How To Fine Tune Music Samples

Oddly enough, there's not much about fine tuning music samples on the internet, so I decided to share how I go about fine tuning samples in Fl Studio. This should apply to all other DAWs, since they should all have a fine tuning option.

First, you have to figure out if the sample is actually out of tune and obviously you have to add other sounds to hear that. I suggest to start with a piano sound and try to play along with the sample. Pianos have a nice strong sound and make it easier to hear if the sample is out of tune. If the sample is out of tune, you want to go to the misc tab in the Fl channel sampler.

 Once you're in the misc tab, there will be a fine tune knob at the bottom right hand corner.

Then you can adjust the the fine tune knob to what you hear is best. This is where your ears come into play. There really is no correct value to set it at, but I recommend to start adjusting the knob between 0 -50 cents down or 0 +50 cents up. That's usually a good range to find the proper tune to match up with other sounds. It usually never ends up a 100% in tune, but it'll be good enough to not clash with other sounds. Also, if you're wondering where to look to see how many cents you're tuning the sample to, it should show up right above the Fl browser. 

You could also do the opposite and fine tune your instruments to the sample. Most vst plugins have a fine tune knob, so that might help if you're still having problems with the sample's tune.

 

In the end, fine tuning samples really comes down to using your ears. If you aren't comfortable trusting your ears, it never hurts to do a little ear training. There are plenty of online free resources that can help with ear training.


Hope that has helped some of you guys out and I'll be sharing some more tips soon!

Written by Dar'rell Banks