If you’ve taken any notice to the Big Fish Audio monthly top ten blog lately you would have noticed that there has been a ton of great rock products on this list. This month I want to highlight a couple of these rock products that have both spent a good number of months in our top ranking. Both of these products feature indie rock construction kits, which have become extremely popular in today’s rock scene. As you check these products out you’ll notice a depth of emotion and lush character that has been infused into each kit. The guitar hooks are infectious and the drum and bass grooves just fit the part to a tee.
The first product produced under the partnership of Majorn9ne and Big Fish Audio was Indie: Rock Collection Vol.1 This library consists of 10 jam packed construction kits full of live played drums, electric guitars, basses, acoustic guitars, synths, and all with an indie rock sensibility that even the most discerning ears will love. Each kit contains multiple variations as well as intros, endings and everything else you need to make either a quick 30 second commercial spot or a full length indie rock hit.
Second up this month was the sophomore release of majorn9ne, Indie Rock Addiction. Indie Rock Addiction adds even more of the good stuff with 14 expertly crafted indie rock construction kits. If you are a fan of Death Cab for Cutie, Panic at the Disco, or Snow Patrol then you will definitely have what this product has to offer.
This month we wanted to highlight a couple of unique libraries that have been exceptionally recorded and have loads of musical inspiration. Both of these libraries heavily feature acoustic guitars of various types and perfectly fill a niche of music that is a little off beat but is heard all over the place. You’ll hear this type of music from top charting records all the way to commercials. With both libraries being part of the textured series, these sounds are certainly ready to fit in your music with minimal effort or tweaking.
Island Guitars is a brand new library that features a blend of Pop, Reggae, Hawaiian, Calypso, and Soca. This 4 GB collection (1.6 gb of original 24-bit WAV files) features Ukulele, Slide and Lap Steel, Acoustic, Nylon, Hi String and 12 String, Baritone and Electric Guitars, Resonator and Dobro and a very healthy dose of Percussion (Shakers, Congas, Cajon, Bongos, Djembe, Cowbell, Timbales, Tambourine, Maracas and Brushed Snare). These sounds are certainly not contained to the island but have broken away to the mainland with sounds that fit the vibe of many current artists such as, Ingrid Michaelson, Bruno Mars, Train, Jack Johnson, Jimmy Buffet, Kenny Chesney, Ziggy Marley, Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo’ole and the Black Eyed Peas.
Quirky Guitars is another library featuring various types of guitars with a unique vibe and sound that will fit with many popular genres of music. You’ll find acoustic guitar (recordings include hi-strung, de-tuned, natural, etc.) banjo, mandolin, vintage electric guitars, glockenspiel, bells, music boxes, old synths, and organs that are perfect for weaving in unique rhythms, melodies, and textures into your music.
Both of these libraries contain such a unique and fresh approach for a loop library they are bound to just make you happy listening through them. If you’re looking for a clean and polished sound but with character that’s a little bit “different”, then definitely check out Quirky Guitars and Island Guitars.
Big Fish Audio has had a proud history of creating top of the line products since 1986. This year marks 25 years of amazing libraries which have been used in countless top charting records, film scores, TV commercials as well as in the music of hundreds of thousands bedroom music makers all over the world. This month I wanted to highlight the 10 top selling Big Fish Audio loop libraries of all time. To those of you who are relatively new to the Big Fish catalog of products these products may be completely new to you while you long time customers will probably recognize these titles if you don’t own a few of them already. So let’s open up the vault and take a look at a bit of history with the Big Fish Audio Top 10 Loop Libraries of All Time!!!
…oh and by the way all of these products will be 30% off for the month of July so you too can own one of these BFA classics.
#10 Cut’n it up 3 – Perfectly crafted and chopped samples for a bit of hip hop flavor.
#9 Off the Hook Vol.1 – From the top selling series of all time, this little gem started it all.
#8 Greg Adams Big Band Brass – High quality big brand loops and samples.
