is using loops wrong?

Discussion in 'Working with Sound' started by paraplu020, Jun 13, 2012.

  1. xsze

    xsze Guest

    It's like asking nexus user is it wrong to use pre-made patches,of course it isn't, if some loop fits your vision, go for it, it's made to be used :)

    But, I'm talking about no-kick kinda of loops, whole thing is just like you put something else in your track, you want more reverb on snare...oh snap...you have everything in one package...same with other stuff...it's really bad idea ;)

    Personally, don't use loops, nothing pre made, one shots o.k there is nice things around, but I can't find that one loop that fit my groove, I can bet you can't too, or you are just lucky or you built your track around that loop...maybe it's basic loop, who knows...
     
  2. elucidation

    elucidation Newbie

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    These days, loops can be pretty much the same as using VSTi's, simply because of the existence of MELODYNE DNA TECHNOLOGY. WOOHOOO!!
     
  3. djradu

    djradu Newbie

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    I guess that if one takes some loops/samples it can give you some ideas about what you want to do,with some loops and samples you can "play" around just to get another sound , i guess its great to make it all from scratch but its sometimes ok to have a foundation like the loops and samples are :wink:
     
  4. fritoz

    fritoz Ultrasonic

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    i remember the first song i made using massive for the main bass and synths and pads and random weird noises..

    it was a great feeling to know i did it all myself using controllers to automate things and what not

    even though i was a beginner then and mixed the track horribly, the fact i spent so much time learning the ins and outs of massive still make it one of my favorite songs

    :)
     
  5. frequencies

    frequencies Newbie

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    I personally think it's alright if you're not copying the melody and you're just using the drums. Construction Kits are also cool for giving you an idea on how to arrange or create a melody of your own. No need to copy. But to each his own, That's what the creators of the drum kits make them for, so you can use them how YOU want.
     
  6. 0on3

    0on3 Guest

    NO! ..... it is not !!

    Let me ask ; have you a full 110 piece orchestra in yer studio/bedroom/basement...ect.
    Do you play (let alone one instrument you werk'd yer A$$ off to learn how to play??
    "Let alone 3 or 12 !@#$????"

    Samples are fine to use ..... have been since the 70'z ; starting with ANYTHING the
    "BeeGee's" produced to the 'whuuooop-whuuooop!' _ stuff you've heard in all those disco
    Songs.

    And its ESPECIALLY OK to use samples .....
    'here comes the Shamless plug' ; when there from ....

    ~ " Ø/on3 •™ " ~

    L0L!!!

    :bleh:
     
  7. fraggle83

    fraggle83 Member

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    Hey 0on3, THANKS A LOT FOR THE PAGE LINK and for all the hard work to create all those kontakt libraries for free! :wink:
    Also thanks to you, i discovered TINDECK site which has tons of good music and musicians!
    Just one question in case you come back here and read this. Seeing that most of the post in your site are from 2009, the missing links
    probably never will be uploaded ... Hope i'm wrong! *yes*

    BTW, i like A LOT the music you do *yes*

    Today is one of this days that one can feel deep inside that live is worth to be lived! :mates:
     
  8. jayhind

    jayhind Ultrasonic

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    0on3, you are a saint!

    I despise loops or any kind of help when making music. Its my ego, it won't take it.
    Besides, it also depends upong what genre you are into, I am into Rock, Metal, Orchestral and there is no need for loops there (some people use Midi grooves with drum samplers, but not me). But I guess it is not uncommon in EDM and other Electronic.
     
  9. Someone

    Someone Noisemaker

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    Wow, why didn't I found your librarys before :wow:
    Thanks for them :wink:
     
  10. 0on3

    0on3 Guest

    "Threadkiller" .... (Gawd , I luv that name !! ..... :rofl: )

    Im a FULL BLOWN METAL HEAD 2 ! ! ! !
    (Styles range as a vocalist from Soundgarden, Alice, NiN to DIO ,
    Especially Judas Priest !!)

    But , I guess to clarify a bit here .... I mostly make 'Synths' that I own.
    And then sell them on ebay; And buy more Synths ; so I can keep on building!!

    So , these to me ; are just fine in usage & its EZ'r to drag a laptop & kontakt to
    a gig , then it is to F#k up yer back with draggin 'round heavy A$$ keyboardz!@#$!!!

    ..... But yet , I feel ; that even if ya cant play drums, guitar or other instruments ;
    I think its fine to use kontakt and other sample tecnikz.

