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mekanism
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Joined: 06/16/2012 - 19:34
Beat slicing using resampling and the pcmsynth

Disclaimer: following this tutorial will likely add a large file size to your project and will use more cpu power. If on a lower spec device you may have problems.

I was messing around resampling a pcmsynth preset sound when it occured to me that I could also sample from a drum loop and slice the loop using the start/end feature in the pcmsynth. Here's how I did it:
1) Create a 1 bar drum loop in a beatbox.
2) Add the loop into the main mixer as 1 bar then export it as a wav file and save it where you can find it.

3) Create an empty pcmsynth and long press the SAMPLE button. Find your drum loop that you just sampled and load it in sample 1. Now here is the tedious part, you need to set where you want each sample in the keyboard range. For this tutorial I initially used the default octave which starts at C4 and goes up to C5 to slice the sample into 8 parts.

4) Press the ROOT button and use the jog wheel to set the root of sample 1 to C4, now press the LOWKEY button and jogwheel it to C4 as well. Do the same for the HIGHKEY, set at C4. Now sample 1, your full 1 bar loop, is set on the C4 key. Next long press the END button and drag the end to the nearest transient. (I used a simple 4 on the floor beat to make seeing the transients a bit easier). Now your sample should only play the first part of the sample.

5)Repeat step 4 for the remaining 7 keys, setting the same sample on each ascending key until you get to C5. During each sample placement change where in the sample to slice it by using the START and END buttons. Essentially the sample is being sliced into 8 sections. You can slice more or less depending what you want.

Below is the caustic file for reference on what was done. There is a little automation in end to show a little variation. Keep in mind there are many ways to do this, adding more or less slices/keys etc...

The beatbox machine in the file is the original drums that were sampled from.

http://db.tt/Or8xZ10V

Jason
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Joined: 03/23/2012 - 21:32
Cool idea to resample on the

Cool idea to resample on the fly... but i think it may result in a much larger pcmsynth preset file than you expect.... unless there is an added feature to discard unwanted sample data on each sound......

But other than that, i have done this trick, and when u in a hurry, this is the way to go. Good tip there

ImpulseGame
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Joined: 05/23/2012 - 05:10
Curious to hear the result,

Curious to hear the result, but I don't have access to the file :(

Access requested :)

mekanism
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Joined: 06/16/2012 - 19:34
Sorry for that, I thought

Sorry for that, I thought anyone could access it. I'm new to google drive and trying to mess with it via my smartphone is a pain. I sent the file to your e-mail. I can e-mail the to whoever wants it.

mekanism
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Joined: 06/16/2012 - 19:34
Good point about the file

Good point about the file size J. I didnt think about that at all. I added a disclaimer to the beginning of the post. Is there another way to do this without creating a large file?

ImpulseGame
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Joined: 05/23/2012 - 05:10
Wow. Thanks. Downloading.

Wow. Thanks. Downloading.

BTW, Dropbox is very easy to use.

ImpulseGame
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Joined: 05/23/2012 - 05:10
Thanks for the great example.

Thanks for the great example. Looks like a lot of work, but amazing effect.

mekanism
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Joined: 06/16/2012 - 19:34
Joined dropbox, it is nice

Joined dropbox, it is nice and easy to use. File in first post now available to download!

wardini
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Joined: 07/13/2012 - 17:13
very cool mekanism!

very cool mekanism!
Downloaded the file to my tablet while at work
and will check it out on the bus ride home.
thanks for sharing!

mekanism
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Joined: 06/16/2012 - 19:34
I made another sample to

I made another sample to check out. This one is using this technique to make drum rolls.

http://db.tt/PuoEQxD9

Jason
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Joined: 03/23/2012 - 21:32
DropBox rocks.... Yeah for

DropBox rocks.... Yeah for sample chops (like for decimated drum loops into elements or individual hits--- gotta outsource the editing to minimize efficient file size) but for simply making a groovy track for us to listen to, who cares? It's faster doing it the way you suggested! :)

5erveD
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Joined: 09/01/2012 - 12:24
Nice trick !

Nice trick !

Andy Bones
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Joined: 03/29/2012 - 21:55
Sonic Chop

I have positive results chopping long samples up into sections and loading them into PCMsynth slots one-by-one. The program I use is NikoTwenty's Sonic Chop- it is my most important music tool outside of Caustic! You can chop up any WAV or MP3 music/ sound file. This is what I use to rip vocal/ instrument samples. It will convert MP3's to WAV also, and auto-detect BPM. So, a large, varied beat loop sample can be cut up into pieces. I hope I understood the question correctly...

http://soundcloud.com/andybones-1
>AMP DESTROYER>>12"SUB WARRANTY VOIDER>
royaltee23
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Joined: 01/27/2015 - 22:01
mark chop spots

is there a way to mark where you chopped so the the next sample spot starts there?

paulovski
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Joined: 09/19/2012 - 06:13
Once you have all the start

Once you have all the start and end points where you want them in the loop editor, go to tools in the sample editor, import loop and crop. Your file size will shrink.

RadioRev
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Joined: 11/01/2013 - 02:58
Yep. Beat me to it,

Yep. Beat me to it, paulovski.

But, for some reason, I never did this with beat loops - I don't loop a lot, I like to make subtle constant changes in the beat. What I've learned is that this can be distracting to the listener; vying for attention and detracting from other elements of the song. If I don't know what I want the listener to focus on, then he or she won't know either. Anyway, I digress...my point is: thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I'm going to play with this tonight. I appreciate other users who take the time to share knowledge.

¿que onda, pachuco?

Jason
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Joined: 03/23/2012 - 21:32
Once you figure out the

Once you figure out the process and get in the groove of it, making loops, bites, slices, chops, and arranging them becomes a snap.