I just got my car, finally! So I'll be out a few days running errands and experiencing sweet freedom. Love you guys a bunch! Be back soon!

Guess what? It's that time. Music Producer Freebie Mag -- anniversary edition!

Why anniversary? Well, September marks the first birthday of this bad boy, back when I used to call 'em Montha-lists. Ordinarily I'd write fancy words here like I do for basically every issue, but today I feel like hitting the cutting room floor. We'll see how it goes.

Before you ask, I'm okay. Real life is falling apart around me spectacularly, but I'm fine. If you want to know how spectacularly, check my last couple posts. Suffice to say I'm anticipating a move, really busy, and tired. I didn't realize how tired until I saw I had been putting this off for a few days, when it was basically done. Still, I made a promise to get this out by the 20th, and I'm sticking to it.

So, in honor of a FULL YEAR of freebies and before this September ends, we're going to shake things up with a retrospective -- giving the good plugins the press they deserve and remembering those that have gone to the great beyond.

This is exciting for me, not just because I love digging up the past, but because in trying to write about the hottest producer fad plugins and giveaways, it's easy to forget the ones that are old but still gold. I've taken the time to write "Septemberlist in Retrospect" not because I felt lazy, but because I end up recommending things off this list at least once a week.

Also, in my re-research for this article, I wrote a verbal kick in the ass -- I mean an encouraging and thought provoking piece for jump-starting your music career that turned into a book. I saved a snip for you here. Once that's out of the way, we'll wrap up with some regularly scheduled programming, a few more freebies, and I'll go take a nap.

If you find this content useful, you can donate here and here. Everything you see is made possible by viewers like you, so thank you!

Now, onto to business. I found some really neat surprises this month that I think ANY producer could use.

Let's GO!

SEPTEMBERLIST IN RETROSPECT

Last September we covered 19 Freebies.

That's plugins, samples, websites, and even a couple discords.

In other words, A LOT.

Going down the list, the NG Audio Pub Discord Server (#Resource Channel, admin @Lich) and Phonk Guys Discord are still active with plenty of goods dropping to date. I can't tell you how many great deals and rare samples I've found! They are my top two deep dives for samples and plugins, as well as chat!

Further down, Kyle Beats' free samples page is still up. I think I see some new packs. However, perhaps more interesting is how I could have missed a free music production course (hip-hop), which covers "melodies, sampling, beat arrangement," "networking secrets, and how to get yourself known in the music world."

Let me rewind you for a second -- networking and getting yourself known... You may not even know Kyle, or you might hate him, but if you ask me, he knows a thing or two about getting press. He's famous, not just for the recent "stolen" beat clickbait he scandalized himself with but for years and YEARS of publicly grinding his ass off… (That came out wrong. Do over before I have to mark this post NSFW.)

You seriously don't know Kyle? White kid making beats in his room with the boys, upselling dicey VSTs like Drip and Spaz, has a lot of critics? Because now, he's kinda balling. (Source: Reddit)

Lemme summarize.

The bedroom producer everyone was laughing at has hustled his way to household name. He's making headlines in the producer community, landing loops in platinum singles, and sparking conversation outside the community as well; for a sample pack maker and producer, this is phenomenal.

Basically, his strategies for breaking through internet obscurity work(ed). Not only has he built a solid community; he's showing up in millions of households with Netflix-grade camera work. How did that happen? Well, it certainly didn't come from a vaccuum, and it wasn't overnight, so I'm willing to bet when he tells you how to promote your stuff, he knows what he's talking about.

side-bar: stolen beat scandal

A huge kick in publicity for Kyle was the viral video I linked above, in which he discovered a loop from his Nightmare drum kit was used in a song that became a platinum hit. Kyle and his team had no idea this song existed, and he contacted the team about royalties or credits or whatever.

This is not unusual, and I feel the need to make a PSA for the uninitiated.

Every sample pack that isn't Royalty Free is liable to land you on one end or the other of an awkward phone call with somebody's management.

Keyword being NOT royalty free, assuming your song makes any kind of money. And the problem in Kyle's situation in fact, was that the loop was from a royalty free pack. So there isn't DIRECTLY any money he can make off of it.

DJ Pain said it best, "When you get a placement from a royalty free pack, […] the only way to monetize and capitalize on that opportunity is by using it to promote another product that you're actually going to make money off of."

This is exactly what Kyle and his team did, because he knows this. We're so ready to jump on the next PVLACE stealing beats, "stolen beat went platinum" was bound to make rounds on the internet.

See what I mean? Check that course.

There are some other things Kyle could do in his situation, which might be relevant for y'all. For instance, if your sample features in someone else's song prominently, you can contact their management to see about getting put on the credits. Just don't expect much if you dropped royalty free, as I did with this TOTALLY PREDICTABLE SEGWAY INTO...

My flagship sample pack, Adreanaline!

ADREANALINE Sample Pack is of course still up for grabs on Beatstars. Because it's still in BETA, I plan to seed updates until otherwise specified. In fact, I just updated this week to add a few more doodads.

In general, it's a Japanese Ethnic, Contemporary Hip-Hop, and Industrial percussion fest, but there are also some vocal stems, loops, and odds and ends in there for your experimenting pleasure.

Demo:

PS: I might have renamed the 808s to the proper key, but if not, those are available in the left side panel on SampleFocus, My Samples!

Going back to the list, some kits have sadly passed away. Let us pay our respects for:

Here's an angry note from the guest list, courtesy of reddit user [deleted]. Totally helpful /s

[DELETED] says:

[this kit is recycled trash.] For kit recommendations I'd say both the Inteus kits, The Caspian Rose kits, the Goupil kit, the Mythic kit (killmythic) kit, the Ponsuda kit, the Sappy kits, both of Sunson's kits, and if you're new all of the Rich Beatz (Jason Rich) kits […] Basically any phonk kit uploaded to Reddit beside the candy boy kits to be completely honest.

