Sampling

[PhilMckracken]

I am new to sampling, at least doing it. I would like to sample a song that I like and work with it for the sake of practicing my enginering chops. Exactly how is that done? How do you sample parts of a track. Lets say, for arguments sake, that I want to sample the vocals and guitar from a popular song, what do I do?
Can anybody get me started in the right direction?

 

[Kendog]

This topic has been covered many, many times before, so you may want to do a search if you don't like my answer, but the long and short of it is that it can't be done. Once a song is mixed, it's a lot like a cake that's been baked; you can no longer take out the eggs and use them in some other way.

There are a few minor workarounds, of course, like finding a part of your song where the vocals are a capella, or the intro with just drums, for instance, but other than that, no dice.

Ken Rutkowski
Outer Limit Recording Studio

 

[Roel]

sampling really is no more than taking a piece of audio, and playing it back again. If you take for example, the snare from a break where there's only drum, and do the same for the kick, you can rearrange this.

Or you take a whole measure of it, and put it in a loop.

There's nothing magic about it. Just take a tiny piece of the song, and play it back again.

If there's vocals, guitar, an elephant and a airplane in the piece of the song you sample, then you'll end up with vocals, guitar, an elephant and a airplane in your sample too... No way around. Trust me on this one, I'm smart.

You can put effects on it, and filter a part out. For example, a soprano and a kick together, take all the highs out, and you'll have the kick. A kick with no high frequencies, but the soprano will be vanished too...