SOUND QUALITY: 9
SELECTION: 8
BANG FOR THE BUCK: 8

Audio CD $99, CD-ROM set (incl. audio CD) $199
Akai/E-mu, Kurzweil, Roland, SampleCell
SPECTRASONICS
Bizarre Guitar

Do aural images of surreal alien landscapes filled with swirling ambient colors make you a happy camper? If so, then Spectrasonics' new Bizarre Guitar sample collection might be just what you need for the old audio toolbox. A cousin of the legendary Distorted Reality series, this new release from producer Eric Persing and guitar wizard Peter Maunu has been more than two years in the making, and it's well worth the wait.

"Bizarre" may not be the ideal adjective for the bulk of these samples, but they're certainly not your average distortion-based metal riffs. This other-worldly collection really stands out from what I've heard before. Recently I put a number of these samples to work in both ambient and hip-hop tracks I was creating for a Burning Man project, and they proved to be quite effective. Yet after more than a month of listening, it's still hard to believe that some of them are guitar-based. For me this is saying a lot, since I've been mutating and twisting the sound of the guitar in every imaginable way since the mid-'60s (whoops, showing a bit of age there).

The list of processors used to create this collection is immense. Though I do wish more info was provided on which ones were used in which samples, and even how they were set up, that would be giving up the secret sauce, which I doubt is what Spectrasonics had in mind. Key signatures are given for all of the loops. But if you're looking for loops cut to specific bpm's, the amount of loops on Bizarre Guitar (62) may not satisfy you.

I found that these samples worked well as the basis for ambient beds; for more groove-oriented work I tended to adjust the tempos using time-compression/expansion apps. If laying down a groove is your thing, you should try working with Spectrasonics' useful Groove Control section for Mac/PC. Fourteen Groove Control sequences in Logic, Performer, Cubase, Vision and SMF formats (matched to specific programs on the CD-ROM) are included in a bonus data section. I tried several of the Groove Control files and found they worked quite well when I needed to slow down or speed up the tempo. Spectrasonics tells us that more GC files will be included in future releases.

The CD-ROM programs do the job nicely. Useful filter modulation routings and easy access to combinations of samples mapped in quick menu programs, plus programs in which individual samples are mapped across the entire keyboard, made it a breeze to get around in my trusty Roland S-760. I also appreciated having the audio CD included in the package with the CD-ROM; this made it simple to quickly import samples into my Pro Tools rig for further DSP mutation.

The range of sonic ideas is vast. Spectrasonics has conveniently placed them in related categories under 13 headings with names like Eastern, Ambient, Loops and Licks, Benders, and Drones. Within these groups you'll find sub-sections such as Atonal, Arpeggiation, Edgy, Headbangers, and Mystical Loops, all of which offer a rather mind-altering vibe. All of the Ambient sounds are worth investigating; many have an accent on the melancholic, and they're full of great bed textures for instant composition ideas. Samples like Oozies 1 and 2, from the Animated Minors group, clearly suggest Middle Eastern melodies. Others, such as Circadian, Shatter, and Exhaltation, bring to mind the dreamlike soundscapes recorded by Fripp and Eno in the late Ô70s. The edgy and gritty Stabs, X-Poser FX, Slash and Burn Fuzz FX, and Atonal Loops groups offer plenty of industrial grunge inspiration.

If you want to trip out completely (and check out the goods), put the audio CD on and close your eyes for an almost 70-minute journey. Overall I found this collection an aural addict's dream come true, with plenty of creative stimulation in almost every track. If you're into ambient landscapes full of angelic textures and pulsing sonic displays of modulated ecstasy from another universe, then this is the collection for you.

-MIKAIL GRAHAM