Dylan Rhymes - Electro & Tech Funk - £16.95 d/load


REVERED as much in breaks circles as on the electro scene, Lot 49 boss and globetrotting DJ/producer Dylan Rhymes, picxtured above, brings us 180+MB of exclusive copyright-free dancefloor destroying loops and hits.

From captivating tech-funk to blazing electro, minimal and fidget, these 196 exclusive 24-bit Wavs - infused with all analogue warmth - are optimised for instant results on the floor.

Featuring techy tops, freaky drum loops, drum hits, synth loops, twisted vox and mighty tempo-matched drops, sweeps, uplifters and glicthed fx, the sounds vary in tempo, averaging at 128bpm for maximum 4x4 bosh.
 

All loops are tempo-labeled.

Soundstosample

 

SAMPLITUDE CLASSIC - MAGIX - PC - Around £499 inc. vat

OF COURSE you will have heard (if not already use) the likes of Cubase, Reason, Ableton Live, Logic etc and know that the results are so good that thousands of pros worldwide use those programs.

But don't forget Samplitude because this knocks all such imitators into the proverbial cocked hat AND all for under £500. 

Ever since the early nineties it's been one of the most revered of the famous range of MAGIX music production and mastering packages, alongside stablemate Sequoia.

There IS a rather steep learning curve but all high-end programs are the same. Then again, part of the fun is, perhaps, not reading the manual at first and just clicking at random to see what things do. And, as always, there is a fair amount of right-clicking to do!

Anyway, Samplitude will last you a lifetime but if you want a bit more poke then MAGIX are already beavering away at Pro11 which makes its preview appearance at Frankfurt's annual Music Messe.

I've banged on about many an audio interface over the years and how the Germans are undoubtedly the masters of getting the best sound from the most humble PC and nothing has changed. Samplitude is up there with the best of them.

Expensive? Not really considering what you get and taking into consideration the programming skills and time and effort put in to create this marvellous software. You pay for what you get: a barnstorming piece of kit. 

There is also the top-end Pro 10 version, a Master version and a Special Edition version - at varying prices and functionality of course. Check the MAGIX UK page link below for full details.

The program provides you with pristine sound quality and a wide range of tools for every step of the production process, continuously in 32 bit and up to 384 kHz.

Samplitude is one of the most successful and ambitious solutions for audio authoring, editing & mastering on your PC and comes highly recommended. 

At the other end of the scale you could try

Samplitude Music Studio 15 which is is a unique compact studio for hobby musicians with professional standards.

This is a cut-down (lite) version of its big bro but should not be confused with the entry-level MAGIX Music Maker range.

SMS15 even enables first-time users of the program to realise their musical ideas. The perfect combination of easy handling and high-performance functions offers the best conditions for every individual band member and is your ideal partner for successful solo projects.

The integrated MR-64 multitrack recorder will get you going quickly and comfortably with the program.

Export your musical projects as MP3 or lossless compressed FLAC - for your band's website, demos, blogs, podcasts, and much more.

The integrated multitrack recorder (MR-64) combines the trusted handling of a multitrack recorder with all of the advantages of a PC system. Discover the advantages:

Giant selection of effects: Simply select high-quality effects with a click and add them as desired to any channel.

Convenient functions: Load, save, export projects as MP3 without any problems – no more annoying menus!

Seamless integration: All recordings are automatically transferred to arranger projects for detailed post-production editing.


MAGIX (UK)

 

MAGIX Music Maker 15 - PCDVD - £49.99 (£74.99 Premium edition)

I'VE been banging on a lot over the years about this great export from Germany.

The MAGIX products just get better and better AND, my own personal belief is that, because MAGIX has proven over the years to be the market leader in ease-of-use, straight out of the box software, even the mighty Steinberg had a good sniff around it before the launch of its meaty (and damn good) Sequel a couple of years back (now on Version2).



Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so they say and although it is probably vehemently denied, Sequel owes a lot to MAGIX.

Anyway, for those who don't know, the Music Maker range is a simple way of creating top-sounding tunes. You get a huge selection of multi-genre sounds which you simply paste onto the standalone DAW to make a tune in, literally, a few minutes.

Of course, one you get the hang of it you just don't need to stick to using the MAGIX loops as it quite readily accepts ogg vorbis, mp3 and wav (and acidized wav) files available from the myriad loop and sample collections out there in webland. And don't forget that MAGIX also brings out a standalone collection of new sounds every year under its Sound Essentials banner so you have endless fun and of course, the product has longevity - well, until the next version is due; usually by October, in Germany,
Funnily enough, I still have the whole range from MM2-present on my hard drive! It's so addictive.

cord midi instruments (some are supplied such as rudimentary drum machine and synths) and your own vox too.

But is it any good? YES. MM15 is set straight at the beginner and couldn't be more user-friendly but for those who need and want that little bit more oomph, lash out a few sheets more and go for what this year is called the Premium edition.

This is the next in line from last year's Producer edition and includes thetering Suite which is a handy bit of kit. The basic MM15 does not have this, which is a pity because it's first-rate and puts many mastering suites in top-of-the-range, wallet-bleeding DAWs to shame.

Of course the choice is yours but whichever version you go for, the fun starts as soon as you slap in the DVD.

Check it out here and don't forget to watch the promo vid.


