This is the situation, I have some very nice samples but they don''t like to loop very well. The only way I can get them to loop well is with some creative crossfading. Would it be possible for me to apply the fades to the samples and have the sound engine trigger the sounds in a fashion so that the crossfades will work well? DRINK GIN! IT MAKES A MAN MEAN-milk and cheese

Heh, you''re not alone, making believable loops can be an excruciating pain. There are a few odd looping techniques I use, but it would help to know what it is you''re trying to simulate (ambient environment, car engine, etc).

One of the easier tricks I use is to simply double the length of the sample (copy it and paste it to the end of itself), reverse the newly added part, and invert the phase. That''ll create a nice, seamless loop. This, however, only works for things like rain, wind, and other random elements.

Otherwise, there''s no reason you can''t have the sound engine trigger a bunch of single-shot sounds that fade into each other, as long as your desired effect isn''t a prolonged, sustaining ambient sound.

What is it you''re trying to create?

What sort of samples are you trying to loop?

What about a URL for the rest of us to try

Sometimes a sample has mixtures of parts of other samples in it that are a real sh*t to loop with crossfading. I find also samples that are too short!

Sometimes I can fudge around this by using a reverb to extend the sample out a bit, and then use crossfading loop on the orignal section and the extended section.

Sometimes though you just can''t loop things.


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"Music is not something you just do, it''''s part of who you are!"

thanks for all the ideas, Actually I''m working with vehicle engines right now.

Ah, for vehicle engines using multiple loops in a crossfade is a great idea. I put together a multi-stage engine for a pod_racing game and ended up using two loops:

Here''s the actual notes from the audio design doc, they may help you out or they may not...

"The main engine consists of two loops that need to be crossfaded: EngineLoop1 starts at full volume and ends at 25% volume (at max speed). EngineLoop2 starts with no volume and ends at full volume (top speed).

EngineLoop1 - The main engine idle sound. Should be in a continual loop and pitchshifted when engine-speed increases/decreases. The root frequency is 22,050 Hz (idle) and max frequency (top speed) should be around 22,400 Hz.

EngineLoop2 - The secondary engine sound. Should also be in a continual loop and pitchshifted. Root frequency is 22,050 Hz and max should be 22,400Hz. Volume change should be linear from 0% to 100%."

There were a few more elements involved, booster and airbrakes, etc, but that''s the basic layout: two loops with continuous modifcation to their volume and pitch. It ended up working very well, and sounded much better than using a single loop.