Hip Hop High | EQ

This baby? Construction kits with a difference. Each of the 19 grooves includes a loop with everything playing. Most last about a minute, or even more; these are motifs that evolve over time. So, the elements that make them up are more sophisticated as well. In each groove's folder you'll find some "stems" and loops (for example, synth+drums, just bass, etc.), along with individual drum and percussion hits. Another folder contains three drum kits of hits, and an additional folder has 33 drum beats. Nifty: The terminally lazy can just bring in a complete loop, while tweakers can pretty much rebuild a loop from the ground up.


The grooves are minor key (five Eb, six E, two D, two A, two G#, one A#, one F#); the vibe is somewhat mysterious, with an occasional hint of menace - smiley faces need not apply. Tempos are mostly in the 90s, but range from 85 to 100BPM.


The WAV files aren't acidized. However, any loops and stems are duplicated in REX format, and even the files that are hard to "rexify" stretch well - they paid attention to setting the slice points. The WAV files are also duplicated in AIFF format, with loops/stems as Apple Loops.


If you're in a minor mood, Hip Hop High gets a thumbs-up for the sounds, stretching, and organization; check out the audio example at www.eqmag.com.