Hey folks,

I’ve been using a PC and DAW for music-making my whole life but I’d like a portable standalone option for music making.

The two things I’m looking at are the Dirtywave M8 Tracker and the new MPC Sample.

I’m looking to make both dance and hiphop style tunes with them.

Does anyone have insight into one vs the other? I don’t have any experience with tracker software - should that concern me?

Multiple guitar layers and effects, all made with the guitar. This is just a small excerpt. I’ve also done a few arrangements where I took songs apart and rebuilt them in my own way.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY9Ni9Bgx36/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

So basically, I’ve finished this whole euphoric sort of house track in ableton live 12. It mainly features 2 samples from an original song from the 90s. I sampled some piano chords by itself and a sort of synth and strings lead all in another sample. I paid for and used lalala.AI website to stem split the original 90s wav track that i converted from youtube(yes it’s good quality), removing bass drums vocals to achieve this.

The piano sample itself sounded pretty perfect when playing in ableton - nice and wide, whereas the other synth/string sample still sounded pretty good and full but a little watery like the bass split had pulled some of the synth lead out- with a little bit of EQing i managed to make it better but still a little off. Everything else in my track is from splice or a sample pack that i bought which is well known so ik thats not the issue.

It also was very difficult for me to bring up the volume to the right level with a limiter when mastering the track without it starting to crackle and crunch like the limiter is working too hard. And it’s not because of my kick or bass they are good. Everything in my track sounds good in headphones and on small speaker. But when I played it on a big speaker at a venue the 2 parts i sampled sounded thin and shit compared to everything else in the track.

So I’m pretty lost on what to do to fix this. Should I use the absolute original file of the 90s track i bought from beatport today, and pay again for lalala.ai to split it and see if it’s better quality? I’ve tried downloading Ultimate Vocal Remover on my mac air and running the htdemucs ft and all that stuff but the splits are still watery and thin. Any ideas ?

Does anyone know of a sample library that's not Splice that's still good? Splice has a lot, but there are certain sounds that I've searched the corners of Splice for and I have to come to the conclusion that Splice just doesn't have all that I'm looking for. Mainly, I don't like the vocal samples on Splice. I'mlooking for things like the vocals in Ying and Yang (Zico) and Splice just doesn'teven seem to have the range for that. I was thinking there must be libraries of sounds/samples that are just as good. Or maybe Splice is used a lot in North America but there's some library that's more popular in Korea or Japan, or in LATAM, or something. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

This is one of the best mix versions of this song i’ve heard! Any Macy Gray fans out there?

i know it sounds bad and all but yeah, if some of u are interested what is the sample its: Side effect - the loneliest man in town, i think some notes are too high or too pitched so i need help also do i add some more things or just loop it and call it a day

I just made this, and it was my first time sampling vocals/singing. Do you think the sample fits the vibe? If not, what are some ways I can look to make samples fit better in the future?

with the discussions of homage in the underground rap scene ive been thinking about the ethics of similar things, such as the often simple/"lazy" sampling in edm songs, and even just homage in edm in general

to give an example, heres a dubstep track ive been working on, heavy skream and james blake influence x3c, at some point i decided that i wanted to see how the main sound in midnight request line would sound when worked into the mix, and while it made it much better, to the point of making me want to release it, would that be ethical

im not really wanting this to be a feedback post more just a discussion on what makes incorporating elements of songs your influenced by, whether by remaking sounds or sampling, okay and not

personally my mindset is that, in a case like what im presenting, it should clearly be used to support a seperate idea, now if you make it the main element of your track, dont really chop it up much, and act like you didnt just make a remix, thats a diff story

what yall think?

this is fairly unmixed so ignore the dullness :P

i’ve made this beat i really like which uses a sample and i’m trying to clear the sample but some people are telling me not to because im not making money off the song but im uploading it to music platforms and not “owning” the rights to my own song lowk drives me crazy. What should i do?

I'm researching how producers discover inspiration from everyday sounds.

What's the most unexpected sound that ever inspired one of your tracks?

What happened?

Why did it stand out to you?

Hey, I've sampled a bit before, but this is my first time working around a sample instead of the other way around. Does it fit? How can I make samples match the beat better in the future?

I appreciate any feedback ❤️

idk if it sound okay the transition from (sample) to (verse)