Hannah Peel Covers OMD's "Electricity" on Music Box

Hannah Peel has released an EP of 80's covers all performed on a music box that she found in her grandmothers attic via sampling.

[via BoingBoing]

Music from Nature by Diego Stocco

Sound designer Diego Stocco (the man who brought you the infamous burning piano samples in Omnisphere) was commissioned by Burt's Bee's to create a piece of music for earth day using sounds created by natural sources.  Just a reminder that you don't need the latest greatest equipment... there are sounds all around you just waiting to be made into music!

[via Burtsbeesvideos on [YouTube]

An Unusual Way to Dirty Up Samples

I've got a new album coming out in a couple months and recently had to drive down to Portland to take some publicity shots.  Given that most of the music I like doesn't get a lot radio play, I plugged my iPod into the FM transmitter I had picked up for my wife so I could listen through the car's stereo.

Flipping through the presets to try and find a channel that would work, there was interference on almost every one.  I could hear my music, but it was coming through distorted and mangled.  Then it occurred to me that this might be a cool way to dirty up samples... "analog circuit bending" almost.

1.  Record the sounds you want to sample as a WAV or MP3 and import it onto your phone or MP3 player.

2.  Use an FM transmitter that allows you to manually set the transmitting frequency to send your phone/MP3 player's signal through the car stereo.

3. On your car's radio, locate a station that is just barely coming in with lots of interference.  Set the FM transmitter to that station.

4.  Play back your samples and use a portable recorder like a Zoom H2 to re-record your now filthed up samples.

Mind you, this is a very unpredictable way of messing with samples that doesn't give you a lot of control over how your sounds are distorted, but if you play around using different channels with varying degrees of interference, you'll be surprised by how wide a range of distortions/manglings you can achieve.

Cool Radio Piece on Sampling

"On the Media" just ran an interesting feature on sampling called "They Say I Stole This" which can be streamed from their website. Here's their write-up of it:

"Twenty years ago a series of lawsuits criminalized the hip-hop sampling of artists like Hank Shocklee and Public Enemy. And yet, two decades later, artists like Girl Talk have found success breaking those same sampling laws. OTM producer Jamie York talks to Girl Talk, Shocklee and Duke Law professor James Boyleabout two decades of sampling - on both sides of the law."

A Look at the Sampling Function of the New Fairlight 30A

[via fairlightinstruments on YouTube]

The Surprising Sources Behind Burial's Music

If you're not familiar with the British ambient dubstep artist Burial, he weaves lush, atmospheric tracks that are as evocative as they are beautiful. And he does it all in a sound editor by manually editing samples. Whosampled.com has the surprising sources of some of those samples, which made me even more impressed with his music given how far away from the source material his music sounds. Thanks to Cobra for sharing the link.

The Ten Most Sampled Breakbeats of All Time

These types of articles come up on the web all the time, but I always find them interesting. Here's one via WhoSampled.com that includes video clips of each song. It's especially interesting to hear the drum break in its original context. You have to wonder if any of these drummer imagined that their work would still be an important part in new music, 40-50+ years down the road.

Also be sure to check out their excellent "Ten Vocal Samples You've Heard a Million Times Before, But Never Knew Where They're From" post.

Back in My Day... Remember When Samplers Actually Sampled?

A lot has changed the way we create and listen to music these days. A lot of the changes I'm generally pretty cool with, although transitioning from hardware to software took some getting used to. But one thing that has always driven me a bit crazy about software samplers - namely that very few of them actually sample anymore.

I get the logic. We have tons of excellent dedicated audio editors that allow us to edit and process sounds with more precision than any sampler. So why not eliminate the sampling process, let people record sounds in their DAW and edit away in their editor of choice? Because it makes sampling a much less spontaneous process, and I think it has had a detrimental effect on how many musicians use sampling in their music. With my old EPS-16+, I hit the sample button, trigger the audio I want to sample, and choose the root key, and I'm done. With Kontakt or EXS-24, I've got to record the audio in my DAW or editor, edit and re-save my individual samples, then I have to fire up my software sampler, import the sounds, map them and make sure their root key is set correctly, and save the instrument within the sampler. Hardly very efficient.

