AudioMulch Tutorial - Using the LoopPlayer to Create Mashups 1 of 3

[moonpup09]

What was the name of the program you were using to take samples with? i use windows would it cross over?

[lllatomlll]

@moonpup09 I was using Audacity for awhile which also supports Windows.

[simontaft]

what are your audacity settings? ie how did you get your sample to loop?

Thanks

[lllatomlll]

@simontaft It's been awhile but this is what the manual says...

Loop - if you hold down the Shift key, the Play button changes to a Loop button, which lets you keep playing the selection over and over again.

[simontaft]

@lllatomlll Thanks very much!

I'm also having a little trouble with the audiomulch settings for the loop recorder. Mine may be a different version, but do you remember if you altered anything there?

Thanks!

[lllatomlll]

@simontaft I'm not familiar with the loop recorder. The loop player contraption I think has changed a little bit but the same concept should apply. I haven't updated my version of Audiomulch.

[ClammyStephen]

So,when you bring in other samples do you count before you bring them in?When I go to play my samples it's like they're already playing while they're muted so they come in like halfway through a verse.

[lllatomlll]

@ClammyStephen That is one of the things people might love or hate about AM. It really makes you think about timing and creating other audio cues to unmute samples at the beginning of your sample. There is no visual indicator and almost no way to count. You have to rely on surrounding samples to let you know where your counts are. If you can master this in AM then you're in good shape. This was one of the smaller reasons I switched over to Ableton.

[drumbeatproductions]

First tutorial i've seen on youtube that the guy doesn't have a crazy accent....hahah

[cocoruba]

how can you sample a single instrument off a track?

[lllatomlll]

@cocoruba not sure what you are asking. can you isolate instruments? no.

[MrMrpony]

@lllatomlll well you kinda can with melodyne...that tech just hasn't been applied to a sampling tool yet

[lllatomlll]

@cocoruba sorry... not possible.

[greatfulkitteh]

Fantastic tutorial, man. Thanks so much!

[DJdavemoon2k6]

i think i may be completely stupid, i cant seem to get even a basic ...erm... setup. i watched your tutorial on making a mash using automation and really enjoyed the finished product. what im trying to say is i think i need some sort of basic walkthrough in using this software as having trouble adding files in and getting them to playback. Any help/info would be greatly appreciated. ok if you cant be bothered or anything.

Thanks

[lllatomlll]

@DJdavemoon2k6 send me a PM. i'll need more information. Audiomulch supports wav files. Connect the loop player to sound out to get them to play.

[Skatrman32]

This is probably a stupid question, but my say it aint so isn't loud enough to be heard with the other loops, how can I turn it up?

[lllatomlll]

@Skatrman32 you have two options 1. amplify the source .wav file in your wav editor or 2. add a volume control after the sample in audiomulch.

i tend to use a combination of both but i start with the source .wav file and adjust the mix if needed.

[Skatrman32]

@lllatomlll Alright, thanks for the quick reply, nice to see your maintaining your videos.

[posthumanDP]

hey man, where do you find acapella tracks and intstrumentals?

[lllatomlll]

@posthumanDP i search through google. 

[posthumanDP]

@lllatomlll

okay awesome, thanks man, love your mashups & vids! keep up the good work!

[nvrmindthebollocks]

Great Upload! thanks

[m3g4L0m4n]

hey man, im having a problem saving my selection from audition. every time i save as a .wav to my desktop and open it in mulch, it says it cant open it. when i look at the properties of the file on my desktop, it says its an mp3... any suggestions?

[lllatomlll]

@m3g4L0m4n if the file extension is .mp3 then you are saving it as an mp3. Just make sure that the file type in the dropdown is wav and not mp3. Maybe you are saving it as filename.wav.mp3? that's all i got..

[newslang835]

great tutorials man. i just have one question though. how do put it all together and record so i can listen to it in itunes or whatever..thanks

[lllatomlll]

@newslang835 Double click on the sound out contraption to bring up the recorder. This will record what you mix in .wav format for you to listen in itunes and your PMP.

