GROUPING samples to use in songs ....gimme some tips please

[Equality 7-2521]

ive been having some problems with choosing which samples i should group together to use in a song.

what is your method?

do you look for similar sounds?
or sounds that seem like they were recorded in the same environment?
or contrasting sounds?
what?

help me out here..

 

[Ash Holmz]

i dont hink theres a real answer to that question since evrybodys diffrent and has a diffrewnt style and technique.... me personally i like the challenge of using the same song for all the sounds. i try to take as many from one song and then if the track is empty then i just basically start messing around and trying random things until i find something i like

 

[mercurywaters]

i usually grab a bunch of random things and see if i can make them work together. there is so much tweaking you can do to a sound there is usually a way to make it fit together nicely. it may mean chopping a meldoy down to one note and playing a new melody myself. or slowing a sample down and filtering it for bassline. its fun to me that way. i never come up with the same thing twice

 

[eka]

I've got the most important grouped together like, percussion/piano/synth/horns/misc/etc.
but I also, when I downloaded them, group them together with the name of the site I got them from.
I also got many synth and drumcomputer samples (about 12 gigs) and I got them by name of the drumcomputer or synth.
and when I sample records I usually just put the artists name there.
that is my method, but like holmzini said there is not a real answer to this.

 

[Shonsteez]

Mess - I think holmz said it best when he mentioned that there really isnt a best way....I like tha rest of you guys so far, just keep tryin random things and see what comes of it.
Though sometimes i do go in already knowin what samples i want to rip to begin with and that may start a theme sort of that i can vibe off of and build more ideas from with samples that i think could accompany tha first one best....Like for me - it sort of becomes a formula i guess?

More so - i would recommend making a formula in your head of things like FX and start times rather than specific types of samples that youo should be working with to get things to link up correctly.

For example, try always seeing what happens if you add a cool reverb, or delay....and then maybe cut tha start time or sustain it.........or get even crazier and try seeing what happens if you reverse it or apply a lo or hi pass filter???............These are things i try to do.

Maybe that will help a little more than telling you there is a strict way of going about sample linking>??



Steeze

 

[Equality 7-2521]

thanks guys.

i wasnt looking for a "strict way" but just some form of structure.

i have always used the trial and error technique and often use Holmzini's method of using only one song for all the samples. your responses have confirmed my methods as efficient. i do try to experiment as much as i can....i really like the sound of reversed piano, deuce.

cheers everyone

 

[dacalion]

Mr. Mess, I like to try to mentally hear what I want my music to say. I'll listen to the beat and imagine what sample or samples will compliment it. Everytime I create a beat, I also create a "theme" for it. You know the saying "if the shoe fits, wear it", it applies to choosing your samples too.

good topic!--dac