Sound Samples

[venerable bede]

Hi again guys.
I'm afraid I'm gonna be bugging you guys for a while yet as I am a midi virgin.

I was just wondering if you could give me an overview of Samples and sound effects. I'm looking for some crowd samples. You know the kind of thing, peoples applause, shouting e.t.c.

What format should these samples be in ?
What do I need to play them ?
How does all this integrate with cubase ?

Thanks in Advance

[richiebee]

Originally Posted by venerable bede

Hi again guys.
I'm afraid I'm gonna be bugging you guys for a while yet as I am a midi virgin.

That's okay... that's one of the reasons this forum is here!

I was just wondering if you could give me an overview of Samples and sound effects. I'm looking for some crowd samples. You know the kind of thing, peoples applause, shouting e.t.c.

Well, to play samples, its good to have a sampler (there are several software ones with good integration with Cubase - the big two on PC platform are Kontakt and Gigastudio - others include Halion), but if you're just looking to integrate crowd noise, you could drag that straight onto an audio track in Cubase. Indeed this is how I used to use all samples before I got Kontakt. It's a tedious job when dealing with a lot of them, like say guitar samples, but if its just one or two its an easy job. Ultimately you'll probably want a sampler, but it's not essential if you're using Cubase.

I'm not sure where you'd get crowd samples from, but the cheapest way would be to take some kind of recording device to a gig, and record it for yourself!

What format should these samples be in ?

Individual samples are usually in WAV format though Cubase would be able to handle MP3's or AIFF's too. If you're using a sampler, you may be more limited, and they have their own proprietary formats for sample patches.

What do I need to play them ?

See above.

How does all this integrate with cubase ?

It depends on how you set this up. IF you drag into an audio track... that's all you need to do. If you use a sampler, you usually set it up as a VST or DX instrument.

If you need more, give us some more info on how you're plannign to go with it.

[Andrew07]

sounddogs.com has a bunch of random samples. very high quality, but you do have to pay

[brandondrury]

Great post, Richiebee. That explains it very well.

One thing I'd like to mention is that many of the samples that I've bought or will be buying like:
DFH Superior (very natural sounding drums that you can really mix)
Hardcore Bass VST
Kontakt Komplete
EWQL Symphonic Orchestra Gold (haven't bought yet)

All of these come with their own proprietary sampler setup. Many of them use Kompakt which is similar to Kontakt 2 but more like a "light" version. The funny thing is I've not found much use for the Kontakt 2 processing. If I want a Tuba sound, I'll use Kontakt2 or one of the proprietary samplers and then if I really think the track requires effects of any kind, I'll do that when I mix.

When I really mix, I'll render down each midi file to a wav file anyway to simplify things. So effects in Kontakt2 are near worthless to me. That may change later.

How does all this integrate with cubase ?

Cubase is a midi sequencer so any sampler with VST capabilities should intergrate perfectly. Which version of Cubase are you using?

Brandon

[richiebee]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

One thing I'd like to mention is that many of the samples that I've bought or will be buying like:

and mine...

Sample libraries...

Strings - Kirk Hunter Emerald
Orchestral winds/percussion - VSL Kontakt
Brass - Bigga Orchestral Brass/VSL Kontakt/Garritan Jazz & Big Band
Bass - Scarbee J-fingered/J-slap
Saxes - Garritan Jazz & Big Band
Piano - NI Kontakt (Steinway)
Synth - Sonic Couture Abstrakt Vol 1
Drums - Garritan Jazz & Big Band
Guitar - NI Kontakt with VG2 effects rack

Other stuff...
NI Absynth
Steinberg Virtual Guitarist 2

I have money burning a hole in my pocket right now, and I'm thinking of getting on one of the East West deals (most likely symphonic choirs) or picking up EZ drummer with the latin expansion pack due out in a couple of weeks, or possibly Chris Hein's Horns.

I've yet to get satisfying trumpet results from any sample set. BOB is okay for orchestral, but Garritan's JABB doesn't really do it for jazz/pop trumpets.

R.

[venerable bede]

Thanks guys. Really helpfull.
I didn't realise you could just drag a file onto an audio track.
Oh, I am using Cubase SX.

I now have another question to ask but I think I will make a new post.

[brandondrury]

I've yet to get satisfying trumpet results from any sample set.

How interesting. I haven't been satisfied with a single guitar sample I've used. I guess it's hard to impress someone when it comes to sampling their primary instrument.

Brandon

[richiebee]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

How interesting. I haven't been satisfied with a single guitar sample I've used. I guess it's hard to impress someone when it comes to sampling their primary instrument.

Brandon

It's amazing how much, subconsciously even, that you know about the instrument you play best.

Maybe someone is telling us not to cave for samples!

[brandondrury]

Maybe someone is telling us not to cave for samples!

I've considered this myself. If you can amass enough guys/chicks together are damn good musicians and have the tone to match in a monstrous room, you can probably beat a sampler everytime.

I don't know of anyone without at least one platinum record on the wall that has access to this pool of musicians with a budget that average band I deal with has.

I'm content with the samples (for everything but guitar!)

Brandon