Big Fish Audio
Feb 1, 2001 12:00 PM, Chris Gill
John Tejada, who produced the superfine Wall of Vinyl series and Loopzilla Underground sample CDs, returns with more stanky sounds and loony loops on Cut'n It Up (two audio CDs, $99.95). If you're familiar with Tejada's previous titles, you know what to expect; but the uninitiated will discover a treasure of samples aimed at hip-hop producers. These CDs are the next best thing to stumbling across several choice crates from Grandmaster Flash's vinyl collection at a garage sale.
Cut'n It Up consists largely of 90 separate construction kits assembled from such elements as drum patterns and hits, instrumental stabs and lines, and turntablist flourishes. Beyond the construction kits, the disc set also offers 193 drum loops, 70 scratch performances, and 64 guitar riffs. The construction kits and individual loops are all grouped according to tempo, making it easy to mix and match elements from different kits without jumping haphazardly all over the discs as you load sounds into your sampler. Tempos for the construction kits range from 91 to 108 bpm in 1 bpm increments, with one stray 120 bpm kit in the middle. Tempos for the individual loops range from 80 to 100 bpm in 5 bpm increments.
Designed primarily for use with an Akai MPC or similar sampling workstation, the bulk of the samples are short, percussive, choppy — best suited for drum machine-style step-pattern programming. Don't expect any sustaining pads, atmospheres, or long melodic lines. However, most of the drum loops last for at least four bars, and each bar features some rhythmic variation, making the loops ideal for chopping up into shorter patterns. The compact, time-efficient configuration allows you to load an entire construction kit into a pad bank on a budget sampler such as a Boss SP-202 or Korg Electribe-S.
This collection provides all the sounds a hip-hop producer needs to lay down slammin' instrumental tracks. It offers a multitude of drum and percussion samples; plenty of guitars and basses; a full range of organs, clavinets, and electric and acoustic pianos; and horns and strings. The furious, expert scratching samples alone are worth the modest price of admission — almost like having QBert or DJ Craze in the house.
Just about the only things lacking in this collection are vocal samples, but you can always hire your local MC or diva if the need for raps or pipes arises. All of the samples — as raw as sushi and drier than a Bible Belt tavern on Sunday morning — provide a blank canvas for your own processing touches.
Armed with Cut'n It Up and a sampler, you can lay down badass hip-hop tunes in no time flat. After you grab a 40, pack a bowl, turn down the lights, and crank up the volume, you'll be well on your way to groove nirvana.
Overall rating (out of 5): 4.5
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