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11. Experimenting with Serato Sample

1 Serato Sample combines bits of their DJ software with a classic sampler workflow – let’s try it out for some 170bpm breakbeat chops. Open Sample on a fresh MIDI track, then drag Break.wav onto the main screen. Hit Play to preview the break; if it’s too fast, hit the ½ button (top right) to halve the tempo. 2 To assign hits from our break to the pads in Sample, we can use our MIDI keyboard. Select the first kick, then hit a MIDI key to place a cue point. Repeat this for the first snare and the hat shuffle directly afterwards. Now, we can replay our break in a pattern of our choosing, as well as creating extra pads for edits. 3 Sample lets you create multiple cue points at the same point with different pitches and timestretching for easy, Akaiesque edits. Skip to the start of the break, and create a new cue point. Highlight the pad and set the Key Shift to +5 semitones. Record a pattern with your MIDI keyboard to create a rugged old-school break.