Selling beats...

[Jam Burglar]

Yeah slapping a slowed down beat on a battle record isn't sampling. That's jacking a beat. Which I mean, I'm not hardcore against but claiming it's yours is lame AF. And feel like it's one thing if you just some scratch jamoke trying to put out a cool fun record and just breaking even but another thing when you tout yourself as this N3X7 13V31 musician and selling it for a profit.

 

 

 

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here, and it doesn't really matter now, but I was in those threads and I don't ever remember Ric claiming that he made that beat. I do specifically remember him saying that dramatically slowing it down was key because otherwise it wasn't good for scratching. Okay, fair enough or whatever, but the beats were never really the point of those records. It was about having tools for scratch music laid out in a usable manner. The amount of importance you put on that UPR series probably has a lot to do with whether you mess with scratch composition or not. There were way worse perpetrators than Ric when it came to jacking beats for break records. I always thought it was a stupid argument to make.

[cutdisco]

You might be thinking of Thelonious London "Cold Pillow" or the track he produced for Breakbot.

 

But yeah, I never remember him saying he made the samples, just that the sounds were sampled from instruments instead of the wax. I believe it was the Bastard Language Tour record where he and D-Styles were recording sounds.

 

Here's the add for UPR1

 

 

Summary written by Ricci Rucker

When using the turntable as an instrument, the records become our sounds. How we arrange our sounds from the beginning, dramatically improves or hinders the results in the end. Designing a scratch record is an art, although, recently, it's been used as a get rich quick scheme by people abusing simple formulas and saturating the market with useless records.

 

Compile the same samples + thoughtless arrangment + a silly name = scratch record.

 

Of course, after they collect the loot, they return with the same record arrnged slightly different than the last which wasn't anything new in the first place. That's the process in general, and I'm giving it to you bluntly. To design a scratch record is to construct in a reverse engineering process. One must have an idea of what they want to do, before they can arrange a scratch record. Let me give you a quick example of what I mean. If I wanted to perform scratch drums at a slow tempo, I'd have at least 2 choices. One, I'd arrange some kick snare drums at an average tempo of 90bpms, then just drum live, slowly. Or two, I'd arrange the kick and snare further apart from each other.

 

Why would I choose the second method?

 

When scratching, you are working against the turntables rotation, the less you work against the tables natural rotation, the easier you attain a fuller more controlled sound. If I arrange the kick and snare further apart from each other, I'd get fuller sounding drums since I wouldn't have to pause the drums constantly to stay on beat, and the time between the kick and snare would already be about the same tempo I'm drumming at. This would allow me to not cut the natural sustain of the drums. The key is to work with the turntables moving platter, and the record being designed to put yourself, the turntable, and the sounds in sync to create a fluid motion, thus a fluid sound. That's just one example of the many little details that come with making a useable scratch record.

 

I designed The Utility Phonograph Record between December 2001 - February 2002, for myself. Almost 2 years later, it's finally hitting the stores. Until now, most scratch records have been designed without the specific idea of how the record will be used live. Since this record was arranged by hand without a sequencer, sample per sample, I was able to place sounds in ways that would of otherwise not been attempted working within the parameters of a sequencer. The drum kits (vintage and recent), along with a majority of the sounds were sampled directly from the actual instruments. The main reason for this was to maintain sound integrity. One huge gripe I've had with scratch records is many of them use samples from wax that they've already used. When trying to use these records at a show, the drums for instance, usually don't hit very hard. Sampling from wax is cool if it's the right sound, but most scratch records never see a mastering studio and are mastered in the bedroom and then are put directly to wax. Not only did I use most of the samples from the main source, but this was mastered professionally to bring you maximum blastability.

 

The drum kits were retweaked to create various unique sequences to be used live, or sampled by any sound designer for their own production. The drum kits range from dry, wet, and distorted, arranged in a way that flows in and out of each style of drum kit. Vintage synths were also sampled directly and arranged with other drum sequencers using the "12 o'clock" method (every revolution is either a drum sequence or a synth sequence). Locked grooves are also utilized on this record. By locking different percussion and hi hats, the user, or users, can perform their music live without "wasting" someone's talent by having them just doing the hi hats. This also can be used as a practice metronome, or scratched for percussive studio application.

 

Some of the drum/vintage synth sequences were arranged so that wth each revolution, a new synth, or new drum sequences plays. This is based off the skipless concept, but this isn't meant to be skipless. This is meant as a permanent marker for live and improv performance so you know when new similar sounds will play. There are many little arrangement attributes that I've applied all over the record that words won't do justice. To really appreciate the arrangements, you have to use the record.

 

Also featured are locked groove beats that when played on turntables with a -50% pitch control, can loop one bar beats at about 60 bpms, as opposed to the usual half bar beats at the same tempo. Can't forget the scratch beat, and a bunch of other features that you can easily put to work. This record was constructed with patients and forethought. If you are a scratch musician. or a sampled based producer, I'd find it hard to believe that you won't be able to use this record to your own benefit.