Phonk sounds (especially good ones) are rare so the few that have been exposed are the ones that are reused […] Those kits are phonk artists' private collections and contain sounds that they or only a select people have because they were sampled directly from that person […]

---

Let me say this. Even though I agree, r/drumkits is full of recycled sounds (kit), I still think they're useful. Take the good, delete the duplicates, and move on.

Sometimes samples like the amen break are carving out a familiar niche in our genre, the way that modes and chords associated themselves to moods without our conscious knowledge. Do you really think the cricket-hi-hats of hip-hop came from nowhere? Of course not. The 808 and 909 drum machines they were sequenced on conquered virtually EVERY genre of music, and it just so happens they really stuck for this one in particular.

My point is, the banshees on reddit might as well be screaming about Boogie amps in Metal, or chord stabs in retro jungle.

You can swim against the tide and chase your SPECIAL samples, but don't act like it makes your music more legitimate. No one is out here crafting ORIGINAL phonk 808s straight from samples of their anus. If they are, it isn't a hallmark of the genre. You could extend this to various combinations of every instrument typically heard in a phonk track, and it remains that if you stray too far from the standard across the board, you're going to end up making a completely different genre, which isn't always the goal.

To learn how something typically sounds and how to make it, you're kinda gonna need a TYPICAL SOUND.

So wait, if these less popular "direct" samples aren't associated with their main genre in pop-culture, how are responses like this helpful to anyone wanting to produce that genre?

They're not. It's just another rabbit hole. We producers are SO fond of falling into them, I think a stupid one is worth pointing out. If I want to make a specific sound, with a specific mood, why would I deliberately avoid the popularized version of that sound or mood I first heard? For no good reason, that's why.

Some hipster on the internet will not discourage me from sampling how I want. I'm going to download recycled trash whenever I feel like it, and I'm flipping that shit shamelessly, because one man's trash is another man's treasure!

---

Moving on. Still extant from last year's list, this Glitch kit was a particular favorite of mine. I still use it on occasion!

---

Searching for some of the "non-recycled" primo kits mentioned by our friend [deleted] lead me down some interesting searches, with yet more freebies.

A LIST of PHONK kits, no links, like a Pokedex entry with a question mark. Grab your CL (collection), and LF (looking for) and keep them close -- because they are nowhere to be found outside of a DM, but people evidently like them.

Leading Trap Drumkits (all in one) -- does not include any of the kits mentioned, but does have quite a few sample packs I like, including one from Nick Mira, who is a legend in my eyes.

And THIS Phonk Kit (in description, mediafire)

I did happen on some good music and a BUNCH of (unrelated) kits under "MYTHIC", like this one also (free)

Link will send you to CVNVAS' $69 upsell, followed by the freebies to your email 20 minutes. If you can't find it and don't want to run through the junk folder, you might have less trouble ripping audio off YouTube. You know, the gold standard of sampling.

There are a LOT of free kits once you do get the email though. Worth a dive!

Also, when it comes to niche genres or a specific artist's kit you otherwise can't find -- don't forget, there's more than one way to cop a sample!

Forget spending hours going through comments and posts. That takes so much effort. We have so many tools these days, it really pays to do your own dirty work, and sometimes it's faster.

Here are some methods:

If you can't find a sound, isolate it from a source. I use RX10, my DAW, and Audacity (free).

Failing that, DM someone who posted "CL" on a subreddit. Usually free but sometimes shady, and occasionally illegal so watch yourself out there.

Study how the sample is made and DIY. If you can't, jump on a discord like Phonk Guys and ask if someone has the sound or can make it for you, or better yet, show you how to make it. Tutorials are great for this if you actually use them.

Example:

I was looking for a sample of something like a brake drum before I ever knew what it was called, for this track. Thought long and hard about what could make the noise. Then I found some videos of people hammering posts into the ground. Bam. There's your sample.

You can hear them around 1:12.

This is literally how I made half my drum library, cutting and processing samples, sometimes even splicing them into franken samples to make new ones!

There is no shame in this. The very nature of sampling is recycling!

Anyway, NEXT!

Speaking of phonk, metal, and like all of my other projects on Beatstars, CTK-2400 and Saudade Metal Drums for sforzando are still available and will remain FREE!

If you like nostalgic keys, freeware, and punchy drums, this is the pack for you.

I probably need to update the file at some point, now that I mention it. I think I accidentally uploaded 2 versions at once. >.> Let me know.

---

Unison Freebies are still up, if you can tolerate a LOT of spam email from Sep and paid products like… Ass Dragon being rammed down your throat. Seriously, these guys are starting to piss me off.

The nameless marketing emails are seriously unending, so use your spam email!

DJ-Pain still has 3 free kits over on his website. As a veteran producer in the game for years upon years, his beats are great for inspiration and study! He also knows his stuff in terms of sample clearance, so you can trust that "royalty free" actually means what it says on the tin!

BPB's 2023 Collection is still worth a deep dive, and so is their beatmaking guide. I've discovered as I've gotten older (and more eccentric) I'm not ALWAYS a fan of their content style or picks, especially as someone who struggles to understand what she reads, but every once in a while there is an absolute gem, such that I would be remiss not to give them props!

Other plugins from the list that I still recommend to this day are Alpha Sampler and Omni Sampler (Mixcraft VSTs), Slampup dynamic processor, Cymatics Diablo Lite, KSHMR Essentials Kick, Cymatics Origin, REAPER DAW, and Cakewalk

Excuse the ugly ass graphic. I made it in 3 minutes because no way was I going to find all 6 of these images in the same collage.

Of these vsts, only one has aged in any considerable capacity, and that's KSHMR Essentials Kick. There are still instances where I would use it, but as a percussion processor, Diablo (full version) has taken its place.

