SONY CONTINENTAL DRIFT
When they say world loops, they mean
world: Some of these sound like
Smithsonian field recordings, but higher
quality—this isn’t “new age” world.
Some regions are sparsely represented:
Asia has four instruments, Native Americans
and Arabians get five, Gypsies and Celts
have seven; however Africa has ten folders
and East India, six. Fortunately each folder has a reasonable
amount of loops, so it’s easy to create variations.
Yes, you can make ethnic-sounding music, which
might seem limited unless you’re scoring an action
flick where the hero jet-sets to exotic locales. But then I
did the “let’s throw loops together and see what sticks”
test, using African vocals and bass, Arabic rhythms,
Celtic dulcimer, and East Indian harmoniums and vocals.
It sounded surprisingly cool, and as I assumed you
wouldn’t believe me, check out the audio example at
www.eqmag.com.
Of all the “world” sound libraries I’ve reviewed, this is a
tough call. On one hand, there are enough spices to take
any dance mix to the next level in a Peter Gabriel-esque
way, and it’s a gold mine for soundtracks; but a lot of the
material is very exotic, likely limiting its usefulness in traditional
genres. Still, this is a bold and novel library, and
because some of the loops are outstanding in terms of
being chills-up-spine evocative, it keeps pulling me back in
for more.
Contact: Sony Creative Software,
www.sonycreativesoftware.com
Format: Two CD-ROMs with 969MB of Acidized WAV files;
24-bit, 44.1kHz
List price: $69.95
LOOP WORKSHOP VARIOUS DRUM LOOP PACKAGES
Loop Workshop follows the “download
for cheap” model—typical Pro
Session Drumz series packages are
around 100–200MB, averaging
50–150 song segments duplicated as
stereo kit and room mics only (layer
them in parallel to choose the
amount of room sound), and cost
$12–$14. No, that’s not a typo, and these were recorded in
Nashville by Tony Morra, so the playing is great. There are
many other packages too, like a dozen drum machine
loops for $1.99.
The online audio demos are very helpful, because the
number of samples is pretty overwhelming—I checked out
Big Drumz, Pop Drumz, Rock Drumz, Alt Drumz, and
Reggae Drumz. The sound for these is raw (but not grungy),
muscular, and well-recorded—not surprising, as founder Rick
DiFonzo was half of Discrete Drums, whose libraries are still
my go-to loops for rock drums. In addition to stereo files,
the site will also be offering multitrack Pro Tools sessions;
this appeals to me a lot, as I tend to mix cymbals somewhat
lower than most people, and the crash cymbals on the
stereo files are a bit hot for my taste.
Overall, Loop Workshop seems aimed at the instant gratification
crowd—“I need a big rock backbeat now, what am I
gonna do?” Why, you’re going to go to the Loop Workshop
site, listen to the demos, see what works for you . . . then
download, and pay for, only what you need.
Contact: Loop Workshop, www.loopworkshop.com
Format: Downloadable AIF (Apple Loops 16-bit/44.1kHz or
24/48), Acidized WAV (24/48 only), and EXS24; for many
files you’ll need to edit transient markers when stretching
List price: Varies depending on product, but value is excellent
UEBERSCHALL PURE FIRE
This loop library-meets-instrument is all
about intense, hardcore urban music with a
mostly minor vibe. I could probably score
an entire inner city crime drama show with
just these loops (and it would be a great
soundtrack, too).
The drum beats are bone-crushing and
huge, but not huge as in ambience—huge
as in taking over most of the audible spectrum, holding it
by the neck, and threatening its family. The synth riffs
buzz away, some FX sound like samples of the apocalypse,
and there are even a few massive, orchestral-type
stings and strings.
The 20 construction kits include deconstructed and
mixed riffs, each playable via MIDI (controller or sequencer
notes). The Elastik player features stretch algorithms from
zPlane; Ueberschall’s “loop eye” interface brings realtime
control sensibility to a loop-based virtual instrument (see
the 3/10 issue), This makes it easy to create extended
improvisations within the context of a construction kit.
But it’s not all doom and gloom: Take out the melodic
instruments, and you’re left with beefy drum parts that work
with other genres. And don’t get me wrong—the drama and
danger in these loops isn’t a bad thing, as they’re extremely
well done; the intensity and depth lifts them above the ordinary.
If you seek big, bad, authoritative loops with an undertone
of power and menace, these deliver
Contact: Ueberschall, www.ueberschall.com
Format: DVD-ROM with 1.54GB of content (approx. 900
loops), arranged as 20 construction kits
List price: $99.95