# Arranging Audio Samples by level/volume/velocity



## girthquake (Mar 22, 2016)

Hi guys, 

I'm currently editing a large quantity of drum samples of varying velocity. When recorded, I tried to get the musician to play from super soft to very loud with about 70 different velocity clips. However the clips are not totally in order of level/volume and I was wondering if there was any way to sort the samples in order of volume? 

I'm currently editing everything in Logic X but if there is anything better for this specific process then I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks!


----------



## EvilDragon (Mar 22, 2016)

In REAPER, using SWS extensions, there are actions to sort items (audio clips, regions, however you want to call them - in this case let's say they are individual recorded hits) by peak or RMS. Sounds like the most painless solution there is.


----------



## Tod (Mar 22, 2016)

Yes, like ED says, Reaper is great for editing samples. 

If you've got multiple miced samples you can put them all in one large multichannel file, and then edit them to your hearts content, all the various miced samples for each hit, stay together when you cut them or move them around. They can be sorted like that too, in the way ED mentions.

There's a wealth of other things in Reaper too, that make working with samples much easier.


----------



## tcollins (Mar 22, 2016)

A quick and dirty method is to normalize them all, then use velocity for dynamics. This works really well for making instruments feel smooth, without jumpy dynamics.


----------



## Saxer (Mar 22, 2016)

tcollins said:


> A quick and dirty method is to normalize them all, then use velocity for dynamics. This works really well for making instruments feel smooth, without jumpy dynamics.


But that doesn't solve the problem. You have to sort them by level before use. If you normalize them first you are completely lost.


----------



## tcollins (Mar 23, 2016)

I should have read the question more carefully. I'm afraid that I don't know of a shortcut for actually sorting the samples initially. It is a tedious process, but there are so many variables with an acoustic instrument that you probably have to rely on your ears. Sorting by level could speed things up, though. What Evil Dragon said.


----------



## girthquake (Mar 25, 2016)

Thanks for the replies guys, Just got Reaper and SWS it looks like just the thing I need. 
Should save me hours of work!


----------



## patchen (Apr 20, 2016)

Thanks For the Reaper sorting tip EvilDragon! Been looking for something like this for a while.


----------



## berto (Mar 23, 2022)

patchen said:


> Thanks For the Reaper sorting tip EvilDragon! Been looking for something like this for a while.


do you know of any video or tutorial that shows how it's done?
thanks


----------



## Tod (Mar 23, 2022)

berto said:


> do you know of any video or tutorial that shows how it's done?
> thanks


Hi berto, almost every sample editing job I've had is different so not all actions or scripts fit all. I basically end up making my own custom actions for each job. I also have some python scripts for adding peak value of the item to the name, along with other scripts to delete the current name of the item. 

There's also the SWS action for sorting by the peaks, it's actually called "SWS: Organize items by peak", which I think ED was talking about.

As far as tutorials for doing this in Reaper, I don't know of any.


----------



## berto (Mar 24, 2022)

Tod said:


> Hi berto, almost every sample editing job I've had is different so not all actions or scripts fit all. I basically end up making my own custom actions for each job. I also have some python scripts for adding peak value of the item to the name, along with other scripts to delete the current name of the item.
> 
> There's also the SWS action for sorting by the peaks, it's actually called "SWS: Organize items by peak", which I think ED was talking about.
> 
> As far as tutorials for doing this in Reaper, I don't know of any.


Thank you. i downloaded Reaper and used the SWS script. I don't know Reaper Language so i won't be able to add the value to the filename (my idea would be to do some maths and add a velocity value to the name for easy mapping). I am quite surprised that no-one has ever thought of just doing a simple app that does that. it would sell a lot, i would buy two!!


----------

