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The Chopping Up Samples

To chop up a sample you need either a high quality drum machine/music production sampler, a workstation or a computer. What is done is a marker or placement is put at the start and end points of the selected audio and then that portion of audio is cut out as a standalone sound. Advanced users may then cut many samples from this sample selection of audio and put the bits of audio together in creative ways, compare it to an audio jigsaw puzzle that when put completely together is artistically pleasing.

The Clearing of Samples

You may decide to use a sample from a source of copyrighted material. Without permission from it's respected owner or owners you are liable for legal prosecution which may come in the form of cease and desist or a lawsuit. Technically, all sounds in music are a sample in one way or another, but the ones used in keyboard workstation, drum machines, and drum kits in music production software grant you full permission to use their sounds on the purchase of their equipment. Sounds such as these are called royalty-free sounds, in order to have the same freedom as a sampler you would need to purchase royalty-free samples or follow the owner's directions on if they are able to be used commercially or not. To clear a copyrighted sample you will need the owner's written permission you can use the sound, often for a set fee, royalty, or percent of the gross income made from the sale of the instrumental. Unfortunately, the copyright owner can refuse to grant your request for any amount of money offered and may become spiteful from you boldness, attempting to sure you if you have already marketed the beat or allowed it to become commercial to the public. This makes sampler's instrumentals risky and costly to prospective buyers who are just as wary of the legal implications of using copyrighted samples in music.

The Compact Disk Player

A compact disk player is a music device able to play the audio of a compact disk by reading it's surface with a laser and transmit the information it collects as audio that we can hear. They are the direct successor of the cassette tape player and the modern universal way in which to listen to music, even today with the surge of MP3 players. As a beat maker you will need to listen to your beats frequently ensuring their perfection and so it is wise to carry along a portable compact disk player everywhere you go, even if you own an MP3 player. An MP3 player's condensed, small, downgraded MP3 files are inferior in quality to a fully mastered compact disk and so you may not be hearing your instrumentals in the best quality possible.

The Contracts

When it comes down to the time when you want to sell your beats you must have the proper contracts. Yes, this should be a part of your studio in a folder put away, even if it collects dust. Hey, anything can happen, P. Diddy could come knocking at your door, although Bad Boy Records contracts with their musicians are considered to be sometimes "questionable".

When selling a beat, oral agreements will not hold up in court and if the artist is sued on the basis of copyright infringement, without the paper saying you transferred all rights to the artist, the legal implications would shift to the creator of the beat, which is you. If eyebrows are raised by your unexpected professionalism, just tell your potential buyers that it's nothing personal it's just how you transact your business.

Although you can write the contract yourself, with personal necessities of your liking, it is very much preferred that a lawyer be contacted as you may write things that are too vague such as, "in the case of a lawsuit you don't know me". That is more comedy than business. One such person to write this type of personalized contract for you is a music attorney. While initially expensive it will pay off tremendously if perhaps any legal matter pops up that reflects on you when it doesn't have to. Another point to consider is you only need a couple contracts for selling your beat and then you're set for life and may not ever again talk to that legal money swindler.

There are two main types of transactions that are common between a beat maker and an artist, one that gives "non-exclusive" rights and the other that gives "exclusive" rights. Exclusive rights are usually priced much higher than non-exclusive rights. Make sure the music attorney draws up both these contracts separately.

Non-Exclusive or leased rights to an instrumental are when you sell the artist the instrumental but give limitations and restrictions on how the beat can be used. Non-exclusive rights may prohibit the use of the instrumental for commercial sale or promotion, strictly for mixtape use and also no rights of complete ownership to resell the audio in any way. A con about a non-exclusive deal is that as a sampler you would still be held liable for any copyright infringement and not the buyer of said beat unless stated in the contract.

Exclusive rights would transfer all ownership of the instrumental to the new owner after purchase, so any legal implication would go directly to the artist. In this contract it is also common to demand a number of points from the artist's album on top of the set price of the actual instrumental. A point in music industry standards is equal to 1 percent of the amount of the revenue an album generates. Some beat makers may not charge a set price at all on non-exclusive right, and only points depending on how famous, profitable and consistent the musician's history in music retail is. These are generally the common type of deals made by beat making record producers at successful indie and major record labels.

