SAMPLE SHOP

The Bill Laswell Collection is a four-volume set aimed squarely at Acid users, although any application supporting WAV files should be able to make use of the content. The first three volumes contain standard16-bit files, while volume four (supplied on two CD-ROMs) is the first 24-bit library produced by Sonic Foundry.

If you like loops on the weird side of strange, this collection could well have something to offer, and the titles of the individual volumes (False Encryptions, Undocument, Letter of Law, and Covert Diaspora) confirm that we're some distance from bland pop with this material. The loops on each CD are split into five categories: Ambient, Electronica, Hip Hop, Rock-Funk and World, and in total, the four volumes contain approximately 2600 original license-free loops. While the material within the four volumes is diverse, it does cover the same broad territory, so mixing and matching between the different volumes works well.

The Ambient sections include sub-categories such as Textures, Scrapes, Orchestral, Drones, Percussion, Noise and Fx. On listening, it's obvious that Laswell wasn't thinking about setting a gentle relaxation mood here since all the material has a dark quality.

Within the Electronica sections, the loops are split into Bass, Drums and Percussion, Fx, Guitar, and Keyboard groups. While this suggests a fairly conventional palette, the majority of the loops are highly processed and, again, some fairly sinister creations can be produced.

The Hip-Hop loops contain the same sub-groups, but include further sub-categories such as Tables (turntable loops) or Voice (mostly spoken phrases). Again, these loops are not generic construction kits, and there's plenty of character that could be used to add an experimental edge to something a little more mainstream.

Speaking of mainstream neatly brings us (relatively speaking) to the Rock-Funk sections. Here, the Drums and Percussion, Bass, and Guitar sub-groups include some fairly conventional, but very good, loops. For example, there are some excellent guitar loops that work well in a rock or blues type context. However, Laswell hasn't gone soft on us and there's also a healthy dose of the weird and wonderful -- just don't expect Jamiroquai.

In terms of instrumentation, the World sections are the most diverse. Loops here include sub-categories for Conga, Tabla, Baglama, Talking Drums, Coral Sitar, Drones and Dumbek amongst a number of others. The emphasis is on rhythm and percussion within this section and there is an abundance of very useable loops.

The audio quality throughout volumes one to three is excellent, except, of course, where lo-fi is used intentionally, but careful listening to the 24-bit volume four does suggest a greater clarity and depth. With musicians moving towards higher resolutions, demand for 24-bit content will increase, and during my review Acid Pro 3 mixed and matched the 16-bit and 24-bit samples without any problem.

If your needs are for straight pop, dance or hip-hop, The Bill Laswell Collection is probably not for you. However, for those of a more experimental nature, these libraries are worth checking out. For media work, there are some great textures here that could easily sit behind sci-fi, horror, or industrial/urban pictures, but perhaps not for a fluffy romantic comedy. Very dark, very weird, and very good. John Walden

	Volumes I-III £39.99; boxed set (Volumes I-IV) £222; both prices include VAT.
	SCV London +44 (0)20 7923 1892.
	+44 (0)20 7241 3644.
	www.scvlondon.com
	www.sonicfoundry.com

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