Basically, the principle that ReCycle and Groove Control operate from is the same, but the results of Groove Control are much more "guaranteed". This is because Groove Control delivers the final patch and samples, where REX files basically have the marker info embedded with the audio file....but you have no guarantee of how well the cutting was done. The person who set-up the file could have done it very well or very poorly. If you check out some of the REX files out there you'll see what I mean. There are many issues that affect the end musical result that people often miss.

Where REX is basically a file format, Groove Control is a proprietary system of groove library development, that is currently only authorized for use by Spectrasonics and ILIO. It is less of a "technology" than it is more like a gourmet "recipe". We don't let any Groove Control products out that don't meet certain standards for musicality and technical excellence. Library developers must first train to master the process, before releasing anything with the Groove Control label.

Perhaps all of this sounds a bit like "Jedi-knight" training! Well, we aren't that crazy, but we do really care that the results of every Groove Control product meet the same set of standards. That way we can ensure that all the products that bear the Groove Control logo, will have the same results. All of the licensed Groove Control library developers regularly meet and exchange information on improving the Groove Control process and in how the products are presented, so that there is as much consistency as possible. Even small things like the naming of the files is standardized and easy to understand, where with REX libraries, you'll often find names that look like this (1-100 2+4N D.rx2)!

Also, while ReCycle 2 is an outstanding program (and one that I would highly recommend to anyone wishing to cut-up their own grooves), it doesn't work perfectly for every type of material. We use many different methods, a lot of "hand-tweaking" and some custom software tools to achieve consistently high-quality results on our Groove Control products. Another thing is that all Groove Control products are available in stereo, where REX files are divided between REX1 (mono) and REX2 (stereo).

Since it isn't a proprietary file format, Groove Control works with almost every kind of pro sampler and sequencer on the market that reads Akai S-3000 format. The EXS24/Logic combo works particularly well for Groove Control. However, you do need some kind of sampler to use a Groove Control library, where REX files can be used directly in some host applications (Reason, Cubase, Logic 5, etc).

When comparing Groove Control to using ReCycle, the most obvious difference is that all the work has already been done for you in a Groove Control product. "ReCycling" a groove takes a lot of time and skill, but the one advantage is that you can ReCycle your own grooves.