Sample Magic - sample dvd's and downloads for house, dance, electro and trance music

"Electro house has become the subgenre of the decade. Just ask Satoshi Tomi, Justice, MSTRKRFT, Roger Sanchez, Mylo and Tocadisco how fast it fills the floor. Typified by brash four-to-the-floor beats, tearing bass lines and all sorts of filthy, bleep-y stuff in between, it bridges all there is to love about classic house, disco-punk, synth-pop, electro and hard techno. Key-labeled and graduated into three tempos (125, 127 and 130 bpm), these 24-bit loops are provided in WAV, REX and Apple Loops, while bonus drum hits, guitar chords and effects come premapped for EXS24, Reason, Kontakt and HALion.

The bass line defines electro-house, and these loops are absolute killers with deliciously sleazy, ripping vibes. Their tones range from glitchy, buzzy and resonant circuit-bent acidic squelches to massive unisons and harmonically rich, wobbly subs. Some spun me 'round (like a record) to the days of Stock, Aitken & Waterman and early Kraftwerk. The hundreds of drum loops are far fresher than I'd expected from this often recycled genre, and the inclusion of another hundred or so outstanding break flourishes in a kick-free Top Loops folder was a real treat.

The abrasive leads, dirty Junos, trippin' Virus-like arpeggios, harsh pegged synths, crunked-out pianos and strings, raunchy chorused SID-chips and ominous filter clouds in the Synth Loops folder are even hotter. Finally, the heavily effected, chunky guitar loops will come in handy if you're looking to join in on the whole Pink Floyd and Yes revival. If mega-hits such as Beckers' "Colour Me Blind" or Bodyrox' "Yeah, Yeah" did it for you, then Electro-House will definitely take you there and beyond."

Jason Scott Alexander, Nov 2007

"Electro is the genre du jour in the club scene. Not since Big Beat and French House in the mid 90s has a sound so dominated dance music. To be candid, I'm a fan myself. With Electro House, Sample Magic has delivered the definitive collection of up-to-the-nanosecond loops in this style. If you're a fan of D Ramirez, Micky Slim, Deadmau5, Mark Knight, or Chris Lake, this 1.8GB collection of loops, hits and beats in Reason, Kontakt, EXS24 and HALion formats is going to rock your world.

The loops come in three sensible bpms - 125, 127 and 130 - and are organised by type, such as drums, bass, fx, guitar, music, synth and top percussion. Since filenames include the musical key, mixing and matching is a straightforward affair. Tuned guitar chords in three different styles (Chugs, Dirty and Twangy) are just packed with grit and crunch. For rolling your own loops several hundred drum and percussion hits are on hand. The vast majority of these are amazing for getting your juices flowing, especially when used in conjunction with Apple Logic's Ultrabeat, Ableton Live's new Drum Racks or sample-based drum plug-ins, for that matter.

As with any genre-based loopware, the bottom line is authenticity and production quality, and frankly Electro-House is one of the best sounding loop libraries I have ever encountered. The drum loops nail the sound of the genre and are so punchily mastered that you probably won't even need to add any compression or EQ of your own. This is saying a lot. The only downside is that I would have liked files that break each loop into layers, such as kick, snare and so on. This would make them unbeatable for building your own intros, outros and breakdowns.

Bass loops are another standout in this collection, with pitch-wriggles, triplet fills (a must for mainstream electro grooves) and unexpected blips and stabs. Synth and effect loops are equally useful, with a fair number that venture into progressive and tech-house territory.

After spending the better part of a month with Electro-House, I can honestly say that it's absolutely essential for adding that white-hot electro vibe to your tracks. In fact, I really wouldn't be surprised to hear quite a few of these loops popping up on the Beatport charts in the coming months. They're that good and worth every penny."

Francis Preve

"This isn't just about loops, but sampler patches and one-shots with fx, kicks, percussion, guitar chugs, etc. The WAV files are the stars, containing the 816MB of sounds from which the other loops and files are derived.

Loops come in three tempos (125, 127, and 130 bpm), and the filenames indicate tempo and key. But what you want to know is: will these loops get people to dance until dawn, exude sweat from every pore, and offer gratuitous sexual overtures? Sadly, I didn't get to test the latter - but the first two are a given.

I started with the bass loops; there's not a loser in the bunch, from acidey stuff to muscular riffs. The drums are great too, melding a tight electro feel with some of the looseness of house. Loops with synths, guitars, top (percussive), and multitracked loops round out the collection.

Despite a house undercurrent, the sound is tighter, more aggressive, and has a raw, techno/electro sort of edge that drills straight to the underground. And there are no throwaways. Even the fx have some real class, sliding in effortlessly for breakdowns and transitions.

These sounds cross the line from good to inspiring by adding a fresh, creative twist to a genre that sometimes verges on cliche. Highly recommended."

Craig Anderson, September 2007

"The beats are superb. I put together three loops - two rhythms and a music loop - just as they come and I could have used them to make a tune. I've not come across a sample CD that has offered me an option like that before. Everything here sounds dirty and rough. The house beats are sexy, the synth patches have got a rough edge to them and the individual hits sounds like you're never going to be making 'nice' tunes with them... Anything you make with these tools is gonna sound like a dirty whore of a tune... You can spread some seriously wicked synths over your MIDI controller without having to go out and spend hundreds on a softsynth or rack unit... The breaks are strong and unusual, and willl certainly provide a rocking foundation for some great tracks."

Sound 7/7 || Versatility 7/7 || Value for money 7/7 || Looks 6/7 || Overall 6.75/7 Pete Kelly"