Drum/Percussion Samples

This is a multisampled instrument. First off, you must run this in a host such as Kontakt. Kontakt itself can be a little confusing if you little to no experience with it, but if you get a handle on Kontakt, then setting up Morpheus is a piece of cake.

SOUND QUALITY

The plugin comes with around 30 or more presets. They are definitely quite varied and some even are "sequenced" type effects that have an arpeggio type feel. For the most part I don't have any use for the sequence typed presets as I find them silly and unusable. The "simple" presets though are quite nice and demonstrate how much of a range this instrument has. It can sound like a warm Marimba all the way to a trash monster instrument built from scrape metal. I run this in Kontakt usually in Logic 9 or Ableton live, but sometimes as a stand alone. My Macbook pro i7 core with 8gb ram handles this instrument like it was nothing. I love mallet instruments especially for laid back "Gamelan" style electronica. The sounds that generate from Morpheus are a great fit.

OVERALL OPINION

What I like most about this instrument is its very realistic sound. The low are rich with lots of nice harmonics and the highs don't thin out like most other mallet plugins. It sits around less than 1gb of samples but has the character of a large sample library. I wonder if anyone has made a Midi Mallet controller, if so, this would be the first plugin I would reach for to be controlled by it. What I don't like are about 1/3 of the presets and I guess the option of "sequencing" the sound. Essentially you can hold down one note and it will play itself. I don't quite understand the need as it's enjoyable enough to play like a real instrument (i.e. you have to strike the note to hear it) or can be easily sequenced from your host DAW.
Morpheus has excellent sound quality. It is officially my go to mallet instrument at this point. I have used mainly built in plugins in Logic 9 and Ableton 8 as well as patches in various synths/keyboards. This one seems to stand above all the rest. I would definitely buy this again and recommend it to all my friends who are in need of some might fine mallet sounds.

This is a pack of 1,000 synthesized drum hits, there are no loops. These are made with Minimal/Tech House tracks in mind. You can buy them as straight WAV samples, or in many popular configurations like and Ableton Live Pack, Acid Samples, Aiff Samples and lots more. I bought them as WAV files. The setup was just like any other WAV sample in Ableton Live(The DAW I tested these with). Drag and drop into my sampler, make any personal adjustments and your ready to go!

SOUND QUALITY

I've messed around with lots of sample libraries, and I must say this one is worth the measly sixteen odd dollars you pay for them. The sounds are all very high quality and actually do fit in with the genre advertised. This has been a problem in the past, where you end up with drum samples that aren't necessarily bad, but they're not what you'd want in a Hardcore Techno Pack. The samples have a nice consistent feel and are all at about the same volume which is convenient. No performance or buffering problems in Ableton Live 8. Another nice thing is that there is no silence or space between the start of the sample and the sound of the hit that needs to be cut out. This is great for timing issues and makes time stretching of samples less messy. The audio quality is standard 24 bit/44.1 KHZ Audio. Also, the selection of percussion samples is really rather inspiring I must say.

OVERALL OPINION

I would give this 4/5 stars overall. It is a SUPER deal at 16 bucks, the sounds are great, but not stunning. If your into the genre, get this, because you will use it a lot. I have no regrets about buying it and I love that it actually is appropriate to the genre advertised! I have no complaints about this, it's a fine product.

This is a collection of over 1,000 Distorted, Tape Saturated, Bit Crushed, and otherwise affected drum hits. It costs 14.95 from prime loops. You can purchase these in WAV, AIFF, Ableton Live Packs, Battery kits and many more formats. I used the WAV format, with Ableton Live. There were no set up problems, just drag and drop into my sampler and level out the volumes and they were ready to play. All of the sounds perform as advertised, and you get what you pay for with this collection.


SOUND QUALITY

The sounds are all high quality and you get exactly what is advertised. 1,000 different Distorted drum hits. Some sounds are great, some are meh. There's nothing terrible, but this is by no means a standout release or a must have collection. It features things like bitcrushed kits, noisy snares and lots and lots of tape saturation. The big problem is finding a use for the sounds in this kit, as they are all pretty much the same. If you need distorted drum sounds and want a wide selection, I'd get this, since it's a great price at 14.95 a pop. Some of the levels were inconsistent, but overall it's good quality. Sounds are stander 24 bits/44.1 Khz sample rate.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall I'd give it 2.5/5 stars. It's cool to have around and I do occasionally pull sounds from it, but it's kind of specialized in it's focus. Some of the hits are really cool, but nothing stands out. I would recommend it for someone looking for a little crunchy flavor in their mixes, with cash to spare. It's only 14 bucks. I'm satisfied with the buy, but you do get what you pay for with this release.