I feel that Diablo handles sounds better in the genres I work in, which makes sense. My music is edgy asf, and Diablo is a very aggressive processor.

Besides that, I would be very mindful of input volume going into either plugin (or any plugins performing the same jobs). Hot input really affects the compressor's response and sometimes in a way you don't want! I find that lower input is generally better for most plugins.

For KSHMR E, you will have to achieve this externally, before the FX rack. Diablo has an input knob in its full version, but I still prefer to use the instrument volume knob (not mixer knobs or faders), so that everything is appropriately staged pre-FX.

For all of my sampling needs outside of sforzando or Decent Sampler, I still use Mixcraft's default Alpha and Omni Samplers. They're basically olskool single shot and MPC knockoffs, with a nice little drag and drop function that makes me rave and a rubberizer that keeps things interesting.

SlamPup occasionally makes its way into my compositions as a drum trasher or bass fattener. The interface is stupid simple, easy to understand, and most importantly has a big fat dry wet slider you can't miss.

Origin -- hands down my favorite downsampling plugin, not for its vinyl noise feature, wobbly chorus and movement, or saturation, although it all generally sounds good, but for what you can do with it by turning off the pre and post filter images and applying an LFO to the frequency cutoff. You heard that earlier ALL over No Propeller, and it bangs.

AND THAT ROUNDS OUT THE RETROSPECT PORTION OF OUR LIST!

Were you here for last year's issue? How do you like the format of this one? Drop a comment!

On to entirely more personal matters: the nuggets of wisdom section.

Cue hustle hard cliché montage as the stage goes black, and the theatre quiets to a hush. Suddenly, the screen before you lights up with a single ambiguous figure, silhouetted in bla-

Okay, I'm losing the plot and I swore I would edit this. I'll cut the theatrics, just bear with me. This is the beginning of a letter to my past self.

Dear self,

If no one has told you this, color me shocked,

but do you ever stop to wonder why you're here?

No, not on this planet, silly.

I mean, doing what you're doing.

In fact, what ARE you doing?

Lulz aside, why does what you're doing always feel like getting nothing done? That you're one click away from the endless scroll of producer tutorials but ten feet from the completely unrelated problems in your DAW? Why is it that despite all your efforts, you're not nearly as productive as you know you could be, when you spend most of your time "learning" how to do whatever it is you want?

Here's the cold hard truth. You're wasting your time.

What do you do most of your day? Spend time in the music producer community. And what's wrong with that community? It's absolutely rotten -- infested with too much of the same type of content, things you're probably guilty of saying yourself, like: "be better than yesterday," challenge everything, get these plugins.

There's so much "fix it" messaging, it's easy to forget what's the problem in the first place. And how could you not, when once you start scrolling, you can't stop.

The problem is that EDUCATION has become ENTERTAINMENT, or, Edutainment.

And before you start, I'm not saying cut off the internet and go live in a hut with your laptop and interface to make an album. Edutainment is great. It's a solid replacement for dead silence in line at the airport or roaring asphalt on the way to work, but it's not a substitute for ACTUALLY WORKING ON YOUR CRAFT.

You can "study" a million youtube videos, memorize them even, and none of that will make you a better producer if you don't take those lessons outside of class.

No, I'm not accusing you of being lazy. I just know, if we make a habit of giving into the scroll, sooner or later we end up telling ourselves things like:

I don't have the time to sit down and make a track today. Yes, I watched 3 videos on how to start a dubstep banger, but those great ideas never made it to a new project, or if they did, it wasn't what I was learning about. It's just too hard to understand the instructions. It's getting late. I should go to bed.

Or how about: I never post about my music. I'm too embarrassed. I don't know how to promote my work, despite watching 5 promotion ideas that don't suck a day.

My personal favorite goes something like: I'll be working along just fine until I see a notification pop up, or an interesting thumbnail, whereby I invariably go through a wormhole to retro-reese-bass tube, coming out the other side without having taken any notes -- and sometimes without hearing most of it because I was reading up on a plugin listed in the video.

Guess I must've spent a lot of time gaming with podcasts in a past life… my literal past life, skipping Music Theory at 8 AM and making beats in Algebra. Really shot myself in the foot with that one.

Another personal best of ours is how long we've sat staring at the screen, finally having posted content after a great while and now routinely checking for notifications -- but only replying thanks to all the comments.

We'll keep at it until we hit a tough one, which we'll sit on for days without proper response. Or better yet, we'll go dark and ignore all the notifications that come in after they get to a certain number because, well, I don't feel like answering comments all day; we have social anxiety, and I'd rather listen to Weaver beats' plugin police for VSTs I wasn't even considering buying until now.

We probably won't buy them btw, if we're smart.

We do this because what we really seek is dopamine, which may or may not be in short supply (pretty sure most of us have ADHD), not realizing that we are in fact spinning our wheels in the very thing we love -- which gives us dopamine.

As long as the cycle continues, we start to feel guilt, which turns to shame. Even if no one else sees it, we feel like we've been sitting in place, chasing our own tail for far too long. We think we aren't good enough, or that the forces driving our behavior and lack of motivation are supposed to be within our control but aren't.

Maybe we even feel like they are caused by something else outside of ourselves -- like genetics. I.e., we just weren't born good at this. But that's a lie.

You could be stuck in place for any number of reasons, but I'll tell you a few that have absolutely nothing to do with it:

It isn't because you aren't good.

It isn't because your music sucks.

It isn't because you don't have thousands of dollars to spend on advertisements.

And it surely isn't because you don't make the right genre of music. (Otherwise noise artists would be out of a job.)

Now if you feel the need to fix any of these things, by all means do it, but that's not what I'm here to talk about.

The only problem with your music career, is you.

