Off The Hook 3 | Home & Project Studio Digial Magazine

Off The Hook, Volume 3 is the latest offering from loopmeister Anthony Myers and his crew. This 2-DVD set is loaded with almost 12 GB of audio material in WAV, REX, and Apple Loop formats. (Over 5 GB of audio are devoted to WAV files alone!) However, this isn't a case where quality of material is compromised in favor of sheer quantity of material. The loops in this library are uniformly excellent.

FUNKY FINGER PRODUCTIONS

The packaging touts this library as being "nastier than ever," which, I suppose is in reference to the frst two volumes of Off The Hook. Since I haven't had the pleasure of listening to Anthony Myers' two previous efforts, I'm not in a position to judge that claim. However, one man's nasty is another man's tasty, and I would categorize Volume 3 as being more tasty than hard-core nasty. The construction kits evoke a sense of Old School that could easily be played on Smooth Jazz radio stations or softer RnB formats. That's because many of the construction kits include at least one acoustic guitar progression or riff, and often two or three progressions and lead lines. Combine that with some cool Rhodes piano and organ loops (not to mention some funky bass parts, drum loops, and the occasional string and synth patterns) and you've got the basis for making some lovely RnB/Smooth Jazz arrangements.

Even so, none of this matters if the library itself isn't well organized, and for the most part, Off The Hook Volume 3 delivers on good library organization. Loops are organized into 40 construction kits, and each construction kit has a sample song that gives you an idea of what is possible with the collection of loops in that particular kit. (I also look upon these sample songs as potential sources of inspiration for creating unique riffs, backing tracks, or complete songs of my own.) Logically enough, each construction kit also contains all the loops that make creating the sample song possible.

However, every construction kit also includes two separate folders for drum tracks and drum hits. The Drum Tracks folder breaks down the stereo drum loops in the construction kit into individual tracks for each drum sound. And as you might suspect, the Drum Hits folder contains individual hits of the drum sounds used in that particular construction kit. I really like this feature because it provides me with alternative methods of customizing my own drum tracks. More loop libraries ought to offer this feature!

The library also includes a folder of bonus beats not included in the construction kits. These stereo drum loops are excellent overall, but unfortunately, there are no hand, there is an extra Drum Hits folder that is subdivided into folders for kick drums, snare drums, and hi-hat sounds. I wish these subfolders had been further divided into acoustic and electronic folders: it would have made the auditioning process for these sounds go more quickly. (On the other hand, that's probably the anal-retentive in me being a little too fussy.)

BAM!

Off The Hook, Volume 3 strikes a delicate balance that's hard to achieve in a good loop library. The loops are unique enough to inspire personal creativity without making loops are just generic enough to be malleable, so that the user can easily manipulate basic patterns into truly unique tracks. Couple that with good library organization that not only makes it easy to find the right loops, but provides a means of enhancing one's creativity when producing rhythm tracks, and you've got yourself a winning combination. So, if you want to make some funky, mellow tracks, give Off The Hook, Volume 3 a try. I think you'll like what the library offers.