Big Fish Audio | EQ Magazine Craig Anderton | Brush Artistry Product Review
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Brush Artistry | EQ Magazine

Reviewer: Craig Anderton Back to Brush Artistry product details

Got brush? Probably not, as brushed drums have pretty much been brushed aside for sample CDs. But no more: This CD offers 588 MB (755 files) of 16-bit/44 kHz brushed drums, arranged by style/tempo in 234 folders.

A typical folder has a full kit loop, a fill or two, an intro, and a snare only version of the loop. Styles include swing, ballad, jazz waltz, bossa nova, samba, country, country waltz, 6/8, backbeat, groove, "south of the border," and individual hits for both a jazz kit and a "roots" kit. Several styles are available in multiple tempos.

Like all too many sample CDs, the acidization isn't great - even with fairly small tempo changes you'll often hear flamming or slapback that requires slice marker adjustment. Sound quality fares much better: Most samples have a natural room sound that enhances the loops, yet doesn't interfere if you want to add processing to the final mix.

The recording is sensitively done, and I applaud the avoidance of excessive compression and EQ. Nor are the samples normalized; there are pros and cons to this, but preserving the recording's natural dynamics lets you throw together a variety of loops without having to tweak levels much, if at all. In fact, the overall natural sound allows these files to slide effortlessly into just about anything.

Got brush? If not, you do now.

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