Loopmasters Dubstep Arena Review

As a Dubstep producer I'm always searching for new samples to create drumloops that can hold under the weight of my over compressed dirty basslines. I take pride in my productions, and always ensure my mixes sound tight and crisp. I don't purchase many Dubstep sample cds because they tend to sound poor, but Dubstep Arena is one of the sample cds that I had have in my collection.

First of all Dubstep Arena isn't the regular run of the mill Dubstep sample cd. Each sample has been engineered by professional producers and are ready to drop straight into your mix without the need to EQ or compress each sample. Kicks sit nicely around the 80khz-90khz frequencies leaving you plenty of room for you big baseline and snares crack/snap around the 200khz range. For me, having fine tuned drum samples at the click of a mouse is a huge benefit and time saver.

There are far to many features of Dubstep Arena that will benefit new or seasoned Dubstep producers but some of my favourite features are:

• Samples are recorded in 24 bit giving you the best overall sound quality.


• The CD is a whopping 1.18GB of samples. Lots of samples to keep you busy.


• A large selection of constructions kits that include bass, synths and sound effects.


• 250 one shot samples for creating killer drum loops.


• Available for Ableton Live 7, Apple Loops, MPC and regular .Wav format



I also DJ around various clubs in the UK and found the construction kits are great for creating quick tracks to drop into your sets. I also managed to hook up my midi sequencer and play tracks live using just the construction kits.




Another thing that impressed me about this particular sample cd was the versatility of each sample. I like to make my tracks sound unique, and will often layer snares and kicks to give them a different feel and sound. But, the samples from Dubstep Arena seemed to seamlessly sit together with very little need to mess about with the EQ or do any transient shaping.




I was slightly disappointed that Dubstep Arena wasn't available as an ESX24 pack. I produce all my Dubstep tracks in Logic on the Mac and use ESX24 as my primary drum machine. Never the less I was able to load each individual wave sample into ESX24 and map each sample to the keys on my keyboard.




Overall I am more than satisfied with Dubstep Arena, and would go as far as saying it's probably the only sample cd worth having in your library.

How To Find Hip Hop Instrumentals

There are thousands of websites offering free and paid hip hop instrumentals, but sifting through the numerous sites and finding high quality, royalty free, instrumentals can be difficult. In this article I will give you some tips and advice on how to find the best hip hop instrumentals.

Maximum Sound Quality

When downloading instrumentals avoid using mp3 audio. Although mp3 audio may appear to sound great on your iPod the audio format is heavily compressed to reduce file size. As a result of file size compression the sound quality is also reduced.

For the best sound quality always download instrumentals in wav or aiff format. If wav or aiff is not an option find another instrumental.

Royalty Free

If you plan to use hip hop instrumentals for commercial or radio use you need to ensure the instrumentals you download are royalty free. This means the producer gets no royalties if you profit from their music.

In the past several rappers and labels have been sued because royalties or samples on the tracks have not been cleared.

Avoid Torrents And Illegal Downloads

Using torrents, illegal sharing sites and P2P software to find free instrumentals is something you should avoid at all costs. Not only do these sharing platforms spread malware and viruses but I can bet anything you download has been illegally obtained. It's impossible to know whether the track you are downloading is actually royalty free, or the samples used in the track have been cleared.

Produce Your Own Music

Producing your own hip hop beats is actually very easy. All you need is a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and some samples or loops.

The biggest tool used to produce hip hop and rap beats is the MPC and the SP1200. Although the SP1200 is now out of production artists such as Pete Rock still use it to this day. The MPC is probably used by the majority of hip hop producers today.

Downloading Legal Hip Hop Instrumentals

Ensure you use a reputable producer, or website when downloading instrumentals. Always read the terms or use policy. If you can't find any usage policy or terms try to contact the producer or website before downloading. You want royalty free instrumentals. Nothing more, nothing less.

Expect to pay for an instrumental. If you want quality, put your hand in your pocket. This is your career, and your future, you don't want a poor sounding instrumental behind your vocals do you? If you eventually end up famous every track you've released on the web will come to light. You want to make sure when they do, they sound good.

Fortunately there are various websites that offer membership subscriptions that allow you browse and download from thousands of instrumentals. Most are only a few bucks.

Downloading Hip Hop Samples 101

So, you have an idea for a new track, or you're new to Hip Hop production, but you don't know where to get the samples you need to produce your banging beat? I've been in that position numerous times.

When downloading Hip Hop samples from the web you only have two options. You can download free samples, or you can pay for them.

Free Samples

We all hate spending money. Free is good. But, when we are talking about free audio samples there are some major drawbacks:

Pros:

• Samples don't cost anything.


• Free to use

Cons:

• Samples can lack in audio quality making them unusable.


• Usage rights can be unclear when using samples from unknown authors or sources.


• Samples are used by thousands of other producers making your work unoriginal.

If you are trying to build a name for yourself, and establish yourself as a credible producer you want to avoid using free samples. Chances are every man and his dog are using the same samples and your productions will never sound original.

Paid Samples

I can hear you grunting at the thought of having to pay for audio samples. Don't worry, I'm the same. But, there are huge benefits to using professional samples in your productions:

Pros

• High quality samples.


• Available in many different formats i.e. Wave, Rex, Reason Refill, ESX24, Akai Programs, Kontact etc.


• Royalty free.

Cons

• They cost money.

Using paid samples is obviously the best choice for any Hip Hop producer that wants to succeed. I can bet Pete Rock, JDilla, Dr Dre and other big name producers all purchased samples, or sample packs at some point in their career.

Where to find Free Hip Hop Samples

Over the years as an experienced Hip Hop producer I've found various sources to download free Hip Hop samples. Some I've listed below:

• Use Google and search for terms like "free hip hop samples .wav".


• Purchase music magazines. On the cover of most magazines are CD's or DVD's that often come with large collections of royalty free samples.


• Join music production forums that are aimed at the genre you produce in. I am a member on a number of Hip Hop and Dubstep production forums, and constantly see threads where members share their samples.

It's very important to avoid using file sharing websites, or P2P software to download samples. People often share music and samples that do not belong to them, such as commercial sample packs. Using copyrighted samples can get you into serious trouble. It's not worth the risk.

To conclude, it's safe to say there is nothing wrong with using free samples when you are starting out. But, in the long run at some point in your career you are going to want high quality, professional sounding, samples that can be used on tracks fit for artists like Lil Wayne, Drake or Eminem. Free samples lack in quality and depth which will ultimately have a negative effect on the overall sound of your productions.

Have fun with your music, and I wish you success.