*********************************** AM/FM ***********************************  .oO SAMPLOGRAPHY - Pete Gleadall Oo. <---------------------------->  especially written for AM/FM by André Meyer  Pete Gleadall has worked together with many well known groups and musicians: Pet Shop Boys, George Michael, Soul 2 Soul, Living in a Box etc. "Samplography tells the story of 1980s/90s pop music as seen through the S1100 of Pete Gleadall...". So says the British music-mag "Sound On Sound". Well, if it is really worth buying this sampling-CD, I want to tell you in the following lines... First of all, some general information about this sampling-CD: Its playing is 76:36 minutes and over 1400 samples which were digitally edited and mastered are on it. The CD is divided into several parts like most sampling-CDs are: - Brass Licks/Hits - Guitar - Hammond Organ - Strings - Drum Loops & Quick Licks - Drum Hits - Percussion Hits & Loops - Bass Licks - Synthesizer Basses - Synthesizers - Old Beatboxes - Miscellaneous - Ideas & Effects - S1000/S1100 Data Section On the first track there is a demo tune named "Thank You" by Lee Groves in which as many samples of the CD as possible have been used. The song's playing-time is 1:13 minutes and in my opinion it is made quite well... a nice 'relaxed' tune. To set the maximum input gain on your sampler, there is a reference tone on the last track. Brass Licks/Hits (Track 2 - 4) You'll find many brass licks and hits played in many variations on the tracks 2-4. Some of them are played very short with a hard attack, some of them start smooth and gets louder and louder what you could do on a synthesizer by opening the LFO slowly. Either they are played as single notes or as chords. The pitch of the samples is given. Guitar (Track 5 - 11) Track 5-11 come with many various styles of guitar licks, chords and fortunately single notes, too. If you search for a special guitar, you'll surely find here the right one. The variety is quite big, as there are single notes from acoustic guitars, rythm licks, chords, wah-wah guitars, mute guitars, hawaiian guitars and what I really like: hard guitars (in the enclosed book called "Fuzz & Feed Guitar"). And they are REALLY hard. Hammond Organ (Track 12 - 14) One of the best parts on this CD is the organ section. If you are a fan of the old Hammond and Leslie organs, this section is for you. They are played in various stlyes, mostly as little melodies, but also as chords and single notes. Strings (Track 15 - 17) Hmm... the strings section is that part I don't like so much (the reason surely is, that I am used to the superb strings of my Korg Wavestation EX). Anyway, they are nice if you aren't fed up with strings yet, but if you really need natural strings, you should buy a special orchestra sampling-CD. The only strings I like in this section are the orchestra hits (if you can call them strings) which are really superb. They are absolutely the dramaticest and overwhelmingest ones I have ever heard and fortunately they are not so shabby like all these Tekkno orchestra hits (of course you can make them to Tekkno orchestra hits, if you manipulate them with a sample editor). The strings are in several variatons: hard, soft, pizzicato etc. Synth strings are also available, but in my opinion they sound too synthetic. Drum Loops & Quick Licks (Track 18 - 23) The drum-loops are really of a superb quality, but it's a pity that they were only sampled in mono. Except of drum loops there are also other things like hihat and tambourine grooves, cowbell loop and single snares, kicks, hats etc., which can be combined to a rythm. On track 20 and 21 are typical jazz drums which could be used for a song played in a pub with dim light. In contrast to the jazz drums there are drums for HipHop and Tekkno productions on the tracks 22 and 23. Kicks and Snares are there as well as great hand claps and other drums and percussions. Drum Hits (Track 24 - 33) On track 24 you'll find 63 selected bass drums. If you like them, is up to you. The only thing I can say is, that there are also very different kicks, and that is what I really like. Many sampling-CDs also offer a wide range of kicks, but one kick sounds like the other. Track 25 comes with 36 snare drums. To the snare drums