    I play 12 different instruments Very Well ..... I feel my blessings and a need to share
    with others whom ; 1# / cant afford all the gear , and 2# / Cant play all these instruments.

    Aside from that , really ..... bottom line ; "I get to meet people all over the world at my
    site !!! But mostly , I get to help them see a compo thru to the finish ; when otherwise ,
    they'd never be able to do it.

    [ BTW: since 2009 , almost ALL my post's have been updated and revised!! ]

    ' B3 iNSPiRED ! ! ! ! '

    0:1

    :wink:
     
  11. Melee

    Melee Newbie

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    I have almost 100,000 different samples from horns to special FX to thousands of bass drum loops and standard snare type drum loops. Some with claps/snaps/cymbals included some just solo drums and I add the cymbals. Here's the thing. I have no musical raining. I can't tell you what a 1/32 chord or 1/8 is, I can't tell what octave or what key something is in and if I could tell I wouldn't know why I need to know it or what the information could be used for. However .. I do know what sounds good TO ME. So when I take many many hours to wade through all my drum samples just to pick out one that would sound good with this synth sound I found earlier, I think that is fine because I am making music that sounds good. isn't the goal to make music people want to hear? If the goal is to just impress people with your guitar ability then go onto one of those America's got talent type shows and everybody will cheer for you. I just want to make music people will listen to.

    My technique is basically find either a drum beat or a synth that I really like as step one. Then if it is a synth, I will find a drum beat that sounds good with it. Then depending I might add a hi-hat/cymbal loop with it. Then I space it out properly and add FX or sweeps. I try to add a drop somewhere .. I love drops! So basically I never just use the same sample pack for similar sounds. I look through my entire library and create a song where there was none. Like others have said I think it is the same as hiring a band to come to your house and record a song, except you just need to buy a drum beat they have already made. No difference, especially when I modify it in different ways.
     
  12. Satai

    Satai Rock Star

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    There's nothing wrong with being a music snob and hating loops and all the new kids on the block.

    Music forums are great places to go to if you're one of those people, because that's the only place where people will listen to your rants. In all other places, people prefer to listen to the music.
     
  13. uriel360

    uriel360 Newbie

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    Skrillex uses them, Avicii in his "in the studio" video says all he uses is presets and loops. these 2 are highly acclaimed EDM artist making millions of dollars and touring world wide. Are there artist that make all their music from scratch? Sure, Are there artist that use loops? Sure. It all comes down to the final product. think about your favorite songs you listen to today. how many times did you say wow I love this group they don't use any samples. Man I love this track it was done from scratch. people that listen to music don't really care or even think about those things. they just love a good track. i would say just concentrate on making good tracks and pushing yourself as an artist.

    good luck...
     
  14. Alraun

    Alraun Member

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    That's exactly what i am doing!

    Using loops is neither wrong nor retarded. I like to work with loops. But what i don't like is to listen to sound packages and search for good samples again and again,
    because each time you have to browse through so much stuff you think of it's no good at all for your taste. :snuffy:

    What i did some years ago: i spent many days in a row to browse various packages with hundreds of gigs of samples by using "Audio Finder" (Mac) :grooves: ,
    a software which i can really recommend you for this kind of work.

    I sorted out about 10000 samples/loops that way and put them into different categories and named most of them new by using "A Better Finder Rename", so i can better work with them.
    I can tell you: afterwards i couldn't listen to music at all for some time…… :rofl:

    When i want to make music, i am used to go through the categories i like to work with, sort out some of the stuff
    - then i duplicate and change the concerning samples the way i like and maybe loop them (new). Afterwards i mark them as edited,
    so i can recognize them in the future already as result of my own creativity. Sometimes i make an edit of the edit and so on…..

    My personal library grew over the time. It has now about 13000 samples/loops and is a satisying basis for my work. *yes*
    It's a real pleasure for me to browse "my own" library now, without to listen to any fucking sound i don't like
    - and to see how it changes a bit more each time.

    I give you a little intimate view. Here's a snapshot of my library. In nearly all categories are several subcategories,
    but i keep the structure quite simple, so i don't have to browse that much. With two clicks a can browse each category down to the ground.

    My library.png

    That category with the golden sun is the one, in which there are just subgategories with sounds i created by myself, with synthesizers, without the use of samples.
    There is also a category with patches, what means self-arranged compilations, kits. I have made some Kontakt instruments of these patches, which are really awesome.

