Pros and Cons of Creating Samples and Buying Samples

"A major area of interest for me right now as a music producer is sound design."

As a producer who is learning and improving daily, I think it’s important to know what sounds good and what doesn’t. Knowing good sound design, particularly for a producer who creates everything electronically on a budget, is knowing what sounds are on the market. Which VSTs are leading producers using in 2019? What kind of sample packs are out there on the market? Staying interested in the virtual instrument world will keep you in tune and will help your music sound fresh. Whether it’s working with Massive, Serum, any of the FL Studio VSTs, chopping samples I’ve purchased from Splice.com or Sounds.com, or sampling older songs I like to play when I’m buzzed, I’m always focused on how to make my music sound good. Lately, I’ve been trying to create my sounds by adjusting the VST parameters on a synthesizer and combining multiple instruments in FL Studio Patcher, which gives me the ability to use an unlimited amount of VSTs and plug ins to create some really original sounding instruments. As well as stacking drums, and always adjusting parameters in an EQ or adding things like chorus plug-ins or reverb plug-ins to try to keep the music exciting. These things add to the quality and originality of a beat. With deliberate sound design comes the question of originality. How original are your beats? I am in no way attacking or trying to criticize any method of creation or artistic expression, I am only giving an honest opinion gained from being an independent music producer myself, and these are questions that arise while I create music. In this post, I’ll discuss the pros and cons of creating original sounds and the pros and cons of purchasing sample packs written by another producer. I’m going to write this post in a way that outlines the pros and cons of each method of creating a beat.

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Let's begin by talking about the creation of your own original samples. When you purchase a VST like Massive or Serum, for example, you own that digital instrument. It’s the same as going to Guitar Center and buying a brand-new Fender guitar; everything that your mind and fingers play on those strings of that six-string guitar are potentially yours. Of course, you can’t just steal someone else’s music verbatim, but you get the point. The same rule applies to VSTs. You can play a VST many ways: using a piano role in a DAW, through a midi controller (the most popular way), and through the keyboard on your laptop. If there are other ways that don’t involve a midi controller, then let me know. Maybe people are creating beats using their Jedi mind waves or something, and if they are, I’m not up on that shit yet. My point is that the instrument is just as much yours as if it were a real physical instrument. When it comes to VSTs, the tricky part is getting a sound that you like and that sounds good on a beat. The most important thing is that you like the way it sounds and that other people like the way it sounds. Because music, in its core is a communal thing. I can remember playing songs around my mom when I first started producing, and she would dance to it and, after a while, she would start singing along with the lyrics and melody. That’s when I knew that the song was good. There is no rule to how music should sound. It’s all about your audience, and the way people react to your music.

The pros of creating your own samples pertain to ownership and learning sound design.

The greatest thing that could happen to a producer is getting paid for the music they've created. Selling beats should be a major area of revenue for any producer. This means that your music must be your own; you must be able to say that you own the beat. A big problem in Hip-Hop arises after a producer puts out a beat that they've created through sampling someone else's music. Because Hip-Hop, of course, is rich in its influences, many of your favorite Hip-Hop songs include samples, and you've probably never realized. Sampling costs producers and rappers a lot of money, and in the digital world with VST’s you can make a dope, professional sounding song without using another person’s music. The music that you create in your DAW is 100% yours! That means that all of the revenue that you make from your beats goes straight to you and your brand.

I'll always consider myself a lifelong learner. I get something out of learning that I can’t get anywhere else. Learning makes the creative process more valuable, interesting, and exciting. I believe in the learn-by-doing method. Some people find it difficult to sit in one place and read, (it’s boring for them) but trust me when I say that reading about and studying your craft will make your music better. Even if you’re not into reading that much, there are thousands of videos online that can teach you how to use plug-ins and VST’s. Creating your own sounds through the numerous methods available to you such as adjusting Synthesizer parameters or adding plug-ins, make you a better producer. (Sometimes when I'm making a beat I feel like I'm in the NASA control room or shit. I'm moving knobs around, pushing buttons, using mathematics, etc.) Of course, everything is by ear and your own taste matters. By designing your own synthesizer presets you become a better producer, you learn sound design, and your beats sound better. You become more familiar with VSTs, plug-ins and the DAW that you use, and you quickly realize that you're improving. I can compare one of my early beats to a beat I put out on "Golden Beard Vol. 1," and the music on "Golden Beard Vol. 1" is by far better sounding than the older beats. I know that this is because of that growth through the learning process. I went to college for Literature, and you learn quickly that if you want to be a good writer you have to read. This same rule can apply universally, and in music production good producers listen to music.

The cons of creating your own samples pertain to experience, time and cost.

As a novice producer it may be difficult for you to design your own sounds with VSTs because you don't really understand what you're doing yet. Your inexperience will show in the sound and in the beat you create. When you look for another beat to reference from, you may notice that your beat is not as clear sounding, it's too loud, or any number of things, and then you can learn how to make your beat sound better by adjusting parameters and adding plug-ins. As well as referencing some of your favorite producer's/musicians songs. (I will write a post on EQ's. Because equalizers can play a huge part in the quality of your beat.) Even knowing which plug-ins to use all amounts to experience. I recommend spending lots of time inside of your DAW until you are totally familiar with how it works. Again, the only thing that will make you better is learning. So, go on Youtube, Google tutorials on how to use a VST or plug-in, read the manuals (I know, who the fuck reads the manuals!), there is even a website out there that focuses on tutorials called Lynda.com (you may be able to print a certificate for your DAW you use). Inexperience with VSTs, Plug-ins, and DAWs may cause a person to just purchase a monthly plan from Splice.com, and just work that way, which I'll discuss more later. And, I want to clarify, that I'm not recommending one or the other, I'm only giving my opinion from my own experience.

