tl;dr: Do you use percussion loops in your productions or do you care about programming things from scratch? Does it make sense for me to not want to use any loops but also make an exception for some percussion patterns?
I know everyone's going to have a different opinion on this one, but hey, I wanna hear those opinions. I'm also not sure if this is the best production sub to ask this question in, but I'm sure it'll do! I don't exactly make 'EDM' but when it comes to dance music, I love house, techno, disco, anything-UK-related, etc.
As for me, I don't really like to sample...er well, I don't like to use loops. I don't find anything wrong w/ sampling, and sometimes I might make something entirely out of samples, but when it comes to my main focus in songwriting, I like to write everything myself.
That said, I may use a vocal sample/field recording here and there. I may chop something up beyond its previous comprehension. I have no problem using samples/sample packs for single drum hits, and I don't have any problem using presets on synths. So I'm not someone who feels the need to build everything from scratch. I just care about the composition. The songwriting. I want that to be me.
But for some reason, I'm attracted to using high-hat loops/higher frequency percussion loops and I can't figure out if I'm ethically okay w/ using those or not lol. I do a lot of simple stuff w/ drums, four-on-the-floor stuff (except sometimes I'll mess w/ kicks and toms, as well as breaking that steady 4x4 up, depending on the genre). Regardless, these hi percussion loops really bring my songs to a whole new level. Just dropping those into my track can do SO MUCH in making a track, or in helping me figure out where to go next w/ a track.
But like I said, I'm conflicted. I don't want to lift other people's compositions. Are hi-hat loops the same as a chord progression? No. In a way, there's only so many variations of a hi-hat loop one can make (sorta). That's the justification I use in trying to make myself okay w/ it. For example, if I was just gonna do a 4x4 kick pattern, there would really be no difference between me writing that out in midi vs. using a loop of the same thing. Yet here I am, still not sure what I feel okay w/ doing. Maybe I should go full-steam ahead w/ using these percussion loops. I see 'real' producers do it and it only makes me think maybe I should too. But part of me still thinks it's cheating (for me). Idk.
How do you guys feel about this subject? And what do you personally do when it comes to drum loops and perhaps specifically hi-hat/percussion loops in the higher frequencies?
Submitted November 19, 2016 at 10:21PM by randomflorida https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/5dvpvy/using_highhat_loops_how_do_you_feel_about_it/?utm_source=ifttt