what is trip-hop?

the styles of trip-hop

essentials

essential recordings

chord progressions

tips and tricks

triphoppin radio

links

contact me

Trip-hop essentials (for producers/musicians)

01 pianos 02 virtual pianos 03 synths 04 VSTs 05 sequencers 06 sample CDs 07 mics/efx

Royalty-Free Sample Loop CDs

No one will argue that trip-hop is a sample-based music style. Countless bands have sampled old breakbeats from 60s and 70s records, or a Rhodes line, or a funky guitar, or a classical piano piece....

It's great to find a great, obscure sample from an old record. However, due to recent sample law modifications, it is completely illegal to sample, unless you pay for whatever you sample. NO EXCEPTIONS (from what the ruling said).

A few years back, it was easier to sample something obscure, and not worry about the owner of the original recording suing you. But now it's a lot harder. Sure, there are loopholes and if you modify a sample enough (processing, pitch-shifting, etc.) chances are, no one will recognize it.... but..... if you want to be fully safe... use royalty-free sample CD libraries.

Some of the more common companies you can buy these CDs from are
Big Fish Audio
Sounds Online
Zero-G
AMG
Peace Love Productions
Homegrown Sounds
Time and Space (this is probably the easiest to navigate, with the most soundclips/demos and the biggest selection of CDs, especially older ones which are still classic!)

Tip: Keep an eye on Big Fish Audio... they have sales a LOT on libraries that are getting phased out.... I've picked up $90 CDs for $30, and sometimes even $9.99.

Another tip: Try to avoid the audio-format CDs, because they're not "loop-ready." You have to manually chop/edit your sample loops, which is a LOT of work, and very time-consuming. Stick to the ones that are Acid-ready, or .wav or .aif format.

All sample loop libraries offer something useful for a trip-hop producer or musician. It all depends on what kind of sounds you're looking for. Ambiences, classical violin lines, drum beats, trippy guitar riffs, whatever. They make a library for any type of sound you're looking for. Knowing this, there are specialized libraries for hip-hop and trip-hop. There are a ton of hip-hop libraries, many more than trip-hop, but the hip-hop discs are very useful, too as most trip-hop is influenced by hip-hop.

Some of the more trip-hop focused libraries include:

To check out sample loop CDs and to hear demos of each, check out the sites above.