Good stuff! The "Loop of '88". A couple of my favourite 2nd gen Think breaks are Heavy D & The Boyz - You Ain't Heard Nuttin' Yet and Kid 'N Play - Do This My Way.
@@BeatsPacific nice one!! Just checked that Loop of 88 on Spotify... loads of stuff from Simon Harris! Wow thanks what a mention! I'll check those other ones out too. I know you've got bare jungle knowledge and I'm keen to dig into the lesser heard ones - just ping me if you think of anymore. Hope you're good man. :)
Cheers AO :) I originally intended to more of these with other breaks, still on the back burner but kind of feel @nedrush covered that with his A-Z breaks series recently. Thanks for the kind comment.
Cheers LDM! Yeah it's so good! Felt like a nice place to start as I'm so familiar with it. Although probably bit off more than I could chew with essentially 4 videos worth of material in one! Thanks :)
Great video, Alex! There is so much here that I've been coming back to rewatch a bunch. I like your method of processing and resampling your breaks before chopping, as well as how you setup your drum racks. I've always chopped first, processed second, which feels clunky in comparison, so I'm going to have to try this out!
Cheers Tristan! That's sick. Yeah I discovered that by accident after doing it with an amen. It just gives a much more defined sound as there's no tail from any processing on the chops - the result is like DEAD tight which I love. Sometimes I do both, indeed I'd like to explore what more I can get from doing that. I keep refining how I rack things up, or rather experimenting and adding in things that work to my method. No two breaks are equal though, and every one requires a slightly different approach. Thanks again man.
Yes! I'm trying it on the Amen right now. Actually, I've just recently come back to my music after an extremely long hiatus. So there's a lot that I'm rediscovering as well as learning for the first time. I'm excited to dig deeper and experiment more than I ever used to, and, of course, to soak up all the knowledge I can. If there's one regret I have in life, it's that I didn't spend more time making beats!
Thanks so much! Yeah one of my all time faves, so versatile and a great intro to chopping as it behaves so nicely - good drumming from Jabo Starks (should've credited in the vid). Great suggestion! I'll add it to the list. Apache sounds great time stretched and would be a good one to demo that kind of thing with. Thanks again.
Cheers Al! Bit of more than I could chew with all 4 but the think playlist in the description has loads more examples of when I've gone to work on the break. Thanks for all your support man!
Loads of good info here, thanks for another great tutorial!. I have an idea/request... Showing how you approach layering kicks with breaks would be really helpful. Types of kick that work well with types of breaks, bass frequencies, eq, compression, an all that good stuff.
Thanks so much! This is something that people have brought up before on stream, definitely a good topic for something more in depth if I can get round to it. Most of the time, it's all about the choice of sound for me - I'd rather find sounds that work well together out the box rather than have to sculpt them too much with other effects. That said - I do sometimes love to turn a kick or whatever sound into something completely different using effects! The whole kick-bass conundrum is a constant in any music producer's life haha, I think I've just got really good at knowing when it isn't working and to start again. But yes, I will keep that in mind :) thanks again for the kind words, glad I can help :)
Cheers Treva, mine too for sure. So versatile. Yeah I need to take up the series again, there's been loads of good suggestions for next breaks to have a go at. Layering breaks comes up a lot, definitely a rich topic to dive into. Cheers!
I like to take 2-3 different breaks use one as my main subject align all three of to make sure all the hits lineup because I will so to speak "graft" hits from the other two but making sure to keep the parts of the first break that I specifically chose it for. obviously you need to make sure to volume match each break with each other, but also choosing a say one break that has a massively different character due to say reverb being baked into one but not the other can make it nearly impossible to get them to work together cohesively
Another really informative video! Love that you showed both approaches. Have u ever used the plugin st4b? Its a really nice multiband transient shaper, very useful for breaks.
Hi Jon, thanks so much for that. No I can't say I have - I've been using Re-Shaper a lot recently, from the creative extensions m4l pack and that is pretty good. I'll check it out!
Hey, thanks for the video its so comprehensive and well organized. I've run into an issue with my project, when i get to the 39:00 and adjusting velocities the midi notes dont actually adjust and they all sound the same. I've experimented by pulling all the velocities down to 0 and there is no difference in sound. Any idea what issue it could be?
Thanks @yohogo9 ! Glad you've enjoyed it. Yeah I think I know what this could be. It sounds like you might have the Velocity Sensitivity in the Sampler set to 0? You'll need this at about 35% for velocity automation in the MIDI clip to work - the higher the Velocity Sensitivity, the great the effect of a given MIDI velocity on the volume of the sound. Hope this solves your problem, let me know if it does ;) thanks again
Just a quick question. Maybe I'm missing something but would it not make more sense to process the breaks after the chopping into sampler? That way you could have more control over the processing in the context of the mix?
