Sample library - How do you organise yours

Dubsta

Dubsta

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Apr 4, 2011
This weekend im finally going to sort out and organise my entire sample library. Its massive, and all over the shop..... I know where most of the stuff i commonly use is but its not in any order or organised state.

how do you guys sort yours..ie, drums, breaks, effects ect

I know this is the easiest way to find things but i also want to organise each main folder,,, ie drums >> snares >>> kicks >>> hats ect.
 
I just have a sample's partition that has remained the same for 10 years but had more folders added over the years containing each individual pack as a whole. Most of these are sample packs or some sort whilst others are more individually ripped from sources or whatever. I don't organise them into specific types of samples, although I do have a few separate folders depending on the year I grabbed them now, so I can sort of remember from what point in time I first collected them. That reminds me, I'll have to create a new folder for 2014. One of the folders I use a lot is the same one I've had for years and years, and I'm so accustomed to what is in there and where to go to find what I need that I keep it the same and have several back ups of that one on different hard drives. Main thing though is that they are all on the same partition and one which is only dedicated to samples and nothing else. I couldn't deal with primary samples being located in different places all over.

There are samples on the desktop in folders, but usually these are things I've temporarily bounced from a project which then go on to be reimported, but always coppied into the same project again, allowing me to just delete these if need be. I add fewer samples to my collection these days than I used to, because I can still get a lot out of what I have and won't be anywhere near close to having used everything. It's good to have a picture in my mind though of where my samples are though so far. I remember back in the early days I first started getting used to Cubase, around 2004 and as I didn't have as much of a sample library that was cemented into my mind, it felt harder to deal with.
 
Ive started organising my library this holidays, over 40 gigs of lightly organised shit.
from what ive learnt from countless masterclasses and interviews with established producers, is that inspiration is instantaneous, and requires quick action before it fades away. Putting samples in a format that will compliment your ideas is extremely important in getting tunes down quickly without wasting time and losing motivation.

Ive had an awful workflow in the studio, and a big part of that is not having a proper place for sounds, especially my own. So what i'm doing atm is making as many specific folders as possible, and organising them in an efficent way. My own sample library, which ive just started making, includes everything tagged with a key, a date, and a version number. Im also deleting the samples i wont use or are poor quality.

It will take me ages to complete, but i believe it will be invaluable when i start making tunes. Watching the noisia masterclass gives a good example of what i want to achieve.
Also, for me the source of the sample doesnt change where i put it. Sound is more important than source.
 
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I have a massive sample folder inside the "data/packs" folder on FL Studio, separated by kicks, snares, percussion, basses, etc, just to make it easier for me to locate sounds.

Now, the other samples I use on my songs (field recordings, vocals), I keep on a folder with the name of the song I'm working on.
 
Atm nothing is really organised, but I just search and go from there. What Ive been doing recently is constantly finding high quality samples putting them in a NEW folder and start my search there.
 
wl17.png


I try to keep mine as organised as possible,
Everytime I get a sample pack I make sure every sample is in the right place...

OCD
 
I drag and drop into a folder on my HD called samples. To the foregin eye it looks like a hot mess, it kind of makes sense to me though.

I've been procrastinating on sorting the HD out for years.
 
>Samples
-Acoustic
-Atmosphere & Foley
-Bass
-FX & Glitchy Sounds
-Loops & Riffs (excludes drum/percussive breaks)
-Percussion
-Synth
-Vocal & Acapella
 
Mine is so disorganised, I've accumulated over 100gigs of samples over the years, mostly from sample swaps with mates, everything is so disjointed, I really want to organise but the thought of spending a day dragging and dropping really depresses me.
 
alz said:
Mine is so disorganised, I've accumulated over 100gigs of samples over the years, mostly from sample swaps with mates, everything is so disjointed, I really want to organise but the thought of spending a day dragging and dropping really depresses me.
Click to expand...
More like weeks
 
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Mania said:
More like weeks

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More like weeks
Click to expand...

yeh potentially, one of the friends I have swapped with used to collect old vinyl and sample it to make hip hop, I'm sitting on an absolute gold mine, but all the folders are disgustingly organised, and I just haven't had the time or patience to go through and organise it all. Plus all the individual hits, atmospheres, fx, chords etc that I have. I need to narrow down the things I want to use and move the rest to a hard drive where I can reach them should I want to, but my collections are burning a serious hole in my HD space, which is vital for general day to day use.
 
alz said:
yeh potentially, one of the friends I have swapped with used to collect old vinyl and sample it to make hip hop, I'm sitting on an absolute gold mine, but all the folders are disgustingly organised, and I just haven't had the time or patience to go through and organise it all. Plus all the individual hits, atmospheres, fx, chords etc that I have. I need to narrow down the things I want to use and move the rest to a hard drive where I can reach them should I want to, but my collections are burning a serious hole in my HD space, which is vital for general day to day use.
Click to expand...
Im not gunna lie, its an absolute bitch. I have a lot of nameless and keyless samples which ive had to deal with, and it is a real time killer.
The only way you'll be able to do it an keep your sanity is by listening to music and taking breaks often. If you have a TV near your computer you can do it during the ad breaks.
Get up and stretch, play some games on your phone, because 100g will be a huge flog.

Youll be greatful for it though, because organised samples are a huge part of a good workflow and is something all top producers seem to have.
 
1 Main Library with about 800GB

1 Folder with hits that i regularly use/ starting points/ fail safes.


Terrible basically.
 
Mines a mess. . . . . I get it though. no one else would, but I do :) dnbforum members should be on soulseek sharing libraries with each other. . .juss sayin ;)

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You inspired me to clean up my mess. . .hahahaha. . . . what a mess. oh boy.
 
Ive got a good tip, get Adobe Bridge its a program that basically shows you all your files and folders but if you click on a sample it will play the clip inside it so you can choose what you want quickly, Peace!!
 
Trypta said:
Ive got a good tip, get Adobe Bridge its a program that basically shows you all your files and folders but if you click on a sample it will play the clip inside it so you can choose what you want quickly, Peace!!
Click to expand...
Finder has that, and its free

Also, windows users can do this


I chose the video with the most condescending voice possible :teeth:
 
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I have about 100gb of samples, which i spent a long time organising a few weeks back. It used to be an absolute mess with no real system whatsoever.

My library is now:

Samples>>>>

Ambient Sounds
Bass
Drum Hits
Drum Loops
FX
Instruments
Musical Loops
Patches
Vocals



Each folder has sub categories and this has made life so much easier for me and also reminded me of loads of bits that were hidden away that I'd forgot about.
 
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