Kaboom.  Two sample CD's to review today, and I bring news of some kool stuff too.  Prime Loops have just announced a big winter sale, where everything is 25% off until the end of the month.  Check out their website for more info.  Loopmasters, on the other hand, have just announced that for December, you get double 'virtual cash' (a bit like Tesco clubcard points) on anything you buy over the next two weekends - which you can then redeem for discounts or even free sample packs.  Check them out here.

On to the reviews, and the first one is Prime Loops 'Temple Of Breaks' pack.  It's a straight up drums pack, full of loops from 170 - 182 BPM, and aimed away from the standard DnB template, looking more towards the drumfunk and techstep crews; there is also a good selection of sparse, halfstep beats in there, acknowledging the current dubstep-inspired trends from the likes of D:Bridge.  Everything sounds tight and well produced, and there is a good variety of sounds; beats based around rimshots and bongos as well as the usual chopped kick and snare malarkey.  Speaking as a minor drumfunk nerd, if I had a complaint it would be that there aren't an awful lot of crisp, acoustic sounding drums; there's more of a tougher, distorted emphasis here. If you're looking to rival the next DJ Hazard wobbler, you won't find too much of interest, but anyone looking a bit beyond that should find more than enough styles to get some inspiration.  The sale I mentioned above also brings the price of the pack down to less than a tenner, which makes it definitely well worth a look.

http://www.primeloops.com/loops-samples/product/the-temple-of-breaks~98/

The second pack for review is Loopmasters 'Push Button Bang: Rise' pack.  This is quite an interesting one, as instead of focusing on a particular style of music, it focuses on a particular element comment to most styles - the 'woosh' noise.  Don't laugh, I mean it - FX noises that people use in build-ups, breakdowns, sparser parts of tunes, or just to add some atmosphere here and there.  This pack has 540 such noises, and they basically cover the whole angle - FX noises that go from low to high, high to low, left to right and vice versa, noises that fade in, noises that fade out and ones that do neither so that you can just loop them seamlessly.  It even includes white noise and pink noise, just for completion's sake.  I've got to say, I'm rather impressed; instead of trying to offer a bit of everything, it just keeps to one element and does it very, very, well.  If you're looking for transitional type effects noises; look no further.

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