SKID NEPRO

Kid Nepro offers two collections of programs and combinations for the Korg Karma workstation. Although the programs and combinations originated as Triton patches, sounds have been revamped to make use of the KARMA technology's Generated Effects and other real-time controls.

Soundtrack/Film Mix ($35) offers dramatic pads and effects that are geared toward film and TV scoring and feature complex rhythmic patterns and slowly evolving timbres. Classic Synths ($35) re-creates vintage analog synthesizers. The first 21 programs are monophonic bass and lead patches modeled after the Minimoog, the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, and the Oberheim OB-8.

More than 100 programs consist of synth brass, pads, strings, hits, more bass and lead sounds, and grooves created by Generated Effects. Many grooves are patterned after the styles of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer; Kraftwerk; and other '60s and '70s progressive bands. Kid Nepro; tel. (246) 420-4504; e-mail info@kidnepro.com; Web www.kidnepro.com.

BARDSTOWN AUDIO

Samples of the 9½-foot Bösendorfer Model 290 Imperial Grand piano in GigaStudio and Halion formats are offered on Bösendorfer ($199). Kip McGinnis sampled the instrument in a concert hall to give it a natural ambience.

The sound set provides samples with pedals up in four velocities, an equal number with pedals down, and additional release samples. You get about 1.5 GB of samples. According to the company, Bösendorfer will soon be available in EXS24 format as well. Bardstown Audio; tel. (502) 349-1589 or (800) 814-0820; e-mail info@bardstownaudio.com; Web www.bardstownaudio.com.

ILIO

John Lehmkuhl (aka Skippy) produced and played on his new collection of drum loops, Skippy's Noizbox (Akai, E-mu, Giga, Roland, $199; CD-Audio, $99). The grooves offer a more aggressive sound than his previous effort, Skippy's Big Bad Beats; processed sounds are more prevalent on this collection, and the grooves are tailored toward European dance-music styles.

More than half of the collection exceeds the tempo of 120 bpm, but if you need to slow things down a bit, the Groove Control feature can change the tempo without changing pitch. You can also change the mix and layer or subtract groove elements in real time.

In addition to full mixes of the loops, the collection includes sample groove-construction kits. If you want, you can substitute sounds or change the pitch of any instrument.

Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Steve Winwood, and Peter Gabriel have all called upon the talents of Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love, collectively known as the Memphis Horns. Ilio offers Memphis Horns (CD-ROM for Akai, Giga, E-mu, Roland, $299; 2 CD-Audio discs, $149), a collection of sampled phrases from the duo. Phrases are played on trumpet and trombone as well as baritone and tenor saxes.

The collection includes hundreds of phrases in multiple keys and tempos. Phrases are offered in complete form and are broken up into shorter pieces. Phrase tempos range from 70 to 140 bpm, and each phrase is sampled in five harmonically related keys. Multisampled unison lines; major, minor, and major seventh chords; and characteristic brass effects — such as flutters, falls, tone clusters, and swells — are also included. Ilio Entertainments; tel. (800) 747-4546 or (818) 707-7222; e-mail ilioinfo@ilio.com; Web www.ilio.com.

PRO-REC

More than 300 Akai S1000 format instruments are offered on the SynthSonic 2 ($149) CD-ROM. You get 500 MB of Korg Triton samples taken from Pro-Rec's original program libraries. The sounds are compatible with Kurzweil K2000, BitHeadz Unity, Steinberg Halion, and other samplers. SynthSonic 2 includes pads and lead sounds, 42 synths, 75 basses, 26 keyboard instruments, 33 individual drum sounds, and 6 drum kits. Pro-Rec, Inc.; Tel. (805) 705-3217; e-mail sales@pro-rec.com; Web www.pro-rec.com.