Yep, it’s Friday…so get you a big ole plate and get ready for some Big Fish!

Today I’m dipping back into some of that laid back, ambient, on the cloud funk!

Downtempo/Ambient is one of my favorite types of music…there are no rules…you don’t need a super complex beat.

It’s all about the sound and the emotion.

So you know I love to explore these types of libraries…

So let’s see whatsup with Ambient Skylines

What is Ambient Skylines?

A huge, deep, fluffy collections of chilled out, refrigerated…ice cold loops and samples.

This is definitely one that leans more towards the cinematic, emotional….mood setting side of chillout and downtempo music.

Tons of space and ambiance in this library.

You get loops and then a collection of “non-looped” sounds…

which brings a lot of flexibility.

This one gives you all those freezer burned, reverbed out, smooth as butter riffs and loops that you love if this is your type of stuff.

Unlike many downtempo libraries, this one has stuff that is not only good for making music, but great for sound design and sound fx work as well.

Quick Specs

• content: 10.88gb total in all formats, 5 gb of 24bit wav files
• format: apple, rex, wav, rmx, acid
• price: $129.95

How does it sound though?

Well I’m glad you asked, as that’s what where here for.

As with anything from Big Fish, the recording is top quality with no undesired artifacts or glitches.

The thing I noticed about this library, comparing to some of my other favorite downtempo/ambient, is it’s more about the sound and the mood.

The sounds are very light, as well as heavy in ambience and reverb.

I like this, it gives it a different vibe compared to most, which makes it perfect for background music, sound fx, movie scores, games, media, documentaries, etc, in addition to straight up beat-making madness.

Everything in the library meshes together very well, from the electric bass to the airy sax samples.  They all have this “cloud” over them…which you have to hear to understand. It’s not a muffled, cloaked sound….but it’s almost something like a “mist” which was sprayed across the entire collection.

One thing I did miss was a folder of dedicated drum hits, I mean there are some kick/hi-hat combinations, and a folder of percussions, but I would have liked to see some straight up ambient kicks, drums, snares. Or even a folder of drumloops ready to be chopped.

Overall the sound captures the feel and mood you would expect when you think of Ambient, not just airy, but also including some nice city/urban soundscapes as well.

What’s the final verdict on this joint?

I like it, I am a fan of downtempo/ambient music, I love to hear it and I love to make it.

This one takes on a different vibe and leans more towards the cinematic/film side of things in my opinion, as opposed to being straight up beat making material.

That’s not a bad thing, as most of the time we like to sample from things that are from film, movies, media, etc…so it gives a different vibe to the music for sure.

I give this library a 4 out of 5 subs, it’s very solid and has a lot of content.

I definitely would have liked to see some more drumloops or drum samples, but there’s enough in the kick/hi-hat loops and the percussion folder to keep you satisfied. I have no problem pulling in a snare or two to mix with the library.

Sometimes leaving the snare out gives you an even more chilled vibe

It’s definitely something to look into if you’re into this type of music and sound.

But yo…just check it out for yourself, here’s from free samples from the library! Free Ambient Skyline samples

you can also check the other demo songs on the page over at big fish: ambient skyline

make sure you let me know what ya think, leave a comment below

It’s Friday…Big Fish Friday baby!

Today I’m checking out something that isn’t really a traditional instrument or library, but something that can definitely add to your sound toolbox.

It’s a collection of cinematic styled sound fx, hits, and noises.

You know I love this type of stuff, it’s great for adding some spice to your productions or for scoring your next blockbuster film.

This one is simply called Cinematic Sound Design…

let’s check it out

What is Cinematic Sound Design?

It is a collection of Hollywood style sound fx, elements, etc…separated into 13 different categories.

It comes with beds, drones, risers, whooshes, hits, explosions, you know…the good stuff.

They formatted it for Battery, Kontakt, reason, exs24, and general wave so everyone will be able to use it pretty much.

This is definitely targeted at those that do tv commercials, promos, movie trailers, video games, and other types of music for media.

But of course, as with anything, creativity has no limits, you can throw these sounds in your next dance floor smash or hip hop anthem…

it’s totally up to you

Quick Specs

• content: 1.2gb of wave files
• format: wav, kontakt, battery, nnxt, exs
• price: $49.95

How does it sound?

This is all that really matters right?

Well it sounds exactly how you’d expect, big hits, huge explosions, long evolving atmospheric beds, and suspense-building risers and drones.

