New Question From Jafo37

[jafo37]

Kinda wondering about all of the recorded material I have been listening to from this site. Is it common place to use samples instead of actually playing the music? Does using sample loops get a better forwarding possibility? Not that the ideas and compositions that I have heard aren't great just wondering if using prerecorded loops and samples get you through the door faster or puts you in a better position to obtain work?Everyones thoughts are appreciatedThanks for your input

[davewalton]

Quote:Kinda wondering about all of the recorded material I have been listening to from this site. Is it common place to use samples instead of actually playing the music? Does using sample loops get a better forwarding possibility? Not that the ideas and compositions that I have heard aren't great just wondering if using prerecorded loops and samples get you through the door faster or puts you in a better position to obtain work?I think there's two parts to this, sampled instruments and sampled loops.I use sampled instruments as opposed to having something like a live orchestra try to cram themselves into my house. Adding just one live-recorded instrument, however, can really make a difference though. I've used live recorded instruments on only a few occasions, such as an Irish-sounding piece I did sometime back. A guy on the forum here was gracious enough to play/record the melody on an Irish tin whistle and the result made the rest of the sampled orchestral instruments sound more realistic and it just brought the whole piece to life. Other than a few rare occasions, everything else, orchestral, synths, choirs, guitars, etc are sampled instruments that I play from my keyboard (as opposed to sampled loops).I also use sampled loops and I use them for two things. Mainly drums/percussion. Regardless of all the really funny drummer jokes out there, that's a real art and I don't have the experience nor the facilities to play/record to that level. Especially ethnic or bombastic stuff like taiko drums in a warehouse. The second is that sometimes I use an instrumental sampled loop, not too often and pretty much exclusively for electronica stuff. A simple sampled loop can be a great "idea starter". I've been working on an electronica track where the whole thing evolved from a simple "talking synth" sampled loop. Here's a 10-second snippet of part of the track to see what I mean (the talking synth loop should be obvious):www.DaveWaltonMusic.com/PrivateArea/Ele ... Regardless of whether the track is good, bad, or otherwise, it's a concept that I might not have explored had I not heard the loop in something I purchased recently.Anyway, most of the time I play 95% of everything with my keyboard, with the drums/percussion being the only sampled loop material. I makes for a scenerio where I'm able to be creative and original yet still be able to move quickly when I need to do so.HTH,Dave

[anne]

Hi Jafo - we use all live on our songs but have just started to work with loops more conciously to improve our workflow and start creating outside of the genre we've been working in.

[mazz]

What Dave said!Plus: With the exception of loops, I play all of the instruments on my productions, mostly via keyboard. Most of the non-keyboard instruments I play (via keyboard) have been sampled by people with more time, money and access to great rooms and mics, etc., than I have. For the type of music I'm trying to write, having access to these instruments via samples has been an awesome step up in terms of the sound quality of my productions. I think that this has been partly responsible for the amout of forwards and deals I have generated so far.I think the distinction needs to be made between "samples from copyrighted recordings", "samples of loops from royalty free libraries", "multisampled instruments", and "MIDI loops playing sampled instruments", (mostly drums in my case). I use all except the first one for (hopefully) obvious reasons. Just saying "samples" these days isn't specific enough, IMO.I have no qualms whatsoever about using loops. I don't see it as cheating or laziness or whatever negatives some people have about them (I'm not saying that you are in that category ). It's pretty obvious when someone just opens Reason, throws a few loops down and lets them run as opposed to someone who messes with them and gives them their own touch with effects, editing, etc. That's where the artistry comes in. Combining loops from different libraries with different feels and making them sound cohesive is hard and takes a lot of work but that's where the rubber meets the road in loop-ville! Tools such as Stylus have very deep editing capabilities and learning them can really help one create their own unique sound using just the stock loops supplied with the application.Of course, great sounds and not so great compositions won't get you forwarded. In the realm that Dave and I are in (instrumental music), you need both.Mazz

[jafo37]

Just wanted to say thanks for the input. I also use sample loops on my productions with a mixture of live instruments in the background just needed to see how everyone felt about the subject. I value all of your comments they help me big-timeJafo37

[kouly]

Quote:Of course, great sounds and not so great compositions won't get you forwarded. In the realm that Dave and I are in (instrumental music), you need both.MazzIsn't that the truth!

[mixopenta]

I would like to highlight the aspect of that particular sound you get from combining several loops that stems from being recorded in different locations. E.g. if I'm using a basic 4/4 drum beat and add a maracas loop from another library, most definitely recorded in another location, and a conga loop yet again recorded elsewhere, ends up with a certain sound that is a direct result from them having differing sonic textures.All these sounds together renders a totally different overall sound image, as opposed to recording all these snippets yourself in the same room, with the same mics, same gear.And yes, this is where the art comes in; to be able to notice if one type of ambience goes well with another, knowing the tools, the how's, and the whens, to use what, to make them fit nicely together.Anyone who has the impression (not saying anyone here has) that one could merely piece whatever samples together and have them poppin, is in for a great disappointment IMO. Of course, one might get lucky and score a number one just by chance, but that can happen with a lot of things, not only working with loops.This is my take on using loops