is the same thing to say like to the bass drums. Track 26 and 27 are called "Univox Kit" and there are many different drums & percussions like tambourines, rides, snare drums, bass drums, open and closed hihats, shakers etc. Next on track 28 you'll find "Electro Drums", and so they sound. Track 29 named "Electro Hitz" comes with 64 FX samples. Really nice indeed! The tracks 30 - 32 are rather to use for HipHop and Tekkno than for other styles. Not only drums & percussions can be found here, but also some short instruments and other weird things. Track 33 is called "Cymbal" and doesn't need any further explanations, does it??? Percussion Hits & Loops (Track 34 - 42) "Percussion Hits & Loops" means different percussions, among them conga, claps, cowbells, hihat loops and single hihats, triangles, agogos and some weird effects for Tekkno, e.g. a tape stop and some scratches. Well, if I listed down all the samples of this part, that would really be too much to write. Anyway track 24 IS worth to be mentioned, as you will find here different samples which are useful for a raggae song. Except drums & percussions there are also mute guitars and basses. Bass Licks (Track 43 - 44) "Bass Licks" is quite a short section of this CD, but nevertheless worth to mention. Several basses are here, mostly as licks, but also as single notes. Synthesizer Basses (Track 45 - 49) The synthesizer basses come from the Roland JD800, MKS and Juno. They are called Speaker Bass, Killer Bass, Sub-Bass, Deep Bass and Nasty Bottom and are multisampled. Actually the "Nasty Bottom" can't be called bass, as it is a very hard wave which shouldn't be heard on a high volume... Synthesizers (Track 50 - 57) The synthesizer section is also very good, you'll find here many interesting things. Pulses, 'Synths', thips, sweeps and phased sounds are available as well as as pads. Old Beatboxes (Track 58 - 59) The "Old Beatboxes"-section is in my opinion the worst part of this CD, cause you will find on nearly every sampling-CD drums from the old Roland beatboxes. Miscellaneous (Track 60) There is a piano called "House Piano". In my opinion it isn't a house piano, but sounds good anyway. Also there is a choir, some strings, 12 orchestra hits (why in hell didn't they put it put into the strings-section?) and 'war'-effects (cannons etc.). Ideas & Effects (Track 61 - 63) Okay, I'll just list down what you can hear in this section: strings, car horn, machine gun, orchestra hits, water punch, bassdrum & snaredrum fill, slap bits, clicks, stabs, voxes, guitar scrunch, bass notes etc. S1000/S1100 Data Section (Track 64 - 67) For owners of an Akai S1000/S1100 this section is very useful, as all samples of the "Live Strings"- and the "Loop Kit"-section are ready to be transmitted into their sampler. You will just have to sit back and relax while you will be waiting for the end of the transmittion... CONCLUSION "Pete Gleadall's Samplography" is really one of the best CDs without doubt. The samples are the cleanest ones I have ever heard from a sampling-CD. Also nice are the many little comments to nearly every track where and how to use the samples and the speed of the loops in bpm which is given to every loop helps a lot, too. If you are a true Tekkno enthusiast, I guess this CD won't be the first choice for you, just the fact that the samples are too clean and probably also too ordinary for real Tekkno. But if you are a bit into HipHop and are in a lack of GOOD brass stacks, guitar samples, drums and need some other quality sounds, too, this CD is for you.  Price: £49 including porto, packing & VAT up to 17.5% ---------  HOW TO ORDER You can pay by Access, Visa, Mastercard or American Express. If you do this, just call them and quote your name, address, phone/fax number, order details, card number and expiry date. You can also pay by sending cheques, drafts or postal orders made payable to "AMG" to: Advanced Media Group (AMG) Hurst Lane Privett Nr. Alton Hants GU34 3PL England United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)73088 383 FAX +44 (0)73088 390 Or fax all details as above to them! For further information write, phone or fax to AMG. Well, that's it for today! *********************************** AM/FM ***********************************