Everything is well recorded and has that “big sound” right out the gate.

There is enough variety to keep you busy for sure, though I would have liked to see some performance features on the interface itself.

Maybe some quick access to eq, filter, fx, or something like that.

Overall though, very high quality sounds, heavily layered so stuff is pretty complex not just one sound.

Lot’s of transitions and combinations going on in these sounds which I like, pretty awesome for a wave library with no built in performance controls.

What’s the bottom line on Cinematic Sound Design?

I think anyone who loves film/media music, or the elements used in that genre will love this.

I also think it’s great for those who are just starting to explore the genre and may not want to make a huge investment in some of the larger libraries.

At 49 bucks, it’s really a great value because the stuff doesn’t sound cheesy or anything, it sounds like the type of sounds you would take from some of the larger libraries in this genre.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5 subs, I really liked it, I just wish there were some controls on the actual instrument panel to tweak it a bit.

That said, I can’t really find anything wrong with this, and for the price, it allows pretty much anyone to get access to some professional quality fx and noises.

Check the demo over at Big Fish: Cinematic Sound Design

of course let me know your thoughts below

It’s friday, Big Fish Friday….

Let’s get into it!

Today I’m taking a look at something that will excite those that tend to venture out into video game, media, film, trailer, and other forms of epic style music.

Sometimes you just need BIG DRUMS….

Thankfully Cinesamples felt the same way, so they decided to create Drums of War!

What is Drums of War?

Exactly what is sounds like, a library dedicated to HUGE, epic, booming drum/percussion.

It is a small, laser focused collection dedicated entirely to cinematic drum sound.

It’s not a “general use” drum library, it is a sample library made for very specific reasons.

If you’re the type that like to use big drums for battle scenes, chase scenes, monster steps, alien warship invasions, or the terrible twos of a toddler then it’s worth a look.

Quick Specs

• Content: 14 dedicated drum patches in 48k/24 bit or 96k/24 bit
• Format: kontakt and exs
• Price: $99 (48k/24 bit) and $129 (48k/24 bit)

How does it sound?

That’s the whole reason to look into a library like this, for the sound.

I really like the tone of the preset patches, they definitely deliver on the “huge” drum sound.

But what I really like is the simple eq/dynamic controls on the front panel that allow you to customize your sounds quickly.

If something isn’t “big” enough for you, it’s easy to tweak it to get exactly what you want.

I also like that it doesn’t really have that “orchestral percussion” feel that seems to come with most “cinematic” percussion libraries.

The fact that I’m free to use my own reverbs and such, and that the initial tone and quality of the drums are so up front is a plus.

I’m sure this has a lot to do with my personal preference, as I love these types of sounds, epic, and emotional.

So what is the bottom line?

The bottom line for me personally is, I find it hard to find any faults in the library.

Reason being, it’s very specific in it’s scope as well as it’s target user base.

Looking at it in light of it’s intention, I say it lives up to it’s purpose quite easily.

I give this a 5 out of 5 subs, I just really like how simple, straight forward, and great sounding this library is.

You don’t have to dig through thousands of patches to find what you need, and no matter how much you use it, this sound will never become “old” , it could quite literally be the main “big drum” library you use any time you need that sound.

Checkout the demos, (drums of war at  big fish audio) and see what else is coming out of Cinesamples, if this library is any indication, then you owe it to yourself to see what else they have in their product line.

let me know what ya think!

It’s Friday so you know what that means, time for some Big Fish!

Today I’m reviewing one of the new products from the “Beat Warrior” series that Nova Loops created exclusively for Big Fish

This one is all about the melodies, so let’s check it out

What is Platinum Synth Melodies?

It’s a collection of construction sets made up of nothing be melodies.

No drums in site.

These are specifically…synth melodies.

You get a nice collection of bass, strings, pads, leads, etc…

produced in styles useful for pop, rnb, hip hop, and other urban music.

Quick Specs

• content: 428 MB
• format: apple loops, wav, acid
• price: $49.99

How does it sound?

I’ve been a fan of Nova Loops for a little while now, I’ve always loved their melody lines, to me they were always a step above the rest, especially in RnB.

This library surprised me in the fact that they showed versatility by mixing in a lot more of the synth/pop side of things and not just rnb/rap.

They do pop very well, but this one especially had a very light euro feel mixed into it.

The styles of the loops were done right as well as the recordings, I absolutely loved some of the pads, very ambient.