I think this more deliberate process discourages the kind of experimentation we saw at sampling's birth. Instead of trying to make new instrument sounds from junk found in our closets, sampling seems to have become more of a glorified loop playback method. Is this a product of the evolution of sampling, or is it at least partially due to the way the tools changed? My guess is it's a little of both. The changes in tools are usually good, but not always. During the late 80's and early 90's, many synth manufacturers decided we no longer needed resonant filters. Turns out we totally did. Maybe the approach software samplers generally take is a similar mistake. I'd love to see more soft-samplers including the option to sample within the sampler itself. It would be interesting to see if this changed the way we all use sampling again. And it might keep the old-timers from grumbling quite so much.

FXpansion Announces Geist

Iced Audio Releases Update for AudioFinder

Iced Audio have released an update to their acclaimed AudioFinder software for OSX. For those unfamiliar with it, AudioFinder builds a catalog of every sound file on your system and lets you tag them, organize them, assign them to projects, and otherwise organize your samples to make them easy and quick to find when you need them. As someone who has wasted entire afternoons looking for a specific kick drum sample, this sounds pretty good.

The new update (5.0.6) adds the following:

• Added Support for Spotting sounds to the cursor in Apple Logic 9 or newer.

• Sample Tools now accept MIDI input for playing back at variable pitches/speeds. This is automatically enabled when a Sample Tool is front-most window.

• Added import of "Hollywood Edge" sound library ".tab" files in the Metadata Database Manager.

• Bug fix with Metadata Editor Templates. If a Template was applied to a sound already in the database the path could be reset to be AFMetadataStoreTemplate.

• Metadata Database Viewer Templates have a new format, any old ones in use will need to be updated.

• Fixed the Escape Key to end editing of renaming operation in the list view.

• Bug fix – sometimes after renaming a file the keyboard shortcuts could stop working.

• Bug fix AudioViewer shortcuts when detached (free mode).

• Fixed a bug in the Folder Column Browser that only effected Leopard.

• Other bug fixes.

IK Multimedia Revives Sampletank Free

IK Multimedia has revived its free version of SampleTank for PC and Mac, removing the previous restrictions and adding a 500 MB sound bank. All you have to do is register at the IK Multimedia website. Here's what they have to say about it:

"SampleTank FREE is a full-featured version of SampleTank 2.5, with a 500 MB specially selected samples library. Now you can experience the full power and flexibility of the industry's leading sound sample engine for FREE and build your compositions to perfection.

No longer limited - Multiple instances that opens ALL SampleTank format sounds, import functionality, and the ability to create your own user presets.

• Over 500 MB samples for over 200 sounds included 16 part multitimbral with easy layerable/mixable parts

• 3 synth engines:

- STRETCH™ (formant preserving pitch-shift/time-stretch)
- Polyphonic Pitch-Shift/Time-Stretch (PS/TS)
- Resampling

• The most powerful multi-effects section in a virtual instrument:

- 5 insert effects per Part
- 5 Send effects
- Master effects

• 33 built-in DSP effects derived from award winning audio processors like T-RackS and AmpliTube
• Part and Master Loop Sync
• Can be expanded with: SampleTank 2.5 L and XL sounds and any "Powered by SampleTank" sound modules including Miroslav Philharmonik, Sonik Synth 2, SampleMoog, SampleTron
• Can be expanded with any Xpansion Tank 2 sounds
• Imports WAV, AIFF, SDII, AKAI S-1000/3000, SAMPLECELL
• Available both as a standalone application as well as a plug-in
• VST, RTAS, and AU on Mac OS X/Windows"

Making A Drum Kit With Your Mouth

Before hip-hop hit the big time, it was a very underground phenomenon and as a result, most of the artists at the time had to make music as cheaply as possible. Indeed, some bands couldn't even afford a drum machine, so "beatboxing" was born where a performer would imitate the sounds of a drum kit with his mouth to create the beat for the rapper to do his thing over. While it seems kind of hokey now, your own voice is actually still quite a decent source for new drum and percussion sounds. Here are some tips on getting the best results from your vocal drum sample experiments:

• Just Let Loose
I recommend setting up your DAW to record and just record a whole bunch of random sounds at once. Try imitating the sounds of different drums with your voice. Alternately, try making percussive sounds that aren't imitating anything... a cough, a wheeze, a burp, a sharp inhale or exhale, etc. Just improvise and don't give it too much thought. Once you feel you've had enough, import the file into your favorite audio editor and separate the good stuff from the bad stuff. These are just your raw sounds. You're going to want to...

