PERFORMANCES (Loops) 4 Stars
MUSICALITY (Kits) 5 Stars
SOUND QUALITY (Kits) 4 Stars
BANG FOR THE BUCK 5 Stars


Look at the number of loop discs for sale these days and your head might spin. There's a big ol' load of material out there, but is too much of it aimed at the hip hop, house and techno markets?

Spectrasonics thinks so. They're shooting for the far right and left ends of the spectrum with a pair of new CDs: "Liquid Grooves" focuses on "organic" drum and percussion loops, while "Burning Grooves" (this month's reviewee) serves up a slammin' combination of rock, alternative, and power funk drum loops and drum kits. The drummer on "Burning Grooves" is one of L.A.'s hottest new guns: Abe Laboriel Jr. (Seal, Steve Vai, Joe Sample). He may have a famous name thanks to his bass-legend pop, but forget the name. Junior's drumming stands on its own.

Don't be misled by the "Burning Grooves" title. In addition to the drum loops, there's a library of expressively programmed drum kits onboard the CD-ROM. (Note: Purchasers of the audio CD version get the loops, but not the kits.) And also know that while "Burning Grooves" lives up to its name, the loops are far from Pantera-like. There are no double-bass thunder booms of doom or White Zombie grinders. Instead, you'll get straight-on rock-oriented beats with more of a Zeppelin or Aerosmith vibe, and other pumped grooves suitable for grunge, hi-energy funk, and the like. There's even a short section of odd-time patterns.

As we've come to expect from the Eric Persing production team, the sounds and formatting on this CD-ROM are excellent. Sizzling cymbals and punchy tubs are the name of the game. And not just natural sounds: There are plenty of bizarro, fuzzed and buzzed beauties, not to mention cool stereo bounces, underwater warbles, and AM radio-like EQ and compression. According to Persing, "We used heavy compression and guitar amp processing to create the in-your-face mixes." They also used a wild line-up of drums and cymbals, such as 4" hi-hats, China and ride cymbals (used as hi-hats), two snares at the same time, cymbals stacked on snares, and so on.

And the beats aren't too shabby either. "I would definitely use some of these in a tune," says JA, "not only because the playing is good, but because I like the modern sound design Ñ it's colorful, yet not pretentious." Accompanying most of the full on slammers are alternate versions of the same beats minus the kick, for example, or minus the snare. And unlike all-too-many live drum loop discs that have the same one or two mixes from start to finish, "Burning Grooves" takes top honors for providing one new mix after another.

Listening to isolated loops is one thing; sticking them in a track is another. So over the course of this review I loaded as many of the loops as possible in Pro Tools, looped them, and tested them in solo and song situations. In the end, I came away with an overall positive feeling. But ....after two decades worshipping in the church of Jeff Porcaro, my ears have become very critical to time and groove. While Abe lays down killer beats throughout this collection, his bass drum does occasionally push uncomfortably against the snare and hat (audio CD tracks 27 and 32, for example). But again, this happens only on occasion, and the effect is minimal, Jim Aikin's overall assessment: "Rock-solid playing." And I agree.

The only other item I noticed during my sessions, for better or worse, was the abundance of high-tuned snares. (Listen to the audio CD's demo track to hear the type I'm talking about.) Five or so years ago, shallow shells ruled the snare market, but now they've worn out their welcome in this reviewer's opinion. I'm not advocating a return to the thumpy cardboard box of the '70's or the wet wall-of-snare from the '80's, but piercing piccolos are starting to get on my nerves a bit. Fortunately, there are plenty of other snare types on this disc.

As mentioned earlier, the "Burning Grooves" CD-ROM offers more than just loops. The drum kits span a wide range, from dry and natural to booming wet and delicious lo-fi. Expressive and realistic are two words that come to mind when using kits. No funky truncations, no weird loops Ñ these beauties sing. In each kit you'll find lots of variations (flams, rolls, and so on), velocity crossfades (ride cymbal center to bell, and the like), and realistic programming (the closed hats choke the open hats, for example). If you've ever attempted to create your own drum kits from scratch on a sampler, you'll know what a pain it can be. Thanks to Spectrasonics for doing the dirty work for us.

Having said that, we feel it's our duty to warn audiophiles that our team of listeners detected a bit of hiss in the kicks, snares, and toms Ñ but only when each sound was auditioned one at a time, and at a healthy volume level. In a track context, the noise was 99 percent inaudible. Persing tells us he let the sounds decay fully to achieve maximum realism. He says vintage mics and compressors aren't necessarily the quietest pieces of gear, but are essential for getting that characteristic slammin' sound.

Before wrapping up, we'd like to commend Spectrasonics for providing the "Burning Grooves" audio CD free to purchasers of the CD-ROM version. (No mail-in rebate necessary; the audio disc comes bundled with the CD-ROM.) For CD-ROM users, having the audio version serves two important purposes: in addition to having the audio disc for use with other sampler formats, you'll find it useful for auditioning loops quickly. Excellent.

Call it a coincidence: Jim Aikin's sound review this month (Kickin' Lunatic Beats II) is very much in the "Burning Grooves" ballpark. Both discs offer plenty of non-"dance" drum loops, both feature a wide gamut of dry and processed sounds, and both are excellent values. Which disc is for you? Let your ears decide. Which disc is for us? Both.

-Greg Rule