ONE-SHOTS
Mar 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Jason Scott Alexander
ZERO-G SOUNDCLASH
NU-ELECTRO BEATS PLAYING NICE TOGETHER
UK producer Sharooz Raoofi wanted to inject more live elements — such as guitar, bass and real drums — into the increasingly synthesizer-based house records he spins. So, across 1.1 GB of multiformat and WAV material on the Soundclash DVD, such diverse influences as Seattle grunge and London punk go raving together. Though Raoofi presents 17 construction kits to get you started, it is the individual beats (92 loops at 100 to 160 bpm), drum hits (500), tempo- and key-arranged synth loops, FX, atmospheres and vocoded phrases that you'll want to explore the most. A huge amount of “loop families” — similar to construction kits but smaller — span 120 to 130 bpm in one-beat increments, along with folders for 132, 135, 145 and 150 bpm.
Combi loops range from minimalist bass and drums and the swirling synth lines and fancy filter work of “Prog Chopz” to the fully orchestrated synth-pop percussive fun of “Pet Shop Toys” and “Frankfurt Zwei.” I loved the extreme head-bobbing feel that balances nu-electro funk and dub-style house at lower tempos, while beyond 130 bpm, the material goes more into New Jack Swing and Euro-house territory. Most of the beats were created by flying raw samples into the classic 12-bit Akai MPC60 for that authentic '80s grit, while the electronic-instrument loops draw on cheesy video-game tones, old-school Juno-esque house chunks, nasal Italo-disco synths, richly chorused German string synths, warm SH-101 and pulse-width tones, distorted industrial/goth synths and more.
ZERO-G (DIST. BY EAST WEST/SOUNDS ONLINE)
SOUNDCLASH > $99.95
At a glance: Nu-electro/house grooves. Acidized WAV, Apple Loops, RMX, REX2, Reason Refill, Kontakt, EXS24, HALion.
Contact: www.soundsonline.com
BIG FISH AUDIO HEAT SEEKERS
SUMMERTIME HITMAKING
There was a time when you'd never see “high-quality polish” and “hip-hop library” in the same sentence. Heat Seekers, however, shimmers like a hundred points of ice across a platinum grille. The 4.2 GB DVD (1.85 GB of 24-bit WAV) is arranged into 50 key-referenced construction kits from 70 to 140 bpm. With 721 WAV loops and hits in all, the collection is upbeat and exuberant, as well as a little techno-quirky. There are influences from rave culture, space rock, tribal ceremony, contemporary ethnic and cut-up orchestral music. Though the traditionally winning combos of orchestra hits, synth stabs, pizzicatos, clavs, plucked guitar and dramatic strings abound here, Heat Seekers is decidedly more electro-infused hip-hop, with wild synth effects and virtual sounds folded into rawer elements borrowed from rock and funk. The creative instrumentation includes pitched log drumming with a voodoo synth lead, huge dive-bombing bass with a guitarlike synth lead against a speed-pitched and reversed 70 bpm rock-drum groove, space-harp glissandos put to a laid-back Prince-type funk groove and so on; though I would add that Heat Seekers leans more heavily to the Southern and exotic-sounding palette than anything else. All kits contain a full mix and elements broken out into individual loops, as well as a folder of hits and another of individual drum tracks. All in all, this disc should set fire to more than one hit track this year.
BIG FISH AUDIO
HEAT SEEKERS > $99.95
At a glance: Electro-infused hip-hop construction kits to melt away those winter blues. WAV, REX, AIFF, Apple Loops.
Contact: www.bigfishaudio.com
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS ABSYNTH 4
FLEX YOUR SOUND-DESIGN MUSCLE
From its rather niche beginnings, Absynth has grown into a true go-to synth for those in search of really off-the-wall textures. Version 4 rocks a greatly overhauled user interface. Though still familiar, it has been expanded to look and feel more like the rest of NI's fleet, incorporating KoreSound support (all 1,200 presets are preconfigured for use with Kore) and a tabbed-page design. The main page has been split into a Browser page and a more informative Perform page filled with controller assignments and other live-oriented settings. The signal flow within the Patch window is now freely definable, allowing you to switch out filters for waveshapers, for instance. The addition of a granular oscillator and wave-morphing mode brings several new organic-synthesis possibilities, as you can blend each of Absynth's channels at the wave-generator level. I got a little crazy while experimenting with the new ability to control practically all synthesis, sampling and effects parameters using the tempo-synced 68-breakpoint envelopes, creating a motion commotion within Absynth I'd never before found possible. Modulation targets are also now freely definable, and any number of parameters can be mapped to one of 16 macro controls. And thank you, NI, for finally implementing a master ADSR envelope. This simple feature greatly speeds up what used to be a discrete process of sculpting each of the three channels per note. Absynth 4 improves workflow and enhances its unmistakable sound, making it an essential upgrade for current users or a streamlined and intuitive synth for first timers.
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS
ABSYNTH 4> $339
At a glance: Semi-modular abstract synth using a combination of multisynthesis and sampling techniques. Stand-alone, Audio Units, VST, DXi, RTAS.
Contact: www.native-instruments.com
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