ONE-SHOTS
Aug 1, 2004 12:00 PM
BEST SERVICE CULT SAMPLER
VINTAGE SAMPLER LIBRARY
If you haven't hit the big 3-0 yet, chances are, you're too young to have heard in person many of the fine instruments showcased in this double-disc homage to early samplers. Powered by Native Instruments Kompakt, this unique virtual instrument replicates the most famous replicators of them all — to the excess of more than 2,000 sounds and multisamples. Covering mostly the late '70s and early '80s, vintage classics on show include the Akai S612 and S900, the Casio FZ-1, the Yamaha TX16W, the E-mu Emax II, the Fairlight, the Synclavier, the Master Studio Collection (MSC), the Korg DSS-1, the Ensoniq Mirage and the ever-quirky Mellotron and Orchestron. Additional banks of the more contemporary Akai S1000 and E-mu Emulator III; miscellaneous drum machines such as the SCI Drum, Linn 9000, Oberheim DMX, and E-mu SP-12 and SP-1200; and a rather eclectic and most ear-pleasing group called Circle Elements round out things nicely.
I found there to be an overabundance of cut-and-dried orchestral sounds throughout this library and not nearly enough of the punchy razzmatazz that once conjured fantasies of owning a Fairlight or a Synclavier. But some exciting gems, like the spot-on Fair Depeche from the Emax II bank, come close to justifying the cost of the collection. Although Cult Sampler is far from being a comprehensive history library, much of the unique, gritty character of each instrument comes through in this well-recorded set.
— Jason Scott Alexander
Product Summary
BEST SERVICE (DIST. BY EAST WEST/SOUNDS ONLINE)
CULT SAMPLER > $179.95
At a glance: Nostalgic low-bit sounds of classic early samplers. Stand-alone and multiformat plug-in.
Contact: tel. (800) 833-8339; e-mail info@soundsonline.com; Web www.soundsonline.com
CYCLING '74 CYCLES: UNNATURAL RHYTHM
SAMPLE LIBRARY
Already well-known for such twisted gems as Pluggo and Max/MSP, Cycling '74 is taking a plunge into the world of sound libraries. The company's second such release, Cycles: Unnatural Rhythm, is, as you may have guessed, a collection of rhythmic chops, stabs, builds and other chunks of thumping, clacking goodness. Cycling has always been known as a company that likes to think a little left of center, and this title is no exception. Packaged as a two-disc set, Unnatural Rhythm includes both an audio CD and a DVD-ROM. The DVD contains 24-bit, 44.1kHz and 24-bit, 48kHz WAV files, as well as 24-bit REX files. It's refreshing to see a company embracing the idea of 24-bit sample libraries, and the inclusion of REX files is something that everyone should be doing. As far as the sound of the samples goes, it's obvious that a great deal of care went into each one. The sounds range from mechanical grooves and metallic, machinelike percussion to reversed swooshes and distorted thwacks. The sound sources seem to be everything from abused drum machines to an old Ford Model T. Some of the selections are as long as a few bars, and some are only a single hit. If you're looking for some really high-quality bits of industrial-sounding sample fodder, Unnatural Rhythm will not disappoint.
— Robert Hanson
Product Summary
CYCLING '74
CYCLES: UNNATURAL RHYTHM > $99
At a glance: Excellent collection of crusty, distorted, industrial-themed rhythms. REX and 24-bit WAV files included.
Contact: tel. (415) 974-1818; e-mail info@cycling74.com; Web www.cycling74.com
M-AUDIO PROSESSIONS, VOL. 20 — AMBIENT ALCHEMY: OPEN SOURCE
AMBIENT-ELECTRONICA SOUND COLLECTION
Nothing used to bore me stiff faster than scouting through new CDs of “soundtrack” beds when working on film projects — yawn. In those days (er, maybe 10 years ago?), sample producers thought of “ambient” as being lots of static, one-dimensional drones, wind chimes and synth pads. But that certainly is not so with Ambient Alchemy's tweaksters, BlueTech and Shakatura, true wizards of modern ambient electronica. They've taken the ambient sampler concept to the beloved construction-kit format and compiled 13 exciting and creatively programmed kits, 31 percolating percussion loops and 11 textures in this multiformat REX2 and Acidized WAV set. Each kit contains between four and 10 musical loop elements, in addition to the full-on mix. Most of the kits are four bars long (some are eight); tempos range from 72 to 120 bpm; and reverb, processing and gate effects are printed to sample. Exciting subterranean bass wobbles, glitchy edits, ascendant arppegios, solid comp patterns, slippery leads and loads of other cool sounds — courtesy of instruments like the Access Virus KB; Kawai K5000s; Native Instruments Reaktor 4, Pro-53, FM7 and Absynth; and more — all add up to create a highly inspirational sonic feast.
— Jason Scott Alexander
Product Summary
M-AUDIO
PROSESSIONS, VOL. 20 — AMBIENT ALCHEMY: OPEN SOURCE > $49.95
At a glance: Creatively programmed ambient construction kits, loops and textures in AIFF, WAV, REX2 and Acidized WAV formats.
Contact: tel. (626) 633-9050; e-mail info@m-audio.com; Web www.m-audio.com
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