Hi!

I have willing to ask this for some time, but finally had the means to do it, how do you sort your samples? I think my sample collection makes me hoarder, HELP!

 

to need to have OCD

I'm sure everyone will have different methods, you need to create your own, it's the only way

 

Sorting stuff into "Favorites" and "Everything else" folder (with subfolders like Xsze mentioned). "Everything else" can be an external drive that you occasionally turn on just to have a "crate digging" craze.

Same goes for synths and effects IMO.

 

First go through all your sample packs and trash whatever you don't need.Then follow Xsze's examples.He has shown you one of the best ways to categorize your hoard of Samples.After that create a Favorites folder and put in all the samples you use most of the time.Also you could make separate folders for ethnic stuff,Indian,Japanese,etc etc.Mostly try to take the advice that everyone has given you and make the best of it.Cheers!!!

 

i have everything organized by manufacturer, that's it... and since I use (predominantly) nothing but drum samples/loops (of which are completely dissected when used), I find what I need quite quickly... plus, it helps to know your packs very well, and most of all, to limit yourself to the smallest possible amount. I have tons of samplepacks stored on and ext. hd, but only a few manufacturers installed on my computers... right now for instance, I have Audioteknik, Goldbaby, Wave Alchemy, Waveform Recordings, Sample Magic... and for whatever reason, I could probably drop Sample Magic... not that they're stuff isn't great, but, I just really like the other four the most.


good luck

 

I keep it basic -- I only use SampleTank and Kontakt 4 & 5 (I'd count Ministry of Rock, but that's 20 GBs unto itself), so as long as everything is kept in their respective program folders, I at least know where it all is. I also strive not to collect libraries I don't need. If I have a library of, say, orchestral percussion that I really dig, I don't collect anymore orchestral percussion libraries, even if the next one has more layers or better articulations ... and if I DO snag that swankier library, I make sure I have the old one's installer burned to data DVD or archived on a hard drive in case I should want it in the future, then, I throw the old library out. If I were you, I would definitely start there. Ask yourself what sample libraries are really necessary to keep, make sure you have them backed up and just get rid of them. Once you thin your collection out a bit, you have a whole post-load of ideas on how to organize what you keep.

"Too many choices" is a lousy side effect of the VI age, anyway. I have so many soft synths and sample libraries on my machine right now, chances are high that I'll never even get around to seriously trying them all out in my lifetime, let alone use them on something. I've been trying to focus on stuff I know for sure I'll use on something, or will need for something, rather than just having a bunch of sounds for the sake of having them. As it stands, I can take hours just auditioning synths on a MIDI track. Sometimes, that's great, but sometimes, I miss having only 500 hardware synth and drum sounds and knowing what they all sound like.

 

Trash all what you can BEFORE sorting. And things will be easier
Example : i had a sh*tload of kicks. But i kept only few VERY effective banks. And trashed all the rest.

About sorting, i keep some organized like
Drums>breaks
Drums>kicks
Drums>full kits

But sometimes, i keep things by manufacturer and soundbank only. Because those sounds are supposed to work together.
There is no point blending an house bass bank with a dubstep bass bank, especially if those banks contain loops, kicks and more too. You will loose more organization than you gain.

I even think some ppl sort their samples by genre...if they do more than one genre

 

After accumulating terabytes of plugins and samples I found myself lost in production with too many samples and plugs. What I did was bought a 250gb ssd filled half of it up with absolute necessities. Wiped the other drives and sold them. I have been much more productive and creative be limiting myself. I still download packs from audioz but have made a rule in order to keep it on my drive I need to give up something else of the same space. Pretty easy to decide if I want to give up something to keep it. Anyways there are several database options to manage samples and the suggestions given by everyone here on how to organize are similar to what I had done before. I just found my new method keeps me (a guy with ADD) more creative and productive. Less options to consider.

