This month let’s take a look back to our musical history, to a time where music was changing the world and influencing the direction of music into what it is today. Detroit was the capital of the R&B and Soul movement of the 60’s and 70’s and out of it came a sound the world had never heard before. Artists like Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, and even Michael Jackson were all part of this music that is still so popular and loved today.
Big Fish Audio and Funk Soul Productions have set out to capture these wonderful sounds and rhythms in our two highlighted products for this month. the first product to highlight, is Vintage R&B. Vintage R&B, a winner of the Music Tech Magazine “Excellence Award”, sets to capture some of the earliest sounds of R&B with it’s funky horns, rhythmic guitars, smooth strings, and incredible drum parts. There are 25 different construction kits all formatted in WAV, REX, and Apple Loop formats. In addition we’ve included and easy double click RMX format installer for all you Stylus users.
Next up is Detroit Soul. Detroit Soul was awarded 10/10 and given the Music Tech Magazine “Excellence Award” as well. Aiming for the very heart of Soul Music, Detroit Soul definitely hits the mark. You may just enjoy listening to these 28 construction kits as each one will bring you back to a time when music wasn’t about auto-tune, and predictability but about real musicianship and incredible songwriting.
Make sure to download the free sample packs from each of these products. This is a great way to preview each product before you buy.
Electri6ity continues to impress and receive rave reviews from critics, producers, musicians and composers. Take a look Computer Music’s review below and read why they gave Electri6ity their Editor’s Choice and Performance Awards.
We crank it up to 11 with this multisampled library of eight classic axes, including built-in amp simulation
The workstation guitar patches of yesteryear typically used a handful of feeble-sounding samples, or, even worse, cheesy FM synthesis. The results were thoroughly unconvincing, but the tables have since turned, Vir2’s new Electri6ity sample library being a case in point.
It’s in Kontakt format and comes with the Kontakt Player, so you needn’t be a Kontakt owner to use it. Over 24,000 samples make up each of the eight guitars. At the twangier end of the scale, you’ve got a Fender Strat and Tele, with their natural enemy the Gibson Les Paul at the other. There are two LPs, in fact: one standard and one with P90 pickups. Jazz cats will lap up the dulcet tones of the Gibson ES-335 and L4, while indie jangle and fizzy pop can be had with the Rickenbacker and Danelectro axes. All are played with a pick – there’s legato playing, of course, but no fingered plucking.
There are four main views – Performance being the default – with sliders for basic parameters like pickup (front, rear or both), strum speed, vibrato type/strength/speed, etc.
Oh, the humanity!
Electri6ity’s behind-the-scenes scripting does a lot to interpret and ‘humanise’ parts – it’s a bit like having a virtual guitarist to go along with your virtual guitar. For example, play a chord and it detects this, rapidly triggering the notes in sequence, just as a guitarist would strike a chord. Chords are converted into guitar voicings and picking direction is handled automatically.
All of the ‘artificial intelligence’ features can be disabled or further configured in the Settings panel, which offers a ridiculous degree of control over the characteristics of strumming, picking, vibrato and so on. There are also extra features, such as sympathetic resonance (unplayed strings softly ring when playing chords). Any Settings parameter can be assigned to any MIDI CC.
All guitars have been recorded dry and direct, for running through an amp sim plug-in. There are also ‘Amped’ patches, with an extra panel for effects (delay, reverb, modulation), a Tube Screamer-alike and a straightforward amp sim.
So, the sound. You’ve heard an electric guitar, right? Well, it sounds a lot like that, and is good for pretty much any style: rock rhythm, smooth jazz comping, screaming metal leads, twanging clean tones – you name it, Electri6ity can handle it. We weren’t expecting much from the built-in amp sim, but were pleasantly surprised – it’s thoroughly usable. It’s also a lot of fun to try out different guitars mid-session, layer them, etc.
Omissions are that the Strat doesn’t have all five pickup positions sampled, and there’s no full-on detuned metal axe either. All guitars do go down to a meaty C, but an EMG-loaded seven-stringer would’ve been nice. Creating convincing parts is fairly painless, with the humanising features helping a great deal. It’s worth tweaking their settings – the release noise types and so on – to suit the piece. If anything, Electri6ity can sound a bit too proficient at times: for instance, fast runs in the Solo/Legato mode are very clean, and we found it sometimes sounded more authentic to program them in Poly mode and overlap some of the notes a bit. Still, what you’ve got is essentially a super-tight session player on tap.
This is the most comprehensive virtual electric guitar package we’ve seen, doing for guitars what Superior Drummer and BFD did for drums. – Computer Music
Technical Difficulties
Articulation switching is mainly handled through the extensive keyswitching system, which is easier to use then it might appear. The three main keyswitches to get down are those for Poly, Solo (picked) and Legato modes. Others offer trills, tremolo picking, pinch haronics, muted playing, hammer ons, pull ofs and slides. There are also FX like whammy bar dives and pick slides. Toward the top of the keyboard are keys for right-hand motions such as strum up/down and picking of individual strings.
