i could talk your ear off however i am just getting into external sources. mostly i have used ram machines for internal resampling, so i don’t know if that’s the direction you’re going.
fwiw, at this point i find the level settings are fairly different for internal vs. external sources if i want good results. that’s probably a whole conversation in itself!
anyway one thing i find fun to do is set up “utility” kits specifically for creating long samples – loops of a full bar length, for example, or chords with long tails. this helps me if i want a top rhythm line i can filter and eq independently, or a melodic bit that uses different settings than those in the kit’s master effect section.
often i’ll be composing something and when i feel like i’m running out of tracks or pushing the md’s effects too much, i’ll move some of the tracks to a different kit, create the sample, and then go back and use the ram p machine in the original pattern.
not only does this free up tracks, but it allows me to eq the ram part more effectively and dynamically, resulting in more space in the mix. not to mention plocking the start and end points for easy slice sequencing (a la the ot’s flex machines). double the same ram p machine on two tracks, and with different panning and filter settings you can get great pseudo-stereo effects.
feeling it yet?