Big Fish Audio | Keyboard Magazine John Krogh | Punk & Indie Rock: Slammin Sounds of So-Cal Product Review
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Punk & Indie Rock: Slammin Sounds of So-Cal | Keyboard Magazine

Reviewer: John Krogh Back to Punk & Indie Rock: Slammin Sounds of So-Cal product details

In the non-stop stream of loop libraries and construction kits flooding the market, really good rock titles are all too rare. Big Fish Audio's Punk and Indie Rock is a true gem of drum, bass, and guitar parts - all solid content from top to bottom. Stylistically, think Blink 182, Green Day, or A Simple Plan. In other words, straight-up punk-pop, and the Big
Fish producers have nailed that chart-topping sound to a tee.

There are 42 construction kits in Apple Loops, Acidized WAV, and REX formats. The documentation claims that the REX files are set up for easy import into Stylus RMX, and this is certainly true. What's more, the REX editing is clean and accurate, which isn't the case with many REX titles. Kudos!

Each drum kit is organized into a folder, which includes a full mix track along with all its soloed elements, plus a subfolder of isolated drum mic tracks (snare, kick, overhead, and so on). This is a major bonus over stereo-only loops because you have more control over the drum mix. It also means you can use drum replacement software to enhance or replace the drum sounds with other third-party samples. Nice.

Musically, the performances are full of frenetic energy and attitude, and sonically, the recordings are consistently neutral across the board. Nothing sounds "mastered" or hyped, which I appreciated because I was able to apply my own EQ and dynamics to achieve the sounds I wanted.

Initially, I worked inside of Spectrasonics Stylus RMX, but that proved not to be the best approach, because each construction kit typically offers two sections (e.g., a verse and a chorus/hook), which meant I needed multiple instances of RMX to have enough parts for each of the elements in a kit. Working with the WAVs and Apple Loops was a lot easier. Regardless of format, I had an easy time mixing and matching with the bass and drum loops. The guitar parts were trickier - each is like a mini-song, and each is very harmonically and melodically specific, which made it tough to layer or string together riffs from different folders to create longer sections. This isn't a negative, just something to be aware of if you're thinking about writing songs with P&IR.

Ultimately, Punk and Indie Rock is an indispensable resource for any musician looking to nail the modern punk-pop sound without shelling out the time and money to record a live band. The isolated drum tracks alone are worth the price of admission. Highly recommended.

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