Rycote InVision Studio Kit

Mini Reviews | Reviews
109
Complex Indian Rhythms | £35
loopmasters.com
Let me say straight off
the bat that I love
‘other’ time signatures,
anything outside of the
4/4 and I’m interested.
I also have a soft spot
for Indian percussion. So when
Loopmasters teamed up with KV Bala
Krishnan to record 16 construction kits
covering tempos from 80 –130bpm and in
5, 6 and 7 time signatures, clearly I was
going to sniff it out.
Each kit comes with loops of various
instruments such as Ta bla, Urumi, Nagara,
Bass Dholak (it’s all percussion remember)
and then mixed versions. In short it’sa
one-stop shop for interesting rhythms and
grooves that will spice up any House or
Electronica track with exotic percussion.
Roger Watson
9/10
Crate Diggers: Golden Age Of
Wireless
| £14
soundstosample.com
We’re never quite sure
who needs hundreds of
crackly old bits of
talking to drop on their
tunes but if you can’t
bear to sit through
fifteen Charlie Chan movies in the hope
that someone says “come on, let’sgo!” –
then Crate Diggers have done all the hard
work for you. There’s countless female
gasps, Sci-Fi amusements from yesteryear
and stuffy radio presenters saying things
that could be construed as vaguely funky.
If you were making a House tune in
1990 then this would be the freaking
motherload and a ‘number one chart
topper’ would result. In 2011, however it’s
more suited to scratch DJs looking for
something a little fresher than
‘frrrrreessssshhh!’.
Daniel Griffiths
7/10
Dubstep | £39
samplemagic.com
Of course, it just
wouldn’t be Dubstep
without a massive slab
of violently wobbly
synths. And this
pack has got them
in spades. And not only does it deliver
your wobbles but there’ssome of the
harshest, most shredded synth leads we’ve
heard, all arranged as separate notes and
instruments for crafting into your own tune
or – what the hell – sling the melodic loops
together and get your slo-mo Dub on in a
matter of seconds.
Once again Sample Magic have nailed
a genre with frightening laser accuracy to
deliver a killer pack. There’s a little filler
(not too sure about those field recorded
ambient SFX) but doubts are instantly
removed when you get into the massive
drum hits and loops library teaming classic
treated 909s with bizarre and totally
unique metallic thwacks and ‘splangs’.
State of the art.
Daniel Griffiths
8/10
Swedish House | £34
loopmasters.com
“Swedish House
draws influence from
the chart topping
sounds of the Swedish
House Mafia.” ie,
this is not an official
product (despite that worryingly authentic
packaging). So how does it fare? Well,
there’s an enormous ‘vocal percussion’
section that we’re slightly confused by
and some spoken dialogue that we’re a
little embarrassed by, but things rapidly
pick up with the synth effects. There’s
masses of massive detuned stabs, hits
and some brilliant track-ready swooshes
and elevators. The kicks are huge, middy
punches in the face and the complete
loops are entire tracks in themselves. It’sa
bit silly.It’svery niche but –bythe Norse
gods – this strikes the genre nail with
Thor’s mighty hammer!
Daniel Griffiths
8/10
Fracture – Cosmic Drum
and Bass
| £29
loopmasters.com
A collection of
massively original
atmosphere’s and hits
that while aimed at
the more experimental
end of D’n’B would
equally be at home making Dubstep.
There’ssome almost Kraftwerk-style
synths, and countless ringing, ambient
atmospheres just ripe for chopping and
glitching up. Drum hits are a well-recorded
bunch, the accent being on capturing
real sounds well, rather than mangling for
mangling’s sake, but they’re very much
a token set next to the synth and effects
work elsewhere. Original and arresting.
Will Seelig
7/10
Deep House | £39
samplemagic.com
There’sawhole
atmosphere and vibe
about this collection
that places it apart
from the rest. This is
Deep House – this is
no collection of 909 hits and sub-bases.
There’s an alive, ‘airey’ vibe to the loops
that perfectly the captures the crossover
where live instruments meet drum
machines via sampler. Te xtures are lush
and genuine. Double bass and electric
pianos have a lazy, funky vibe. Beats and
bass are pleasingly fuzzy and crackly. This
is bang on. Enough said.
Chris Barker
9/10
FMU241.rev_mini 109 5/24/11 3:56:57PM