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how do you keep from using the same samples...
i love these hi hats i recorded like a year or 2 ago, b/c theyre real chunky and i want to use them all the time

i know guys like cotti and kode9 re use a lot of their samples tho

so do you even think its a big deal to re use them, or do you try not to

???

plz excuse me if there is a sticky with 1000 responses on this same topic

I do all the time, a good sample is worth using. Just ensure all your beats aren't exactly the same

Not too bad with hats but try not to use them in every tune. I hate it when you listen to producers who use the same drum samples everytime. Just seems lazy sometimes IMO.

If it sounds good then use it.

guess the final factor is just how it works in the mix

will continue on

Personally I never use the same samples more than once, perhaps twice. I do hear a lot of musicians using the same samples over and over again though. Just my personal preference to never reuse samples...

You said they were chunky hihats, no? You could layer them and EQ them to get a different sound out of the same hats... or add some filters, even a light flange can totally change the sound of a hihat without changing the tone.

Been using the same white noise rhythmic pattern in most of my tunes, if it sounds good do it.

i use the same percussion samples in multiple songs alot, but never any actual sound samples, like synths or basslines.

to be fair no ones ever going to notice if you use the same hi hat samples all the time

AKA Rusko and his kick drum

i go through stages of using the same drums in each song

it used to be RnB Kit 2 in Redrum still mad love for that one

Now I use at least one 909 sample a tune

Better re-using drum hits than bass patches.

If it sounds good, go for it, it could give your stuff a "defining sound" or what have you.

I have some samples I have used quite a bit... 1) I liked them, and 2) I felt it gave a cohesiveness to my work (not always used in the same way, sometimes very abstractly, but the sonic DNA is still there)...

BUT it is easy to use them as a crutch. I think it is important to force yourself from time to time to put in some hustle.

For instance - If I feel I am re-using samples a bit too much, I will take them off my hard drive. I'll back em up to a DVD or to a less accessible drive or something (i never throw anything away).. but I get them out of arms reach so that I am forced to sample and dig like I used to when I first started out. I find that if I allow myself to rely on old tools too much, I don't craft and sculpt each sound to make it my own. And that is a skill, that if not used regularly, will deteriorate.

I think everyone has a "kit" of drums they personally enjoy using i wouldnt worry about it.

What's the point of buying expensive libraries, crate digging, sample mangling and keeping samples if you're not going to use them more than once?
Using the same samples is a good way to help get your own sound, and they can always be edited again. Especially if you made them yourself.
...unless they're shit samples I suppose.

wormcode wrote:What's the point of buying expensive libraries, crate digging, sample mangling and keeping samples if you're not going to use them more than once?

Because you will use them once?


I'm not adverse to reusing samples, and I probably have reused them without even knowing it. It just seems like every song is different, so different things work together each time? I don't think there is some moral/ethical police nun that is going to whack you with a nightstick ruler if you reuse a sample. Who gives a fuck?

I use a lot of the same drum components on things I work on. I think it ties the music together in a way, helps you find your sound. Just think of a guitarist, they may have a few sounds for different feels/situations, but in a broad sense they're really only playing with 3-4 different variations with slight tweaks. Especially with bass music I think the focus should be more on what's happening around the drums. And honestly most dubstep drums are largely the same anyway.

I personally already keep Ableton templates with drums laid down in different BPMS, so when I get an idea I can jump right in with the backbone of the track already there...usually they stay in the final version too.

Attila wrote:Especially with bass music I think the focus should be more on what's happening around the drums. And honestly most dubstep drums are largely the same anyway.

This statement is wrong.

yeah i usually make the drums first, or build my tracks around the drums....

so i guess that's why it's strange to me to use same samples over (unless they're 808/909s)

I used to have a snare that I made and cained it in every song (to the point where everybody noticed) so I stopped using it for a while. Found it the other day again and used it in a track I'm making and it's never sounded so good before

It's like finding an old toy you used to play with as a kid... ah the nostalgia