 

He actually makes some really good points above and it's mostly about layout and making a scratch record for musical purposes. That record was very innovative and ground breaking and I can see why it would take a few years. When you compare it to one of the many Dirtstyle and Dirtstyle knock-off records of the time, he's got damn good argument.

 

Also, gotta love Reezy. He seems like he's doing pretty okay these days.

 

Anyway, to try to tie all of this back into the topic though, hip hop producers have been sampling without clearing for years and years but there's always that risk that some copyright owner will show up and sue you. It's pretty hard to do things 100% legal without (a) spending loads of time and money to clear every single sample (b) using vetted sample packs © using drum machines & synths or (d) creating your own samples. As a result, that classic hip hop mentality has pretty much been stomped out for anybody unwilling to take the risk. Sy Spex has been doing some pretty cool workarounds using midi-mapping to sample grooves without actually sampling the recordings.

Actually ableton live can do that, you can catch the groove easily from from a drumpattern for example and transform it into a midi file and add the sounds by choice, no mapping needed in this

 

[djdiggla]

 

Yeah slapping a slowed down beat on a battle record isn't sampling. That's jacking a beat. Which I mean, I'm not hardcore against but claiming it's yours is lame AF. And feel like it's one thing if you just some scratch jamoke trying to put out a cool fun record and just breaking even but another thing when you tout yourself as this N3X7 13V31 musician and selling it for a profit.

 

 

 

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here, and it doesn't really matter now, but I was in those threads and I don't ever remember Ric claiming that he made that beat. I do specifically remember him saying that dramatically slowing it down was key because otherwise it wasn't good for scratching. Okay, fair enough or whatever, but the beats were never really the point of those records. It was about having tools for scratch music laid out in a usable manner. The amount of importance you put on that UPR series probably has a lot to do with whether you mess with scratch composition or not. There were way worse perpetrators than Ric when it came to jacking beats for break records. I always thought it was a stupid argument to make.

 

 

I wasn't there so dunno what he said but still, I'd be he marked up that record just like Q does. Looking to make a profit off shit he took form other. That's the main point. Lame. It's not a sample, it's a beat jack.

 

Here's another part of this that's fucked tho and being overlooked. He took a beat from a guy he knew on the forum without his knowledge! WTF!!?? And sounds like it was someone he butted heads with too! How the fuck is that ok? That's just being a prick to be a prick right there. How would you feel if I put out a record and all the beats were from you and other people on DV that had no prior knowledge? That's the biggest WTF of this whole deal. Psychopath shit.

[Jam Burglar]

 

 

Yeah slapping a slowed down beat on a battle record isn't sampling. That's jacking a beat. Which I mean, I'm not hardcore against but claiming it's yours is lame AF. And feel like it's one thing if you just some scratch jamoke trying to put out a cool fun record and just breaking even but another thing when you tout yourself as this N3X7 13V31 musician and selling it for a profit.

 

 

 

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here, and it doesn't really matter now, but I was in those threads and I don't ever remember Ric claiming that he made that beat. I do specifically remember him saying that dramatically slowing it down was key because otherwise it wasn't good for scratching. Okay, fair enough or whatever, but the beats were never really the point of those records. It was about having tools for scratch music laid out in a usable manner. The amount of importance you put on that UPR series probably has a lot to do with whether you mess with scratch composition or not. There were way worse perpetrators than Ric when it came to jacking beats for break records. I always thought it was a stupid argument to make.

 

 

I wasn't there so dunno what he said but still, I'd be he marked up that record just like Q does. Looking to make a profit off shit he took form other. That's the main point. Lame. It's not a sample, it's a beat jack.

 

Here's another part of this that's fucked tho and being overlooked. He took a beat from a guy he knew on the forum without his knowledge! WTF!!?? And sounds like it was someone he butted heads with too! How the fuck is that ok? That's just being a prick to be a prick right there. How would you feel if I put out a record and all the beats were from you and other people on DV that had no prior knowledge? That's the biggest WTF of this whole deal. Psychopath shit.

 

 

The beat was from Drexciya (two guys). The guy he was arguing with (at least at the time) was Lorn. Different dudes.

 

Here's a list of DJs who made break records out of other people's beats, didn't clear the samples, and made money: Breakbeat Lou (he put out the Ultimate Breaks and Beats Series that was hugely responsible for hip hop as we know it); Qbert; Flare; Mixmaster Mike; D-Styles, Roc Raida; DJ Babu, Melo D; DJ Revolution: Bullet Proof Space Travelers; ATrack; Craze; Mr. Dibbs; ... almost every other DJ who put out a break record in 80s, 90s and early 2000s, ... Ricci Rucker.

 

None of the scratch samples are cleared either.

 

There are some very well known DJs who probably would have had to give up DJing and work day jobs if it weren't for break record sales. You're talking about a time when lots and lots of people were stealing these DJ's actual albums (non-break records) through file-sharing and break records were a primary way for professional DJs to keep afloat. You couldn't download a break record back then so you were forced to buy a physical record. And break records were never about bragging rights for beats on them. They were about making battle and scratch tools for yourself and other DJs. I can't even begin to imagine where DJing would be now without them. So yeah, I get it that some people don't like Ric, I just never got this line of attack.