• Use Effects to Sculpt Your Sounds
When I got my first sampler (an Ensoniq Mirage rack), I was disappointed by the fact that when I tried to make vocal drum samples, they didn't sound as awesome as when Yello did it. The reason, of course, aside from the fact that Yello are godlike, is that their samples had been processed more than cheese in a can. Definitely take the time to experiment with compression, EQ, reverbs, filters, and other effects that may help you bring your sounds closer to the sounds you're trying to imitate. Use compression to exaggerate the attack and bring out the snap in your sounds. Use EQ to thin out cymbal sounds with a highpass filter, or exaggerate the low end frequencies in your kicks. Once you've processed your sounds into oblivion, resample them with the effects and build your kit.

• Use the Mic to Your Advantage
Microphones are subject to a phenomena known as "the proximity effect" where bass frequencies get exaggerated as the subject gets very close to the mic. You've probably heard comedians on TV use this trick to imitate the sound of explosions or the voice of God. All you need to do is get yourself unnaturally close to the mic and the proximity effect takes care of the rest. Most mics are also very sensitive to plosives, or the popping vocal sounds like the letters P or B make that are produced with a percussive burst of air. If you don't use a pop filter or get too close to the mic, these get exaggerated and result in pops. Don't be afraid to sample some of those to act as the start to new percussion sounds with a little sound design.

• Stretch and Pitch
By no means should you feel you need to use your samples "as is". Take advantage of your sampler's abilities to re-pitch sounds or use time-stretching and granular processing to alter their length and character. Pitching sounds up past their root key is an easy way of adding a little punch to your sounds. Try playing the sounds backwards, too.

• Layer
You'll get much better results if you break up the sound you're trying to imitate into components. So if you're imitating a snare drum, use one sample to imitate the resonance of the drum shell, one to imitate the crack of the impact, and one to imitate the rattle or buzz of the snare. Process them separately until you're happy, then use a bus to compress the individual layers together and resample!

Review: Wave Alchemy Drum Machines 02

Library: Drum Machines 02
Format: Downloadable 24-bit WAVs with mapped instruments for popular soft samplers.
Genre: Any genre that need electronic drum sounds
Developers Site: Wave Alchemy
Distributed by: Loopmasters
Price: £24.95
Demo: On product page (A selection of free samples from the library are also available here)

Drum Machines 02 is the latest release from Wave Alchemy, a company quickly building a name for itself as the source for some of the best sounding electronic drum samples on the market. This library collects the company's previous micro packs of Roland TR-808, Roland, TR-909, and Drumfire DF2000, and adds samples sourced from an MFB Schlagzwerg. The sounds were recorded and processed through everything from hi-end pre-amps to vintage samplers and filters, so they don't require additional processing to sound great in a mix. But doesn't the world already have enough 808 and 909 samples?

It's true that there is no shortage of 808 and 909 samples out there. Other sample libraries, both free and commercial, have explored this territory many times over already. But while you've no doubt heard these famous drum machines countless times already, I'd wager that you've never heard them sound this good. Wave Alchemy is known for the production quality of their drum sounds and this is no exception. Kicks and snares sound impossible snappy and present. The cymbals are clear as a bell. The percussion punches through a mix perfectly. In addition to tweaking the settings on the drum machines to obtain different sounds, a really wide range of processing techniques were used here to stretch the boundaries of sounds you'd normally expect from these machines. The overdriven variations are especially nice with the perfect balance of hardness and warmth.

Wave Alchemy may have suspected that 808 and 909 samples, good as these are, might still be a tough sell, so they've wisely paired those two machines with sounds from a duo of less common drum machines: the Drumfire DF2000 and the MFB Schlagzwerg. Both of these machines can do some very similar sounds to the 808 and 909, but both also offer more extensive sound shaping parameters, so the sounds are a lot more varied, including some synthy FX and ring mod sounds. The sound of both the DrumFire and MFB units are unmistakeably analog and while these sounds mostly pale in comparison to the more iconic Roland drum machines, what is here is recorded and processed very well and offers an extended palette for those in the mood for something more synthy sounding.

