If you're in the market for drum beats, you'll have no trouble finding tracks for rock, jazz, or any other mainstream style. If you have a taste for the bizarre, however, you may need to dig a bit deeper. One of the latest in a series of expansion libraries for Toontrack's (www.toontrack.com) EZdrummer is Twisted Kit ($99), a collection of audio samples and MIDI tracks created by drummer and percussionist Michael Blair (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Lou Reed). His drum set features odd elements such as trash cans, bicycle frames, and hubcaps, which he plays, processes, and presents in preset grooves such as Dirty Dirges, Engine Room, and Bend Beat Rock. You also get mixer presets by the likes of Richard Devine and Count Bass D. The result is a unique rhythmic vocabulary that crosses the boundaries of industrial, ethnic, and orchestral percussion.

Guitarists have a monopoly on a certain type of riff that relies on muted chords, choppy rhythms, and staccato lines to put forth the funk. One of the fastest ways to inject that sound into your tracks is with a sample library like Funky Rex Guitars ($79.99) from Nine Volt Audio (www.ninevoltaudio.com). This 813 MB DVD-ROM supplies a Reason ReFill and 400 REX2 loops assembled into 43 Interlocked Groove Suites with titles such as Slow Rub, Chicken Head, and Pinch of Pepper. Each suite contains variations organized in pairs meant to play simultaneously, with rhythmic parts in one part and single-note riffs in the other. You also get a folder full of REX files you can easily import into Spectrasonics Stylus RMX. Careful beat slicing ensures that every loop plays over a wide range of tempos without audible artifacts.