Introduction - Editing Samples

To begin, Samples are quite simply recordings. Remember that Riffs are a set of samples prioritized in a special order. Samples are what riffs use to make a rhythm or sound. In order to edit a sample you must be in the Riff Editor menu. To edit a sample use circle in the Sample Palette to select Edit Sample

The Tools

Along the top of the Sample Editor you will find a long row of tools:

Below these will be a window which shows the wave of the sample, and some technical information below that.

It is quite simple in how it works, you can select particular portions of the sample, and trim, copy or cut the sections. This is quite simple to do, so we'll start on the complex stuff.

Filters

The filters are particularly interesting, as you can edit them to a wide range of effects. The filters we should first look at are:

• Low Pass
• Band Pass
• High Pass

The icons for these filters give you an idea of what they do, the icons are a set of three bars, with two lines crossing two of the bars. If you imagine these bars as sections of the hearing range (20-20,000Hz) then you can see what they do. The lines represent a cutoff.

These filters are very useful. The principal is, for example, Band Pass, to eliminate particular spectrums of frequency so that only the mid-range of frequencies are left. So if you want to make a drum a little tighter and sharper, you can apply a Band Pass filter. Further more, you can enhance a persons voice, by first copying the sample, pasting it, then applying a band pass filter to the original and then pasting it next to the copied one.

Mixing

Mixing is a very good technique. The idea is to paste a part of a sample over another part, with both pieces of information overlaid. To do this, you first select a part of the sample, copy it, then click the Mix button, this will over lay the sample portion on top of the other one. A good tip is to Normalize this, so it doesn't sound distorted.

Looping

Looping is a technique which lets you set a point where the sample will return to, instead of starting back at the begging. Say for example, you have a pad which begins as a loud crash then a gentle drone. You can set a point after the crash so that it appears as a long drone.