UEBERSCHALL
In spite of the emergence of 24-bit, 96 kHz audio, some electronic musicians never get over their fondness for the grungy, raw sound of low-fidelity samples. Ueberschall's 8 Bit Stylez ($99.95) offers a collection of grooves, drum loops, and effects created with the Commodore C-64's notorious SID MOS 6581 chip. With the package, you get an Akai-format CD-ROM and an audio CD.
The collection offers 40 construction kits, licks, music, game effects, machine voices, and more than 1,000 single drum and instrument sounds. Ueberschall targets the sounds for house, hip-hop, drum 'n' bass, two-step garage, and other contemporary electronic dance-music styles. East West (distributor); tel. (310) 271-6969; e-mail sales@eastwestsounds.com; Web www.soundsonline.com.
SONIC IMPLANTS
More than 14 MB of fuzz-toned guitars constitute Sonic Implants' Creamy Fuzz Guitar 1 — Smooth Leads (SoundFont; $19.95). The assortment includes a range of guitaristic effects, such as muted notes, harmonics, hammer-ons, and feedback. Also available are multiple-Velocity patches that switch between the sampled articulations. Sonic Implants used a custom-designed Fender Stratocaster, a Mesa/Boogie amp, and a Fulltone Soul-Bender fuzz box to produce the samples.
One problem with creating convincing sampled distorted-guitar parts is the interaction between the strings. To that end, Sonic Implants provides Creamy Fuzz Guitar 2 (SoundFont; $19.95). That collection includes major, minor, and suspended chords strummed up and down, as well as V7, V9, and power chords strummed downward. Sonic Implants Network; tel. (781) 641-0063; e-mail studio@sonicimplants.com; Web www.sonicimplants.com.
GMEDIA
For its GForce M-Tron VST sample-playback instrument, Gmedia brings you a new compilation of sounds, Tape Banks ($49). The company tracked down, prepared, and recorded a number of mellotron-type instruments, including the Birotron and the Chamberlin. Each sound in a mellotron instrument uses 35 individual tapes, and each tape contains three sounds. In many cases, the tapes had to be prepared by hand for sampling.
Tape Banks includes the sound of wine glasses, clarinet, double bass, steel-string guitar, various choirs, Chamberlin harp, and Birotron organs. Q Up Arts (distributor); tel. (800) 454-4563 or (801) 486-8225; e-mail gforce@gmedia.com; Web www.gmedia.com/gforce.
EASTWEST
The guitar work of studio ace Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, a veteran of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, is presented on Skunkworks (audio and WAV, $99.95; Akai, $199.95). Baxter dishes up licks and rhythm parts on a number of guitars in the two-CD set. The styles range from acoustic-based music to jazz to heavy metal. East West; tel. (310) 271-6969; e-mail sales@eastwestsounds.com; Web www.soundsonline.com.
BIG FISH AUDIO
Big Fish Audio's Guitar Studio ($99.95) is a two-CD set of guitar licks, riffs, intros, and endings that covers various styles, including alternative rock, jazz, blues, metal, and funk music. Performance Loops Drums 2 ($99.95) is a two-CD collection of drum loops that were culled from complete performances. Included are hits, fills, and variations that will help you to generate realistic drum parts.
Both collections include a CD of audio tracks and a CD-ROM of Acid-compatible WAV files for your looping enjoyment. Big Fish Audio; tel. (800) 717-FISH or (818) 768-6115; e-mail info@bigfishaudio.com; Web www.bigfishaudio.com.