    This library might be not that big (50GB), but it's of a very high quality ! It became unique and it's further on changing.:bow:
    I don't download new sound packages anymore. *no*

    On this occasion: one big thanks to all the charitable persons, who made the stuff available for us over the years.
    It would be really different without you! :wink:
     
  15. Catalyst

    Catalyst Audiosexual

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    I am not the kind of person that sets limits for other people's creativity but since you asked I will give you my honest opinion. This is an excerpt from a conversation I had on AudioZ with a few other members in the latest Reason thread mixed with some added commentary: I think every artist has an inner musical conscience just like he has a regular one. If you make your music primarily from loops unless you're dishonest you will feel like you're cheating. For beginners they can be an invaluable tool while they are learning so that they don't feel so discouraged that they cease to make music altogether. Even when one masters their craft I think loops can serve a purpose. In fact I can tell you that practically every electronic producer uses them in one way or other. However, just because someone uses a loop that doesn't mean that they just stick it into their project. Loops are creatively processed and the end result oftentimes sounds nothing like the original. It still requires vision to creatively apply your own production techniques to someone else's loop. In my opinion the end result is all that matters if you actually created a substantial portion of your track. However, you should be honest with yourself about how much of your track you actually composed and think about what you're trying to accomplish. If your goal is to impress all of your friends with music that you didn't make then by all means create a substantial portion of your track with loops and melodic lines written by other people with talent. This is a huge issue in a lot of rap and honestly is really insulting to all the musicians who work tirelessly perfecting their art. My aim is mastery of knowledge and practice in areas such as music theory, composition, synthesis, proper use of effects, mixing, mastering, production techniques, creative use of loops, etc. Loops should be the icing on the cake not the main attraction. These are of course my own opinions and you are free to make your music in any way you see fit.
     
  16. fritoz

    fritoz Ultrasonic

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    everything is a tool to make music... my dad still thinks "making it yourself" with synths and other vsti's is still cheating-

    for him it has to be a real instrument with real people playing them lol


    i grew up in the 80's so sample culture was there headstrong in the advent of hip-hop and early electronic music- its part of the culture of electronic music


    but using whole loop packs to make a song will only result in your song sounding just like 100 other dudes that did the same thing lol


    like catalyst said, creative use of loops make them into just another sound for your production, and when you do it creatively you can feel confident in your integrity
     
  17. Orbit1

    Orbit1 Newbie

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    Most of the times i cut, reverse & edit them but theres nothing wrong with using loops as they are
    making good music is about making a fantastic melody :grooves: theres a lot of trance, rnb, prog & house tracks that
    have similar beats to them but what makes them unique is the melody just like presets
    nothing wrong using them ether i think of it this way if you have a sound in your head and then
    find a preset that is that sound why waste time programing it unless you wanna create something new
    but most of the time presets do the job (with maybe a little tweaking)

    thats what i think anyway:)
     
  18. BHKSAMPLES

    BHKSAMPLES Newbie

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    Just because some fellow producers say this ? Never listen to producers, everyone has its own opinion about this and you should have your own, don't adopt anyones thinking ! pre made loops or samples are just tools doesen't matter how you use them ! There are no dos and don'ts when working with premade samples !

    You will be just uncreativ when you copy others music fully in detail and state it as your own creation !
     
  19. xsze

    xsze Guest

    I was against anything pre made before, it was a good deal for development, I learned sound design, spend time on constructing the grooves and trying to make my vision and recently I watched that Sonic Academy Funky House tutorial and was pretty intrigued by sampling, now I'm having a blast just chopping loops, tracks and rearranging, not using synthesis at all, taking pieces of sounds stretching them, transposing, you name it, gonna experiment more with granular synthesis, I come to the point where this is so interesting and awesome for a change, just taking bunch of material and chopping, effecting and making totally different outcome :thumbsup:

    IMO it's important to gain enough knowledge and give yourself day off, but I'm against relying on this when you are starting out, there is no development, you are stuck and you can't move your finger if your life depends on it, if I have burst of inspiration and I think some sound will fit, I open my synth and make that sound, when you are preset and loop junkie you just rely that somewhere in you huge library is something useful and it will take much more time till you actually find it and it's question is the same as your vision, you are just stuck more than you imagine, not mentioning you are sacrificing your development. *yes*
     
  20. highrolla

    highrolla Newbie

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    'if its a hit,its a hit-nobody cares'

    e.g. Rihannas 'Umbrella' was made from an apple loop (vintage funk kit 03@93bpm i think) an was sitting multiple weeks on top-everywhere!
    + she got a grammy or two,dunno..

    everybody could have used it,nobody did,but if someone wants to set a higher artistic standard for himself,however,i'm cool with that too
     
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