a lot of older vst's suck ass too. i used to use them in Qbase 5 before I went semi-hardware. point taken, it would be very hard to emulate the record sound, particularly sampled instruments...doesnt mean it cant be done tho... but as if anyone could be stuffed! most people would try to find a sample, but i probably would too.
You cant emulate that sound without knowing how they record the stuff in the first place. You'll get closer though if you use amp modelers like a line6 pod or Amplitube, next turn off you quantisize and start recording. Vintage Warmer gives great saturation (PSP Saturator aswell)...
When I 1st learned to put beats together I didn't sample but I was raised on sample based hip hop production so although I'm not a big user of sampling in my own work, I am a fan of it in my CD player.
Sampling is inspirational. I started off as a sample-based producer in 1990 (I've been producing on and off for about 15 years now). Then about 4 years into it, I abandoned sampling all together. This was around the time the good Dr. Dre dropped the Chronic. Around this time there was a real concern in regards to sampling and everyone I knew in the industry wanted to get away from sampling because of clearance fees and problems getting songs cleared. This was actually a good thing for me because I never dealt with keyboards, and it forced me to learn my way around it and to start making sample-less tracks. Then last year I got the itch to start using samples again, but more creatively then just looping or chopping. Much like Class, I will have tracks already composed in the dome piece before I touch a piece of equipment, but what I find that sampling does is force me to create a composition that compliments the sample. And I've got to say my tracks have definently benefitted from such.
I use sampling as the jump off point to draw inspiration and spark creativity. At the same time i find sometimes composing can sometimes give a greater sense of satisfaction, but thats more cos my musical knowledge is shallow. But both methods can stand on their own and complement each other, at the end of the day though its the end result that counts not how you got there.
I would like to get better at composing though, as i think it would help improve my sampling style and allow me to create more interesting composed beats.
I love to sample and use the Fruity Slicer in FL Studio. I started off using loops, (4 and 8 bar loops). Now, I just have to slice up the sample, rearrange it, then compose with it. That's so much fun now that I started using the Fruity Slicer. I was in a rush to get the Roland MC-909 and the Roland MV-8000, but now that I found out how to use the Fruity Slicer, I can be really patient about any new gear. FL Studio 5.0.2 is phat as hell in my opinion. And the price as compared to hardware that does the same thing is crazy nice. Anyway, sampling is the center piece of my creations but I try not to use loops. I chop drum loops, and musical samples to create something new and then layer that with some added instrument composition, effects and atmospheric sound, (if needed). Simply put, sampling is now like playing a unique instrument that is different everytime. Peace!
When ur diggin an finding records ur learning about artists and they lives and getting an ingith into the things that inspire them.
So u can take something from that whcih will inspire u to create something, also when listening to all the vinly for samples ur learning about composition song progression, so i think everyone should dig.
There aint nothing new under the sun so no matter how original peeps think they are when composing keyboard beats it aint reall nothing that aint been done, the genius these days is often in seening things from a different angle or hearing things in a record and putting together samples in ways that is different to how it sounds on the orignal record.