ONE-SHOTS
Jul 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Jason Scott Alexander
DISCO DSP DISCOVERY V2
VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT
Discovery is essentially a favorable-sounding knock-off of the Nord Lead 2 hardware synth from Clavia — a company that has shied away from releasing its sound engine to the plug-in-hungry masses. True to the Nord's simple virtual-analog, quasi-FM architecture, Discovery is a pretty conventional 32-voice, dual-oscillator subtractive synth with two LFOs, a modulation envelope, an ADSR amplifier with limiter and a single ADSR multimode resonant filter. Beautifully carried over from the hardware is the classic Nord “layer morphing” function, which provides seamless transition among all continuous parameter positions, controllable by velocity or mod wheel.
As if that's not exciting enough, you can then layer a total of four sounds to create a monster single patch and, in turn, perform all sorts of fluid or crazy parameter contortions, including the ability to have LFO 2 in each patch layer double as an arpeggiator for a max of four rhythmically dancing layers. Unique to Discovery is a handy bank browser, formant and eight-tap phaser filter modes, multiple distortion modes and MIDI learn. With more than 3,500 exciting trance- and techno-oriented presets in 38 banks (including one dedicated to percussion), Discovery packs a lot of heat straight after download, and the friendly user interface, ease of editing and facility to import Nord Lead 2 and 2X patches ensure a near-bottomless supply of new material.
DISCO DSP
DISCOVERY V2 > $99
At a glance: Clavia Nord Lead 2 knock-off complete with morphing and multilayering. Imports NL2 and 2X patches. PC VSTi only.
Contact: www.discodsp.com
LOOPMASTERS FUNKY HOUSE PRODUCER
SAMPLE CD
Those who produce deep four-on-the-floor house can never have too many fresh loop libraries at their disposal. House is a genre of dance music with perhaps more regional flavors than any other, and Funky House Producer does its damnedest to bring them right to your doorstep. This single CD comes packed with more than 1,500 samples and covers many bases, the majority given to one-bar percussion breaks and drum loops but also touching on instrument phrases, effects, multisampled pianos, chords and pads.
Arranged by tempo (115, 120, 125 and 130 bpm) or sound, as appropriate, samples are provided as WAV, REX2 and NN-XT patches, including seven drum kits. Funk is at the forefront throughout and nowhere more so than in the 340 absolutely superb drum loops. Nicely balanced between real and machine, the distinctly regional-sounding beats are highly original and often supplied with no-kick and breakdown variants. From Miami, New York and London to Paris, Berlin and Ibiza, the tribal, Latin, hard and tech house styles are all well represented with nary a hint of “glam.” Interesting rhythms, syncopations, filtering and effecting of individual percussion elements make each loop stand out, including tweaky doses of tasty compressor and effects-sidechain artifacts. If this absolute gem of a disc doesn't fix up your mix or spur you to write a new track, you're in the wrong business.
LOOPMASTERS (DIST. BY BIG FISH AUDIO)
FUNKY HOUSE PRODUCER > $69.95
At a glance: Original, bumpin' funky house loops and creative phrases. WAV, REX2, NN-XT.
Contact: www.bigfishaudio.com
ZERO-G SOUNDS OF THE 70s
SAMPLE LIBRARY
Few and far between are contemporary sample libraries that capture the true essence of the disco sound, and none that I've come across do it as well as Sounds of the 70s. This package is a dynamite production tool of super-high-quality '70s-revival sounds — ranging from soul, disco and funk to punk — accurately and honestly capturing an era when the 12-inch, the remix and the DJ were born. Native Instruments Intakt-hosted, this collection includes more than 1.4 GB of construction and instrument kits that load from a single DVD.
Covering tempos of 90 to 165 bpm, the 43 construction kits offer up a thematic assortment of four- and eight-bar compositional-phrase ensembles containing one or two full mixes as well as several isolated instrument tracks. The instrument tool kits deliver 21 Hammond B-3 organ hits; 33 bass, 36 guitar and 57 trumpet phrases; more than 70 Rhodes and Wurlitzer flourishes; a handful of synth riffs and Roland rhythm partner beats; and 10 lively sounding drum and tabla kits. The Wurly flourishes, in particular, are a grand slam with their dusty, decidedly vinyl feel and upwards of eight-bar lengths.
I can't stress enough that this library is the real deal, not once trying to be modern or anything but classic disco. The playing and styling is top-drawer throughout, and the drum loops are some of the best and most original I've heard — perfect for adding the organics of vintage dance into today's electronic tracks. It's well worth the higher price.
ZERO-G (DIST. BY EAST WEST/SOUNDS ONLINE)
SOUNDS OF THE 70s > $299.95
At a glance: Honest disco construction kits. NI Intakt-hosted. Stand-alone or VST, DXi, RTAS, Audio Units.
Contact: www.soundsonline.com
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