Creating your own VST preset is also time consuming, which I'm beginning to realize. When I'm spending half of the day working on new sounds, I lose time that could be used to make new beats or record vocals, etc. This kind of sound design takes time away from you as an artist, as a creator. However, it is also rewarding, and I enjoy spending time adjusting parameters for VSTs and plug-ins until the sound is where I want it to be. I recently found myself going back to old beats, and adjusting parameters to see how these adjustments change the sound of the beat. The change is dramatic many times. It's all about your ear, and day to day your ear may change. One day you may like a song with lots of bass in it and the next day you listen back to it you realize that you need to add an EQ and adjust the treble levels. I am finding that I'm much more efficient with adjusting parameters when I use Native Instrument's Maschine 3. I really enjoy the tactile hands on experience as opposed to the digital one when you only use a DAW and a midi controller. Plus, I can get a real time response from each parameter that I tweak with the Maschine 3. Whereas, I think it's still the case, I would have to tweak the parameter and then play the key to listen to the change I've made. Which was annoying, and it really slowed down the workflow. I know FL Studio 20.2 is being released soon, and I hope that this is something that they work towards fixing.

VST's can range in cost between zero dollars to thousands of dollars, and the good ones are usually really expensive. Whereas, with purchasing samples, which I discuss later in this post, you can get 100 samples for about eight dollars from the leading sample websites. That's a lot of potential for just a little bit of money. Native Instruments is a popular software developer in the digital music world, and their most popular VST is around $100, which is reasonable, however, they literally have every instrument that you can think of on their website, and after a few instruments, your pockets begin to feel light. With the sample websites out now, you get a lot of exciting sounds from professional musicians, and the quality will show when you sew them together into a full song. I've personally used Splice.com, and I made some really dope beats by chopping up the samples and putting them onto my midi controller/drum pads. I enjoy chopping up samples. There's an art to it, really. That is what inspired me to write this post. I've been doing both, creating my own music with digital instruments and chopping up samples from Splice.com, and these questions arise while I'm creating.

The pros of purchasing samples pertain to the quality of sounds, cost, time, skill, and the essential elements of a Hip-Hop; chopping samples.

The people putting out these sample tapes are usually professional musicians with years of schooling and training and high quality equipment. They have at least some knowledge of music theory, and it shows in their work. Their experience working with synthesizers and sound design are evident in their work. For the most part, the samples you are purchasing are high quality. If you were to compare a basic VST preset from FL Studio with samples from Splice.com, for example, you may find that the sample you purchased sounds more professional. This is because it has more behind it. For instance, the incorporation of real life dynamics like compressors and high quality, expensive plug-ins and VSTs, etc. I don't want you to feel discouraged if you are new to producing music. I guarantee that if you practice enough, you will become better. One important piece of advice I can give you is to enjoy making music. When I first started out, I thought all my shit sounded dope! And I still think it does! I can just tell that it doesn't sound like it came out of a million dollar studio. Shit, I've heard that Soulja Boy's "Crank That" was made with stock FL Studio drums and instruments. Creating music is a completely different job than producing, mixing, and mastering in the studio.

The price of purchasing a monthly subscription from a sample site is significantly less expensive than purchasing digital instruments. Even the FL Studio VSTs can get kind of pricey. They're about $100 each, and if you're working a part time job at minimum wage in California right now then you're making about $220 a week before taxes. I was just in Georgia, and their minimum wage is ridiculous. The average worker is getting paid $5.15/hour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. If you are like most people, then, you may be going to college, you have car payments, you have to pay rent and other expenses to live good, you have children and/or significant others and you may not be able to afford new software or hardware for your music. If you fall under this category, then, these monthly subscriptions are perfect for you. Buying samples and sample packs from Splice can save you lots of money.

When using samples to create beats you are using one of the foundational principles of Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop is rich in its influences, and many of your favorite beats/songs in Hip-Hop and rap are literally reproductions of other songs. Sampling is a big deal in Hip-Hop. Netflix just released a docu-series that teaches you the history of Hip-Hop, I recommend watching it [Link]. Sampling other songs from leading singers and musicians, and, then, chopping it up to make your own original song is what Hip-Hop producers have been doing since it emerged from New York. Chopping really is an art form.

The cons of purchasing samples pertain to ownership and originality.

When you use the music of other people, even if it's just a melody or a kick, do you really own that music? Even if you put a thousand different plug ins on it and you change the pitch, tone, or you reverse it, that sample of music really isn't yours. There is proof in Hip-Hop culture today that this is the case. Lots of leading Hip-Hop producers have been sued and have lost lots of money from lawsuits on copyright infringement. More in tune with this post, when I purchase a sample pack from Splice, do I really own that music? Are those notes that another human-being created with their instrument and his body mine now because I paid 1 Splice credit for it? I remember uploading my instrumental "Hi, I'm a Rapper" onto Youtube, and my song was flagged because it said that another producer used the same sample that I used on my song. The flag that popped up even showed me the artist's name, website, etc. It was as if he owned the sample. But, didn't I own it as well? Eventually, I got around it and I was able to upload it to my page, but it made me realize that I wanted to create my own sounds. Which I'd always been doing since I began producing, and this is what I'm focused on doing now. I use drum samples, which makes me feel as if I'm risking some originality. I want my music to be completely my own. I think that this paragraph covers both ownership and originality in one.

I hope that someone eventually reads this, and people can get something out of these posts. If nothing more than entertainment, I'm satisfied. Peace.