Is using samples/melody lines cheating?

[nowaysj]

Yeah, seeing you.

[Today]

it's nice to drop in. i still love u guyz

[Bass_Jacka]

OP, this is my stance on the concept of using samples/loops - this is just my opinion though, so take it as you will.

Single hit beat samples - fine to use when programming your own beats

Percussion loops - fine to use to accompany your own beat or for breaks etc.

Full drum loops - ok to use if chopping them up, applying mad effects etc. Using a premade drum loop as the main beat in a track is lazy and cheating in my opinion - someone else made that beat, not you.

Single hit synth sounds - nothing wrong with that if you're going to make your own melody with them, or just for single 'stabs'/chords in track. No different to using presets IMO.

Full melody loops - only ok to use if you're chopping them up and fucking with them to make your own melody/sound. Using straight out of the box melody lines is lazy - someone else made that melody, not you. Obviously if you're remixing a track and you want the original melody in sections of the track then that's fine.


IMO if you don't have the knowledge or patience to make your own sounds, then taking single hit/chord samples and cucking them in a sampler to then play out your own melodies is perfectly acceptable, it's the same principle as using a preset. But it's always good to throw on some of your own effects etc. to make it your own sound.

There's nothing worse than hearing someones track, and knowing which sample pack the melody or hook came from. Recognising single samples is a different matter.

[Hex047]

Man this "make your own sound" thing is bull, so I should make my own theory if I want to play the piano?, people should stop treating the creative process as science, save that for more technical things.

[didi]

Full melody loops - only ok to use if you're chopping them up and fucking with them to make your own melody/sound. Using straight out of the box melody lines is lazy - someone else made that melody, not you.

lol

really tho who cares

if the tune's banging no one will care

no dj's gonna say im not playing that great track on radio/in a rave cos this loop is straight out of the box
no label/music lover... etc.

[goldengrime]

Personally I wouldn't but wholes genres have been built upon shit like this. Even now hip hop and its various surrounding genres are still using samples from allover the place. The amount of times i hear an advert thats used a vengeance loop is getting beyond funny now! However samples used within hiphop etc are normally used quite creatively not in a Zomboy way.

[nowaysj]

I just saw a russian dude offering Jakes a female in exchange for a remix. Like he was going to give him a woman. I think there are more significant moral issues in the music world than did someone use an eight note sample...

[syrup]

that picture was doing rounds a while ago, idk if it was really his e-mail.

or maybe the guy just e-mailed everyone i follow on facebook, anyway lol.

[rareclub]

Do what works.

[nowaysj]

Dude, I'm cheating right now with samples from here:

http://www.dubstepforum.com/forum/viewt ... 4#p3577931

[rareclub]

^ has anyone ever told you you look like george zimmerman? NO OFFENSE INTENDED.

[nowaysj]

Zimm and I see things eye to eye, except I'm white.

[rareclub]

oh god

[nowaysj]

[wub]

Reminded me of a very early thread I made on here;

Do you think that using loops/presets/sample packs is 'lazy' - http://www.dubstepforum.com/forum/viewt ... =8&t=75601

[outbound]

'Cheating' is simple morality and in this case whether it is or not depends on the person.

What I will say is if someone is using pre made melodies, loops or even samples that have been cained everywhere else then unless it is being done in an original way it is highly unlikely to have anything new to add to the table and will be discarded as boring, unoriginal/unimaginative and isn't likely to make a great musical impression.

[wub]

What I will say is if someone is using pre made melodies, loops or even samples that have been cained everywhere else then unless it is being done in an original way it is highly unlikely to have anything new to add to the table and will be discarded as boring, unoriginal/unimaginative and isn't likely to make a great musical impression.

There was a Reddit list a while back of 'big' EDM tunes and which Vengeance Loops had been used in them, but it got taken down quickly.

