These samples (428 of them) go back to CM issues 30-35 and feature the work of Cyclick, TheLoops, Beamish and the CM team.
This collection of drum loops, keyboards, basslines and beats is accompanied by 7 tempo-specific drum loop collections. A;; the individual hits in those loops are also presented as individual samples so that you can create your own inflections and fills.
These samples were created by:
email: Cyclick by clicking here
RE-AMPING
This collection of (513) samples is based around ways of injecting a little life and character into otherwise flat sounds via the medium of the speaker cone. For this we have made four basic kits and recorded the parts back through a variety of speakers and microphones.
The speakers include a bass amp (Trace Elliot amp and 15 speaker cab), a guitar amp (a Marshall JCM 900), a PA (a 1Kw with 2 Sherman speaker cabs), a pair of studio nearfields (Yamaha MSP-5As), a pair of very cheap PC speakers and a little Aiwa radio/cassette player (fed via a short-range FM transmitter).
The speakers were recorded with the following mics: an AKG D112 Egg dynamic, a matched pair of Groove Tubes GT57 condensers, an SM57, a Joe Meek JM47 condenser and a 8 speaker cone with an XLR soldered on to the cable to act as a microphone. To further enhance the sounds we have also added effects into the signal path on some of the samples, such as a phaser (EH Small Stone) and an envelope filter (Mutron III+ + ), to spice them up. Distortion has been applied by either using the lead gain channel on the guitar amp or, in the case of the PC speakers, by overloading the amp input.
Due to the large number of playback and recording combinations we have created a code in the filenames to indicate which process they went through and a legend for this is listed below. The samples are grouped by tempo kit, each of which is split into the 4 or 5 instruments used. Within each of these instrument folders is a collection of lines/loops and a number of folders of multisamples where we thought the sound was interesting enough to warrant it. These multisamples are made with four evenly spaced notes per octave for the most efficient key mapping.
Filename Legend
Each filename starts with the instrument name, then the tempo or just mult if it is part of a multi sample and then a series of letters which denote the playback and recording setup used. The suffix indicates the line/loop number or multisample note pitch.
Playback:
B Bass amp (Trace Elliot amp and 15 speaker cab)
G Guitar amp (Marshall JCM900 and 2x12 speaker cab)
P PA cabs (2 x Sherman cabs and a 1Kw power amp)
M PC speakers
T Radio/cassette player (transmitted via FM radio)
Y Yamaha MSP-5A nearfield monitors
Recording:
S SM57
W Wide diaphragm condenser mics (Joe Meek JM47 and Groove Tubes GT57s)
E AKG D112 Egg dynamic mic
C Speaker cone (8)
MS Mid/side pair arrangement of condenser mics (GT57s)
Effects:
e envelope filter (Mutron III+ + )
p phaser (EH Small Stone)
d distortion (from overdriving amp/speakers or distortion channel on guitar amp)
r spring reverb on guitar amp
Photos
On the DVD are a few snaps of the setups used so you can get a better idea of what happened to the samples (were still wondering!!).
As you will see from the photos nothing out of the ordinary was used here, its just the approach. A bit of air and speaker cone movement can do a lot to bring those virtual instruments and samples to life and it only takes a couple of minutes to set up and evaluate. Sometimes recording the signal through any kind of speaker you can find and then panning the result on the opposite side to the source can make for a much more interesting stereo picture, and by delaying the re-recorded sound by 30ms or more can really create some stereo movement and space.
So, move some air and breathe life into those dull-old bits and bytes. Set cones to blow
..
Andrew Duke and his team have put together 4 comprehensive construction kits (724 samples) for this Amped! Soundfest. The kits are presented in the following styles, keys and tempos:
Kit | Style | Tempo | Keys |
Kit01 | Dub | 60 bpm | C |
Kit02 | Jazz | 120 bpm | F |
Kit03 | Experimental | 150 bpm | D |
Kit04 | Funk | 100 bpm | A |
Produced by Richard James Audio Design, these samples (309 of them) comprise a core selection of drum, keyboard, guitar, bass and synth loops without delays, reverb or other initial processing. The raw samples were fed through amps in a variety of natural spaces and re-recorded back to the sequencer.
The gear used included a Marshall Guitar amp, a 1954 all-valve AC41 Bush radio, a mixing desk channel strip pre-amp and EQ stage. Recording was done with a large diaphragm capacitor mic in various acoustic environments, including right up to the speaker grilles, in two positions in a reverberant hall and stairwell, inside a pair of headphones, and from within a closed shower booth inside a tiled bathroom.
The samples marked Hall are left with the natural reverb decay, whereas all the others are looped. Samples marked Mixed feature combination of the various amp and hall recordings applied to a single loop.
TEG Bass Spaces
This month, we were asked to concentrate our efforts on creating bass samples using a variety of experimental miking and amplification techniques. To this end, we have whipped up samples of electric basses (fretted, fretless, fingered and picked), electric piano basses and even a couple from our ARP Omni II.
All of these instruments were piped through various amplifiers, including a Roland KC550, Vox Pathfinder and Brian May Special. These amps were placed in odd acoustical spaces, such as a basement stairwell, concrete room and even the vent of our furnace! We then recorded them using our trusty Neumann and Shure mics.
That wasn't the end of it! After that, we piped some sounds through our massive modular and various boxes and gadgets (including a couple of DIY doodads). Finally, we created a few odd convolution impulses from unusual wav files and then used them in a convolution reverb device.
The results are a collection of 66 resonant, unusual timbres. Don't look for pristine sound here! These sounds sputter, hiss and grumble.
As always, we have mapped them out for you in DS404, EXS24, Kontakt, HALion and NNXT formats. To use any of the latter four samplers, you will need to copy the entire folder onto your hard drive (except, of course, the DS404 patches if you don't want to use them).
Scot Solida
The Electronic Garden