"So yes, the review. I generally make my beats with synths, only using samples for drums or orchestral elements. This was a relatively new experience for me. The first thing I noticed is how quickly I was able to get high quality sounds.
I’m used to at least 6 reason devices before achieving a sound I’m happy with in my productions, since presets never really cut it for me. Since these samples are high quality aready, I was able to import the samples either into Dr Rex or NN-XT quickly and get making riffs straight away. It only took me around 2 and a half hours to make the track above.
Drum-wise, the pack comprises 49 loops, 41 kicks, 40 snares, 46 hats, 15 crashes and 29 claps. I’d say 95% of them are awesome and useable, which (with me being used to so much crap in free sample packs) is frickin’ amazing.
I can split the loops roughly into halves – half of them are bass/snare loops for the meat of the beat if you aren’t into making your own syncopations (or as I’ve done in the song, beefed up the ReDrum beat I made with the individual samples).
The other half are extra percussive elements ranging from bongos to blips to hats to some things which are so warped that I don’t know what they used to be, but now they sound like something you would hear in deep space.
The individual samples are so varied. I can make really heavy beats, I can make really chilled ones. I can layer them effectively since they all have different timbres and tones and qualities. The variety of Snares in particular is so useful. As Pro Dubstep DJ Rusko said – “There’s not a lot of snares in Dubstep, so it’s nice to have an important, cracking snare that smacks you in the face.”
I was worried here, since I wasn’t sure how a sample pack could deal with modulating cutoffs in different timings. The way Primeloops have done it is to, again, split the samples into roughly half.
The first half are pre-wubbed (or modulated if you want a real word.) bass samples, a lot of which I’ve used in the track above. There are some brilliant samples here, ones that actually give you that disgusted expression when you find something so freakin’ cool that you don’t quite know if it’s painful or awesome.
The second half are non-wubbed samples that you can set NN-XT (or whatever sampler you use) up to modulate for you, giving you the versatility of being able to alter the timing of the wubs.
There are a bunch of stabs and chords, as well as some brilliantly Dub loops that you can chuck straight into Dr Rex. That main riff in my dubstep tune is a sample that I’ve slightly edited. Brilliant out of the box quality.
Again, this pack wins out on versatility. If you use a different sample it can completely change the feel of the tune. There are some dark, dirty, disgusting (in a good way) trip-hop-esque samples and some more melodic, musical samples.
These are great for using with a sampler and save so much time making your own synth. It’s inspiring to have sample banks to search through that aren’t interspersed with samples that make you think “What the hell would anyone use this noise in a track for?”
FX + Vox:
After the Drums, I think this is my favourite part of the pack.
The FX are so well made, there are one-shot effects that you can chuck just before a drop to add a bit of tension, or over the track to add more texture to the sound, and there are full on soundscapes that are frickin’ IMMENSE.
The beauty of these is that you can chop them up and use them in different orders, since each one has so many different parts to it that it’s like having a sample pack of sample packs!
Along with talent, these soundscapes are what makes the difference between amateur and pro Dubstep. It fills the tracks so much and gives them that professional edge.
The vocals comprise some London-y dudes saying some Grimey and Dubstep-ish things. I generally make my own vocals, but the one shots are surprisingly useable; I could imagine some of them being hooks to massive Dubstep tunes.
I started with the beat, chucking Rex and ReDrum in there and within moments I had a nice, offbeat loop going on. It didn’t take long to find samples I was happy with.
After making a nice beat I started finding a hook for the melody. When I hear a sound that makes me smile I’d say that’s a good indicator, I was smiling most of the way through the pre-made music loops. I settled on the chilled keys loop since I wanted to get a dark track going on.
After adding a few more laid back chords and stabs, I started on the bass. I think there are 5 different basslines in there. It is so good to be able to get variety so quickly. It would have taken me around 4 hours to make all those different effects I’m sure. Yet I was able to use them out of the proverbial box and with a few tweaks to the filters I had them wubbing nicely.
Adding in a few final vocal and FX touches (I swear those FX take the track up to another level of awesomeness), I had my Dubstep tune. Sorted!
The strength in this pack lies in its versatility. While I’d say it is perfect for people wanting to make the dark, dissonant dubstep, a lot of the samples could be used in making more unique interpretations of the genre. In fact, they could inspire such interpretations.
The weakness… I think if I was to make a track again I’d go with a synth for the bass samples just for ease of use, but I’d dot it with some of the bass samples in the pack to make the track more interesting, but then I’m obsessed with synths so that might be why.
Overall I was able to make a quality Dubstep tune in just under 3 hours. I think it’s totally frickin’ sweet. To hear just how many quality samples are in there, head over to Primeloops.com and listen to their Demo track. You’ll see what I mean by the pack’s versatility"
