EHP Gets Top Score From Music Tech Mag
We reviewed Wave Alchemy’s first sample pack – Electro House Underground – a few issues back and concluded that it was an exceptionally produced collection of bang-up-to-date club electro sounds. The second release, Electro House Progressions, aims to carry on where the first left off, creating the ultimate contemporary electro house library.
This time around, the same pack is available only as a digital download, totalling just over 500MB of 24-bit audio. Although this makes it £10 cheaper than the first pack, you have to choose between ACIDized WAV and Apple Loops versions. Also included are REX2 loops and a selection of drums and FX sampler patches for HALion, Kontakt, EXS, NN-XT and SFZ. The drum hits are nothing out of the ordinary, but the effects, whooshes and bleeps are excellent. The rest of the pack if divided into folders for 303, bass, drums, percussion and synths and features loops at 127 and 130BPM.
As with Waves’ first release, the production is second to none, with superb use of reverb, filters and compression that give the sounds character and movement. The basses range from Mr Oizo ‘wob wob’ grooves to more subtle, filtered minimal rumblers, with most of the loops featuring a hip-shaking house swing. The excellent synths combine nice detuning effects with deep tech pads and upbeat stabs. Although the drum loops may be a little too full and finished for some, the shakers and glitch percussion offer sparser alternatives.
From Daft Punk 303 arpeggios to ravey lead synths, what this pack lacks in originality it makes up for in quality, with some of the more obvious sounds brought up-to-date through expert use of ambience. Combine this with Electro House Underground and you’ve got the ultimate electro library at your fingertips.
Verdict
Superb-sounding contemporary electro loops from the Wave Alchemy studio wizards.
Rating: 9/10
