Heya, I have a lot of respect for this community and figure you all know enough about making music in general to give me a helping hand. I’m new to the music making scene and have hit a speedbump for something I want to do but can’t seem to find the right device/software to allow it.
I have a Korg KP3 - awesome little box One of the interesting features it has is a sampler. You set a BPM, and can record samples of up to 16 beats long. You can designate each sample as a loop or one-shot. It’s very easy to hit the limitations of the sampler though… for one, 16 beats just doesn’t cut it for anything but drum loops. Also, there are only 4 slots to store samples at a time. You can save/load from an SD card, but that is cumbersome and completely disrupts flow.
What I’m looking for is some software that will let me set a BPM and record line-in audio for exact intervals (4 beats, 32 beats, etc) and selectively loop them. It’d be nice to have an unbound number of samples and sample length. It seems that something like this should exist, but I haven’t been able to find it. Audacity can record and loop, but has no central synching mechanism that I’ve found.
Do any of you have suggestions for what I’m looking for? Even some terms to look up would help. I’ve been searching for “software samplers” but most center on arranging pre-recorded samples, and I’m wanting to create samples in real time.
I agree, Ableton Live is the cadillac of looping and sample based music, especially if you want to perform, or capture a live aspect (hit record and play around with your KP3 rather than spend 3 hours on 8 bars). This may somewhat be overkill for exactly what you need though, i don’t know. Perhaps you can find some small loop station or something that could work (either hardware or software).
Also, this could technically be done in renoise if you are a registered user. What you could do is create a pattern the length that you want (4, 8, 16, 32 however many beats/bars) and then go to the sample editor and simply do the little sync thing so that it starts recording at the beginning of the pattern. Perform your little diddly, and then you will have a sample that you can easily mash up. If you want to use certain sections of the sample, simply use the sample offset function, or use Kaneel’s beatslicing technique (search “how to beatslice in renoise” on youtube). I’m not sure if this is what you are looking to do, but it is certainly a way to set a bpm, record, and playback certain sections of a loop.
One of the interesting features it has is a sampler. You set a BPM, and can record samples of up to 16 beats long. You can designate each sample as a loop or one-shot. It’s very easy to hit the limitations of the sampler though… for one, 16 beats just doesn’t cut it for anything but drum loops. Also, there are only 4 slots to store samples at a time. You can save/load from an SD card, but that is cumbersome and completely disrupts flow.