Not at all - this is a really great question! So for me, I love the staccato sound you get when you chop a break like the Think hit by hit and shorten the MIDI. I also like to sculpt the envelope for each hit too, sometimes. I've found if I apply significant processing after, it affects how each slice is played back, and can affect the precision of the staccato effect. It's probably really quite minor for a break like the think but for something heavier like the amen, it does make a difference, particularly if you're really slamming things. In terms of the mix, I often do more processing after I've applied this method, but it's usually very subtle. I'd say try both approaches and see which to your ears you prefer more. But this kind of critical thinking is great, and something I try to cultivate at every step myself.
I was trying to find out what break is used in Dark Stranger Origin Unknown rmx. I think from trying to hunt down that is maybe a 2nd gen think break but not sure how they processed it. Just love that break at the start of the track. Not sure where they sampled from.
Cheers Jay, love that tune! Listening again it sounds like it could be the Latee break? Maybe with another bit of the original Think in it too? I did a video on the Latee break not too long ago as it's used in Aphex's '54 Cymru Beats' too (you might've seen this already): th-cam.com/users/liveNq0eG8nDnDk Can anyone else comment further?
@Human Synthetics yeah could well be actually mate. Pitched up? The Dark Stranger tune has some kind of high pitched snare or cymbal it sounds like layered on top
@@jamesdoyle4383 Yeah at the very start?? Sounds like it could be another sample of some sort, like a stab or something. Could be they sampled the chaka chaka (technical term lol) from the Latee and played it on different notes on a keyboard, then again they're timing isn't too different in terms of how the chakas play back. If that makes any sense?!
Been learning so much from you Alex, thank you! Total noob question: What’s the setting in order to play an individual channels clip when triggered? In Whenever I press play on one channels clip it simultaneously plays other clips I have on other channels, so I have to just “solo” the channel (session view, running Ableton 10 max live). Thank you in advance 🙏👊
Hey 23 that's sick! I'm glad to here my stuff has been helpful. So, it sounds like you might be using a drum rack for chops? You want to go into the in out settings (tiny little io icon bottom left) and that will access the choke groups. Then you want to set all of the midi lanes to the same choke group. That will stop one lane playing when you trigger a new one. Does that help?? Let me know if not.
Might be missing something. But what's the point of different choke groups here? I figured you should just have them all on one choke group in the same rack so you don't have loops stepping on each other.
Yeah good question - it really depends, with some of the time stretched breaks I like to let them play along underneath without being choked by the main break pattern. Really a personal preference thing depending on what you're trying to achieve, but if I need any one chop to carry on over others i go for this approach.
@HumanSynthetics I don't think they stack well tbh. Amen is a busy and noisy break with unusual timing, you can chop / rearrange it and tame it with eq or even a multi band envelope shaper, but then it's hardly Amen anymore. Amen over powers most other breaks, it stacks well with super simple breaks like Skull Snaps. Amen is more of a jungle break, they go raw Amen often. Think, Hotpants, Roachclip, Cold Sweat, Sport and so on destroy Amen tbh and all stack with simpler breaks like Synthetic, Impeach, Snaps, barry white and so on.
@benmochrie7832 I think breakcore and new hipster jungle does this weird flipping between the two and no it doesn't work. I think they get edited versions of both in hipster sample packs and just copy and paste them with no real thought. I prefer the later tracks of original jungle that used Think, and even the Hospital Records liquid D&B Think era.
What's your favourite Think break? What other breaks would like to see me dive into?
Everything off Go Plastic.
Good stuff! The "Loop of '88". A couple of my favourite 2nd gen Think breaks are Heavy D & The Boyz - You Ain't Heard Nuttin' Yet and Kid 'N Play - Do This My Way.
@@BeatsPacific nice one!! Just checked that Loop of 88 on Spotify... loads of stuff from Simon Harris! Wow thanks what a mention! I'll check those other ones out too. I know you've got bare jungle knowledge and I'm keen to dig into the lesser heard ones - just ping me if you think of anymore. Hope you're good man. :)
@@NedRush ahh yeah, I'd have to check whosampled! And some SP stuff in the works for you?? 👀💖
Please Show US the tighten up break.
Great video. Thank you
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it :)
Awesome video buddy 😎
Cheers AO :) I originally intended to more of these with other breaks, still on the back burner but kind of feel @nedrush covered that with his A-Z breaks series recently. Thanks for the kind comment.
thank god i found this channel. amazing content
Aww thank you!! Glad it's hitting the spot, it's a joy to share it all
Pretty cool tutorial. Thank you.
Thanks a lot! Always my pleasure sharing :)
Amazing video can’t wait to get to chopping
Big up Jumanji! Yeah this one's a great chopper.
