You may not know Mad Professor by name, but you'd certainly know his work, and that's why this 'Reel to Reel Reggae' Sample Collection is just so damn hot. A disciple of the legendary Lee "Scratch" Perry, Mad Professor is one of reggae's leading producers, working at the forefront of dub since opening his studio Ariwa Sounds in South London back in 1979. His celebrated ‘Dub Me Crazy’ and ‘Black Liberation’ series of albums placed him at the forefront of the scene in the '80s and '90s, but for the casual listener he’s probably best known for his amazing dub version of the 1995 Massive Attack album ‘Protection’, known as ‘No Protection’.
For this collection Mad Professor has given us 315 loops and 140 single hit sounds, with tempos sitting exactly at 100, 125, 135 or 145 BPM. Sounds are presented as simple .wav files or as patches for Reason NNXt, Halion, EXS, SFZ and Kontakt samplers; you can also buy Apple Loops, Reason Refill and Ableton Live versions separately from the Loopmasters site if you need them. There are 51 basslines played on analogue sounding synths that chug and bubble away and sound huge in the mix. The 89 drumloops are bass heavy, and yes, dubby too, covering a wide range of styles from reggae 'rockers’ and ‘steppers’ beats to a handful of Bristol sound/trip hop influenced breakbeats. The highlights of this collection are the dub horns, though, which are crying out for some tape delay and spring reverb to bring them alive and into the heart of your next remix. There are plenty of other instruments too, including a bunch of off-beat reggae chords and some seriously wired synth stabs.
This collection is ideal for any dub producer, whether that’s dub reggae or dubstep. And at 24.45GBP from the Loopmasters Site ‘Reel to Reel Reggae’ is a bargain too.
Written by: Steve Hillier
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