How can I get a Good Loop?
A: It all depends on what it is you are trying to loop. If you are looping a single synth waveform, then you can set a very short loop indeed (just a few hundred samples long), and the Auto Find function in the Loop page will find a perfect loop for you automatically. If the sound is more complex, however, then you will probably need to make a longer loop, maybe a second or more long. The trick is to look at the waveform display on the LCD (or on your computer if you are using some other sample editor) and look for points in the waveform’s amplitude that look similar. Set the Start and End roughly as you think fit. Play the sound. It is unlikely you will have set a perfect loop on the first attempt; you can manually tweak the loop until it sounds better. Alternatively, you can let the sampler do the work for you by repeatedly pressing FIND. This will search for the next point of equal amplitude. If the next one’s no good, hit FIND again.Eventually, you will hit upon something that is reasonable.
All Akai samplers use an AT and Length method for setting loops. Once you have found a loop that is fairly reasonable, you can move that loop around the sample by editing the AT parameter — the loop length will remain
constant and you can try out different loop positions.
Getting a perfectly glitchless Loop using only FIND is possible but the Crossfade (XFade) function will get rid of most glitches most of the time. The rules of thumb are:
* If you have a small, very slight click, set a short Crossfade (a few hundred samples long)
* If the click is more pronounced (try using FIND once more just in case) and/or set a long XFADE length (maybe up to a value of 1,500 or more).
* If the Loop is really thumping badly, try a very long XFADE length (5,000 or more).
There may be times when you just can’t get a perfect Loop. Before you give up, try the sound within the context of the piece you are working on — you may find that it is not noticeable when mixed in with other sounds. For the more adventurous, there is sophisticated computer software such as INFINITY for more advanced sample editing and looping.
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