How do you chop ? From techniques to software...

[PoW]

Sorry i can imagine this thread has probably been created a million times but im just curious,

how do people do there chops ?
do they always try and find zero crossings?
What software do you use to do your chops ?
What Midi hardware to you use?
Do you layer the chops onto a piece of midi hardware and then play it out randomly ?
Do you make drums first and then layer or vise versa ?
Do you filter out certain sounds and layer them in the background?
What eq'ing do you usually do on a sample, if any ?

I ask this because i go down into the sample flippage and hear people using samples i didn't even hear in the song and the ones i did i couldn't chop that clean, and they seem to have no pops or clicks and generally just noticed some people sample a lot better than others....I learnt my hand a sampling via youtube and googling how to sample in logic, and since then have just been working on it.

I tend to get my track i want to sample, try and find out the BPM if i can. Ill then chop out chords and hits best i can, once ive got the all chops ill chuck it into the ex24 and play it out on my MPD in a melodic way and hope it rides and its build-able and from there attempt to create something.

If anyone else uses logic could you give me insight into how you sample?

I dunno if its just me but as of late i come across barely anything in songs with single hits that i can take theres usually loads going on in the background so i cant find a zero crossing and then it pops like crazy and generally sounds awful, im just curious maybe im doing something wrong or focusing to much on something?

I also think that maybe we could find a sample all take a hand at chopping it, and then just post the .wavs on here so people can compare the chops and what people found and then speak on why a chop was good or bad ?

Sorry if im asking a lot but i just want to sample a hell of a lot better than i currently do.

 

[Fade]

Well for chopping samples:

Software (Audition, Sonar)
I would simply chop it and then add a slight fade in and fade out. Just a minimal amount to cover up any pops. It's a quick and dirty way to get rid of them.

Hardware
Right now I use Maschine, so there's options to zoom in and set the cut in and cut out points.

When it comes to finding something to sample, well that's just open to all sorts of debate. It depends on what you're trying to sample, what type of music it is. You don't always have to look for an open sound because it can be anything! It can be an entire loop or just a millisecond of an instrument.

What are you trying to sample? What style of music? What are you looking for? Are you looking for a sound sitting there by itself? Or a loop?

 

[Formant024]

Sorry i can imagine this thread has probably been created a million times but im just curious,

Well, its been a while i gues hehe

how do people do there chops ?
do they always try and find zero crossings?

Simply put, yes, always!
In order to avoid artifacts appearing at the start/end of the chop.
There's an exception which depends on what sampler you use, some samplers can opt to zero cross chops for you.
I personaly dont let it depend on the sampler since the sample could be used on a hardware sampler aswell which doesnt have that feature.

What software do you use to do your chops ?

Windows
-Soundforge
-Recycle
-FL slicer/slicex

OSX
-Logic (flex tool or manual).

What Midi hardware to you use?

I dont think that's relevant, but in specific i have mpc2kxl, asr-x sequencers among several other samplers.

Do you layer the chops onto a piece of midi hardware and then play it out randomly ?

I dont layer unless its something like a top/bottom snare from the same kit or its something id fool around/experiment with. One aspect of getting sounds have big dynamics is to keep things clean meaning you want preserve transcients of whatever material you have used to gain the best end result.

I understand that in hiphop layering is suggested to be best for that gritty feel but to me that's like a hammer on porcelain. Theres definitly exceptions to this, some of it resulted in signature stuff we know from famous producers but ...

we're not all famous and im just going by the book

Do you make drums first and then layer or vise versa ?

Thats entirely personal preference and sometimes not even, sometimes a bassline ticks you off, sometimes a kick or snare and sometimes all you need was a cowbell.

Do you filter out certain sounds and layer them in the background?

Its a way to go about when you have limited means for correcting your material, for the lack of whatever is missing. If the only thing you want to use is an mpc2kxl, 3k or 60 (etc) than it fits the ethics of fixing things.
Preferably, if you can fix before you sample it than thats the best way. Use a better needle on your tt, better phono amp or find a better copy of whatever your sampling.

Dont forget, stuff you sample has been mixed/mastered already so with a proper signal chain to your sampler you should do as less as possible to gain the best out of it (ideal circumstances).

What eq'ing do you usually do on a sample, if any ?

Thats mixing 101, entirely different topic but as i said above, in ideal circumstances you do as little eqíng as possible.
Other than that, each segment in a sample, one shot or phrase has a different treatment if you need to eq it. People write entirebooks about it of which you can find some pdf's online ("mixing with your mind" is fun one to start).

I ask this because i go down into the sample flippage and hear people using samples i didn't even hear in the song and the ones i did i couldn't chop that clean, and they seem to have no pops or clicks and generally just noticed some people sample a lot better than others....I learnt my hand a sampling via youtube and googling how to sample in logic, and since then have just been working on it.

Well, thats the route you have to go down with, knowing is half the battle (yooooo! )since the stuff you use wont do it for you. You have to give it some time, i tell most people just starting out that it will probably take you 2 years to get you chops clean, mix them accordingly and be able to provide some delivery to your productions... Ive been doing this for some 24 years and still learning.

I tend to get my track i want to sample, try and find out the BPM if i can. Ill then chop out chords and hits best i can, once ive got the all chops ill chuck it into the ex24 and play it out on my MPD in a melodic way and hope it rides and its build-able and from there attempt to create something.

Everyone has their own work flow, dont be fooled by whatever you read on what you need to have to get the job done. Theres a lot more to it ofc but with just a few things you can make big things.
Its all about knowing the do's and dont's.