 

Thanks everyone! :D

I sure will follow some of the great advices seen here

I love this forum <3

 

I think the first step is to reexamine how you look at production which is realizing that the number of samples you own is often inversely proportional to getting the most out of your art. I don't even know how some of the guys choose a compressor or library from thousands of plug-ins and libraries. Take a step back and think about what you really need and what's a "I might need that theoretically" sample pack. When you're downloading try to slow down and actually ask for feedback from other members about whether it's worth it, also search for online reviews. There is a point where there is so much choice that you can no longer see so try to only pick up the best of the best. Nobody will remember you for the sample packs you've hoarded, they might remember you for the music you've made so you owe it to yourself to spend less time downloading, cataloging, installing, etc. and more time writing music. As to the organization itself it looks like you're covered.

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I don't really sort my stuff like Xsze... I just have this :
Samples > all packs (mostly drums)
Samples Bestof
- kick
- Kick1.wav
- ...
- roughly 100
-snares
- same deal
...

Once in a while, I listen to all of my sample
You read it well ALL OF THEM
To select which should go in Samples Bestof
I'll listen to the whole content of samples bestof to get some deleted.
It's really a pain in the ass to go through every single sample and slide them to your folder one by one
I like to do that, eyes closed.

Here's how i do it (will work on a Mac, you certainly can adapt it to windows using cygwin, or virtualboxing ubuntu or such)
You'll need MacPort - google it, install it.
Open Utilities > Terminal
"sudo port install mplayer"
(it will ask for your password, and write some stuff)
(mplayer is a media player that can work from command line)

Here's the magic :

export IFS=$'\n'; for i in $( find [SOME SAMPLE FOLDER] -type f -name "*.wav" ) ; do ; echo $i ; mplayer -really-quiet "$i" ; read rep ; [[ $rep == "o" ]] && cp "$i" [SOME DESTINATION FOLDER] ; done

Don't type [SOME SAMPLE FOLDER] or [SOME DESTINATION], slide the folders from a Finder window to the terminal, the terminal has a special way to handle the special caracters in the filename.

Shitty Sample ? type Enter
Nice Sample ? type o , and Enter
Enough for today ? Ctrl+C

(disclaimer : misusing the terminal can fuck up your whole system quite badly, srsly. (you don't backup ? well, you should)
I did test this and it did just fine for me.
Still. I give this script as is. Hopefully it's useful.
I take NO RESPONSIBILITY in porn disappearance, or whatever could happen to your computer.)

 

This is my preference as well. After all.. some... of those sample packs have "requirements" for their "royalty free" usage. If they want to be mentioned in your production and you do not know which sounds are theirs.... then it may be impossible to comply with some of those ..

ie. Several Symphonies release FREE sounds under a GNU license - and expect to be cited or something... even thou its "free"



Multiple indexes is great as well. so I can search by vendor or by sound...

That is possible INSIDE my software.... ie. Native Instruments or Cubase browser searching by sound TYPE even when my folder structure is sorted differently...



Cronic + making sense do not always mix... so basically for me:

1. Organize folders by Manufacturer @dim_triad style

2. Search for sounds in real time while using them by SOUND TYPE as @Xsze mentioned

 

Wow, I did love some of the proposals here.

Is there any software (I can barely use terminal unless you give me the commands :p) that allows you to sort the samples in an easier way?

Thank you for all the answers, you guys are awesome.

 

The more I have the easier I get lost.
Ultimately, when I discovered sampled libraries, I wanted to have every single one of them (sort of like Gotta Catch 'em All )
As the time progressed, I got rid of the junk and now my repository is pretty small.

And it's not just about libraries. There's lots of junk in my basement. Being bloated is not just a software-oriented term, so I'm now selling 90% of my stuff and leave out only those I need/like.

 

Holy crap, thats a really good idea! So it will automatically play the next sound and you just do a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" kinda process to move them to a favorites folder?! It sounds a bit complicated but awesome. Someone should make some software that does this a bit more simply!