As always, the sounds are divided up into sub folders by sound types making it quick to find the sounds you need. A handful of mapped out drum kits is included for the various soft sampelrs out there, but these don't include all the samples in the library, so if you want a "sound menu" type mapping of all the sounds, you'll need to take that on yourself. As a bonus, all of the samples are also available as professionally dithered 16-bit sample for those of you dinosaurs who still favor hardware samplers.

If you need some 808 and 909 samples, this is your library. I've literally never heard nicer samples of these machines and the processing is just jaw-dropping. The additional drum machines round things out nicely, and while they're not as inspiring as the Roland classics, they still sound great and give you an even wider range of sounds to choose from. [10/10]

A Modular Approach to Drum Sounds

Finding the perfect drum sound for your track can sometimes feel like the quest for the Holy Grail.  One kick has that perfect level of sub-bass, but lacks the 'smack' you're looking for.  One snare might have the perfect amount of punch, but is lacking body and weight.  And if you're like me, you probably have literally thousands of drum samples on your hard drive.  You can waste hours auditioning sounds looking for that mythical perfect drum sound when all you really want to do is make music.

One great way to avoid this problem is to take things into your own hands and create your own "Frankenstein's monster" drum sounds by combining multiple drum sounds that each have a component to the perfect sound you're imagining in your head.  Layering has always been a great way to create new sounds, but when working with drum sounds, there are some important things to remember.

• Be sure the sounds are sufficiently different.

If you're layering drum sounds with different characteristics, it's best not to select two very similar sounds with varied qualities.  In other words, try not to layer a really bassy 909 kick, with another 909 kick that has more smack to it.  While you can make this work with some clever EQing, it can introduce phasing problems and frequency mud when the shared frequencies combine.

• Be smart about EQ

Speaking of which, in the interest of keeping your sounds clean, be sure to be smart about EQing the unneeded frequencies in each layer just as you would when you're mixing a song.  If you're using a layer to add sub-bass oomph to your kick, be sure to filter out any higher and mid frequencies since these will be added by the layer you're using to add the smack/impact. Likewise, if you're using a layer to contribute to that mid-range punch, you don't really need all those low frequencies, since they're being provided by your bass layer.   

• Compressing twice as nice

The nice thing about building drum sounds this way is that each layer can have its own processing.  So you can compress with a really fast attack and long release on a layer to add sustain and body to one layer, and compress the layer you're using to add punch with a slower attack to emphasize the transient.  When you're done, applying some light to moderate compression to both sounds together via a bus can help glue together the different sounds to make it sound more like a single sound than two sounds combined.

•  Process separately

Don't stop at compression or EQ, though!  Each layer can have a completely different processing chain to help you further shape your sound.  Add some saturation or distortion to your sub kick for a harsh gabber kick, but keep the attack clean to preserve the transients that can sometimes get destroyed by distortion.  Add a little ambience to the crack of a snare to help it "smear" into the dry body portion of the sound.  Don't be afraid to get crazy with filters, glitch effects, and all other manner of more extreme effects, either!

•  Change your tune

Most drum sounds contain at least some semblance of a musical note to them.  When you're combining sounds, it's important to make sure that all the layers are tuned to the same general note.  Your ears are your best guide here, and when you hit the "sweet spot" where both layers are in tune, it should be obvious.  But if you need a little help, you may be able to get some help via a guitar tuner plug-in that detects note pitch.  This depends on how prominent the tonal characteristics are, obviously.

•  Resample your sample

Once you've got the processing and balance between both layers of your drum sound, take the time to bounce the sound out as a single sample that you can import into your sampler of choice.  You'll build a decent customized drum library in no time and save yourself a lot of work in the future.  You might also consider bouncing out the individual components.  Build a library of processed layers, so you can have, for example, a bunch of attack and punch samples, or sustain and body samples that you can freely interchange and experiment with.