[BJORN1000BORG]

How does the tempo and the bar amount relate to each other, none of my samples are matching up!

[lllatomlll]

@BJORN1000BORG Tempo is going to affect how fast the bars are played and will ultimately affect the pitch as well. By using bar values such as 4, 8, 16, 32... you end up quantizing your samples in a way. If they don't match up then you likely have the samples cut wrong. Try to keep it simple at first and use small clips to get a feel for the process.

[BJORN1000BORG]

i got the loop to play at the tempo 325 and the bar at 17, but how do i match that with anything?

[lllatomlll]

@BJORN1000BORG You don't with a bar value of 17. Bump it down to 16.

[BJORN1000BORG]

What am i doing wrong if i am playing the loops great in audacity, and when theyre unstreched in audiomulch they run, but once i stretch them they have blank space before the loop restarts or the end of the loop gets cut off? I adjust the tempo and play around with it but i can't seem to get them to work.

[lllatomlll]

@BJORN1000BORG several people have reported that if you are using the beta version of Audacity this can happen. Sounds like it has not been fixed yet. Try installing the latest stable version of Audacity and see if that helps.

[gomachols]

@BJORN1000BORG you might be having issues with sample rates...are you on pc? not that that necessarily matters...

but ifi you're finding that it sounds one way in one program and then all screwy in another..sample rates might have something to do with it

[CreativeFilmMaker]

Hey, question, when I want to make a "loop" of an acapella, it's gonna be longer, like a minute long - any tips or problems when doing that?

[lllatomlll]

@CreativeFilmMaker it's the same concept as any other loop. cut it on beat and you shouldn't have any problems at all. 

[midnightcobra1111]

thanks, never had a reply so quickly...just found it actually. I had "snap to " on

[midnightcobra1111]

hey, whenever i try to highlight a certain part, it automatically corrects the highlight to say the beginning of the song. How do I fix it.

[lllatomlll]

@midnightcobra1111 I have no idea. I never had any problems making a selection. Maybe there is a support forum for the software?

[bundas]

this is a huge help, but how can you come across vocals to mix? in this, you used an a capella track, but if you wanted to take vocals from a fully mastered song, is there a way to do so? the same question goes for a drum/beat track

[andyozzzz]

hey, whenever i try to make a wav file it adds 2 seconds of silence to the end. i've tried older audacity + other programs, same problem, what am i doing wrong?

[lllatomlll]

@andyozzzz I'm not sure. If you have tried multiple programs then I am stumped. Make sure you are only saving the selection and not the whole thing. Sorry I can't help ya out on this one.

[anandavimal]

Bug.yes. old version works. thanks!

[anandavimal]

Hey, when I try to cut 3 seconds out of a sound and export it as a wave file it makes it into 5 seconds. 7 into 10. Do you know why and how to edit it? Thanks!

[lllatomlll]

If you are referring to saving a wav file out of Audacity, it's been rumored there is some bug in the beta version that is causing problems. Try using an older version? Or different software all together...

[jacktheorange]

So do you need to worry at all if all of your samples are in different keys?

[lllatomlll]

I don't. Doesn't even come to mind when i am working. Sure, some samples are going to clash but most of the time it works out.

[pappasmoke85]

nevermind that i got it, i saw u press shift to make it loop, anyway can i get my mash up on audiomulch posted on facebook so i can show people... great tutorial btw im subscribing for sure.

[pappasmoke85]

im new to this, i am also on audcity, i cant figure out how to make it loop to see if it sounds right, any help???

[lllatomlll]

You'll need to give me more information than that. I don't understand the problem.

[num1bosoxfan04]

shit+spacebar...or shit+click the play button

[lllatomlll]

+1. num1bosoxfan04 is correct. I understand now what you were asking.

[TomR0909]

I  opened it in itunes and the file plays the correct amount, then i opened the file in audiomulch and it plays longer than it did in itunes, and it is the same file no doubt.

[TomR0909]

when i use audacity i do exactly what the video says and i listen to the clip and the loop flows and everything, then when i save it to desktop and open audiomulch and run the loop player it plays more than i have highlighted and my loop gets messed up help please!