They deep bass lines show what I mean about their melodies, it’s always so smooth, very good sound and good production.

There is a good variety of club, rap, pop, euro, smooth and rnb style melodies to mix, match and chop.

What’s the bottom line?

Bottom line is I really like the idea of getting nothing but melodies from the Nova Loops label and I’m glad Big Fish is exploring these types of libraries.

Perfect for those that may not be the best at certain styles, or just want variety, or maybe you just like DOPE SOUNDS.

This is a synth collection, and I can’t really find anything missing, maybe a few more west coast style leads since these guys live out in Cali

I give this a 4 out of 5 subs, it’s very useful with a great quality and a nice price.

The price is even better when you use the promo code: NOVSS1 to get $7 bucks off any Nova Loops product at Big Fish until 6/30/2010

So go on over and check them out, and add some dope melodies to your collection: www.bigfishaudio.com/novaloops

you know what time it is…..big fish friday

today I’m reviewing some urban hip hop samples

this one is called “Rotation Hip Hop”

let’s check it out

What is Rotation Hip Hop?

The idea of this library is to provide you with a collection of “radio ready” sounds and samples.

Not just one style but any and everything you’d be likely to hear on any popular urban radio station.

The crunk club smashers, the urban rnb vibes…

the chopped/pop sample style music, synth based euro gangsta lol…

you get the idea.

This is just a large collection of popular and contemporary sounding samples

Quick Specs

• Content: 2gb 24 bit wav files (4.68gb all together across formats)
• Format: wav, rex, acid, rmx, apple
• Price: $99.95

How does it sound?

It sounds like urban music…period.

I won’t lie, I was expecting some corny attempt to capture the current “trendy” style of music, I expected it to be one-sided.

This library has a lot of various styles from east to west, north to south, club to street, it’s all covered.

The production style is on point, the sounds especially keys and strings are organic, the drums bang, the synths are nice.

Everything is recorded and produced with a certain “sheen” on it, but yet still captures everything you’d expect from the particular genre it’s going after.

There are even some random vocal and other samples to give you that chopped, vocal, sample vibe yet still keeping it radio ready.

What’s the bottom line?

Bottom line is I was very surprised by this one.

I was really expecting another cliche’ “urban” library that wasn’t really a true representation of what urban music sounds like.

Especially with words like “radio ready” being used, but this was a nice, thorough collection of  various sounds.

The keys were very organic, and I really loved the clean punchiness of the drums.

I give this library a 4 out of 5 subs, it’s really good…I can definitely see this getting quite a bit of use, from the drums to the various samples.

Go on over to Big Fish and check out their demos of rotation hip hop

this just let’s me know not to overlook a library because I think it will be corny, you just never know.

It’s Friday time for another round of Big Fish goodies

This week I’m checkin out the old school flavors of Vintage RnB

Let’s check it out!

So what is Vintage R&B?

It’s a library that captures the sounds of that old school Motown and Stax Records.

It brings that live, raw, authentic sound from the 60′s and 70′s right into your sampler.

No need to dig in the crates and pay huge royalties.

You can just throw some of these loops together, slice, dice, and create.

Live drums, horns, guitar, keys, bass, etc…

all recorded in that old school style.

Quick Specs

• content: 1.9gb wav, 1.9gb apple, 1gb rex, 2.15gb multi track drum files
• format: apple loops, rex, wav, rmx
• price: $99.95

How does it sound?

This is another superbly recorded and performed collection from Big Fish

It’s funky, it’s live, and it’s got that “groove” you would expect from a collection of vintage records.

Everything is recorded tight and “in the pocket” ready to add instant feel to your music.

The drums are nice, and fun to chop up, of course there are some funky brass riffs in here that many will love.

Good quality, good production, and true to it’s intentions.

What’s the bottom line?

I like this collection, I’d use the loops together to make custom samples that I could then chop up.

I was expecting a lot more vintage keyboard sounds.  There aren’t very many rhodes, wurly, or clavi sounds.

Plenty of organ and piano, but I expected more keyboards…and some more strings.

All in all, it sounds like you’d expect, and is definitely a good library.

I give it 4 out of 5 subs, good solid collection that fills a specific need.

I’m definitely looking to more in this style from Big Fish, as they were able to capture the feel dead on.

The inclusion of multi track drums adds to the value and allows you total control over the drum tracks without losing the groove.