A classic! lovely
Cheers LDM! Yeah it's so good! Felt like a nice place to start as I'm so familiar with it. Although probably bit off more than I could chew with essentially 4 videos worth of material in one! Thanks :)
Impressive!
Cheers David!
Thank u for the amazing video
Cheers Callum, pleasure's all mine, glad you've enjoyed!
Black country massive 🎉 now i know 😊
Great video, Alex! There is so much here that I've been coming back to rewatch a bunch. I like your method of processing and resampling your breaks before chopping, as well as how you setup your drum racks. I've always chopped first, processed second, which feels clunky in comparison, so I'm going to have to try this out!
Cheers Tristan! That's sick. Yeah I discovered that by accident after doing it with an amen. It just gives a much more defined sound as there's no tail from any processing on the chops - the result is like DEAD tight which I love. Sometimes I do both, indeed I'd like to explore what more I can get from doing that.
I keep refining how I rack things up, or rather experimenting and adding in things that work to my method. No two breaks are equal though, and every one requires a slightly different approach.
Thanks again man.
Yes! I'm trying it on the Amen right now. Actually, I've just recently come back to my music after an extremely long hiatus. So there's a lot that I'm rediscovering as well as learning for the first time. I'm excited to dig deeper and experiment more than I ever used to, and, of course, to soak up all the knowledge I can. If there's one regret I have in life, it's that I didn't spend more time making beats!
Classic break and excellent vid. Learnt heaps. Can you do Apache next?
Thanks so much! Yeah one of my all time faves, so versatile and a great intro to chopping as it behaves so nicely - good drumming from Jabo Starks (should've credited in the vid). Great suggestion! I'll add it to the list. Apache sounds great time stretched and would be a good one to demo that kind of thing with. Thanks again.
This is high quality knowledge sharing Alex!
Cheers Al! Bit of more than I could chew with all 4 but the think playlist in the description has loads more examples of when I've gone to work on the break. Thanks for all your support man!
Loads of good info here, thanks for another great tutorial!. I have an idea/request... Showing how you approach layering kicks with breaks would be really helpful. Types of kick that work well with types of breaks, bass frequencies, eq, compression, an all that good stuff.
Thanks so much! This is something that people have brought up before on stream, definitely a good topic for something more in depth if I can get round to it. Most of the time, it's all about the choice of sound for me - I'd rather find sounds that work well together out the box rather than have to sculpt them too much with other effects. That said - I do sometimes love to turn a kick or whatever sound into something completely different using effects! The whole kick-bass conundrum is a constant in any music producer's life haha, I think I've just got really good at knowing when it isn't working and to start again. But yes, I will keep that in mind :) thanks again for the kind words, glad I can help :)
Thanks for the video. Very interesting!
Cheers Niels, glad you think so and thanks for the comment
Good stuff
thank you!
@@HumanSynthetics You're awesome. I made a song inspired by this tutorial!
Absolutely top quality content
Nice one Jim! Thanks for the comment.
Great video. My favourite break by far. Would love to see some more breaks and something on layering breaks
Cheers Treva, mine too for sure. So versatile. Yeah I need to take up the series again, there's been loads of good suggestions for next breaks to have a go at. Layering breaks comes up a lot, definitely a rich topic to dive into. Cheers!
I like to take 2-3 different breaks use one as my main subject align all three of to make sure all the hits lineup because I will so to speak "graft" hits from the other two but making sure to keep the parts of the first break that I specifically chose it for. obviously you need to make sure to volume match each break with each other, but also choosing a say one break that has a massively different character due to say reverb being baked into one but not the other can make it nearly impossible to get them to work together cohesively
I think Funky Technicians - Airtight uses the think break. One of my all time favourite tunes.
I thought that was Hot Pants + Cold Sweat
@@MattyFez could be. I’m sure at the or near the end the break changes to Think. Could be totally wrong though mate.
Nice one Newtype :)) I'll have a listen to that one. I heard it on a Disney film recently haha 'Spies in Disguise'! Lol
I'll give it a listen :D
@@HumanSynthetics Didn’t know that track was in the sound track.
Another really informative video! Love that you showed both approaches. Have u ever used the plugin st4b? Its a really nice multiband transient shaper, very useful for breaks.
Hi Jon, thanks so much for that. No I can't say I have - I've been using Re-Shaper a lot recently, from the creative extensions m4l pack and that is pretty good. I'll check it out!
Hey, thanks for the video its so comprehensive and well organized. I've run into an issue with my project, when i get to the 39:00 and adjusting velocities the midi notes dont actually adjust and they all sound the same. I've experimented by pulling all the velocities down to 0 and there is no difference in sound. Any idea what issue it could be?
