Groove Shadow Elastik
Sound On Sound, January 2008
http://www.soundonsound.com/
This new library from Ueberschall pumps some new life into one of their legacy
product concepts: Groove Shadows. The original Groove Shadows CD sample library
contained a selection of abstract rhythmic textures designed to be used as layers to
support your main drum programming, rather than standing on their own. Two groups
of Groove Shadows were targeted at more foreground and background use, and a
selection of different common tempos was provided to suit different projects. I found
the background layers, in particular, really useful in my own music
(...)
You get more than 430 different presets in Groove Shadow Elastik, each providing a
mixed loop, as well as (typically) four isolated layers - electively a construction kit -
and a handful of the most characteristic one-shot samples for adding quick
programming touches. This is an enormous amount of material, going far beyond the
scope of the original Groove Shadows CD, and the carefully reconstructed elements
work in tandem with Elastik Player's beat-slicing routine to offer phenomenal
flexibility when it comes to fitting the samples around pre-existing arrangements -
which is the raison d'etre here, after all. The only thing I pined for were some quick
'loop menu' presets, placing only the mixed loops on adjacent keys for auditioning
purposes.
(...)
To cut a long story short, I'm glad to report the Groove Shadow Elastik is bigger,
better, and lots more usable than its Audio CD forebear, and I don't hesitate to give
it five stars - I'll certainly be using it to death!
Mike Senior