes. I'd write the filename down on it. After i moved into my apartment (and moved all 900 records in as well), i lost a grip of those things an kinda lost all motivation to keep doing it lol.
- While making a beat using samples, don't be affraid to experiment. There is so much that can be done to a sample to flip it so it is unique to your vibe. Lowpass or hipass filter, modulation, delay, wah, tremelo, pitch up, pitch down, etc. Endless possibilties and comboniations to texture your sound into something that nobody has.
For example, I may take jazz sample, filter out the hi's AND the deeper part of the lows leaving just the lower mids (400-800hz) so it's a mellow sound. Then i'll add modulation so it sounds smooth and in stereo. If all I have is a hit of this "smoothness", i'll extend it by adding a delay in sync with the tempo of the beat so it's like a mellow pad. Listening to whatever arrangement I have, i may find i want some strings....
I browse through my orchestra samples and load up a few files in FL that I think compliment the track. I may filter out everything but the hi's so i have a very airy feel to this strings and then make something that fits the vibe of what i already had.
Now I may go through my drum section and load up 7 or 8 different drum sounds. 2-3 kicks, snares and hi's that I think fit the sample i'm working with. With this, i'll layer compress and EQ to taste unitl i get something thats bumping (drums HAVE to be bumpin, theres no slacking on this). Endless possibilties with layering, compression and EQ.
Now I'm looking for that bassline, so i'll take my jazz bass sample that I found, apply a lowpass filter so it's just the bass, then compress it so I can pitch shift it and have it hit relatively in the same decible range.
That's just a lil example of some typical beat process i'll do using all samples. If i'm stuck at a part, i'll go through and listen to what else i have. different sounds may inspire the direction of the beat entirely. Sometimes i'll be so inspired that i'll save my project, then save a new version of the project and go off in a completely different direction then where i was just headed. When creativity shows, I goes with the flows!! It's also great to have vst's or hardware synths that have a good palette of quality sounds that you can use to add to your beats. Quality sounds, dope arrangements and tight mixes are a powerful arsenal to have at your disposal.
Aight so i hope this inspired some people, and i hope to hear some personal digging/sample techniques from the other heads around here. Contribute!!
RECORD DIGGING FOREVER.
LOL.
Peace
-5th Sequence
I'll start it off. Keep in mind, a lot of the stuff seems basic but it may help someone else out who would otherwise not know much about this art.
When Digging
- Leave no record unturned! The one you skip could easily have been that one jem you found last week.
- Inspect the unique looking covers for a unique sound. I love buying records that i don't think anyone else would fuck with. It's also good to have unique sounds in general (i'll get more into it later). I also buy records with hot or naked women on them whenever i randomly come across them (if she's compelling enough lol). Yeah, i dont know why aha, I've yet to make a hit from this. If you don't have a dozen hawaiian chicks in your sample library yet, shame brotha, shame.
- Inspect the year - As any experienced digger knows, a lot of 80's stuff has a stiffer processed sound then the soul of the 70's era records do. Check out a record by its cover, then check the year and see if it still seems like something you want to cop.
- Check the instruments!! Look on the back and see if it gives any details about musicians and what instruments are played on the track. You can peice together a very vague idea of what you'll be dealing with before you buy it. If you see banjo, put the record back.
- Check the instruments part II!! Look at the instruments and then think in terms of what you have, don't have, and what you want more of in your sample library. (I'll touch more on this later).
- Cop some solo instruments. anytime you see "Concerta" I think? someone correct me if i'm wrong but i think thats the term for solo that is used a lot. Either way, look for solo's of whatever you can.
- Do multiple record shops. If you can, hit multiple locations (till you get a feel for who gets new stuff, and the quality of it). This is somethin i personally need to change cuz my lazy ass goes to the same place and it's not even that good lol. You also gotta keep in mind quality vs quantity. Right now i'm going for quantity so i'm getting ALL my shit out of .25 and .50 cent record bins. Sometimes i splurge and blow my money in the jazz section.
When listening to samples
-start with the hawaiian chicks. Don't lie!! You know you buy those records everytime!! (LOL.. na.. we figure out it's the same sound after around the 8th record lol)
-As far as listening to your newly purchased wax treasury, think about building your sample library with as many sounds as you can. When I say sample library, I mean an actual folder on your computer, extra zip disks or whatever to just store sounds that you sample. I'm not sure how difficult it would be to store sounds on zip disks, but try to keep it organized. I have folders for every instrument i can think of inside my main "Vinyl Samples" folder.
I break it down to the obvious orchestra, keys, bass, brass, guitar, pads, synth, drums (nside drums i have kick, snare, hihat, rolls, breaks, misc), full samples and unique. I may have missed one, but you get the idea. What I personally do when I listen to my vinyl is i'll record anythingthat I think could be remotely useable and store it into one of those subfolders.
