Lo Life by Andrulian
ModeAudio has introduced Lo Life – LoFi House Loops, a 414MB collection of lush, royalty-free House synth loops and drum machine grooves. It is available in Wav, Rex2, Reason and Ableton Live pack formats from ModeAudio.
This review is for the Wav sample pack which features a total of 380 samples arranged in different folders. These are ‘drum samples’, ‘Lo Life loops’, ‘Lo Life tail samples’ and ‘midi’ folders.
Review
‘drum samples’ contains a total of 83 samples comprising the individual samples from 10 kits. These include 12 kick samples, 13 clap samples, 22 hi hat samples (open and closed) and 36 percussions samples (rims, toms, shakers and bongos). A great range of sounds, all of the these have depth and warmth, there’s a very subtle saturation and a very natural sounding reverb too.
‘Lo Life loops’ contains 23 bass loops, 63 drums and percussion loops, 11 SFX loops, 17 Synth Chords loops and 36 Synths and Instruments loops that are labelled by name, key and tempo.
The bass loops range from 106bpm to 122bpm. There’s a really good variety of sounds from deep and rolling, subby, groovy to acid 303 style. There’s great depth to the sounds and a subtle saturation.
The drums and instruments loops contain a range of superb grooves. These are split into kick and top drums / percussion loops which is excellent because it allows for layering and separate processing. They have a subtle overdrive that gives them an edge, a punchy sound with a great presence.
The SFX loops are noise and vinyl type sounds with rhythmic qualities. These add an excellent element and are ideal for further processing.
The Synth Chords loops have a retro feel, a saturation gives warmth and subtle reverb gives depth. There are some vintage sounding synths, and a subtle movement in these sounds which makes them more interesting.
The Synths and Instruments loops compliment the Synth Chords very well. There are a range of pads, keys, mallets, synths and vocals with the characteristic lo-fi, retro sound from saturation and reverb.
The Lo Fi Tail samples are an addition we’ve seen in other Mode Audio packs. On the face of it they allow you to apply a natural reverb tail to sample loops which is really useful in itself. However, they are also excellent sound sources in their own right that can be manipulated and mangled to add interesting elements to your tracks or could even be used as a starting point for new tracks.
The Midi loops folder is a very welcome addition to the sample pack and contains 104 fully featured midi loops. Typically 4 bar loops, these can be used with your own sounds or edited to create subtle or stark contrast and variations.
Verdict
This is an excellent value sample pack containing a superb variety of loops and drum hits with a retro, lo-fi saturated sound. As with other Mode Audio packs there is potential to mix and match samples to create tracks but you can use also use these loops as a starting point to create something new and original.
The sounds layer really well together and give options for a stripped back sound or a fuller sound and everything in between. The tail samples are an excellent addition and the inclusion of midi loops are also very welcomed to give even greater flexibility and potential.