What you chose to do with your time.

What you consider practice.

How you study.

Do you even take notes? Stop scrolling through YouTube like a 14 year old on TikTok after school, and do something with your life! Get up and GROW!

Incoming mood whiplash, where my editing ends. If you were actually sad that this veritable tome of text ended and want to read my book, the draft is available for any of my ko-fi and patreon supporters. Just ask! Otherwise, comment "waiting list!"

SPECIAL THANKS: @MATRVG, @MariogD, @Cyberdevil, and @JimmyTheCaterpillar. This book will be available to you free of charge, now in its draft form and in the future!

NOW, speaking of growing, let's talk about growing our sample libraries one more time, because I just cut like 40k characters off of this, and want to bed on time!

First up, I stumbled back upon ghosthack with this video:

How to Make Your Own VITAL Wavetables | PLUS Heavy Metallic Growl Bass Preset

Got major gearlust, so of course I bought myself a pack or … 7 on layaway. The packs are smallish, but a pretty decent price. And out of curiosity, I went to see if there were any freebies. To my surprise -- they were well hidden, but there were!

These are actually previews of related packs in most if not all cases, and they require enduring some email marketing, but the kits I've heard so far are banger. Worth checking out!

Vital Freebies

https://www.ghosthack.de/Service/Free-Sample-Packs/Vital/

Dubstep Freebies

https://www.ghosthack.de/Service/Free-Sample-Packs/Dubstep/

These are just a few of the goods. Plenty more to be found here!

https://www.ghosthack.de/free_sample_packs/

Summerville Sounds has released a lo-fi key plugin, Dusty Felts

And I happen to have a private collection that I just found on my old hard drive, if anyone wants to take a look. Just PM me to be safe.

-----

I had a small video section planned here, but in the interest of saving time, I'll leave the unfinished stubby tail here as links!

Video Section

Totally new concept in this digital age.... Is mastering... useless? I don't really think so, but I've been mixing in 32 bit floating point for a while and it is certainly superior.

Playlisting

-----

And that's really it. I'll see you guys in the next few weeks with some more music releases, aiming for Fridays. Be working on the book meantime and a SLEW of commissions.

Say a prayer for me. I could use some Jesus in my life.

Send a dollar if you're feeling feisty.

That's all I got for now. Peace!

Hey guys, popping in a couple days early to make some announcements here, so I don't have to PM them to everyone just yet -- I'm still finishing up editing this month's freebie write-up; I ended up starting a book by accident, and by that I mean a post too big for NG news. Which is saying something.

I'm still transferring bits and pieces of that over to drive and rewriting other parts that referred to it, so I'll probably post the mag around the 25th again. Maybe we'll make that a monthly thing? To be decided.

The book as with almost everything else I do is music production related, basically a catchall expansion of the ideas I've been developing here on the blog. I wrote it as an answer to the ten plus years of music production advice I've gotten, the good, the bad, the stupid -- and what actually works!

I'll be saving a snip for the mag, but I dunno what to do with the in progress file while we wait. Maybe make it available on ko-fi and Patreon? Lemme know your thoughts. I'm new to this actual serious "premium content" biz. Still looking for a title btw, so that's an option. If you want me to name it "ADR3-N's music producer tips and big-back bag of dicks", I'll do it for 50 bucks hahaha.

Speaking of, thank you to all my supporters: @MATRVG, @MariogD, @Cyberdevil, and @JimmyTheCaterpillar. Thanks to you, all of my latest releases here on Newgrounds are ALSO on iTunes and Spotify and everywhere else. You've introduced me to several new hobbies I didn't even think I'd have, and it gives me life <3

In still other news, I'm back to work, starting to recover from WHATEVER THE HELL I'm sick with besides chlorine. However, it won't be for long. I just put in my two weeks; someone is still mixing bleach and other chemicals.

I haven't changed my mind about how great it is to have a part-time job as an indie musician. The money is nice! It even allowed me to afford a DIY vocal booth made out of a grow tent and some panels. Once that's finished I might take a video and show you guys the haul.

It's a strange feeling. I didn't really need the job. My living conditions will be fine, just a little tighter in the pockets. The thing is, I've never really "quit" a job, ever. My first job I went into knowing I'd have to leave for basic training, and my last one I fought tooth and nail not to medically retire.

Of course, the paperwork won. That was the Army, which through all my struggling to stay in taught me: no amount of money is worth your health going down the tubes -- in this case, breathing straight chlorine; I told my bosses about the problem, told the coworker what made me sick, and it's still happening. So, I know I made the right decision. I'd work anything else for them, just not dish! I mean, I guess technically I'm still employed, if an hour a week teaching English to one of our Ukranian gals counts. So there's that.

I'll be fine.

As for how I am now, well I'm rambling, but I quit most of all to get some time to recover. It's officially been two weeks of random headaches, confusion and dizzy spells, forgetting why I went into the kitchen, or what I came here to write as you can see. I decided, enough with the stress and dreading getting sick every time I go in for an early morning slog. Time to line up some major doctor appointments and figure out what's wrong with me. The Veteran's Administration always scheduled my stuff conveniently on the exact days I had to work, which was really annoying, and this is one way to fix that!

BUT ENOUGH ABOUT MY PERSONAL LIFE FOR A SECOND AND TIME FOR SOME SWEET MOOD WHIPLASH BECAUSE I TOOK A DINNER BREAK HERE

While my life has been turning upside down and inside out, the winners of this year's NGUAC have been announced, and I personally enjoyed this year's winners HEAVILY. Everyone send a big congrats and a review to @HollandAlbright, @GameBoyFireworks, and @NatahDN!

The winning submissions, hopefully in the right order, are:

Since they were already frontpaged, I asked Tom to see if we can't do something a little more special. After all these years I still didn't know you could frontpage things twice, so I guess it's a little out of my pay grade, haha.

