Funky House Producer

(Verdict: 7/10)

Funky house is...

by Music Tech Magazine (May 2005)

(Verdict: 7/10)

Funky house is quite distinct from other styles of house music in that it’s not quite as relentless and relies less upon a straight four-to-the-bar bass drum beat and more upon groove. Other key ingredients are funky bass lines, disco-style rhythm guitars, Latin percussion and dreamy, shimmering effects, all of which are abundant on this new sample CD, Funky House Producer, from Loopmasters.
Produced by Andy Lee for the Origin Series, Funky House Producer contains an up-to-the-minute collection of loops that perfectly capture the sounds and ambiences currently filling the floors of clubs around the world. It sounds fresh and it sounds new – and that’s important if you’re into producing club music, because samples CDs of this type tend to date quickly.

All the content on this disc is copyright-free (.WAV, Rex2 and NNXt patches), split into four tempo groups (115, 120, 125 and 130BPM) and available in various keys. Most of the loops are two bars long and sit well together, which is essential for this style of music. 350 drum loops span the four tempo groups, but if you’d rather make your own, a huge variety of hits can be found in the Drum Toolkit folder, a feature found on other CDs in this series.

What you’re getting is without doubt a quality product – very well played, expertly crafted loops at a very reasonable price.

(Score 4.5/5)

This is, strictly...

by Computer Music Reason Special (Summer, 2005)

(Score 4.5/5)

This is, strictly speaking, not a ReFill – it’s a collection of REX loops and WAV files. The first half of the collection is a selection of high quality and original loops, suitable not just for funky house, but any type of house or garage. The production is crisp and current, and should provide the building blocks for many tracks. Moving on, we get to a variety of musical hits, loops and stabs. Though not quite as varied and useful as the loops, there are still plenty to keep you going, and a few nuggets for the synth-spotting brigade, including whole kits from E-MU’s Orbit V2 Dance Planet.

"If this absolute gem of a disc doesn't fix up...

by Remix Magazine (September 2005)

"If this absolute gem of a disc doesn't fix up your mix or spur you to write a new track, you're in the wrong business."

Those who produce deep four-on-the-floor house can never have too many fresh loop libraries at their disposal. House is a genre of dance music with perhaps more regional flavors than any other, and Funky House Producer does it's damnedest to bring them right to your doorstep.
This single CD comes packed with more than 1,500 samples and covers may bases, the majority given to one-bar percussion breaks and drum loops but also touching on instrument phrases, effects, multi-sampled pianos, chords and pads. Arranged by tempo (115,120, 125 and 130 bpm) or sound, as appropriate, samples are provided as WAV, REX2 and NN-XT patches, including seven drum kits. Funk is at the forefront throughout and nowhere more so than in the 340 absolutely superb drum loops. Nicely balanced between real and machine, the distinctly regional-sounding beats are highly original and often supplied with no-kick and breakdown variants. From Miami, New York and London to Paris, Berlin and Ibiza, the tribal, Latin, hard and tech house styles are well represented with nary a hint of "glam."

Interesting rhythms, syncopations, filtering and effecting of individual percussion elements make each loop stand out, including tweaky doses of tasty compressor and effects-sidechain artifacts.

Keyboard Magazine - Francis Preve

by Keyboard Magazine (September 2005)

Keyboard Magazine - Francis Preve

When it comes to ubergroovy funk- and disco-style loops capable of shaking both booties and rafters, the pickins among today's pantheon of sample loop libraries are a bit slim. So when Funky House Producer crossed my desk, I raised an eyebrow and hoped for the best, since my copy of eLab's NuDirections practically has a hole in it after years of use.

Wow. This collection really caught me off guard. For starters, the drum loop selection is wonderful, with everything from super-shuffly DJ Sneak-style excursions to smooth San Francisco vibes a la classic Naked Music and the latest offerings from Om Records. The Acidized WAV versions are grouped by bpm into four folders, each one containing tons of loops with several variations of each for quickly arranging buildups and breakdowns with minimal fuss. All of these loops come in REX2 flavors also, so you can drop them into pretty much any sequencer or DAW and get rolling. And if you just want to roll your own loops with these sounds, no problem, as individual hits are also included in a separate drum "toolz" folder. Additionally, an array of useful bass guitar and synth loops is included and these compliment the vibe of the drum material quite nicely.

The guitar loops and single hits - 42 WAV and 16 REX2 - groove along with equal aplomb. If you're into filters and French house, you'll be in heaven. Frankly, I prefer to add my own processing to guitars, but there were enough tasty licks to provide ample inspiration for even finicky producers. The 60 or so music loops and phrases are also heavily filtered and processed, but are excellent examples of modern house production with an emphasis on jazzy Rhodes flavored with seventh and ninth chords, classic house piano comping, and a smattering of electronic yet organic riffs.

Reason-based house producers will likely dig the selection of included NN-XT basses and electric pianos for creating their own riffs. Many include only two sample keymaps per octave and no velocity switching. Even so, there's some useful stuff in here, especially when you add a touch of filtering and effects to match the other loops in this collection.

For a street price of about 50 bucks, Funky House Producer is a truly useful grab bag for DJs, remixers, and musicians who want to nail that deep and funky sound without breaking the bank.