Preparing for Field Recordings

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently picked up a Zoom H2 to do some field recordings as a source of sample fodder. This actually isn't the first time I've done such a thing, as many, many years ago I owned a Sony TCD-D7 portable DAT recorder and snuck into the construction site for what would become the Bryce Jordan Event Center at Penn State in the dead of night and recorded some girders and metal percussion sounds. That night ended with me being chased by a (thankfully) severely overweight security guard. Since then I've learned a few things that have made this process run a little more smoothly, so I thought I'd share those with you today.

1. Scout Your Locations
Have you ever watched one of those car commercials that centers around beauty shots of the car driving through absolutely stunning scenery? That didn't happen by accident. Before the film crew even schedules their flights, someone went out, found the location, studied it for potential trouble spots, and took extensive test shots. This saves the film crew untold amounts of time and trouble and is a practice you should consider when making field recordings. Visit the location first and study it for things that might interfere with a pristine recording... heavy traffic, an air conditioner or fan, attack dogs, etc. Is there a time of day when these sounds might not be an issue? Which brings me to...

2. Learn to Really Listen to the Environment
Human beings, especially those of us who live in the city, are quite talented at learning how to block out the background noise that permeates our lives. This is one thing you really need to unlearn to get the best out of your field recordings. When you really start paying attention, you'll probably be amazed at the cacophony you tune out every day. Planes flying overhead, trains sounding their whistles in the distance, police sirens, the dull rumble of freeway traffic, electrical hum from heavy lighting... all of these can make getting a crystal clear recording more difficult. But if you learn to hear them in the field, versus when you're editing in your studio, you'll save yourself a lot of frustration.

3. Be Aware of Yourself
Obviously, there are many things you can do to avoid outside interference with your field recording, but what probably screws up more amateur field recordings than anything else is the recordist themselves. If you're using a high quality condenser mic (which you generally will for such endeavors), even one with a very narrow pick-up pattern, you'll be amazed at how much it picks up. The rustling of clothes, breathing or coughing, even just shifting your stance can ruin an otherwise great recording if you're not aware of them. If you have trouble controlling these types of issues, consider setting up your device to record and walking away from it for awhile. If you are indoors, be aware of other low level sounds such as computer fans, air conditioning, or even such seemingly innocent things as an aquarium.

4. Use Headphones
The best way to save yourself time and catch mistakes before you get to editing your sounds is to monitor what you're recording with headphones. You'll want closed-back headphones for the best results, as these will cut you off from the environment when you're listening or double checking a previous recording. Headphones let you adjust your monitoring to taste and can help you catch those low level or background noises much easier.

5. Pay Attention to Your Levels
Aside from background noises, the thing that ruins more field recordings than anything is improperly set input levels. Most field recorders worth their salt have adjustable gain levels, or at least a simple way of lowering or raising your recording level so it doesn't clip. Some modern field recorders even have options to strap a built-in compressor or limited across the inputs, but this is recommended only for when you are recording extremely loud things, as it is much more preferable to retain the natural dynamics of a sound in the raw form so you have more flexibility when it comes time to edit. Take time to get the levels right. Make sure it's not so quiet that it'll get lost in the noise floor and not so loud that the resulting recording sounds like bacon frying.

6. Embrace Imperfection
As reader Fractured rightly pointed out in the comments of the previous post, pristine recordings are great, but there is a certain character to imperfect recordings that shouldn't be written off either. Obviously, some applications demand perfect, clean sounds. However, if you're recording sounds for sampling purposes, a little background hum, the squeal of a car with crappy breaks, or a distant train might just add that special something that really gives the sound an identity. Never underestimate the value of happy mistakes.

And finally... if you want to make a recording on private property, get permission first. That next security guard might not be so overweight. So how about it... any other field recording enthusiasts out there care to share their experiences or tips?

On the Attack

Many years ago, I read about a study that was done regarding the way our ears identify sounds.  In this study, scientists took recordings of ordinary acoustic instruments, but they edited out the initial attack portion of the sounds.  What they discovered is that people had a significantly more difficult time identifying sounds that had this attack portion removed.

