Sample Pack Blog

Update 1 January 31, 2024

I finally got to start working on the recording of the samples. I did what seemed like endless preproduction and planning to get everything ready. I started with a session in Studio E at Capital University. I recorded samples of the drum set that lives in that space plus a few other snare drums. I also got to record quite a few cymbal sounds as well which proved to take the longest out of everything else. I had to wait some time for each cymbal strike to stop ringing before doing the next strike. I got to use quite a few FX style cymbals that turned out pretty well when going through the recorded samples. I am about to do the final two sessions within the next week so I can move on to a phase that is purely editing.

I feel that this is a huge investment so far, but I am enjoying every second, even despite troubleshooting and the tedious process of recording multiple dynamic levels of each instrument, one note at a time. I am very excited to get record some more world percussion in Studio A at Capital University utilizing their world percussion storage. These are going to add some great, diverse sounds to the final product that I think will be able ot be used for many projects that producers might have. And above all, I am incredibly excited to record drum sets in Studio F at Capital University. That is by far my favorite room to record drums in that I have interacted with so far. I'm sure that session will be a ton of fun.

It has also been great to work with some younger engineers on this project. I has proved as a great learning opportunity for them. I am able to help them. work on signal flow, microphone types and placements, and even shed some Pro Tools knowledge in the process. It is fun to work with them as it reminds me of myself when I started recording several years ago. Watching them become more and more comfortable in the spaces and with this work has been a treat. They also have proven to be a great hang, something quite necessary when recording cymbals takes an hour or so and gets emotionally taxing. 

Update 2 February 1, 2024

As I have been editing these samples, I have been realizing that I might have over estimated how many strikes I needed of each instrument. I originally started with ten with each volume, but I feel that five or six would do just fine. In my planning for the next few sessions I have been doing some research on how I might record some of auxilary instruments, like shakers. 

I think that this is shaping up to be a bit more than I anticipated, but I don't have any plans on bringing the work load down. I think that this will be a great thing to push through and see through as I originally planned it. 

Update 3 February 14, 2024

Over the last week I have started the process of creating the downloadable packs. I went through my sessions and created folders for all of my sampled instruments and started the planning for the virtual instrument portion of the project. I've decided to go through with mininal processing on these samples. I might throw some EQ around to clean up some mic sounds and add compression and reverb to one or two things for some extra flare. But, I have been going about in the mindset that I want to capture the space these instruments are in and what they naturally sound like.

I recently did another session in Studio F at Capital University. I tracked two drum sets that night, the one already in the studio and my personal set.  This session was a lot as I needed to go through and tune two drum sets instead of one and I also had to introduce the younger students to the signal flow in Studio F. They have been getting more comfortable with Pro Tools which is fun to watch. My next session is going to be in Studio A. This one is quite daunting just because of the signal flow in that space. To help out with that, I have recruited a friend of mine who is well versed and very comfortable in that control room.

I am looking forward to the editing part of this process as I feel like that is going to be a look ahead to the finish line of this project. This project has been a ton of fun so far even with the added stress of teaching studio flow to newer engineers and the tedious nature of recording instruments only one note at a time.

Update 4 February 19, 2024

The recording process at this point is pretty much over. I have a couple things left over but they are going to be quick to get done. I got through sorting out most of the samples that I have and it made me think about my research question. I wanted to find out what the process was like to make these sample packs and if I would lose appreciation for the ones you can buy online. After all of the work that I have done, I have a great appreciation for the packs that are online. However, I do feel that it is worth it to create your own if you have the spaces available to you. The next big step is creating the downloadable packages which I plan to have done by the end of the week.

Update 5 February 26, 2024

WOW! I finally finished this project. To say it was a lot might be an understatement, but it was fun and informative which made every struggle worth it. I put together the finalized folders of One Shots and Logic Presets. I had a ton of fun learning about creating sampler presets in Logic. I found out how to map out samples on a keyboard that can be controlled using a MIDI keyboard and how to program each key to have multiple samples for each velocity coming into the virtual instrument. I loaded everything into my Google Drive and posted the link on a new page on my website specifically for the download. I also created a few loops on my own for fun that I can show off to my friends as a result of the project. 

Update 6 February 26, 2024