My Life In Sampling

I've always used my own sampling in my work, right back to 1993 when I was at college. This is a look at how that has developed over the years and through the beginnings of Spitfire.
MY ALBUM - - paul-thomson.store/
MY BOOK - - www.spitfireaudio.com/the-pro...

[@ASX2001]

Thanks for sharing these insights. You emphasize the importance of the human touch in samples and managed greatly to let those details shine even in the Spitfire Symphonic Strings. So I was shocked of the clean string machine sound of the new ARO Symphonic Strings -even in Your presentation. Buyed them and love it now, but use it only with mixes Mids and Close (in Your great AIR reverb), to save the last remaining humanity in this library, but don't understand the thoughts behind that concept. Anyway, I enjoy seeing You taking more time now to compose and be close to your roots (and Your customers ;-) ). Have fun.

[@marcomarrone174]

Fantastic story Paul Thanks for sharing and carry on with the great work.

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks Marco!

[@DRUMAdam91]

17:24 this sounds really good!

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks Adam!

[@steph1918]

Such a fantastic journey. Thanks for sharing, Paul.

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks Steph!

[@tmling9417]

last year YT feeds me a Talented Lady who Sings Japanese Minyo - Asakura Saya 朝倉さや from Yamagata prefecture, she keeps and re-invent the traditional Minyo all over 47 prefectures and lifted to other level, hope Spitfire Audio will issue a New Lib. from her. P.S. Owner of BBC Pro, Albion Colossus and Epic Choir.

[@DexWilliamsMusic]

Really interesting... thanks for sharing your journey :)

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks Dex!

[@spadogs]

Love to hear your stories. Love your book!

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thank you! Glad you are finding the book useful!

[@EdoardoGastaldiMusic]

Awesome to hear of you, Paul!

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks Edoardo!

[@babakismusic]

This was really great, Paul. Love hearing the how of it all!

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks Babak!

[@defman9414]

Thanks for sharing your backstory! Well done, Paul!

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thank you!

[@edmasters4454]

Interesting story, Paul - thanks for sharing! BTW, purchased the album and sample library. Really enjoy listening to the variety of songs included - and the sample library is a nice bonus.

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks for your support Ed! Glad you like the album - a lot of time and love went into its creation!

[@MusicalWizardryMarcoIannello]

Very inspiring, Paul, thank you for sharing your sampling journey with us ❤

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks Marco!

[@MusicalWizardryMarcoIannello]

@@PaulThomsonMusic you are welcome!

[@AndyGrayedout]

Epic mate !

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks Andy!

[@andrewmusician]

Thanks for sharing part of your life story Paul! This was quite fascinating to hear. I liked your assertion about recording the room with samples to give them more life. I've read quite a few write-ups and books by the masterful Bob Katz and he made the same argument that you get more realism from recordings with the real room as opposed to trying to put them into a fake room convincingly with reverb. Also loved the tip on using extra studio time! 👍

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks Andrew! It’s great to have that feeling of a space around the sound.

[@lowrater]

Thanks for sharing Paul. Its very interesting to hear your story and how sampling evolved as you did too. I also really liked the example of Genius of charles darwin with the wine glasses. It sounds so warm and mysterious. And also the Journeys - cello drone also. Dark, with a dune feeling. Sound nice. I might take use of it.

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thank you! With the glasses I used very little reverb and got them up super close.. the only fx is mangled delays so you get that intimacy..

[@ToeShimmel]

So Spitfire kind of started on VI-C? That's really cool!

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Yes it did in a way!!

[@daniellee3059]

Awesome Paul - thanks for the insights! "More complicated solutions..." LOL

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks Daniel - haha.. its my curse

[@bluebook2681]

Are you planning to do a Logic session breakdown of any of your tracks from Journeys? It would be great to find out exactly where and how you used your own samples. And a totally unrelated question: At 2:50 is that Trevor Morris in the middle row of the Class of 99?!

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Good idea! I'll put that in my to do list. And yes - that is Trevor! Also Jim Dooley was in my year. And Eric Whitacre did it the year after!

[@JohnSk82]

I love the story but can I have the distressors at my doorstep please ? 🤣🤣❤(also the appassionata Violins 1 and Violins 2 from BBC pro works literally 105%)

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

haha! thanks John - yes those distressors are gold..

[@JohnSk82]

@@PaulThomsonMusic Aside joking the sampling legacy you 2 ''posh'' dudes created is un-measurable.Also the UAD distressor works 🤣

[@FLH3official]

Thank you for this interesting video, Paul.
Isn't it paradoxical to say "make your own sounds, your own samples to sound unique" and having developped a business to provide ready made sample libraries ?
( 😄just for the sake of discussion, don't get me wrong, I'm one of your happy client)

[@PaulThomsonMusic]

Thanks! Well it can seem paradoxical but one of my main things right from the start was to make libraries that you could make the sound your own, whether that was mics, controls, and so on, so that it wasn't just a recognisable and unchangeable sound! but yes - I think the combination of both is the best approach!