Now, while I may be a little shorter on money, it's a good thing I'll have some extra time on my hands, because NGADM judging is on like Donkey Kong!

You can check the progress here

And in the thread!

https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1537702/1

After that, I have two big commissions to slam out! One -- I'm not even sure I can talk about it yet -- but just to keep myself accountable, it's an OST for a videogame, not to be confused with Lakie's SmashHit OST Megacollab. I also can't post bits of that yet. Kinda got a non-disclosure agreement, but has been a journey learning -- well, whatever kind of house this is? Because it certainly is a genre I haven't made before!

For real what genre is this? I'm illiterate.

The other big project I'm proud to announce is Season One, Episode Eight of the Legend of Korra fan dub. Let's see if we got my episode on tap real quick.

Here you go:

https://odysee.com/@BlackWolfBowman:1/S1-E4-V1:2

I would have embedded this, but Odysee embeds don't work on NG! Thank VK and other platforms for taking it down over copyright.

Anyway, if you like Legend of Korra, be sure to check out the channel! If you're interested in working with any of the VAs, I can poke them for you!

If you're a voice actor yourself, the casting call for season 2 is up for grabs. Deadline in December.

https://www.castingcall.club/projects/the-legend-of-korra-season-1-fandub-casting-major-minor-extra-characters-copy

Besides that we still got singles coming down the pipe. Next up is Little Dreams in Russian, followed by a smashing 90s inspired rap banger with @SkankyMojo!

And that's it! I'll see you guys in NGADM judging, the DMs, replies, and otherwise no later than the 25th! But for now, I gotta get ready for work tomorrow.

See ya!

Okay, not actually dying, but I feel like it. I'm making this because for one, I've been so sick lately I haven't been able to keep up with my socials (no more going missing!), and for two, it was totally preventable.

Here's what happened. I was exposed to a moderate amount of chlorine gas at work as a dish washer, because someone mixed bleach with degreaser and lots of other chemicals in all my sinks. Turns out spending 3 hours over boiling hot chemical soup isn't good for you.

If you don't want to spend several agonizing days in bed, don't mix household cleaners. Just don't. It doesn't help clean any better than soaking, scrubbing, and rinsing each chemical off separately, but it will almost certainly give you a 4 day migraine and possibly a fever if you're working with it for longer than 10 minutes.

That's what I got. I feel like I went on a bender, caught covid, and followed it up by huffing paint thinner. I'm okay though! Please don't worry. Just gonna be slow with PMs and discords and projects.

My release schedule should be unaffected, and I have this month's magazine draft about half done. On Friday, my cover of Little Dreams (2020) should drop at balls o'clock, followed by Ne Ver Ne Boysia English version next week, and Little Dreams (RUS) the following week. After that, @SkankyMojo and I have a little surprise cooked up to bust up the flow.

Before all this popped off, @MATRVG and I also worked overtime to get another full Call of Duty movie on board. This time, a complete re-casting of Black Ops 5's Alex Mason -- revoiced by yours truly through the magical powers of AI voice modeling. We have:

What's the big hubbub? Well, newcomers to the franchise might not know this, but once upon a time, Mason had a very different, very grisly VA, Sam Worthington, who many in the CoD fanbase (MAT included) dearly loved as THE definitive Alex Mason. Personally, I love both his performance and that of Chris Payne Gilbert, but you have to wonder what would it sound like if Sam was still around? This series is an answer that question.

I had to make a new model for this one, one that would scream, and then actually scream into it, occasionally converting some lines as Matt found others from previous CoD entries. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun to make! Check it out!

Still other news, I just finished sound engineering 2 versions of Season 1, Episode 4 of Legend of Korra Fandub, publishing pending. I can't show it to you now, but I'm so excited for when I can. Keep your eyes peeled!

Wish me luck getting over the never-ending headache and fever! I'll see you later with any corrections or additions that I forgot (I asked Matt), NGADM/NGUAC judging, and the next edition of the freebie mag! I got several good ones from last month I might go through and add a little blurb. :)

See you later!

Hey guys. It's about the end of August, so you know what that means! A lot of words and the next edition of Adrean's Music Producer Freebie Mag!

What's new? Well, besides being a little late to make room for some totally lame artist news -- new releases and a whole 5 hour movie in my last blog that you should definitely not check out (sarcasm), I updated my cymbal pack, got a nice camera, and am actually thinking about doing video clips so you can watch in your spare time, rather than having to read an entire list.

That's probably a relief. I write a lot. But I haven't decided still, so don't get too happy. The idea was, video is just smarter this day and age. (God, am I getting old?) Reason being, it's more accessible, you can reach your audience on YT AND wherever else you decide to embed, and they tend to be shareables. Something to think about.

But anyway, enough about me -- onto the list, starting with my pet project, TMC. Not The Movie Channel -- Take My Cymbals.

Sample Pack Update!

Remember this massive oneshot pack?

And this demo?

I added 6 more cymbals, (48 more in the works). New sample count is 568 samples, from 503. Zip name changed from ADR3-N's Free Metal Drums to Take My Cymbals v2.

INSTALL:

Literally download and unpack. Simple.

If you already have TMC, rename the zip to whatever you saved it as prior, extract and drag and drop into the install location. Some sample convention renaming may have created one or two duplicates. If that's a concern, just drag the Wuhan and Dream folders over. You can always compare the folders using a file duplicate manager or analyzer otherwise.

Changelog:

February 28, 2024

3 New Dream Cymbals, 12in Lion China, 10in Bliss Splash, 10in Han Effect

August 5, 2024

Wuhan Cymbals Folder, 16-in O-China, Wuhan China, Wuhan Dark China; multiple crashes added. Samples marked CUT are patched together from existing hits. I wish I could find more recordings of these budget cymbals. Leave it to China I guess to make some great, if not very breakable Chinas. In some senses having these samples might be better than owning a set of Wuhans, lol.

