21 YEARS OF CM SAMPLES

01 80s HEAT

Let us take you back to a time when ‘computer music’ meant a pricey Fairlight; when MIDI was a newborn, starry-eyed protocol; and when an Atari ST running Steinberg Pro-24 was the pinnacle of a sequencing setup.

And it was a decade of musical upheaval, of course. New digital tools like the PPG Wave and Yamaha’s DX7 were at the forefront of technology, and musicians were ready to exploit their bold, never-before-heard tones. And exploit them they did. Although their zealous use of brash timbres is often looked down on, it marks the decade out as a beacon on the musical landscape. So what better way to pay tribute to the 80s than a free sample pack dedicated to the era?

“All the guitar samples were played on our spiky BC Rich Warlock, in order to use its high-gain pickups (and throw shapes),” says Oli from Groove Criminals of this collection. “We used a variety of 80s distortion pedals (both good and bad) as well as some boutique clones. We’ve deliberately left the powerchords raw so you can add your own preferred processing.

“The synth sounds were straight out of the Juno-60 for analogue phatness, and from the DX100 and FB-01 for cold FM bells and pianos. Our Moog also features in this month’s pack. This and the other keys are great for layering.

“The Boss CE-300 rack-mounted Super Chorus was great for adding some 80s modulation to everything, and that big, trademark 80s reverb came from a multitude of sources – both software and hardware.”

02 ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS

This meticulously recorded collection of acoustic guitar sounds includes the lush tones of the Takamine EAN45CX six-string acoustic, the Yamaha FG412-12 12-string acoustic and the Terada six-string (nylon) classical guitar. The samples were recorded using Calrec CM654D SD condenser mics and a Chameleon Labs TS-2 valve LD condenser mic.