Hey guys. I just bought 10TB of storage. I've spent years acquiring gigs upon gigs of sample libraries, one shots, fx, loops, foley libraries and the list goes on. More often than not, I find myself previewing sounds more than actually making music!! It's time I finally get a real grip on my sample organization. Something other than just sorting each library by manufacturer/producer…. It would be awesome to hear how some of you out there go about organizing your libraries/samples. I know this can be a very personal thing and what works for one person might not at all for the next. Still it would help me out in my search to find a better way to organize my libraries for a more productive and efficient workflow so I'm focused more on the music rather than searching endlessly for a certain sound…
Steve- If you would be gracious enough to bless us with your knowledge and wisdom again - How do you go about organizing your libraries? Do you know of how any other successful producers out there organize their libraries? Like always thank you in advance for any helpful info…. Cheers!!
PS/ Cant wait for Serum!!!
When I buy a sample library, I make two copies. The first copy goes in a folder with all the other sample libraries and I rarely ever touch it again. It sits there intact and I can use it for reference if I ever need "that one sample from that one library" or if for some reason I want to browse by manufacturer/producer.
The second copy is the one that gets used though. I go through the library and sort out the sounds into different folders and sub-folder based on sound type.
For example I have a folder called Drums. Then inside the Drums folder I have folders for Kicks, Claps, Snares, etc. Then inside the Kicks folder I have a folder for each sample library with just its kick samples (Drums > Kicks > Vengeance OMG EDM Kicks Vol. 99 > Kick_001.wav)
Rinse and repeat with each sound type for each library as you buy them. It takes a little bit of work up front but it's worth it later so you can browse through just your kicks or just your snares or whatever across libraries.
A few other recommendations:
- Delete any samples that stick out to you that you know you're never going to use. Having a second "working" copy of each library makes this easier since you have a backup copy if you really wanna go back and hear those sounds again. Chances are you won't though and having less clutter is worth it.
- Make a folder of your favorite samples so you can easily find them again. You can either move the files themselves or make copies. I have a folder of my Favorites, and then within the Favorites folder I have all the same sub-folders by sound type.
- Keep a folder of all the sounds you make during sound design sessions. Organize them by sound type so you can easily drop them into future productions.
Cheers
-Run samples through Key IDing software
-Save drum racks with sorted samples in them (ableton) so you can switch fast while still writing music!
That's just llike the way i use my sample libs. I know no better option without relying on 3rd party software.
However, WAV metadata would be awesome, like EXIF data for example…
