Ruff Cutz

AMG
Format: Audio CD

Review by Clif Marsiglio
Tuesday, December 01, 1998

Contents: Ruff Cutz consists of 63 minutes of loops (the full grooves) and 11 minutes of loop bitz. The 54 tracks of grooves are (if my mind can process even simple math today) a little over a minute each.

Before I start this review, let me say that this has been one of the best drumloop disc I've heard in a long time. Everything is up front and in your face, just where I like it. This disc is nothing but clean, it almost takes the fun out of the cleanup work that usually accompanies a sampling session. Now I just have to deal with the noise reduction software when I record my guitar and the loads of crappy stomp boxes I have hooked up to my console.

The loops on this disc are all live drumming that had been severely altered through the usage of effects or recycle. Even with the precise editing done for this disc, everything sounds very human and in the pocket. In some cases, the usage of the effects seems a bit overdone, but with the tracks averaging around a minute each with a lot of variation within them, you're bound to find a section without the effect in question. A perfect example of this is track 13. Lots of great drums, but the loop is cut up with a low buzzy sound. Towards the end, the buzz drops out and one hears just the drums with a few raplike scratching sounds. These scratchings seem to pop up in many of the tracks. I'm actually curious to whether these are the result of another sample or if a DJ was on hand to mix these to the beat.

These are very modern-sounding loops but in a sense almost timeless in that nature. A lot of hiphop samples of scratches and other urban sounds popup in the background. These tracks could be the backing track for any number of preexisting genres or one can simple create a new one. For instance, track 22 'Global' starts out very technoish, with a bad vocal loop and some twingy (trust me) synth. It would be too easy to use this in that kind of track, but at the same time I've heard very little techno that uses live drums this way. In this same fashion, Hazard House, starts with a loop and slowly builds up on it into a pure techno/house production (though I have to admit I think this track is the synthiest of all with all those nasty techno hits).

As I mentioned this has got to be one of the best discs I've heard in quite a while. I am not drummer by any means and the little programming I can do is just to get a track started. With this disc, one is instantly inspired. Ya may be disappointed as these tracks may not be the ones to drop into preexisting tracks as you will want to design your tracks around these instead of the other way around.

All Full Groves on here are given a short descriptive name and a BPM, while the bitz have only the bpm...one will have to peck through these for the styles. Everything sounds fresh and original (well, except that 3 seconds of loop two in track 61 right after the screams of 'powerpunk' that sound like a reproduction the 6/8 snare and noise loop in Nine Inch Nails' March of the Pigs...I just did a version of the song using this as the basis :) There's not a bad loop on here, and as I said everything is at least inspiring, even if not useable you. This is one disc AMG should release with a money back guarantee, as I highly doubt they'd loose any cash.