Vir2’s AMT (Articulation Morphing Technology) enables you to seamlessly blend articulations using velocit or a MIDI CC. The same Vir2 morphing technology is also used for velocity layers. It’s not simple crossfading, nor does it use Kontakt’s AET morphing – Vir2 has cooked it up themselves, and it soundss very natural.
Verdict
For
– Can sound very convincing
– Eight distinct guitars
– Good built-in amp sim
– Extensive articulations with morphing
– Articulation/velocity morphing
– Fine-grained control over AI behaviour
Against
– No deep-tuned metal guitar
– Doesn’t offer all Strat pickup positions
– Doesn’t offer all Strat pickup positions |
Hook City: RnB Edition from VIP Loops has come in at number one in our loops ranking for the month of September. With 15 one of a kind multi-track construction loop sets that all include vocal hooks, this is a must have for hip hop, R&B and pop producers. Ambient Skyline, Detroit Soul, G-Strings and R&B Swagga all maintained spots in the top ten, as well as Xtended Series titles Classic Rock and Electri-Fried Blues.
Electri6ity reclaimed the number one instrument spot with Cinesample’s new Voxos: Epic Virtual Choirs coming in second after shipping for only part of the month. These are two great instruments that will surely be battling it out for the top spot for the month of October.
Big Fish Audio announces its new Textured Series. From the makers of the Xtended Series, the Textured Series is a compilation of sonic layers that embody emotional elements of realism and fantasy, fused to create tracks so full of life you’ll be able to feel the soul of the music as it comes alive. This series knows no musical boundaries and enhances all musical genres its placed with. So whether you’re needing a few rhythms and textures to add dimension to your existing tracks or want that one of a kind melodic hook that can jump start the creative juices the Textured Series always has you covered.
The first products in the incredible new series include Modern Rock, Mariachi, Pop & Soul Guitars and Quirky Guitars.
Modern Rock is a massive 8 GB collection with the sound of groups like Paramore, 30 Seconds to Mars, Death Cab for Cutie, Fall Out Boy,The Black Keys, Muse, and My Chemical Romance. This library allows you to harness the creative essence of the electric guitar and bass backed by the raw emotional power of roaring amplifiers.
Mariachi embraces the swagger and sway of Mexican Mariachi music. Spice up your tracks with Son Jaliscience, Ranchera, Huapango, Jarabe and other traditional and modern rhythms of Mexico that will have you screaming ¡Que Viva el Mariachi! Seamlessly weave the spirit of Mexico into your track with the raw sounds of the Gritos vocals, the melodious Coro vocals, the low call of the Guitarron, the impetuous chords strummed from the Vihuela and Guitar, and no mariachi would be complete without the spicy, soaring melodies coming from the Violins and Trumpets.
Amplify your soul with this exhaustive collection of R&B, Soul and Pop Guitar Loops. This massive 8 GB collection is a tribute to the raw emotion that fuels the creative forces of artists like Usher, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake, The Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys, Pink, and Beyonce. This library contains 25 Kits jammed full of the hottest electric, acoustic and nylon guitar loops available. Each and every kit contains four different song sections (Verse, Chorus, Bridge/Breakdown and Outro) to build and infuse your tracks with. These authentic live-played guitar loops will add a combination of power and smoothness that will make your tracks stand out.
Quirky Guitar is an extensive collection that focuses on Melodies, Rhythms and Textures through the instruments of the acoustic guitar (hi-strung, de-tuned, natural) banjo, mandolin, vintage electric guitars, glockenspiel, bells, music boxes, old synths, organs and others secret ingredients that create a masterful feast fit for any creative genius. Step through the looking glass and enter a musical world of upside down and inside out with these fresh new sounds!
It’s time for the production department pick of the month. Every month I scour our catalog to highlight a few products that I think truly exemplify quality libraries that our customers will want to hear about. This month I want to bring your attention to two hip hop libraries that focus on the trending Dirty South style.
First off let’s look at Kings of the South: Dirty Crunk Kits. This particular product has been at the top of the Big Fish Audio top sellers for a number of months now. This product nails the sound to a “T” with loads of 808’s, saw synth leads, massive horns, vocal BGV’s, and everything else that is Dirty South. The hooks are catchy and the sounds are well crafted, making it a breeze to construct your own Dirty South hit.
Our second product we will look at is Off the Hook Dirty South 2. If you are familiar with the “Off the Hook” series then you would already know this product is going to contain top quality loop content with excellent production quality. Volume 1 was a complete smash hit and volume 2 has raised the bar to a whole new level. There are 41 construction kits and from top to bottom you’ll find a ton of high quality Dirty South loops and sounds that will keep you rockin for a long time.