ONLY THE BEST

Since we’ve spent the last few days majorly tweaking a sample, I want to take a minute to remind you (and me!) that the purpose of selecting a small group of samples is to get up and running quickly when creativity strikes. Hopefully, you’re now feeling secure in the knowledge that it’s possible to shape the samples you’re using to fit the track perfectly later on.

Here’s another approach to taking your small sample library and using it to speed the early stages of your production process even more: make a “best of” instrument rack. Here’s what it looks like:

Picture 1

Eight chains, eight different samples. Notice that I’ve named one macro knob to match each chain. Next, I’m gonna map the volume of each chain to its appropriately named macro:

Picture 2

Once this is saved in your Sounds Project, this is an incredibly easy way to get up and running. Just drag the sucker into a track, or even better, a Drum Rack:

Picture 3

Especially if you have a control surface, this makes it a no brainer – with eight good sounds at your fingertips, you’re bound to be able to get a blend that works while you’re building the track. Then you can return later on to fine tune using some of the techniques we’ve been discussing.