 

This is an interesting topic for me a actually do have OCD as well as TS it dose get it the way at times as i find myself collecting a lot but i am a professional producer with years of creative sampling sound design + collection and organization under my proverbial belt i agree with many of the comments but it depends a bit on what type of music you make for me i only produce underground hip-hop however i occasionally will make something for my own enjoyment from another genre so that is the 1st place i start i have different external HDs dedicated to specific things for example if i want to play around with old school house music i have a drive and folders within folders for that i make a Master Folder (Genre here) next a song folder that i can put samples from various libraries into used for a potential song or songs but i still keep the best whole libraries with cover art to remind me what they are if it's my personal library (one that i have created) i will use something as cover art again so i know what it is before i even open it next i will make a secondary folder with separated drums bass FX etc making it simple to work with later

Now for my real work i keep all of that on different drives completly and even though i have thousands of libraries many of them my own i will still go threw each folder and pick out the samples i am going to use for a given project i make song folders for example 1 - 20 and because i already know what mood/vibe i am going for in each song i organize accordingly each song folder will have all of my samples master and second tier with the drums in a separate folder organized something like this

MASTER FOLDER (Project Name)
Master Drums: Snares Kicks Hats Perc
Master Bass
Master FX
Master Vox/Vocals
Master Song Folders 1-20 or how ever many songs i plan on making for a particular project this is just a blueprint i may end up making more or less but it provides a platform that has worked for years

in the end everyone has a different workflow so base your organization around that think of how you make songs and how you put each of the components together to create a whole simply separate the various parts
and go from there

i think the idea of naming the type of drum sounds is interesting Snares (Ultra, Snappy, Clicky...), Clapes (Ultra, Clicky, Spalshy and etc) i may have used this formula at one time or another but now i rely on a master drum, bass, fx, vox, song folder method you don't have to throw away all the samples you're not using for your latest project just keep them in a separate folder or better yet a separate HD after years of digging sample creation and collection i wouldn't want to just toss things i might not be using at the moment so that's why i keep things organized while still having TB's of sounds and samples you can have both who says you only need one HD for everything in my current set up i have an Archive HD a Master HD + Back-up and a General use or Work HD plus a Recording & Song Storage Drive for streaming and storing my demos/songs/albums etc as well as a Master Recorder/HD in my rack all this is not necessary for everyone but when you have amassed a collection over many years it may become necessary to organize thousands or even 100's of thousands of potential samples that you can use later as song parts but my method is not for everyone in the end the most important thing is the music try not to toss something you may need or want later i know i have and it still makes me a little ill so organize carefully purposefully and completely and your hoard will feel more like a collection that is yours and only yours ... Good Luck *yes*

 

QUite a few software titles have built-in "sample" sorting.

The 2 I use most are:


1. CUBASE and its "MEDIABAY" (sound sorter hated by some - loved by many - including myself)
You can tag sounds as you choose.

NOTE - MEDIABAY has a RATING.. you can rate your OWN SOUNDS... a great way to avoid the garbage sounds you have while not deleting what you paid your hard earned cash for... useful for sound hoarders...

HEY... I might hoard sounds... but I will be FULLY PREPARED to make beats... IN THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE !





2. Native Instruments MASCHINE 2.0+
You access your sounds very easily in Maschine 2.0 + also.
- photo below shows browsing of MASSIVE VST sounds within Maschine 2.0+ (I say 2+ because 1.8 and below are not worth using anymore IMHO)

 

For Windows 7/8 Users, in addition to the favourite folders idea :

If you already configured directories in the internal sample browser of your program, you might want to store Symbolic Links there,
so you don´t need to reorganize your directory structures or reconfigure the sample browser.


Here´s an explanation on Symbolic Links from the FL Studio manual :

https://www.image-line.com/support/FLHelp/html/app_environmentalvariables.htm



And here are two tools with a GUI for creating Symbolic Links :

http://sourceforge.net/projects/symlink-creator/
https://code.google.com/p/symlinker/

 

Yes.

It's not that complicated , just keep the command in a text file somewhere, and it's all ok...
Maybe a full software would make it easier to use at first, I won't make it (i lack time, interest, and skill), for my use it made wonder as it is (I'm ok with commandline, i'm a UNIX system eng as a day job)
I just wanted : - scroll my full folder - thumb up/down with 1keys - being able to use with eyes closed.
But I don't think there's a full software dedicated to that...