Obviously, this tells us that the attack portion of a sound is very important in defining the character of a sound.  This is useful in trying to replicate real world sounds, but what I find more interesting is the possibilities this opens in the realm of sound design.  Try taking a sample of a guitar or piano an edit out the attack portion.  The sound will have a definite organic quality to it, but will also sound  a bit alien since this is not the way our ears are accustomed to hearing it.

If you want to take it a step further, try combining the edited attack portion of one type of sound with the sustain portion of another.  This is the basis of the "sample + synthesis" craze that swept the 90's, best exemplified by synths like the Roland D-50 or the Ensoniq SQ-80.  It is entirely possible to create very strange sounds using the most mundane sources if you just mix them up.  Try building your own library of attack and sustain samples of real sounds and before long you'll have your own unique "sample + synthesis" timbres...

What Am I Allowed to Sample?

One question that I see endlessly debated on various forums online is what exactly the law is in regards to sampling from movies, television, or other bands' music.  The truth is, there are really two answers to this... the legal answer (boo! hiss!) and the practical answer.

Legally, the dialogue, sound effects, and soundtrack of a television show or movie or the music on a CD is copyrighted whether it's released by a major studio or by your neighbor's kid.  Technically speaking, any creative work is copyrighted by its creator the moment it comes into being.  How long this copyright lasts depends on the laws in your country, but at some point, a works copyright expires and the work enters what is called "public domain".  Public domain simply means that the copyright is no longer controlled by anyone and the work may be freely used by anyone for any purpose they choose.  Note that most copyrights last for long enough that there are relatively few recordings around, especially in TV and film that are considered in the public domain.

Copyright can be complex, too.  You could make a recording of any of Beethoven's works and not have to seek permission because all of Beethoven and his contemporaries works have long been in the public domain.  However, if you took a sample from someone else's recording of the Beethoven piece, you'd need permission because the RECORDING of that performance is copyrighted even if the piece itself is in the public domain.

So from the sound of this, it kind of seems like you're screwed if you want to use something you sampled from someone else's work.  But let's look at this issue practically.  While using a sample like this without permission from the copyright holder is technically against the law, the odds of this becoming an issue for you are pretty miniscule.  Generally speaking, a copyright holder is only going to sue you if they can hope to recover more than the legal costs they'd incur by suing you.  So if you're just a hobbiest, or even a professional who sells less than 150,000 or so records, you can probably sample as you please.  If you're in a position where you are a well-known artist or you think the song is going to be a blow-up hit (and let's be honest, it probably won't be, statistically speaking), then it's time to consider clearing the sample with the copyright holder or simply replacing the sample.

Listen, I'm not one to advocate anyone doing something illegal, but this is one of those cases where, unless you end up making a lot of money from a track using a sample of someone else's work, you can stop stressing and sample without fear of being taken to court.  But be responsible about it.  Don't sample giant sections of another band's songs and call it your own work (cough*daftpunk*cough).  Be creative.  Make the sample the seed for something new and different.  Recontextualize and reconceptualize.  But most importantly, stop worrying.  

5 Ways of Emulating Vintage Samplers

It never fails.  The moment a piece of music technology falls out of favor, the clock starts ticking down to when it will be considered trendy and desirable again.  In the 80's digital synths came along as shiny, new alternatives to 'outdated' analog synths.  But after many years of wandering the digital wilderness, most musicians realized there was a special quality in those dusty old analogs that couldn't be replicated in chilly ones and zeros.  Suddenly, analog was "cool" again.  

When sampling technology finally became accessible to mere mortals and not just uber-rich Fairlight and Synclavier enthusiasts, the race was on to increase fidelity and leave behind the limitations of those first 8-bit samplers.  Bit depth and sampling rates increased and memory capacity expanded until the average sampled sound was indistinguishable from the same sound recorded on a CD.  But sure enough, after many years of enjoying the pristine sound quality of the new sampling technology, musicians began to explore and exploit the limitations of the old school samplers.    Suddenly the grain of low bit-rate samples and the metallic grit of aliasing is very much in style.  So how can you emulate the sonic artifacts of some of the long forgotten vintage samplers?  I'm glad you asked...

