Lesson 21
Sample with the mic
Record a sound with Move's built-in microphone onto a pad, then play it like any other drum sound.
- A Move that is switched on
- A Set open in Note Mode. A brand-new Set is best, because recording onto a pad replaces the drum sound that was on it, so in the Set with your beat, only use a pad your beat doesn't need
- Nothing plugged into the Audio in port
- Something to make a noise with, like your hands, a table or your voice
The idea
A sample is a short piece of recorded sound that you can play back from a pad. The drum kits you’ve used so far are made of samples: someone recorded a real kick drum, a snare and a hi-hat, and Move plays those recordings back when you hit a pad. Sampling simply means making your own.
Move has a small microphone built in, so anything around you can become an instrument. Knock on a table and you have a kick. Shake a bunch of keys and you have a hi-hat. Click your tongue, snap your fingers, say “ha!”. Once a sound sits on a pad, you can play it, put it in a beat and change it with the knobs, just like the sounds that came with Move.
Before you record, it helps to know about gain. Gain is how sensitive the microphone is. With too little gain, your sound comes out faint, and turning it up later also turns up the hiss. With too much, loud sounds get squashed and crunchy, a harsh effect called distortion (or clipping). You’re looking for the middle: loud and clear, but clean.
Recording a sample on Move takes a single move: you press the pad you want the sound on, and recording starts right there. When you stop, the sound is already saved on that pad, ready to play.
Press the top track button. In a brand-new Set it always holds a drum kit, so each of the 16 left pads can hold a different sound.
Didn’t work?
If tapping a pad starts or stops a clip, you are in Session Mode. Press Note/Session to switch to Note Mode first. If this track doesn’t sound like drums (a demo Set, or a sound you swapped), press the other track buttons until you find a drum kit.You should see: The top track is selected. In a new Set its pads play a drum kit.
Press Sampling. Move is now in Sampling Mode and waits for you to choose a pad.
Press padDidn’t work?
Changed your mind? Press Sampling again, or Back, to leave without recording anything.You should see: The Sampling button pulses red, the drum pads turn pink, and the display asks you to press a pad.
Touch the wheel (don’t turn it yet) to check the input source. If the icon isn’t a microphone, make sure the source icon is highlighted, then press the wheel to step through the sources until the microphone shows.
Didn’t work?
Once you touch the wheel, the display may say Sampling instead of asking for a pad. That’s normal: nothing records until you press a pad. Move offers the mic only when nothing is plugged into the Audio in port. If a cable is in there, unplug it. Move remembers the last source you used, so next time it will start on the mic.You should see: The display shows which input Move will record from. A small microphone icon means the built-in mic.
Turn the wheel until the input levels icon is highlighted, then press the wheel. This opens the Gain setting.
You should see: The Gain setting opens.
Turn the wheel to set the gain. For a first try, leave it somewhere in the middle. You can always record again with more or less.
Didn’t work?
Loud sounds, like a hard clap close to Move, need less gain. Quiet sounds, like a whisper or a soft tap, need more.You should see: The gain value changes as you turn.
Get your sound ready. Press and hold one of the pink drum pads (its old sound will be replaced), make your sound (a clap, a knock on the table, a short word), then let go of the pad.
Didn’t work?
Recording starts the instant you press, so make the sound straight away. You can also tap the pad once to start and tap it again to stop, if you need both hands free. Either way, Sampling Mode closes by itself when you stop.You should see: The pad pulses red and the display says Recording….
Tap the pad you just recorded on. Play it a few times, fast and slow, and listen.
Didn’t work?
Too quiet or crunchy? Just record again: press Sampling, change the gain, and press a pad. There’s no limit on how many tries you take.You should hear: Your own sound, played back from the pad.
Hold down your pad and turn the Volume knob to set how loud this one sample plays next to the rest of the kit.
You should hear: Your sample gets louder or softer.
Touch Knob 2: the display should name it Sample Start. Turn it slowly to the right to skip any silence before your sound, so the pad reacts the moment you hit it.
Didn’t work?
If Knob 2 shows a different setting, an effect is selected. Turn the wheel until all the icons are highlighted together, then try again. Went too far and cut off the start of your sound? Turn it back to the left.You should hear: The sample now starts later or earlier. Turn it until the sound begins right away.
Lesson complete! Try the challenge below, or keep going.
Next lesson →Try it yourself
Make a whole kit from things around you. Record a low knock (your kick), a sharp clap or snap (your snare) and a quick tss or jingle of keys (your hi-hat), each on its own pad. Then build a beat with them using the step buttons, as in Lesson 9.
Feeling brave? Touch Knob 1 on one of your samples: it’s Transpose, and turning it makes the sound higher or lower. A knock tuned way down makes a surprisingly good kick.
Good to know
- Every recording is also saved in the browser, in a category called User Recordings, so you can load it again in other Sets. Move names it after your Set, with a number, like “Set 5 Rec 1”.
- You can sample onto a melodic track too. Then every pad plays your sound at a different pitch, so a sung note or a whistle becomes a playable instrument. If that track had a synth, Move swaps it for a sampler; press Undo if you want the synth back (your recording stays in User Recordings).
- With headphones plugged in, a headphones icon appears in the Sampling menu. Turn the wheel to it and press the wheel to turn monitoring on, so you hear the mic in your headphones while you record. Monitoring stays on after you leave Sampling Mode, until you unplug or switch it off.
- One sample can be up to four minutes long.