How To Create Your Own Perfect Samples For Music Productions

Most modern musicians use samples, even if only in Sample & Synthesis-based keyboards or virtual instruments. But sampling itself has become something of a lost art. In the first part of a short series on rediscovering this skill, we look back at how the technique and the technology developed.

As we saw last month, sampling is really just a form of digital recording, but to use short recordings to emulate real instruments, you soon need to understand new concepts like multisampling, looping, and velocity switching. We explain all...

Having introduced the concept of looping, velocity switching, and multisampling, it's time to actually make some samples. We give you a few hard-won tips that can make your life easier on the way.

If you want to artificially extend your instrument samples, or make entire backing tracks from one rhythmic snippet, you'll need to know about looping and time-stretching. And then there's keygrouping... We explain these fundamental sampling processes, and more.

Nearly all modern samplers have powerful synth engines concealed inside them — and sometimes they're so well hidden that their users are unaware of their existence. But then why would you want a synth in your sampler? Let's find out...

We continue exploring what your sampler's synth engine can do to liven up bland self-sampled sounds, and explain the concepts of layering and multitimbrality.

We bring our series on rediscovering the the art of sampling to a close, with a look into the future.