At present, I haven't programmed these into Kontakt instruments, or SFZs. If you're good at that, contact me via PM or Discord. Willing to pay!

I could just jerry rig them onto an existing cymbal patch and copy the presets in the TMC folder for a test drive. What I'm doing currently is loading each individual cymbal (select all, drag and drop) into a separate track onto OmniSampler, which is a spinoff of an entire piano roll of MPC. Save patch, write some midi. This allows me to choose the exact articulation I want. Then I mix and pan as I like.

I have tons of cymbals I plan to add, including and especially little known artisans and rare pieces. The same old cymbals just get old, even if analog doesn't! So, as I add new cymbals, expect more announcements!

PS: Send me your tracks if you use these -- I'd love to hear (and feature) them!

PSS: I am taking requests! If you find a cymbal recording I can sample, even if it isn't properly sustained, I'll cut it up and synthesize new articulations for it!

S-Drive Bass OD

We got ourselves a nice little overdrive pedal from Modern Music Solutions. I usually don't go for these as I prefer one knobs or dry DI tone going into the amp, but Bedroom Producer's Blog did a nice writeup on the specifics.

What I found really interesting was actually the small section of freebies on the site, including metal mixing tips -- specifically for compressing your live basses!

This has applications outside of metal. Any genre in which you're using a live bass, you're going to want to keep that low end balanced, tight, and out of the way of the kick, whenever it hits. I'm not going to ditch all the secret sauce here and now to spoil the article, because it deserves to be read -- so go read it and take notes!

On another note...

Producer Grind has released Trap Genesis BETA pack (2.8 GB)

Trap Genesis Beta Pack (Landing Page, because it wouldn't let me embed the video)

The biggest standouts I see are the melodies shown. The drums so far are, well, they're drums, lol. We all know hip-hop loves to recycle drums and resell them. That's how it's been done for decades.

BUT, the pack also comes with midi.

Note, these are TECHNICALLY not royalty free unless you buy the license, but the samples are available nonetheless. You can still make beats with them. You can just expect to negotiate with the rights holder at a later date if you see a placement.

This is a new route I see sample vendors taking, and I think it's a good deal. Everyone gets to take great samples for a trial run, and what's the worst that happens to a producer who doesn't have a license? Can they really track everyone down? With content ID and a completely unaltered sample, yes they can, but then you just make an agreement on royalties.

Also, You KNOW for a fact these producers used samples to make they samples, especially the vintage melodies, so... Who fking cares, free sounds! Pack goes up for sale on the 30th, for those interested.

PS, Producer Grind ALSO hasn't changed their search feature since I wrote about it last time, which means you can still find FREE KITS starting on the bottom of this page.

Here's a link for that. Hope you haven't cleared your browser history. I downloaded several pages of kits off this thing and forgot where I put them. XD

Of course, you don't really need the link if you just type FREE in the search box from any other page on the site -- that's what the link is. And good thing. If you try the sort by price feature, I don't even think they show up!

So what are some of the high points?

Well, for the uninitiated, the Spinz 808 is a must. Hands down the most memorable 808 in all of hip-hop and a solid start for any bottom line. Pun intended.

There are also several, several drum kits, community packs, the flagship giveaway I just mentioned (but that one isn't royalty free), analog chord packs, FLPs, FX, you name it. It's a pretty diverse offering. Worth taking a gander at the titles and nabbing.

Real shoutout to whoever makes these sample pack graphics btw. Imma have to take notes.

The freebies go all the way to page 13 with some brief interruptions of sales and so on. Just keep slugging through them and pick what you like. And yes, there are some new ones, or I wouldn't be writing!

MONSTER SAX sounds like a 90s jazz writer's dream. And it's free!

A noice demo by @jernemies

And next up we got ourselves a video. Our guy actually reviewed 16+ free drum kits that work with an e-kit ;)

I Played 19 FREE Realistic Drum VST Plugins

I also found some free midtempo samples ;)

All the links on the above page will open up to a new tab. I haven't checked them all because I don't (gasp) use FL Studio or Serum, but let's take a look at my personal favorite goldmine:

The unassuming Free Midtempo Sample Pack

For the price of a little email spam (and confirming your email btw), you'll get to …. Dig around for this pack, because it's old af. And as you're digging, you'll discover several other packs, quick and easy, no fuss.

Where is this Midtempo pack hiding?

Turns out, it's nestled in zipped and rezipped folders under the LEGACY pack, which contains all their older drops. Nifty, if a little annoying, but you just found yourself a trove of drums, presets, and in some cases demos to study!

Antidote Audio, where we found this little list, also has their own section of freebies

Same deal as the last, confirm an email -- a little annoying when you already opened a bunch of tabs after reading what you wanted, but it is what it is.

There are serum presets, dubstep drums, bass shots, neuro basses, ableton projects, advent packs with various loops, you name it! Also, I found out opening a bunch of tabs was completely unnecessary. Everything downloads right from the page. So props for that.

94 Royalty Free Tracks for your Remixing, Covering, and Interpolating Pleasure

An anonymous birdie sent me this royalty free music catalog. You know what that means, a trove of musical ideas you can sample, remix, cover, or interpolate into your own compositions with complete impunity. ;)

https://dsmagnum.newgrounds.com/audio

Also, if you weren't aware, 99Sounds has a slick collection of SFX for cinematic production!

I was aware of these before, but a certain birdie dropped this link to my inbox. We got braahms, swooshies, transitions, and quite a few nice surprises just from the demo alone!

Oh, and no talking.