The Control Surface

Software companies that make music production programs know that some hardcore analog junkies hate the fact that computers have little going for them in the case of an interactive interface. They also know that these same vintage gurus are adapting to the sign of times, but need an introductory tool to excites them. Control surfaces are the exact tool for this. Software users are tired of computer keyboards and a mouse to simply point and click, point and click . Once they've adapted to tools such as midi keyboard controllers they thirst for more, often adding a USB drum pad soon after, but knowing they've only scratched the surface.

Many control surfaces are especially design to work with one software program only, such as tools made for Pro Tools by Digidesign. Others work without regards to the software program, they only need you to assign their controls. As you move up the ladder in price,, complexity and functionality of these control surfaces the line that divides them from mere computer clones to analog tool becomes thin. Digidesign and Mackie make top of the line control surfaces that you would swear are high grade analog mixing console boards and would never be able to tell they connect by USB and firewire.

If you wanr hands-on experience and intimacy with your music production software and want a tool to speed up your productivity there may be no better tool than a control surface.

RECOMMENDED CONTROL SURFACES (Sorted by Price, lowest to highest)


M-Audio iControl Garageband MIDI Controller
Price: $99.99


Behringer BCR2000 B-Control Rotary
Price: $129.99


Novation Nocturn Intelligent Plug-In Controller w Automap Universal 2.0 Software
Price: $149.99


Evolution UC-33e Desktop MIDI Control Workstation
Price: $259.99


Mackie Control Universal
Price: $699.99


JL Cooper CS-102 Control Station
Price: $799.99


Mackie Control Extender Pro
Price: $799.99


Mackie Control C4 Pro
Price: $1099.99


Digidesign Command 8 Control Surface
Price: $1199.99


Mackie Control Universal Pro
Price: $1299.99


M-Audio ProjectMix IO
Price: $1299.99


TASCAM FW1884 FireWire Audio MIDI Interface and DAW Control Surface
Price: $1299.99


Digidesign C 24 24-Track Control Surface
Price: $9999.99

The Drum Machine

A drum machine is unlike a keyboard in that the buttons are arranged horizontal as usual or in a square matrix instead of only horizontal. When the buttons are pressed the do not shift in pitch in descending order, but the buttons instead send a signal to the machine to produce different sounds or samples, usually in the drum-kit variety. While some beat makers prefer to use keys on workstations or piano roll functions in software, many other are enticed by the use of these drum buttons or pads. Although similar set-ups can be found on computer by way of USB drumpads or workstations which use built-in drum pads, many beat makers just absolutely love their little sound machines. Some drum machines double as samples giving beat makers even more reason to use them.

RECOMMENDED DRUM MACHINES (Sorted by price, lowest to highest)


Alesis SR-16 Stereo Drum Machine
Price: $149.99


SKB SKB-1714 ATA Drum Machine and Sequencer Case
Price: $169.99


Boss Dr. Rhythm DR-3
Price: $199.99


Alesis SR-18 Drum Machine
Price: $249.99


Roland RMP-5 Rhythm Coach
Price: $279.99


Boss DR-670 Dr. Rhythm Drum Machine
Price: $299.99


Boss Dr. Rhythm DR-880 Rhythm Machine
Price: $499.99

The Interpolation

The alternative to using a direct sample from an audio source is interpolation. Interpolation is the art of recreating the sound wanted so you become an alternate composer of the audio. If a sampler is not technically crafty or not formally musically inclined he may hire a third party (independent composer) to interpolate the sample for him for a set fee and take the ownership of the newly created sound by agreement from the ghostwriter/composer. You may still suffer legal fees from interpolation although much less. Interpolation is generally the way current record labels now force their sample based instrumentalists to create beats.

The Keyboard Sound Modules

A sound modules is a piece of equipment, usually able to fit on a rack mount, that contains a collection of sounds either in sample or high quality audio format. Instead of having a whole keyboard workstation you can get just the sounds from the machine. This can save you space, but also money as the sound module version is usually discounted. Example of manufacturers that prepare sound modules are Korg, Yamaha and Roland which feature the brands Triton, Motif and Fantom respectively.