As soon as i put the needle on the wax, i'm listening analytically for what I can record. Fuck I even record the different "vinyl crackle" at the beginning of songs from different records (they do sound different you know). This is great for adding more vinyl texture to a sound that needs to be dirty'd up. Great for drum work right there.
As your listening to the record.... listen for the intro. The intro may be a build up of instruments that gets into the body of the beat. This is great for getting usable material to sample and manipulate because the drums and rest of the song arent fully into their thing yet.
Or.. you may be lucky enough to have a drum fill intro in whichcase you sample the drums and then add it to your drum folder. This is KEY, you will have so many raw drum samples that you're stuff will never sound the same.
Keep listening.. as the song is going on.. listen to anyspots where the bassline sounds prominent or any spot where a low pass filter will give you a gritty textured bassline. All you need really is one good note, two if possible and you're set. I find that 70's jazz records are great for basslines if you can scoop one out.
If you do this to every single song you should be on your way to buliding a massive sound library of random sounds, textures and vibes. The advantage of this is that you may be stuck somewhere on a beat and then you can browse through your other sampled material and find inspiration or samples that fit the track perfectly. it's about having a large soundbank to go through to find that special something your track needs.
Understand this shit is hella time consuming too.. believe me, You'll be into it for about a 20 minutes or so and then you'll just say fuck it and start making beats out of eagerness from your new samples and ideas.
Recording/Flipping Tips
- Unfortunately for you digital diggers, you can't really benefit from this. For the vinyl guys though, sample your records at 45rpm to save time (for your samplers limited time sake) and to get a richer sounding sample. Once you've recorded your sample, pitch it down the correct number of semitones so it sounds normal and you should have an added texture to your sample.
-Make sure you aren't clipping anywhere in the recording process. Make sure your dj mixer isn't clipping or any other source in your recording line. It's easy to overlook, I do it everyonce in a while.
- Record different versions of the sample when you want to mess with the EQ, pitch or time stretch. It's easy to add EQ to a sample, record it.. then later wish you hadn't added all of that Treble, but can't find the record you used.
- If you have a tube preamp.... try running your turntable into the preamp and then the preamp into whatever recording device you have. Tube saturation can sound great on certain samples. Record 2 versions if you like, one with or without.
- Try and mark your records if you record something off of it. I use to mark all of my records with mini post it notes. I'd write the filename down on it. After i moved into my apartment (and moved all 900 records in as well), i lost a grip of those things an kinda lost all motivation to keep doing it lol.
- While making a beat using samples, don't be affraid to experiment. There is so much that can be done to a sample to flip it so it is unique to your vibe. Lowpass or hipass filter, modulation, delay, wah, tremelo, pitch up, pitch down, etc. Endless possibilties and comboniations to texture your sound into something that nobody has.
For example, I may take jazz sample, filter out the hi's AND the deeper part of the lows leaving just the lower mids (400-800hz) so it's a mellow sound. Then i'll add modulation so it sounds smooth and in stereo. If all I have is a hit of this "smoothness", i'll extend it by adding a delay in sync with the tempo of the beat so it's like a mellow pad. Listening to whatever arrangement I have, i may find i want some strings....
I browse through my orchestra samples and load up a few files in FL that I think compliment the track. I may filter out everything but the hi's so i have a very airy feel to this strings and then make something that fits the vibe of what i already had.
Now I may go through my drum section and load up 7 or 8 different drum sounds. 2-3 kicks, snares and hi's that I think fit the sample i'm working with. With this, i'll layer compress and EQ to taste unitl i get something thats bumping (drums HAVE to be bumpin, theres no slacking on this). Endless possibilties with layering, compression and EQ.
Now I'm looking for that bassline, so i'll take my jazz bass sample that I found, apply a lowpass filter so it's just the bass, then compress it so I can pitch shift it and have it hit relatively in the same decible range.
That's just a lil example of some typical beat process i'll do using all samples. If i'm stuck at a part, i'll go through and listen to what else i have. different sounds may inspire the direction of the beat entirely. Sometimes i'll be so inspired that i'll save my project, then save a new version of the project and go off in a completely different direction then where i was just headed. When creativity shows, I goes with the flows!! It's also great to have vst's or hardware synths that have a good palette of quality sounds that you can use to add to your beats. Quality sounds, dope arrangements and tight mixes are a powerful arsenal to have at your disposal.
Aight so i hope this inspired some people, and i hope to hear some personal digging/sample techniques from the other heads around here. Contribute!!
RECORD DIGGING FOREVER.
LOL.
Peace
-5th Sequence
