11/24/2012

How To Make Hip-Hop Beats For Sale (Purchase Beats): The Sampler

By Frank Lubsey


In this article, we'll talk about one of the most critical instruments in hip-hop, the sampler. We'll talk about what the sampler actually does and how it can be incorporated into your studio setup.

A sampler allows you to playback audio material via your keyboard. This is important because the sampler offers a less expensive way to update your sounds. Instead of having to buy a new keyboard, you can simply record your own new sounds or purchase a sample cd. Furthermore, since samples are sourced from live instruments, they tend to sound much more realistic than synthesizers. Let's say for example; that there was this interesting sound that could make with your voice and you wanted to be able to play it like an instrument. With a sampler, you could record your voice ;and by pressing the keys on your keyboard; it would play back the sound of your voice. Furthermore, it could change the pitch of your voice via pitch shifting. In other words, if the pitch of the original voice sample was in C, the sampler could play it back in D or E. Samples can also be sourced from other sources as well such as:

Sound Design Firms: Many companies are dedicated to providing sample cds to electronic musicians. The sample cds can be genre specific and can include drum sounds, instrument samples, and entire loops. Some companies to check out include Big Fish Audio and Modern Beats.

Commercial Audio: You can also sample commercial records for interesting drum hits, sounds, or entire sections of a song. This is the classic form of sampling in hip-hop. However, take heed that there are legal ramifications and you could be violating copyright law with this method. Before releasing work with samples in it, be sure to go through the proper legal channels, clear your samples, and credit the original artist.

Self-Recorded Samples: Grab your microphone and do anything from beat boxing to recording yourself knocking on various surfaces. One of the benefits of this method is that you get unique sounds that are completely yours.

The possibilities that a sampler opens up are endless. A sampler really is critical to the role of a hip-hop producer since sounds that are in fashion are constantly changing. In our next article, we'll talk about some of the more advanced terms that you'll hear of when discussing samplers.




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