1.)  Buy a Vintage Sampler

Of course the simplest and most direct way to get that vintage sound is to buy an actual vintage sampler.  Hardware sampling technology, unlike analog synths, has only gone down in value after the arrival of software samplers, so for the most part, you can get most vintage samplers for relative pocket change.  The downside of this is you have to deal with learning each sampler's OS - and rest assured, try programming an Ensoniq Mirage with its 2-digit hexidecimal LED display and you will never complain about a soft synth's GUI ever again, no matter how hideous.  You also have to deal with finding outdated storage formats to save sounds to.  So while this is the best way to get that vintage sound, it is not without its hassles.  That said, I keep an old Ensoniq EPS-16+ around soley for this purpose and wouldn't dream of selling it.

2.) Playing with Bit-Depth

You have a Bit Crusher among your arsenal of plug-ins, right?  (If you say you don't, you're wrong, look again.  Or go download this free one from Togu Audio Line).  One of the two main controls you'll find on any self-respecting bit crusher is for Bit Depth.  Bit depth refers to the number of bits used to store each sample of a piece of audio.  If you're trying to replicate the sound of a specific bit of gear, it helps to know what bit depth the original device offered.  Akai's popular S-series samplers and Emu's Emulator III were 16-bit samplers.  Ensoniq's original EPS was actually a 13(!)-bit sampler.  The infamous MPC-60 drum machine from Akai was 12-bit.  The original Emulator, the original Fairlight, and the Ensoniq Mirage were all 8-bit.  Those obnoxious little sound chips you occasionally find in greeting cards are usually 4-bit.  Since bit-depth largely governs the dynamic range of a sampled sound, you can also try compressing your sounds a bit more aggressively the lower the bit-depth you are trying to emulate is.  But if you take nothing else from this blurb let it be this: 12-bit is pure magic on drums.  For realsies.  Just try it.

3.)  Abuse Your Sample Rate

As you may have guessed, the Sample Rate is the other major component you'll find on just about any bit crusher type effect. The sample rate refers to the number of tiny 'snapshots' of a sound your sampler is taking per second.  More samples per second results in a more accurate representation of the original sound  in the same way a picture taken on your cell phone is never going to look as nice as your friend's super expensive SLR camera.  Conversely, however, the lower you take the sample rate, the harder it is for your sampler to construct an accurate picture of your sound.  Lower the sample rate enough and you will hear an artifact known as Aliasing.  Aliasing is a sort of metallic, "robotic"sounding distortion that results when the sample rate isn't adequate enough to accurately reproduce higher frequencies and the sampler attempts to recreate it with what it has available and fails miserably.  It's an error, essentially, and one that can be exploited for some really great effects.  While aliasing was something most people wanted to avoid back in the early days of sampling, the miniscule memory limitations on these early machines meant lower sample rates were often used to save space, so it was often an inevitability.  Indeed, most samplers had a limitation built in as to what the fastest sample rate could be.  The key here is subtlety.  Going overboard can sound great, but it doesn't reflect the way we used samplers back then.  In general, make longer samples have a lower sample rate, as it was these larger samples that required sizing down the most.  Add just a little bit of the digital grunge and you'll be a long way towards replicating the sound.

4. Keep it Short

As I just mentioned, RAM was very expensive in the days of the early samplers, so most of these machines had almost insanely small memories. 512k and 1 or 2 MB limitations were not uncommon.  And that's not a per instrument limitation, that is your TOTAL memory.  One thing these memory limitations lead to was abnormally short sounds - often a bit abruptly cut off.  Sample developers were trying to squeeze out every spare fraction of a second they could.  This is why crash cymbal sounds on so many early sampling drum machines and samplers sound very abrupt and unnaturally short.  Looping was also commonly used  to preserve space.  Nowadays, we might just sample the entire length of a piano note, but back in the day, sample creators would attempt to find a place not far after the attack transient where they could simply loop a short fragment of audio, thus allowing them to use their samplers envelopes to shape the sound and store it in a fraction of the space.  This obviously lead to more static, less natural sounding sustains on a lot of instruments, but it is an important thing to consider if you're after that old school sound.

