MusicRadar Verdict
Good value, plenty of instant gratification fun, but with useful and easily accessible editing.
Pros
- +
Loads of samples.
Cons
- -
None.
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Sample Magic is a well-regarded purveyor of Dance and Electronica-flavoured sample packs.
Bloq sees it distill all this knowledge into virtual instrument form. It comes in two parts - drums and synths - with each available as a Kontakt 5 instrument, Ableton 9 racks or Logic Pro X presets for EXS-24 and Ultrabeat.
What you get is over 7,000 samples taken from an array of the tastiest gear from the last 40 years processed through high-end outboard gear.
In Kontakt, this means that you have the full range of sequencing and processing options afforded by its extremely flexible synth engine and all presented within a suitably retro-styled interface.
Synths are an editable selection of very usable bass, pads, leads and more. Drums include kit presets which can be mixed up and tweaked heavily for your own flavours.
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“I got to jam with Stevie Wonder. Just me and him, one afternoon. We each had a keyboard and we were just trading riffs and jamming together and it was like, ‘Wow’”: Howard Jones talks vintage gear, his new piano album and that 1985 Grammys synth medley