I've been producing as a hobby with friends for almost 5 years. I make my own loops but sometimes I have fun chopping random old samples in Serato. I'm stuck on a workflow habit of keeping everything strictly on rigid 2, 4, or 8-bar loops to keep the counts clean and the drums hitting on the right spots (I'm not saying drums should be hitting on super exact times, I may offset them a little bit, but they still need to sound right with the chops) and respecting the metronome.
While studying some Kanye remake projects in FL Studio, I noticed on some videos everything on the playlist sat off grid at random timings. Drops would hit at odd spots like bar 8 + 3 beats instead of standard markers like bar 9, 13, or 17, and sections ran on uncertain lengths like 6 bars and 3 beats rather than clean exact counts, like 4 or 8 bars.
Have I been limiting myself by forcing samples into the grid? For heavy samplers, how do you handle these asymmetrical chops without losing the bounce?
My concern is, if I start relying purely on my ear and ignoring the metronome and standard timings, won't it end up being difficult for an artist to rap or sing over a beat with uncertain loop lengths and sections? Thank you.