5.  What's Your Output?

One of the big differences between hardware and software samplers is in the output stage.  With a software sampler, some cleverly written code  recreates the sounds through the outputs of your sound card or renders the sounds direct to disc.  On a hardware sampler, the sampler has its own outputs, which you then record into your sound card in order to play it back through the outputs of your sound card.  That extra stage of output is a subtle thing, but it can definitely color your sounds.  When I sold my Emu E6400 after I transferred my library over to Kontakt format, I immediately noticed a difference in the way the samples sounded.  Drum sounds in particular lost a quite a bit of the low end warmth.  Obviously different samplers had different quality converters and outputs, so surely some will color the sound more than others, but this is something worth considering playing around with a bit.  Even if you aren't trying to perfectly replicate the sound of an old sampler, try using things like tape emulators or coloration plug-ins like PSP's VintageWarmer 2 to add a little bit of character to your sounds. You'll be amazed at what a difference a tasteful amount of audio coloration can make. 

Try It Out: Go on a Sampling Bender

I don't know about you, but for me, nothing inspires working on new music quite like some new sounds.  Sure, you can buy some, or download some free samples online, but it can be a lot more fun looking for your own samples and building a custom library of sounds.

One great way to do this is to go on what I call a "sampling bender".  I'll set aside a day on the weekend and spend that entire day doing nothing but sampling new sounds.  If you don't have anything interesting laying around the house to sample, no worries.  Scour your CD collection/music library for isolated instruments and sounds that you can easily snag.  Listen to just the sound portion of your favorite movies on DVD and see if you find anything that might be interesting. 

Snagging the samples is just the first step, though.  The real fun comes into customizing the samples you take and turning them into entirely new sounds.  Try layering 3 different snare drums with different qualities, EQ them individually, compress them together, and bounce it out again to create a new, custom sample.  Look for unusual ways you can use ordinary sound.  The squeak of a chair's legs across a wooden floor from your favorite scene in a movie might sound wicked transposed down two octaves and fed through a big reverb.  The gasp of the shocked heroine when she discovers the dead body might make an interesting attack transient when layered over another synth sound.  Loop some breathing underneath a pad sound for some interesting added texture. You get the idea.

I think you'll find these marathon sampling sessions really productive if you give them a chance, mostly because they're a lot of fun.  And as an added benefit, you end up with a nifty new sample library!

Rolling Your Own Tech Stabs

Minimal and tech house are some of the many flavors of house popular in the clubs right now, and if you want to make this kind of music, you're probably going to need some nice, futuristic sounding stab/chord hit sounds. Sure, you can sample them from other tracks or look for synth presets that fit the bill, but it's so much more satisfying when you do it yourself - especially when it is so easy!

All you need is a vocoder, a softsynth of some sort (if your vocoder of choice doesn't have a built-in synth), and a nice, sharp snare drum sample. All vocoders operate a little differently, so I can't get too specific here and will assume you understand at least the basics of how to use one.

Basically speaking, you want your synth sound (built-in or otherwise) to act as the carrier, while your snare drum sound acts as the modulator. The selection of the synth sound will determine the basic timbre of your stab sound, so take some time to find a good one. For a more tech-oriented sound, you might want to look for something a bit more complex than the standard sawtooth wave. Choirs are always great, as are crisp 'digital' sounds.

Selection of the snare sample is less important, but keep in mind that it will be shaping the envelope of your stab sound. So if you want a longer stab, use a snare with some long reverb applied to it. Conversely, if you want shorter, percussive stabs, use something like an 808 snare.

Finally, you'll need to program a MIDI track for your synth/softsynth/vocoder's built-in synth with a chord on it. What type of chord really depends on what kind of atmosphere you're trying to set, but don't be afraid to grab some big, two-handed monster chords! Now, program a single note on your snare track. If you've got everything set up correctly, you should hear your new tech hit ready to be bounced down or exported to your sampler of choice. Be sure to experiment with applying different reverbs to your hit to give it that lush feel that will really fill out your tracks and add some sheen.

From here, all you have to do is experiment with different chords and synth sounds and you have access to a virtually limitless variety of different stab sounds with very little effort. You're generally going to want to use a vocoder with really clear high end. Native Instruments now defunct Vokator is a good one, but I think the best one for this type of thing is Prosoniq's excellent Orange Vocoder. (It's what I used for the free Tech Stab sample pack I posted recently...)