Free Sound Effects (Royalty-Free)

DEDICATION

I'd like to thank a certain anonymous birdie for sending more than one of these my way. When I first started this mag, I just wanted to do something useful with my particular data hoarding obsession, and well, I guess I have been if I'm getting this kind of response. I'm also proud that despite being super prone to burnout, it's been years now, and multiple consecutive months of posting these types of resources!

That amazes me, because you know, I started out on Newgrounds in elementary school, playing Punchout and Club a Seal, not a care in the world besides how to get to the secret nudie pics hidden in some RPG or best troll the BBS. I never thought I'd be sitting here 20 years later, a semi-accomplished music producer eye-ball deep in a community of creators, actually BEING one of them, helping people get to where I am!

Even though ADHD makes keeping a schedule so, so difficult I do that! So I guess what I'm trying to say is thanks, to everyone who reads this, and of course my supporters for encouraging me to keep going. Y'all are awesome.

SPECIAL THANKS

PS, TomFulp, if you're reading this, you've got a good thing going. Because of this website, memes have come, cultures have gone, labels have raged, and… we're getting old. If there's anything we can do to keep this thing rolling long after we're gone, think about it and let us know. I don't care if it's starting up a freaking stock. I'll invest. And bring friends. ;)

Also, there is one totally unrelated thing I read about, webtorrent -- a peer to peer solution that could potentially lighten the load on our servers by decentralizing file hosting. Seems pretty lit. FAQ. Wonder what we could do with that kind of service?

Anyway, if you're still here, have a great rest of your day wherever you are. I'll see you next month, or announcement. You know how I be. ;)

Love y'all!

-A

Hey! Me again. Last post I swore I'd get these write-ups done before judging NGUAC/NGADM. That did not happen, because life did. I'm drafting this quick, but here's the dates.

Should be every Friday dropping at balls o'clock (00:00 server time), except the last one which falls on a Thursday because I scheduled them all in one go and that's as far as it let me lol.

The licenses are green, and without further ado, here's the oldies but goodies. Links will be added in as they drop!

August 23rd - Dancing With A Stranger (Sam Smith, 2019)

Genre: Pop-metal ballad, little on the atmospheric side

Remastered, de-essed, and novellized (I kid). I finally got around to writing the backstory, the making of, the memoirs and the dedications for this beauty, because this is the one that started it all, the song that marked me actually starting to do covers, songs in Russian, and even originals!

But don't get me started because I didn't write a whole spiel to spoil it before release day. ;)

August 30th - I Want You To Know (Selena Gomez, 2019)

Genre: Pop-metal, with a sprinkle of dance synths and blazing keys

Number two in a long list of things I never thought I'd do. I don't remember exactly when I wrote this, but I do remember the covid restrictions, lots of yellow gatorade, putting off my homework, and a girlfriend I had who went to the college not far from base and was over the moon that A, I wore a uniform (totally hot right), and B, I spoke Russian (hot to some people I guess?)

Whatever, I'm proud of it. Proud enough to drop cash to properly distribute it instead of waiting for a takedown over on YT.

September 6, 2024 - Little Dreams (Ellie Goulding, 2020)

Genre: Metal, or at least rock, c'mon. Like, as Dancefloor is the poppy version of regular DnB

Finally something English, at least I'm sure there's someone out there that thinks that, lol, but I feel like an old lady looking through her high school yearbooks. Which reminds me, I should take more pictures.

We got this one in two flavors as you'll see. If you're not a metal head, or you just like Russian, stay tuned. ;)

Ps: Here's a reminder to myself that 4 years ago, these pants were black. Now they're... not.

September 13 - Ne Ver Ne Boysia (t.A.T.u. 2023)

Genre: Eurodance, Early 2000s Euro Dance Pop

I should name this Friday the 13th for extra tensions, but I won't. XD

An English translation of a famous song you probably never knew didn't actually have a proper English version. Translated as literally as humanly possible, because accuracy MATTERS. To me at least. Also it got 15k+ views on YT so it must have been cool, right? Right?!

I debated on properly releasing this for a long time after fighting with YouTube's copyright algorithms, and not just on this track.

See, even royalty free samples get snagged in the new system, because it isn't programmed to recognize old sample CDs; it's programmed to recognize copyrighted works, whether or not they were based on royalty free samples.

That's ONE of the problems I had. Another one ten times more worrisome is that not only does the copyright detector borg flag samples, it's been updated to flag chord progressions, rhythms, and even melodies. So you can and will be forked and fleeced for doing a cover, whether it's good, bad, shockingly imaginative, or we-have-that-song-at-home simple.

Used to be, you could outrageously change the speed, pitch, timbre, and even genre OR gender for your cover to get around the algorithm. Now, that doesn't even work. That method is officially outdated. You can thank slowed and reverb, nightcore spammers.

But I'm getting off track. This in concert plus the fact that I sung this through vocal AIs really discouraged me from getting a cover license -- much like having to pay for cover licenses or potentially have my channel shut down and potentially getting sued discouraged me from ever submitting covers in the past (especially when "real musicians" said covers were the lazy bastard's way to fame, not real art or tribute).

I can only wonder how much harder it is for a would be Bieber or T-Swift building their career on other platforms to get off the ground today with bots chafing at the bit to auto-delete their creations, threatening them with legal action, and on the off chance they're being nice transferring all the funds raised from their hard work directly into some fat cat's pocket.

Patreon, ko-fi, and other artist-support networks are invaluable these days. New producers, take note. And get yourself some licenses. You never know when the rich man will try to shoot you down. Easy song license for the win.

September 19th - Little Dreams (Ellie Goulding, Jan 2024)

Genre: Eurodance of the early 2000s

And that ALMOST catches us up to modern times, lol. I had the same problem with this release as the last one. And I'm shocked, honestly, because I thought for sure this one would have no issues, except maybe a few drum loops that Shapavalov/Galoyan used in multiple works of theirs, as producers that day and age tended to do with sample CDs.