[lllatomlll]

make sure you are saving your selection correctly. what happens when you play the sample outside of audiomulch? If you still hear more than what you want to loop, you did not save it correctly.

[lllatomlll]

There are also reports that the beta version of Audacity is causing some problems. Try switching versions?

[microphonecables]

Thanks a lot for these videos! They are really helpful for learning something that doesn't seem to be documented much. I just have the question of whether Girl Talk changes from base-2 to base-3 samples in his long mixes and, if so, are there ways of doing it smoothly?

[lllatomlll]

I'm not really sure how girl talk has his rig set up. To be honest I can't tell if he is using multiple groups of samples or if he does some sort of time stretch to make them all the same. To transition somewhat smoothly you would probably need to have a pause in your set since they can't really overlap in time...

[jaredfromsubwayyy]

great videos! i'm pretty confused about how to properly sample rap verses though. how do you know where to start and end the sample? i've tried a couple different ones and they don't work well with base-2 or base-3 loops.

[lllatomlll]

Thanks! I don't exactly have a precise way to answer your question, unfortunately. I sample my acapella tracks on feel alone. Usually I take the whole verse if I can. If not, I cut it in half or where I think the verse has a good break. I import it into AM and see how it lines up...I use phase to adjust the position of the sample, else I go back to re-cutting the sample in my wav editor.

[likewhoaaaaaa]

hey wat do use to get your instrumentals and acapellas?

[lllatomlll]

google.

[hellogoodbye545]

right now im trying to use disturbia, beggin by madcon and untouched violin intro from the veronicas and it works just way to fast and pitch is to high

[hellogoodbye545]

hey i have a question i've been putting in my samples but the bars dont match up always even if i keep them in the same multiple ones either to fast or to slow do you have that problem too or is there a way to correct it?

[lllatomlll]

Yes it is slightly more involved than just having the right bar numbers. I have two groups of samples...some use 4, 8, 16, etc. The other group uses 6, 12, 24, 48 etc. This is determined by the time signature of the song and bpm. What samples are you using? Maybe I can help that way.

It also can depend on how you cut your samples.

[sundaydrive317]

where is a good place to find instrumentals and a capellas. that is the main point that i get stuck on when trying to create a mash up.

[lllatomlll]

i just search on google, really.

[Thee1stSON]

yooh have like a site on where yooh always go on it to download the song & yooh know its like safe.

haha cause i donttt want no viruses yo.

[lllatomlll]

Not particularly...I type in the song name and then "acapella" or "instrumental" in google.

[Thee1stSON]

yeaaa i know; its juhs i did those before &&

pc crashed like woah.

[thekonamicode]

hey, sorry i SWEAR last question haha.

but when you press play, the measure clock doesnt go (it stays at 1-1) when i play, it keeps count thus making my loops come in at weird times. how do i stop that?

[lllatomlll]

I'm not sure, actually. It does happen to me sometimes too, but I never look at the counter. Once I'm a few minutes into a session, the numbers are just too high for me to do any mental math to time out samples.

I usually just restart AM if the counter is not going up. It tends to solve the problem for me. The fact that the counter is not moving does not affect the timing of your samples. I'm not sure what you mean by the loops come in at weird times. They will come in at the next bar.

[aynrandy1]

Audio Mulch is INCREDIBLE for making your own loops and clips as well.

Especially if you use a lot of VSTi's.

You can map your keyboard and controllers if you have them, and it works well on small crappy computers and is very stable.

It's a totally underrated program.

[lllatomlll]

Can't agree with you more. I have not gotten into using external controllers...but it is in my future for sure.

[DJDaveT23]

Random question, but does audiomulch have a facility to put a beat behind music? If so can you select the type of beat?

[lllatomlll]

I don't understand your question. What do you mean by facility? Type of beat?