Thanks @yohogo9 ! Glad you've enjoyed it. Yeah I think I know what this could be. It sounds like you might have the Velocity Sensitivity in the Sampler set to 0? You'll need this at about 35% for velocity automation in the MIDI clip to work - the higher the Velocity Sensitivity, the great the effect of a given MIDI velocity on the volume of the sound. Hope this solves your problem, let me know if it does ;) thanks again
@@HumanSynthetics BOOM! problem solved, thank you
@@yohogo9 sick!! thanks for letting me know - yeah, sometimes it depends on the default settings you have set up in the devices - glad we solved it :D
Just a quick question. Maybe I'm missing something but would it not make more sense to process the breaks after the chopping into sampler? That way you could have more control over the processing in the context of the mix?
Not at all - this is a really great question! So for me, I love the staccato sound you get when you chop a break like the Think hit by hit and shorten the MIDI. I also like to sculpt the envelope for each hit too, sometimes. I've found if I apply significant processing after, it affects how each slice is played back, and can affect the precision of the staccato effect. It's probably really quite minor for a break like the think but for something heavier like the amen, it does make a difference, particularly if you're really slamming things. In terms of the mix, I often do more processing after I've applied this method, but it's usually very subtle. I'd say try both approaches and see which to your ears you prefer more. But this kind of critical thinking is great, and something I try to cultivate at every step myself.
@@HumanSynthetics Ahh I get you, makes sense that baked in processing would chop differently to applying it afterwards. Cheers for the response 😄
We always called this the "ya bastard" loop
Hahaha yeah JB sounds a bit unhinged at 170. I'll be calling it that from now on.
I was trying to find out what break is used in Dark Stranger Origin Unknown rmx. I think from trying to hunt down that is maybe a 2nd gen think break but not sure how they processed it. Just love that break at the start of the track. Not sure where they sampled from.
Cheers Jay, love that tune! Listening again it sounds like it could be the Latee break? Maybe with another bit of the original Think in it too? I did a video on the Latee break not too long ago as it's used in Aphex's '54 Cymru Beats' too (you might've seen this already): th-cam.com/users/liveNq0eG8nDnDk
Can anyone else comment further?
@Human Synthetics yeah could well be actually mate. Pitched up? The Dark Stranger tune has some kind of high pitched snare or cymbal it sounds like layered on top
@@jamesdoyle4383 Yeah at the very start?? Sounds like it could be another sample of some sort, like a stab or something. Could be they sampled the chaka chaka (technical term lol) from the Latee and played it on different notes on a keyboard, then again they're timing isn't too different in terms of how the chakas play back. If that makes any sense?!
@Human Synthetics yes mate at the start it sounds like a slowed down but high pitch stab of maybe a snare or something.
@Human Synthetics do you have a link mate ro the vid you did on the Latee break please 🙏?
Been learning so much from you Alex, thank you! Total noob question:
What’s the setting in order to play an individual channels clip when triggered? In Whenever I press play on one channels clip it simultaneously plays other clips I have on other channels, so I have to just “solo” the channel (session view, running Ableton 10 max live). Thank you in advance 🙏👊
Hey 23 that's sick! I'm glad to here my stuff has been helpful.
So, it sounds like you might be using a drum rack for chops? You want to go into the in out settings (tiny little io icon bottom left) and that will access the choke groups. Then you want to set all of the midi lanes to the same choke group. That will stop one lane playing when you trigger a new one. Does that help?? Let me know if not.
Might be missing something. But what's the point of different choke groups here? I figured you should just have them all on one choke group in the same rack so you don't have loops stepping on each other.
Yeah good question - it really depends, with some of the time stretched breaks I like to let them play along underneath without being choked by the main break pattern. Really a personal preference thing depending on what you're trying to achieve, but if I need any one chop to carry on over others i go for this approach.
sounds like sully lol
Thanks! Add a bit of chorus, or really tight delay, like with a very, very short decay and you'll be there!
Think is better than Amen
Fighting talk 😁 but I'm kind of inclined to agree! What about both together??
@HumanSynthetics I don't think they stack well tbh. Amen is a busy and noisy break with unusual timing, you can chop / rearrange it and tame it with eq or even a multi band envelope shaper, but then it's hardly Amen anymore. Amen over powers most other breaks, it stacks well with super simple breaks like Skull Snaps. Amen is more of a jungle break, they go raw Amen often. Think, Hotpants, Roachclip, Cold Sweat, Sport and so on destroy Amen tbh and all stack with simpler breaks like Synthetic, Impeach, Snaps, barry white and so on.
You don’t think they work together? Those two breaks are what Jungle is!
@@benmochrie7832 Not really, breakcore guys flip between the two because they get them from sample packs.
@benmochrie7832 I think breakcore and new hipster jungle does this weird flipping between the two and no it doesn't work. I think they get edited versions of both in hipster sample packs and just copy and paste them with no real thought. I prefer the later tracks of original jungle that used Think, and even the Hospital Records liquid D&B Think era.