You can download a free demo kit from the pack here: Vintage R&B demo kit

You can also checkout the product page: Big Fish Audio Vintage R&B library

let me know what you think

It’s friday, it’s Big Fish time!

Today I am checking out something a little different.

It’s a construction kit type of product, but with a twist….NO DRUMS

let’s check it out

What is Urban Inspiration?

It is a deep collection of urban/hip hop melodies and loops, no beats, no drums, just the sauce.

It’s for those that don’t or rarely ever use drumloops, or those that have an extensive collection of drumloops and just need some stuff to lay over them.

It’s got keys, bass, synths, strings, brass, flutes, guitars, and fx….but no drums, no percussion, and no drumloops.

It’s pretty much what I do to any library I get, I take them out of construction kits, put them in folders according to their kind, and most times delete the drum loops.

Sometimes I keep a few and make a drum kit, but you know what I mean.  This is nothing but the melodies, ready to loop, slice, chop, or splice into your next track

Quick Specs

• Content: 50 construction kits, over 1.03gb of wav files (smaller sizes for rex and apple)
• Format: apple loops, rex, wav
• Price: $59.95

How does it sound?

It’s sounds pretty good, pretty much like what you’d expect.

It’s well produced with a lot of variety. Honestly, it sounds like a construction kit library wit the drums missing.

Not that you’ll actually miss them, but it’s put together just like any other construction kit library, 3-5 loops or more in a kit, various parts of the track.

There’s enough here to please pretty much anyone, from the experimental edgy synth lovers, to the mellow minor chord lovin hip hop producers.

They even through a bunch of hits and stabs in there, for those that like that choppy east coast style.

This collection is made up of pristinely recorded audio with enough variety in there for it not to get old fast.

So what’s the bottom line?

It’s a decent library, pretty much on par with most of the other libraries available from Big Fish.

It’s not the cream of the crop, top of the heap, but it’s a good collection of very usable sounds and fresh production

One thing I didn’t like is the fact that, like construction kits, the loops don’t always start on the first measure of a bar.

No problem really, but since it’s all melodies, I would have preferred it to be a bunch of loops that start on the 1, however that’s easy to work around, especially when you’re chopping them up.

I give this library 4 out of 5 subs, I like the fact that they made a library just for the melodies, many of us prefer it this way as we have our own library of drums.

Definitely check it out if your looking for some riffs and loops to add to your collection, the price proves you don’t have to break the bank to get a large collection of usable loops.

It’s another Friday…time for Big Fish Friday!

Today I’m checking out a single instrument from Big Fish Audio.

The Prosonus Grand Piano.

My reason for doing so is because it comes in akai format, and since Native Instruments Maschine now imports akai format, I wanted to test it out on a native akai library.

So let’s check it out.

What is the Prosonus Grand Piano?

It is a sample Steinway grand piano, optimized for use in digital samplers.  This library comes from the days when a piano wasn’t multiple gigabytes in size.

The largest patch in this library is 128mb, may not sound large, but don’t let that fool you.

Remember many keyboard workstations don’t even come with a gig of sample rom.

So size isn’t always equal to quality

In addition to the 128mb patch, you get the same piano in 64mb, 32mb, and 16mb, each size comes with more/less detail, with 128 being the most detailed.

How does it sound?

It actually sounds pretty good, in a day and age when physically modeled and extensively samples pianos are the norm, this well sampled, well programmed library can stand with the best of them.

You get more detailed instruments depending on which program you load.

The 16mb is sampled in major thirds and 1 velocity level, the 32mb patch is major thirds in 2 velocities, 64mb patch comes in with whole steps in 2 velocities, while the 128mb patch is sampled in half steps in 2 velocities.

I know what you’re thinking…only two velocity levels?  Trust me, it still sounds great.

The tone is clean, ready for your own reverb or other processing.  This is an example of the great sampling and programming companies had to do when memory was more of a luxury than a commodity.

What’s the bottom line?

The bottom line is it’s a solid, good sounding piano.  My main goal was to test the akai format in Native Instruments Maschine, so anyone looking for a plug and play way to expand the stock piano sounds in Maschine should definitely check this out.

The price is right, the size is right, and the sound is nice.

I gave this a 4 out of 5 subs.

I think it stands it’s own ground in a world of gigantic multilayer piano libraries.

If you don’t feel like loading up a 2 gig piano patch, check out the Prosonus Grand Piano over at Big Fish: Prosonus Grand Piano