MAGIX

Brass & Reeds Volume 1 - Sounds2Sample -d/load -£34.47

AT last! A great pack of all things air-driven to spice up your tracks.

This collection is a great way of introducing those funky elements, stabs and solos to your tracks without having to faff around with a standalone bit of brass software.

They are there, ready for action.

The collection is a treasure trove of 362 beautifully played and recorded riffs, stabs and solos from a variety of brass and reed instruments including sax, flute, trumpet, piccolo and flugel horn.

Complete with harmonies, octaves and  variationsations of each riff, the 360+MB pack gives you ultimate control and expression.

Musical styles range from funk and lounge to pop and chillout, with tempos ranged from 67 to122 bpm.

Download Pack contains: 362 loops in Wav, Rex2 and AIF formats. Total size: 362MB (zipped)

SoundsToSample

TECHNOLOOPER Vol 1,2 & 3 - VipZone - £35 each

YOU can really go completely loopy with this great set of sounds from VipZone,

Club and hardatyle devotees will be over the proverbial moon with these three storming collections in crystal clear WAV format.

There's no need to scratch your head wondering where to get that meaty kick drum sound or spine-tingling synth chord, inspiration is in its abundance with these three beauties.

What is great about VipZone loops is that they come in wet and dry versions which means the wet versions are more or less ready to use while the dry variety allows you to mash and mangle with ease and add your own FX.

The main thing that sticks out with the Technoloopers collection when compared with others of this genre on the market is that the quality of recording is first class - and loud. So this, again, saves you time in the tweakery depatment.

And, at a value-for-money £35 each, you can't go wrong.


For example, here's what you get on TL3............... ACID (142 bpm), BELLS (142 bpm), CLUB ORGANS (142 bpm), HYPERSAWS (142 bpm), LOOPS FROM HELL (142 bpm), TECHNO CHORDS (130 bpm), TECHNO CHORDS (142 bpm), TECHNO-CLUB (135 bpm), TECHNO-CLUB (142 bpm), VOCODER (130 bpm), VOCODER (142 bpm)

VipZone

 

KATE LESING VOCALS VOL.1- TRANCE & DANCE ACAPELLAS

Category: Melodic Vocals, Acapellas, Female Vocals
Genre: Dance, Trance
Format: wav (one shots)

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ANYONE who needs the added sparkle of vocals to a track knows exactly what a pain the proverbial it is to get hold of any - except sub-standard ones from the deeper, darker recesses of the web.

Unless your other half is in perfect pitch while singing in the kitchen as she happily does the washing up, then you have to look elsewhere.

This is where VipZone comes into the fray.

Under their wing they have a great female vocalist called Kate Lesing who, semingly, can turn her hand to anything dance and trance.

In this sample pack VipZone has put together no less than 19 professional & royalty-free acapella phrases (a vocal construction kit for 19 different songs) by Kate.

Thanks to modern studio technology, they are presented in wet and dry versions, whichever takes your fancy.
 
So, if you can't be bothere'd to add chorus, reverb or delay then the wet versions will take care of that for you.

You also get the midi files for bass/chords BUT the best fun is creating the whole track yourself. Just select a Kate song and build the track around her which means you can experiment a bit with blines, beats etc because, of course, you can chop and slice the vox files easily as you wish.

Vox make a hell of a difference to a dance/trance mash-up and you can't find better at the moment than Kate Lesing.

AND if that isn't enough, VipZone has released Kate Lesing Vocals Volume 2.

In this pack you will find 15 vocal tracks, most of them with 2 verses + refrain and not less than one verse + refrain. So you can produce professional tracks, not only dance/club tracks with short vocal lines. The pack contains beautiful trance songs as well as themes that fit to other genres like rock, pop or house.

Again, the quality shines through and they are nice and loud too which makes a hell of a difference when creating your tracks.

At £62 a pack (a superb bargain considering how much you'd have to pay per track for a live singer) it's time you invited Kate into your PC.

Don't forget you can buy the packs either as hard-copy DVDs or via fast download, the choice is yours.


Listen for yourself - check out free demos at:

VipZone

UTIMATE SOUND BANK - Baby Grand Piano - $69US d/load 

This new 6 GB library brings up a very unique and rare instrument with an exceptionally warm and emotional sound, something hard to find with old pianos.



The producers of this library 'fell in love' with a gorgeous baby grand piano built in 1930 by the manufacturer Erard. This is one of the "smallest grand piano" ever built, and it sounds incredibly large in regard to its size.

They said: 'This time, to capture the heart of this lovely piece of musical instrument history, we didn't bring the piano to a big studio, but came up with our own gear to record the piano in place. As usual, our gear consisted in extremely good microphones, excellent sounding mic pre and insanely good analog to digital converters. Every single note was carefully multi-sampled in multiple (up to 8) velocity levels; we did also introduce a new special technique to capture the true sound when playing with the sustain pedal, to add another level of realism. Thanks to the UVI Engine advanced keygroup layers and rule switching, the sustain pedal and release samples perform and "feel" like a real piano.


Microphones in position for the perfect sound

'At the end of the process, during the editing of samples, we consulted a great instrumentalist to test the result of this work, then we were able to even improve the instrument's response to make it really enjoyable.

'Once again, we are very glad, for the result is a soulful sounding piano, full of history and true musicality.'

Check out the demo at:

Baby Grand