Sample Chopping Technique

Hi everyone, I often watch Marlow's videos. He mainly uses Akai machines, but the way he samples and the ones he chooses are my favorite, as well as the way he talks. That said, I wanted to share this video with you, where he demonstrates a sampling approach I'm trying to explore further. He uses a full clip of the sample before chopping, moving the starting point to some basic drums. He also uses the step sequencer to "mark" specific points. I don't quite understand the reasoning behind this approach, nor how he does it. I was wondering what you think, and more importantly, would it be a replicable process for Maschine+?

This is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvq5gpKgnY4

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Jiglo

That's a much better, more focused workflow for the way he's working. MPC's have phono inputs too for directly connecting a turntable, but some turntables have line out as well as phono and some people with turntables have a mixer which outputs as line out for converting the signal to the Line in of an MPC.

You can do similar with an M+, as a start point, pitch, length of a sample, envelope etc can all be edited while crafting a project, but the MPC X looks much more satisfying, yet will almost certainly take you longer to learn.

The easiest way to do/learn this with a gratifying visual envelope and placing steps on a sequencer would be using something like a Toraiz SP-16/DJS-1000, but the timestretching is virtually none existent on those 2, so you might not get the slick sound you seek.

Jiglo

I should say, it isn't a technique I use myself, or is purely a MPC technique, but if you want to emulate his technique and follow his method as your main workflow, you'd probably be better getting the same gear as it will be easier to watch what he's doing and learn from it.

Carosone

Thanks for joining the discussion. Leaving aside the turntable/audio issue, which isn't a problem, nor the technical aspect, I actually own a Maschine+ and have no intention of changing hardware. Not knowing MPC I can't fully follow what he does, but in broad terms, based on my knowledge of Maschine, it doesn't seem like the process itself requires any special features that Maschine+ doesn't have, quite the opposite.
What I'm interested in is understanding from those with more experience what the fundamental aspects of this workflow are that make it effective for searching for and cutting samples, particularly regarding the use of the step sequencer.

Carosone

Oh, I forgot, in the comments there are those who say to use the same method in a DAW like Ableton...

LostInFoundation

What is exactly your question?

Marlow here isn’t doing anything exceptional… and, as you said, nothing that can’t be done in Maschine.

If your doubts are about the use of step sequencer, that’s exactly the same as putting a note in Maschine pianoroll in the first beat.

Why is he doing that? Just to use start/stop instead of pushing the pad to listen to the chop.

The advantage in doing that is one: if you already have created a drum loop to go with (or any other part of the composition), using start/stop will allow you to listen to the chops TOGETHER with the drum loop, instead of on its own.

It is surely an interesting (and very old) technique, but nothing revolutionary. Useful if you need to listen to the created chops in “context”.

As you can see in the video, as soon as he has created a couple of chops, he stops using that “start/stop technique” and instead starts to use the pads to play the chops, because that allows him to “reorder” them differently and test different combinations. To then go back using step sequencer putting a step later in the loop. That’s just to “avoid” playing things “live” but letting the step sequencer do the job.

If for some stuff it is useful, on the other hand it can also be seen as in some ways “limiting”, because creating chops by listening to them without a drum loop beneath them could lead to more “innovative” ideas later on (while having a “pre-determined” idea of what the drum loop will be could make you search for chops in a “too narrowed” way, limiting what I would call the “happy accidents”, those casual findings that maybe you won’t step into because limited by the concept that one type of drum beat could force you to). And another limit of it is that you are almost forced to know in advance where you want a new element to be introduced, while playing the pads more freely could make you “stumble” into a short sound of an apparently not so interesting chop that fits perfectly between two other chops (as said, when he wants to test these kind of things he goes back to playing the pads live, abandoning the “programmed” step sequencing)

As said, that is an interesting “technique”, but just one of the many. Which benefits are into allowing to test different possibilities but bound into predetermined moments, without the freedom of the “live playing”.

See it a little bit like playing a melody on a piano keybed vs programming it in the piano roll. Freedom of expression vs predetermined behavior.

Limiting yourself to one single way of working could also lead to beats very similar one to the other.

Using different techniques surely gives access to more possibilities and more varied results. The one showed by Marlow is one. Combine them together and enjoy best of each worlds.

And…yes, this technique can be used in almost every modern program (DAWs, Samplers, GrooveBoxes,…). It’s just a matter of knowing how your chosen program works and adapt it to its workflow. Often programs simply do the same things, calling them with different names (the example of pianoroll vs step sequencer is fitting. In the end, the pianoroll is just an advanced step sequencer with the added ability to directly draw the steps on different pitches for a single sound. In facts, if you don’t put Maschine in keyboard mode, the one you see in the bottom part of the gui IS a step sequencer for the 16 sounds of a group…)

Carosone

Thank's, you were very clear! To be honest, what I was having trouble understanding were the characteristics/advantages of this process. It's clear to me that it's one of the ways you can sketch out ideas and cut samples, and I'm very curious about that...

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/248437#Comment_248437

Psyearth5

When you giving link please do it the right way by enter link on the 3rd icon

I will copy the link and look video and explain it so you can understand but you have to know that you have to find what suits you best because there are different ways, however I will watch video and get back here .

See you later.

Psyearth5

I watch example you have and it's just a workflow, you can literally do that if you find it useful for your workflow.

For example I sample long modulation and then when I play ARP I use touch strip and I change start point and result is sequence with sound modulating crazy, I sometimes already have MIDI sequence so I just record audio and imedetly I hear it or with ritmic patterns something with drums and everything In between i load empty Sampler and MIDI Notes are already positioned and then I just record audio that later I can adjust.

You can do it too and you should, it will be beneficial for you as you build up your skills and it would be interesting to hear it but maybe it will be good for the listeners and I think that that's the goal 👍 just do it.

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