If anyone else uses logic could you give me insight into how you sample?

FLEX TOOL

Well im not going to type it out anymore hehe

https://www.illmuzik.com/forums/thr...-but-better-with-flex-time.26789/#post-288794

^^ read the thread too, not just my little tutorial.

I dunno if its just me but as of late i come across barely anything in songs with single hits that i can take theres usually loads going on in the background so i cant find a zero crossing and then it pops like crazy and generally sounds awful, im just curious maybe im doing something wrong or focusing to much on something?

Dude, there is sooo much to sample, you're nipping out on probably 0.0001% of stuff you can sample for any material.
So yeah... its you, meaning you just have a lot more to discover.

I also think that maybe we could find a sample all take a hand at chopping it, and then just post the .wavs on here so people can compare the chops and what people found and then speak on why a chop was good or bad ?

Well, again, thats preference and a little bit of ethics to determine why its technicaly bad, if its good, its good. Its how you sequence it thats going to make the difference.

Sorry if im asking a lot but i just want to sample a hell of a lot better than i currently do.

Well... this is a hiphop/producer forum after all

 

[Johney SoQlose]

I use reaper for my DAW so chopping up samples is easy as hell. I just did one actually. Its less entertaining way to chop up but I basically follow these steps after I have heard a clip that I want and go get it:

1. Set the bpm of the project
2. Just drag the song file right into the reaper workspace
3. Roughly split (slice) out the sections you want. I dont even worry about the crossings yet.
4. Get the idea of the loop and position the sections accordingly (still roughly)
5. Cut the before and after at zero crossings (or cut where you want it to start on the bars and make the fades sound good)
6. Position the starts using the grid snap so its on time
7. Holding (Alt) at the end of the sample with the mouse stretches the sample in reaper so that is how I stretch to what sounds right.
8. Fiddle around with the positioning and fades until you have a seamless loop.
9. Turn the grid back on and copy and paste out the loops.

Its all about stretching and fades.

 

[Sucio]

I used Cool Edit Pro in my FL days.....

I use maschine now....So it's all done in Maschine, now.

I EQ the sample as best as possible without losing the authenticity of the sound. Most of the time it's very little.

The popping has a lot to do of where you're stopping the chop....make minor adjustments until it goes away.....(and it does).

 

[StressWon]

For now I do it in Edison (FL Studio) But after seeing how it is done with the Maschine,,,I'm jumping on that bandwagon ASAP. Probably within the next week or so.

Soundforge is another great chopping tool. There is a lot out there. I think it depends on the user.

 

[Formant024]

For now I do it in Edison (FL Studio) But after seeing how it is done with the Maschine,,,I'm jumping on that bandwagon ASAP. Probably within the next week or so.

Soundforge is another great chopping tool. There is a lot out there. I think it depends on the user.

Edison is nice too indeed, the way you can use selections with other features within fl is brilliant and flexible but its not the most friendly to imo for the basic editing features.

I choose soundforge long time ago because it let you place markers very precise. Also markers-to-region function + extract region tool, these made it an easy choice for cutting samples quickly.

 

[StressWon]

yeah dude, I hated Edison when I started using it, but once you know it, it is great.

 

[lion-ucs]

Since my style has largely changed I've been recording from vinyl or phone, just what I want in my programs sampler or audio track (Geist, Maschine, Abelton, Podium) then put that recording on the pads I want them on, and adjusting the start and end points (mainly start points) where I want them to be.

It's all much more fluid in the order and the idea of what I want to do. It's not a process of chopping, slicing and then thinking 'okay, what am I gonna do with this' it's basically cutting it up in the way you plan on using it.

 

[PoW]

FLEX TOOL

Well im not going to type it out anymore hehe

https://www.illmuzik.com/forums/thr...-but-better-with-flex-time.26789/#post-288794

Ive been fucking with the flex tool since you mentioned it but im now having the problem of it creates to many chops when you detect transients and slice at transients it there anyway to control this ? I end up having 1000 chops all lasting from 1/4 sec to 4seconds long, which becomes a problem when trying to play it out.

 

[Formant024]

Ive been fucking with the flex tool since you mentioned it but im now having the problem of it creates to many chops when you detect transients and slice at transients it there anyway to control this ? I end up having 1000 chops all lasting from 1/4 sec to 4seconds long, which becomes a problem when trying to play it out.

ow thats easy, make a smaller selection before exporting to sampler/exs24, you probably are going to run more instances of exs24 but i never had a problem with that. Also note that while in the audio editor you can change the sensitivity of detection and manualy remove or add slices. (pic below underlined in red from the toolbar).

 

[Garf Richards]

Sup man,

Don't get too frustrated. It takes time to master chopping up samples. Listen to records; listen to parts of the records that sound like complete loops. Start from there, then you'll be chopping up different parts of the record to make new melodies and loops.

Tools help also. For me, chopping in recycle is a ballache. By the time I've got my chops the way I want them, I've lost my flow for the song. However, I'm from the MPC 2000XL days, and now use Maschine. Their workflow is super fast and quite similar. When I chop I normally slice at the largest transient in the waveform. So start there and you'll improve on your skillset.

Just expriment with it, have fun and don't give up.

 

[2GooD Productions]

i will listen to the song first. i will listen out for straight loops, end of 16's, interesting vocals. i then chop out all the interesting parts in soundforge and save each chop as its own wav file(ensuring to always chop at the zero points). i then import all the wavs into nnxt in reason and away i go.