{"id":7472,"date":"2019-11-09T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2019-11-09T14:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?p=7472"},"modified":"2026-04-16T13:06:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T17:06:57","slug":"3-sound-design-techniques-loops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/3-sound-design-techniques-loops\/","title":{"rendered":"3 sound design techniques for making loops your own"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Unfortunately, some people attach a negative connotation to using loops.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The common argument is that it’s ‘cheating,’ since the core musical idea is already there. In the tutorial above, we counter this perspective by exploring three creative sound design techniques for making loops your own. We\u2019ll be using Ableton Live and FL Studio to demonstrate each technique. That said, they can be easily replicated in most DAWs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve summarized the key techniques from the video below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bring Splice directly into your DAW with the Sounds Plugin (beta).<\/strong><\/a> Audition millions of samples, explore our latest search tools, and instantly create variations of any Splice sample.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Chopping, pitching, and reversing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This technique involves slicing the loop into smaller pieces and pitch shifting \/ reversing the individual segments to create variation. FL Studio’s S<\/strong>lice tool<\/strong> (accessible by hitting ‘C’ on your keyboard) in combination with the Make Unique <\/strong>feature allows for some rapid editing. In Ableton, shortcuts for Slice at Locator<\/strong> (command + E) and Reverse Audio<\/strong>  (‘R’) are helpful for chopping, pitching, and reversing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To hear these tricks and more in action, check out 0:18 of the video for the FL Studio demo and 4:34 for the Ableton demo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Slicing loops to a sampler<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Samplers allow us to use MIDI to reimagine our loops in new and interesting ways. In FL Studio, Slicex <\/strong>is an indispensable plugin that allows us to fine tune chop region lengths using intelligent markers. Ableton can also map our slices automatically via the Slice to New MIDI Track<\/strong> feature; the Simpler <\/strong>device is another neat option that allows us to customize the Sensitivity<\/strong> for what transients get sliced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To hear these tricks and more in action, check out 6:42 of the video for the FL Studio demo and 9:05 for the Ableton demo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

3. Using plugins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While there’s plenty you can do using just native plugins and features, there are also many specialized plugins out there that can drastically transform the sonic characteristics of your loop. Audiare’s Nuxx<\/a> is great for adding rhythmic effects to your loop, thanks to its sequencer-based workflow. Sugar Bytes’ Effectrix<\/a> and Turnado<\/a> are also great for making loops your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hear our demo of Nuxx at 11:33 of the video, our demo of Effectrix at 13:30, and our demo of Turnado at 14:47.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite what some people say, loops offer endless opportunities for creativity \u2014 it’s less about the loop itself and all about how you give it your own touch. Do you have a favorite sound design technique for manipulating loops? Let us know in the comments section of the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Browse, preview, and license Splice samples directly inside Ableton Live with our new in-DAW integration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We counter the perspective of loops being unoriginal by exploring three sound design techniques that can make them your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":7474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1851,1850,1854,1846,1696,49],"tags":[918],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n3 sound design techniques for making loops your own - Blog | Splice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We counter the perspective of loops being unoriginal by exploring three sound design techniques that can make them your own.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/3-sound-design-techniques-loops\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 sound design techniques for making loops your own - Blog | Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We counter the perspective of loops being unoriginal by exploring three sound design techniques that can make them your own.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/3-sound-design-techniques-loops\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog | Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Splice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-09T14:00:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-16T17:06:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sound_Design_Loops_BlogPost.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nick Chen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@splice\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@splice\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nick Chen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/3-sound-design-techniques-loops\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/3-sound-design-techniques-loops\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nick Chen\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/006da68db2cca36c1730e68e67130d39\"},\"headline\":\"3 sound design techniques for making loops your own\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-09T14:00:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-16T17:06:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/3-sound-design-techniques-loops\/\"},\"wordCount\":412,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/3-sound-design-techniques-loops\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sound_Design_Loops_BlogPost.png\",\"keywords\":[\"youtube\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Ableton Live\",\"DAW\",\"FL Studio\",\"Sound Design\",\"Tips & Tutorials\",\"Videos\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/3-sound-design-techniques-loops\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/3-sound-design-techniques-loops\/\",\"name\":\"3 sound design techniques for making loops your own - 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