Experimental Dubstep Vol 3

Yet another quality pack crammed with goodies...

by Dave Colville, Bognor Regis Guardian - July 2012

Yet another quality pack crammed with goodies that belie the bargain price.

Fed up of the same old wobbly bass stuff that you've heard time after time? Then grab this pack with both hands because 'Experimental Dubstep Vol 3' is a genuine breath of fresh air.

Believe me, I am not having a rant about good old dubstep in its rawest form, it's just that we all like something a bit different and this pack from Jeff Rhodes is a belter in all aspects.

Jeff says: "The goal was to get into the sound of it, but to still keep a little bit of that outsider style going on. The touch of industrial music influence I tried to add was what I feel makes it all fall into place in these kits."

How right he is and these five construction kits offer all the sounds you need to set you well apart from the run-of-the-mill crowd. There is also another round of applause due to Jeff for making every kit the same tempo – 140bpm.

Not that this matters with Producer Loops output because everything timestretches to perfection when you fancy slotting a sound into a different genre, but with everything at a set tempo it saves time which of course is great when all you want to do is make a track. Simples!

It has fascinated me for a year or so now that good old trance used to always be belting along at 140bpm and DnB used to rattle the speakers at anything from 150bpm to 175bpm. Then along came dubstep which seemed to take command of the 140bpm genre with trance slipping down to 135 or 138.

Other dubstep maestros, the Moody Boys, up the speed of their output to the mid-150s, so things have been 'thrown out of the window' for many a month.

This of course is good because we all need change and a different direction.

All in all, what I mean to say is that if you have any old trance libraries floating about, then dig out those 140bpm beats and slap them in with this collection’s sounds and get 'trance-step' and don't forget to 'notch down' those old DnB samples too– it’s very enjoyable to mix and match.

Of course, the construction kits themselves are the perfect way for newbies to start making music. Honed to perfection, the sounds will easily teach beginners what goes with what, how to perfect an intro, bridge, whatever – an ideal present for your youngster’s next birthday.

Jeff Rhodes added: "I’ve always liked mixing things up, and anything as heavy and sci-fi sounding as Dubstep was just naturally going to find it’s way into my head.

By the time I got into really investigating Dubstep, it had evolved into such a powerful sound that it was impossible to ignore and I had to get my hands on it.

I wanted to use the momentum of all the wobble basses, tweak the videogame synth sounds, ride the triplet hi-hat rhythms, and nail down the tight kick & snare beat that drives this energetic new music.

And the FX breaks were like an all expenses paid vacation! What more can I say about getting to make such chaotic soundscapes in the middle of a track?"