[DJDaveT23]

For example in the video 'girl talk creates a mashup' he takes the elvis costello sample and puts a beat behind it, is he using audiomulch to put that beat behind the music? (thats what i meant by facility). As for type of beat, im saying if you can put a beat behind music in audiomulch are there several different beats/sounds you can put behind music (if that makes sense)

[lllatomlll]

You can approach this two ways. You can create your own drum contraptions and make your own beats within Audiomulch (from scratch). OR, you can just take a drum/beat sample from wherever you want and load it into a loopplayer contraption.

Personally, I choose to do the latter.

[CompuTable78]

Could you someday make a video showing how to connect sets together live like the audiomulch loops video but live screencast?

Do all loops have to be the same bar multiple or can you connect sets of different bar ratios?

[lllatomlll]

That's a good question...I was recently thinking of making a video showing how you can use this in a live scenario. It is definitely next on my list.

Using the method that I am showing, I end up with two groups of samples that have compatible bar lengths. In order to connect them, you would have to only have 1 sample playing, and you would unmute the second group while muting the first. The reason being you can't have both groups playing simultaneously or it would sound weird.

[lllatomlll]

I would probably design a set where I would play one group first, then transition into the second group. That way you don't have to perform somewhat difficult transitions. If you get creative enough or have pauses in your performances it should not be too bad.

[willdoesthisforfun]

Hey mate cheers for these tuts, just wondering if audio mulch has any time stretching capabilities or would you have to do it in other software like traktor/ableton....? I f you wanted to use samples of different bpms but keep them in time

[lllatomlll]

Yes it does. If you look at the loopplayer contraption there is a checkbox called "Stretch" that is marked by default. This stretches your sample to the overall tempo located along the top of the screen.

I pay little/no attention to what the source file BPM is. Audiomulch takes care of it all for me.

[willdoesthisforfun]

Yeah it keeps it in time but, i doesn't keep in key.... No harmonic mixing then : S

[lllatomlll]

Correct. Changing the tempo will change the pitch.

[magicman8822]

how come when you play the samples they start at the beginning of the sample? and your seconds at the top stays at 1.1 the whole time... whenever I press play my seconds start counting up.

[lllatomlll]

I'm not sure..I noticed that too. If I log out of AM and go back in it usually fixes itself.

[KielanP]

Is there a way to stop individual songs? I have been trying to figure this out forever, and for whatever reason, I cant figure it out. Last question, is there a way to automatically trigger songs?

[lllatomlll]

not sure i understand the question about stopping songs. they will always be "playing" in the background. you can only control if you want to hear them via the mute button.

you can automatically trigger songs through automation but that won't work well in a live setting if you are going to be triggering many samples.

[KielanP]

Have you updated to Snow leopard yet? Because I cant get audacity to work, and was wondering if you knew of any alternatives that I could use.

[lllatomlll]

Yes I am running Snow Leopard and having no problems with Audacity. I have recently just switched to using Amadeus Pro as a wave editor. It has a few small features that Audacity does not that saves me a lot of time. It is easier to scrub playback as well as looping on the fly. I would recommend Amadeus Pro over Audacity for sure.

[KielanP]

Ok cool.

Thanks for the ridiculously fast reply, that was like 5 minutes.

[conster118]

what version of audacity do you use?

[lllatomlll]

Right now I am using 1.3.8. For simply cutting up wav files, it really should not matter what version you use.

[ThePCM4]

so if you want just the beat or the vocals you have to get that seperately?

[lllatomlll]

Yes. Many artists release CD singles that often contain just the instrumental, acapella, or both. You can also find these on the internet through a simple Google search.

[sacredgeometry]

haha at this level of audio mulch what is the benifit over ableton?

[lllatomlll]

i have no idea. i have never used ableton. this is hardly anything audiomulch is capable of. this is just really easy to do and i have fun with it.

[sacredgeometry]

oh i know :D i didnt mean that i mean at this level would using ableton be easier i mean it offers a much easier way to do this in its session view. You should give it a try if you are using audiomulch for live stuff.....it can be routed into ableton i think if you use soundflower or equivalent software.

[CompuTable78]

Thanks so much. This tutorial is very helpful. I never could figure out audiomulch and eventually gave up. Now I'll put those samples to good use.

[Zrice32]

Thanks for the upload brah, helped me a ton!