#7 Freaky Jazz Funky – A cross genre blend of pure musical magic
#6 Off the Hook Hip Hop: Dirty South – This is the youngin’ on the list, also from the “off the hook” series
#5 Breakbeat – The first of 3 volumes truly did capture this iconic drumloop sound
#4 Brush Artistry – A truly unique drum loop library collection with a lot of musical possibilities. (I do want to take this time to mention that the long awaited volume 2 is almost here!)
#3 LA Drum Sessions Vol.1 – Our top selling drumloop library of all time is truly a great grab bag of usable acoustic drum loops for many genres and sounds.
#2 Off the Hook 2 – This product contains some of the most iconic R&B style melodic hooks in the entire BFA catalog of libraries.
drumroll please…..
#1 Neo Soul: the new sound of hip hop and R&B – This soulful and smooth collection truly captured the attention of our customers and has risen all the way to the top of sales.
Make sure to check back in the year 2036 to find out how our top selling libraries of all has changed after 50 years.
It’s that time of year; schools out, vacations are set, and the pool is perfect. In other words…it’s time to get your party on! What better way to kick off a great summer than with a couple of Big Fish Audio scorchers in Electro Pop Hits and Risque´: Pop Kits. If you’re looking for a couple of uptempo Pop products to get down to and make a few hits with then this is what you are looking for.
Electro Pop Hits leans a little more to the Electro sound that is so popular these days. There are tons of great sounding synth leads, arpeggios, pads, as well as sfx, four on the floor drums, and a ton more to drive your tracks to a whole new level. The price is right as well at $29.95
Risque´: Pop Kits resides a few bpm slower than Electro Pop Hits but still brings the heat and some amazingly catchy pop construction kits. Risque has a bit more of an urban feel to many of the tracks and would be ideal for making tracks in the style of Rihanna, Ke$ha, and many others. Just like Electro Pop Hits, Risque´is also $29.95
For this month’s pick we are going to look at a couple of outstanding percussion libraries. These aren’t collections of standard shakers and tambourines but instead you will find Riqs, Dehollahs, Tablas, Tavils, Kanjeeras, Dholak, and many other percussion instruments from both the Middle East and India.
First, let’s look at Rhythms of Arabia. Rhythms of Arabia is a finely crafted collection of percussion loops from the Arab world. Inside this product you’ll find over 1000 loops played in various different rhythmic styles from that region. The product is organized by BPM with various folders of different instruments contained within. The loops are recorded dry, giving you the freedom to place them in your music with ease and maximum flexibility.
Score of India contains a few similar instruments to Rhythms of Arabia but stands alone with it’s own unique vibe and feel. As you may assume from the name of this product, Score of India is a perfect fit for any film/tv score needing a boost of energy and drive from authentic Indian percussion. Whether you are scoring an action packed drama, a soaring landscape, or a high speed chase scene, you’ll find a perfect fit with these loops.
It’s February, and as it’s been cold up here in the United States so let’s heat it up a bit with a couple of products just begging to be used in your next chart topping track. This month I’ll be looking over a couple of Hip Hop products that provide you with live instruments that normally wouldn’t be accessable to most people.
Nothing sets apart a track more than the use of live strings. Live string players are expensive and it takes a lot of experience to record and capture the nuances of these instruments. Big Fish Audio has made it a bit easier to include live strings in your Hip Hop, Pop, or R&B tracks with Urban String Sessions. Urban String Sessions provides and excellent assortment of live string loops recorded in a mid-size studio setting. Each loop includes various parts and sections broken out to allow for further arrangement and custom mixing. Any way you slice it I think you’ll love how quickly and easily these loops will fit with your music.
My second selection for the month contains live played Indian percussion played along with hip hop beats. Hip Hop India was played by master percussionist Sanket Athale. What truly makes this library stand out from ordinary ethnic percussion libraries is Sanket’s ability to incorporate expertly played Indian percussion with a modern approach. Take a listen to the demos and you’ll hear what I mean. Every instrument was recorded in complete isolation allowing you to select and choose the exact group of instruments of your choosing. No sample library one-shots will ever replace the nuance and feel of a live player and Hip Hop India is truly no exception.