[bouncingfish]

Not cheating, like others have said, but I feel really fucking limited by using samples and presets.
Tried making tunes with loops, ended up chopping them and repitching them because they didn't suit my needs. What might happen is in the end you'll just sit for hours and listen to loop after loop, looking for something that would fit your song but that's not there. It's not cheating, it's just annoying. For some people....

...it depends on your perception of your own music, a bit deep tho (it's 4 am soon haha). What's your goal with music? Is it hitting the beatport charts? Having fun? Making tunes to be proud of, to show your friends and family? Or is it projecting your emotions? Expressing yourself?

If you just want something for others to enjoy (THERE'S NOTHING wrong with this and I think more people than we know make music because they want to be appreciated or just because they want to share it with others), by all means go with premade melody lines, hooks, and whatever, as long as you feel ok with it there's nothing wrong with that.

But if you're trying to put your emotions into the music (I'm not saying I'm doing that) and you're trying to express yourself, you'll find it pretty limiting to use premade melodies and shit, because they won't sound like you feel.
Even if you're not that deep, the samples dont always fit the tune, so like I said you'll end up listening through 1000s of them for hours because none of them fit your tune.

In the end, the only problem is if you feel limited by using other peoples stuff in your songs and not expressing yourself in the same way. If you don't then go ahead and use sample pack melodies!

[bouncingfish]

Not cheating, like others have said, but I feel really fucking limited by using samples and presets.
Tried making tunes with loops, ended up chopping them and repitching them because they didn't suit my needs. What might happen is in the end you'll just sit for hours and listen to loop after loop, looking for something that would fit your song but that's not there. It's not cheating, it's just annoying. For some people....

...it depends on your perception of your own music, a bit deep tho (it's 4 am soon haha). What's your goal with music? Is it hitting the beatport charts? Having fun? Making tunes to be proud of, to show your friends and family? Or is it projecting your emotions? Expressing yourself?

If you just want something for others to enjoy (THERE'S NOTHING wrong with this and I think more people than we know make music because they want to be appreciated or just because they want to share it with others), by all means go with premade melody lines, hooks, and whatever, as long as you feel ok with it there's nothing wrong with that.

But if you're trying to put your emotions into the music (I'm not saying I'm doing that) and you're trying to express yourself, you'll find it pretty limiting to use premade melodies and shit, because they won't sound like you feel.
Even if you're not that deep, the samples dont always fit the tune, so like I said you'll end up listening through 1000s of them for hours because none of them fit your tune.

In the end, the only problem is if you feel limited by using other peoples stuff in your songs and not expressing yourself in the same way. If you don't then go ahead and use sample pack melodies!

[Hex047]

Not cheating, like others have said, but I feel really fucking limited by using samples and presets.
Tried making tunes with loops, ended up chopping them and repitching them because they didn't suit my needs. What might happen is in the end you'll just sit for hours and listen to loop after loop, looking for something that would fit your song but that's not there. It's not cheating, it's just annoying. For some people....

...it depends on your perception of your own music, a bit deep tho (it's 4 am soon haha). What's your goal with music? Is it hitting the beatport charts? Having fun? Making tunes to be proud of, to show your friends and family? Or is it projecting your emotions? Expressing yourself?

If you just want something for others to enjoy (THERE'S NOTHING wrong with this and I think more people than we know make music because they want to be appreciated or just because they want to share it with others), by all means go with premade melody lines, hooks, and whatever, as long as you feel ok with it there's nothing wrong with that.

But if you're trying to put your emotions into the music (I'm not saying I'm doing that) and you're trying to express yourself, you'll find it pretty limiting to use premade melodies and shit, because they won't sound like you feel.
Even if you're not that deep, the samples dont always fit the tune, so like I said you'll end up listening through 1000s of them for hours because none of them fit your tune.

In the end, the only problem is if you feel limited by using other peoples stuff in your songs and not expressing yourself in the same way. If you don't then go ahead and use sample pack melodies!

^this.