MED Sample Collection 1
Allister Brimble and Steve Blenkinsopp
Allister Brimble and Steve Blenkinsopp
 "I
Sampled the sounds at 44KHz for all untuned instruments (drums/loops
etc), and 33452HZ for all tuned instruments. Don't be alarmed by the
33452 rate, this is high enough by far and will allow you to play
instruments higher than the original pitch. At 44K you can't do this,
and have to go down to 22KHz. The sounds at this frequency (33452) are
much cleaner and punchier than recording at 22KHz!" With extra memory now available to MED users on the PC platform high quality drum and performance loops were possible for the first time. Steve set about recording an exciting collection of drum loops... (Steve) - "I wanted all original drum loops, not the re-hashed and tired old loops that we have all heard before! I am pleased with the end results, they have a contemporary electronic feel to them, and they should lend themselves perfectly to a variety of dance styles" Anyone who has worked with musical performance loops, know that when the loop is transposed in pitch, the duration of the loop is shortened or lengthened - disastrous when trying to transpose musical performances to existing drum loops. To keep the tempo constant, and make loop based performances more feasible - a new approach was needed, and we asked Steve how he went about creating the "loop factory" (Steve) - "I recorded a variety of drum patterns with complementary bass lines recorded at the same tempo. Suitable "top lines" to enhance the loops were also recorded and different transpositions of the performances were created. By using this approach, the tempo of the piece remains constant as the bass lines and other accompaniments transpose perfectly in time with the music. A complete sounding mix can be quickly built up to inspire users to add their own melody lines and hooks." One of the problems faced by the solo musician in creating their music is the addition of high quality vocals. Steve enlisted the vocal talents of the delightful Sami: a female vocalist used to performing in a variety of styles. (Steve) - "Sami has an exquisite voice and gave some great performances which should inspire anyone who hears them! I recorded her with Audio Technica and AKG mics, adding just a touch of Drawmer compression and Lexicon reverb for a pro studio sound." Guitar parts are perhaps the trickiest of all the instruments to reproduce using samples. The sound of a guitar is traditionally "difficult" to loop because of the way the sound decays over time. Guitar samples are easily spotted, as the loops are often the "give-away" that you are listening to a sample. (Steve) - "The extra memory now offered by MED on the PC means that it is finally possible to utilise larger samples to achieve greater realism. By making use of maximum sustain, the guitar sounds on the MED Sample Collection are a "loop-free-zone" Top guitarist Pete White (who has an amazing collection of Stratocaster guitars) was recruited to provide the electric guitar performances. (Steve) - The Strat was recorded through a Roland Jazz chorus amp and Boss multi effects to give a variety of clean, chorus and wildly overdriven sounds. Every major, minor and seventh chord was recorded in both clean and overdriven versions. Open string and guitar FX samples round off the collection. In amassing this huge collection of sounds, Allister & Steve took great care to ensure that all samples would work well together to provide a comprehensive palette of sounds allowing MED users to put together any track, quickly and easily, with professional sounding results. |
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