SO, YOU’VE DECIDED to take the plunge and
get into music production? Whether you’re
going down the professional route or just
wanting to have a bit of fun, the likelihood
is that you’ll be using a digital workstation
to piece together your music. Unless you’re
physically creating and recording your own
music, you’ll probably need to add external
sounds, drumbeats, or sound effects to
your production. Created by other artists,
these are known as samples.
Sampling is a term that describes taking
a portion of an existing song, whether it’s
a drumbeat, a line of vocal, or a few notes
from an instrument, and adding it into
a new song. Perhaps the most famous
example is Vanilla Ice’s hit Ice Ice Baby,
which sampled the bassline from Under
Pressure by Queen and David Bowie. Yes,
that’s the sort of level we’re aiming for.
Anyway, these samples can be clips
from a song, instruments, loops, or vocals
that can be used in any way you like to
create your own production. Using a DAW,
you can tweak these samples to suit your
style and add some depth to your work,
without spending ages trying to replicate
them yourself.Two royalty-free sound libraries in the mix
One major issue with sampling is
copyright infringement issues, so it’s vital
to make sure you’re allowed to use a sample
in your work. One of the easiest ways to do
this is via a royalty-free library. These sites
offer huge collections comprising many
thousands of samples to search through.
Two of the best sites currently offering this
service are Splice.com and Sounds.com.
So, how do these two libraries compare
against each other and which one should
you choose?
Our first impressions are that both of
these sites have a nice interface. They
follow a similar template, with menus and
categories along the top coming in from
the left, a catalog to scroll through in the
center, and your login and account details
towards the top right. Both are graphic-
and image-rich websites that help you to
navigate around easily.
At a glance, Sounds has a darker
interface, while Splice’s look seems to
be more Apple-influenced. It’s hard to
separate these two but, thanks to a cleaner
approach, Splice just shades it. The lighter
style is easier on the eye, helping you to
find what you’re looking for a little quicker.As good as they both look, they also need
to offer a rich catalog of quality material.
Splice.com started out in 2013, with the aim
of consolidating the creative process for
musicians and bringing all the resources
into one place. This is a site where you can
not only find sounds and download plug-
ins, but also work on your productions and
share content. It has evolved to be an all-
in-one solution for the musically inclined.
Splice has now developed into more than
just a catalog and it is certainly a diverse
website.
In the sounds page of Splice, there are
a few menus to select through to make the
search process easier. There’s an overview
page that showcases new sounds, featured
stories behind certain sounds, top packs,
top labels, and many more categories,
including trending sounds. This makes it a
great landing page from which you can get
some inspiration. If you are solely looking
for a particular type of sound or a specific
instrument, then this is your better option.
There’s an instruments section,
where you can research and fine-tune
your selections down further, and also a
cinematic FX page, which is great for peopleSplice vs Sounds
With an accessible interface
and a huge collection of
sounds, Splice makes digital
music creation easier.© WWW.SPLICE.COMHEADTOHE
AD92 MAXIMU MPC MAR 2022
in the lab