RECOMMENDED MODULES (Sorted by price, lowest to highest)


Edirol SD-20 Studio Canvas MIDI Sound Module
Price: $299.99


Gem RP-X Sound Module
Price: $599.99


Yamaha VL70-M Virtual Acoustic Tone Generator
Price: $599.99


Waldorf Blofeld Desktop Synth Module
Price: $799.99


Yamaha MOTIF Rack ES Module
Price: $799.99


Hammond XM-2 Sound Module
Price: 999.99


Kurzweil PC2R Sound Module With Orchestra
Price: $999.99


Access Virus TI Snow
Price: $1499.99


Korg M3-M Tabletop SynthesizerSampler Module
Price: $1799.99


Muse Research Receptor Rev C Rackmount VST Plug-in Player
Price: $1999.99

The Keyboard Stand

So you've bought a studio computer desk with enough frontal space for your MIDI keyboard controller, but you are now in the process of upgrading. Because you craze both software styled beats that can be created with your favorite VST plug-ins and programs and hardware styled beats with unmatched professional flare, you've decided to purchase a keyboard workstation. You love both, but decided that one's got to go and it is not going to be that 2000 dollar workstation. Wait a second, just purchase a keyboard stand. Well, duh. No, not just a standard keyboard stand. Buy a keyboard stand able to hold multiple keyboards or "multi-tiered" keyboard stand. Multi-tiered keyboard stands come in variety of two, three and more and are exactly what a producer with multiple keyboards need. They are heavy and sturdy and have the ability to tilt forward or become as wide or narrow as you need them. Buying a couple of these multi-tiered keyboard stand will allow you to have the ability to expand your keyboard collection to a great size while using limited space and because they lay flat with keys showing, you'll be able to play with them on the fly have you ever get a temptation for a certain type a sound as long as they are connected properly.

The Keyboard Workstations

A keyboard workstation is much more than a electric modern piano in condensed form. A workstation allows you to compose your beats in any fashion you choose, running as it's own production studio center. The sound contained in a workstation are professional grade quality and allowed to become fully edited and tweaked into a desired sound. Newer versions also carry superb sampling abilities and ability to record external equipment such as microphones. Some keyboard workstations also have an onboard drum pad for more versatility in sampling and drum programming. A keyboard workstation can do all the things a professional music program can do with the added on benefit of always sounding professional, even in stock sounds. The fine line that may have drawn between eventually becoming a software based beat maker and hardware base beat maker sometimes can be simply the ability to purchase the sometimes overly expensive keyboards or the ability not to.

RECOMMENDED KEYBOARD WORKSTATIONS (Sorted by Price, lowest to highest)


Yamaha MM6 Music Synthesizer Workstation
Price: $599.99


Roland JUNO-G Workstation Synthesizer Keyboard
Price: $999.99


Yamaha MO6 61-Key Music Production Synthesizer Workstation with DAW Control
Price: $999.99


Korg TR-76 76-Key Keyboard Workstation Sampler
Price: $1299.99


Roland Fantom-X6 61-Key Sampling Workstation
Price: $1499.99


Yamaha MO8 88-Key Music Production Synthesizer Workstation with DAW Control
Price: $1599.99


Korg M3 61-Key Music Workstation Keyboard
Price: $2199.99


Roland Fantom G8 Workstation
Price: $3699.99


Open Labs MiKo TIM4 Special Edition Keyboard Workcenter
Price: $4299.99

The Lighting

Without the proper lighting, you may have to strain your eyes on unforgiving backlighted CRT or LCD visual monitor screen for excessive periods of time. A quick solution is to look outside a window or turn away, but that if your room has no lighting? For looking at a screen it is best that it not be by a window as the contrasting light can produce glare making it almost impossible to see what is on the screen. Light bulbs come in two main forms for consumers (other forms are not discussed here such as LCD, mercury vapor and HID lights).

Your standard screw-in light bulb has a yellow tinge to it and suffers from having a short life span with using a lot of energy, but many seem to prefer this "constant" type of light. A standard florescent tube light bulb is inexpensive, costing only about a dollar per bulb. These light can then be put in a fixture and mounted anywhere you choose. The fixture's price is usually only about 20 dollars for the ability to hold two of the tube lights. If given proper attention, some will notice that a florescent light bulb gives off a type of "flicker" or vibration when it gives off light, this quality may be deemed annoying to some. Another bad quality of florescent lights of this type are that the light is gives off a spread apart and not condensed, so you may need a large amount depending on the space of your room. Good lights you may want to try are variation of the florescent tube lights in the types of daylight or sunlight or changing them from the standard "cool" white to "warm" white, these special versions cost much more than standard bulbs although.

A compact florescent light bulb takes the energy efficiency of a florescent and combines it with the the small size of a standard light bulb. The price for a compact florescent may be costlier than standard screw-in light bulb or florescent tube lights, but they do have the ability to last for a long time (sometimes years), so it's worth the investment. These compact "floros" still have the feature of a normal florescent in that it flickers continuously and the bright white it gives is to some a little unnatural.