Sample Packs - Loopmasters and the like?

[Bassline Brine]

So.

I know it's best to do everything yourself. From using the recorded sound of a basketball you smashed against a tin roof for a hat, and hitting a door for another thing.

But what do people honestly think about these sample packs and the like?

I'm finding more and more that... people just don't care as long as the end result is good? When I first got, and still to some degree, into production, I thought each artist was doing /everything/ basically themselves. And I've known about these packs for awhile, and I've bought a couple for different drum samples and such in the past.

But where do you consider the cutoff line for using them? Some of them do have some awesome bits that I don't know how to make. I should probably learn how to make those sounds. But is it entirely taboo to use these things?

I also realized when chilling with another local DJ, that he was almost using exclusively sample packs and the like for some of his "self" production stuff. Which, in a sense, is cheating. But on another level, it's composition using sounds, and wouldn't exist unless he was putting things the way they were.

I'm kind of at an impasse right now with myself. I want to just purchase a couple hundred bucks worth of sample packs, have some fun with it. I'll probably do some, but not a ton of synth work myself. But is that acceptable today? I'm really lost as to where these sample packs use and not use, are the line of what is acceptable and what is not.

[AllDay]

If you aren't making your own sounds then your not a producer, your a remixer..

Producing entitles making original songs from your own brain.. Not using purely samples. LOL

[grazz16]

as far as beats go, this:

http://forum.djtechtools.com/showthread.php?t=56852

dont even think about using pre-made loops for synth melodies or anything, then your music is guaranteed to sound unoriginal

[JasonBay]

If you aren't making your own sounds then your not a producer, your a remixer..

Producing entitles making original songs from your own brain.. Not using purely samples. LOL

Really? Try saying that to any and all hip hop producer, or house music producer. Sampling is part of producing, and is an art in and of itself.

It's one thing to just take a loop, slap it in and leave at that. But it's something else entirely to get inspired by a two bar groove, build a whole track around it and really make it your own. Being able to match tone and timbre, making sure everything is in key, and being able to pitch it into key if needed.

Everyone samples to some degree, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. Those don't are the exception, not the norm.

[AllDay]

.

You are incredibly ignorant. OP said using entirely samples from a sample pack. You start off by disagreeing with me then go into exactly my point. U take the loop or sample and add a bunch of your own stuff to the song..

Not what op stated.

Where did I say you shouldn't sample..? LOL

[ksandvik]

I've heard more and more tracks on let's say Beatport which are mediocre loop collections using Ableton with no creativity or interesting musical content, just a long pile of cliche samples tied together. Anyway, samples are quite useable and OK but you need to work a little bit to raise above such average and boring music.

[rillep]

i have sampled drums, and thats that. no loops tho. i dont think its okey to take a vengaence 8bar synthsample and use it as your main foundation.

[mostapha]

Without sampling, dance music and hip hop wouldn't exist.

To people who say it's cheating, go fuck yourself. Then listen to any good hip hop. Then listen to classic house. Then realize that basically all of drum & bass is based off a 6-second clip from a soul record, that Lupe Fiasco's last album has several tracks where he just rapped over songs by Nero, Bassnectar, and John Coltrane. Then see if you can spot the one beat that Kanye took out of Fire by Jimmy Hendrix to put on My Beautiful….

There's nothing uncreative about sampling. If you think there is, then you're doing it wrong.

I see no problem using sample packs……I just haven't had much luck with finding sounds I liked in them……but I also haven't really tried. I do have a pile of records and CDs that I bought just to sample off of whenever inspiration strikes.

[grazz16]

I'd agree that how much sampling is acceptable does depend on the genre, hip hop is like 90% sampling and rearranging that material in some interesting way, this is true, but if you make a house track thats 90% samples, i dunno if anyone would take that seriously. Basically samples are ok, but there comes a point where it'll probably stop being creative or interesting, and starts becoming cliche.

[photojojo]

I've always been under the impression that it's not really how much or what samples you use, but what you do with those samples.