This one was almost a research project of sorts, like the one before it, for EVERYTHING that made up t.A.T.u's sound, to see if I could take that and apply it to a song that I knew by then by heart. I told y'all, I love this damn song. It's apparently the gift that keeps on giving, so much so that I feel compelled to keep buying licenses for it. Did you know that you have to pay for a license for every cover version you do of a song? I didn't, until the other day.

Anyway, basically the same story as the last song, but this one is translated into Russian. Was a smash hit across the ocean and I wanted to bring it here, because my NG fam deserves more than just the crumbs!

Additional Plans, Updates, and Hypotheticals

In due time, all of these should be available on Spotify, Apple, etc. Different stores distro at different times, and scheduling them doesn't always work right, for covers at least because the licenses have to come back.

I've got a remix of Can You See the Clouds Divide waiting on approval for release. Anxiously, chafing at the bit waiting.

I really want to release MEMORY on here as will. One of these days I'll get around to it. Writing up essentially double promos for all these has me wanting to rest on my meat haunches and find a donut.

Fall Away has been remastered -- and by that I mean I didn't fix the weird space of the vocal mix, but the EQ and compression have been re-dressed, and it sounds a lot better now. (@SkankyMojo what do you think?)

As I'm writing this I realized I've been listening to that on repeat for half an hour. Oops. And it's late as hell. I should probably sleep.

So, uh, love you guys, see you on the 24th with the next Music Producer Freebie Mag!

Shoutout to my beloved supporters: @MATRVG, @MariogD, @Cyberdevil, and @JimmyTheCaterpillar.

PS, I haven't gotten around to my mail yet due to the usual combo of ADHD and RL responsibilities. I have one or two commissions to do, competition judging, but I do have most of the week off work and the house to myself to get around to that soon! I'm patting myself on the back that I managed to do at least one extra thing off my to-do list that I said was a MAYBE, not a definite. We're getting them personal goals in, haha.

Ok, now it's really late -- so bye for real now!

Heya, just a little note that I'm taking the day off, or a couple days from creative endeavors. Today hit me like a ton of bricks, lots of manual labor and bleach water, but that's not why.

If you check my last post, we got about 5 covers and remixes I plan to release over the next month. Yes, I got the licenses! (which means they are out now on streaming cough google and add me to your library cough) But I thought to myself, where's the fun in dropping them to NG without a planned release schedule AND background information about what they are? Why should you care about them if I can't be even be assed?

Rhetorical questions.

So, I'll be taking some time to write up blurbs and trivia for the releases, scheduling them instead of tossing a giant dump in your feed. I used to never do this, and some of these are like 4 years old. It's about time I start treating things seriously, don't you think?

And once that's done, I'll draft a linked list here -- and more blurbs. Because promo. Then I'll drop the music prod mag on the 24th or so for a FP slot.

In other news, the freebie mag is coming along nicely. I have some articles drafted over the past month related to music production and music related advice that I might publish if not alongside it then at a later date, because you know me. Me write long blogs. (out now!)

NGUAC and NGADM's next judging phases are around the corner, so I'll be focusing on that in the coming weeks (hence why I'm scheduling everything now!!) @TaintedLogic, @AED-4, please ping me when it's time. I like to try and finish judging early to leave more time for feedback.

Since dubbing CoD Cold War went so well, @MATRVG and I have another project in the works. I won't say what just yet, but let's just say we might have another blockbuster movie on our hands. ;)

I still have a little more work to do on the Legend of Korra fandub. Like 2 episodes of sound engineering. Send thoughts and prayers because it's been a long haul! And the collabs are coming along. Yay.

And last but not least, @Shayinator has done an awesome commission that I haven't even decided what to do with yet, plus put up with my on and off communication officially for months. Made me like the slav squatting adidas sporting queen that I am. XD

Still other news:

Ko-Fi is still the best way to support me for now, HOWEVER, Patreon is changing their payout policy to monthly subscription only, which means -- the per-project account I haven't charged ever because I didn't think it was fair to just push the button whenever (y'all all follow me for different reasons, and they wouldn't let me change the setting!) will soon be NORMAL and USABLE! Double yay.

Also, I may be swapping files for some audios I've submitted here with remastered versions. If and when I do that, I'll make an announcement. :)

Shoutout to my amazing supporters: @MATRVG, @MariogD, @Cyberdevil, @JimmyTheCaterpillar. I'll catch y'all on the flipside!

Love,

-A

Hey guys! It's me, popping in between judging like 300 songs (NGUAC and NGADM), answering mails, and writing up the next free plugin/VST magazine. I'd say I don't do this often, but every other blog I'm writing some kind of announcement lol.

Well, this month, I'm going to be ... switching gears, at least on the surface. I know, you're thinking, look at your audio, Adrean! You do that a lot! And you're right. Had to change my username (twice), because let's face it, I hop genres like an 80s aerobics class.

Last month I dropped a glitchy drum and bass chillout with metal guitars, preceded by 2 hour sequel interview with @Aalasteir on NG history, saving money and washing dishes among other life hacks, followed by a hip-hop track with a creepy orchestra, a 90's French house bop, and ... some kind of nostalgic microtonal AI-vocal fanfic drumstep about time travel paradoxes and lost love.

Feel like I've done literally everything this year -- voice acing, screamo, 90s beats, hip-hop bangers, throat singing, audio book engineering. Might have something to do with the ADHD I just figured out I had. (And FYI, @SkankyMojo, @FarFromSundown, and @Trunotfals, not letting that get in the way of our collabs! Just cleaning out some backlog and getting back into the creative mood! If I haven't DMed you by tomorrow, poke me!)

And what might that parenthetical backlog be? Well, I was browsing my phone the other day and came across several tracks that I previously posted to YouTube and NOWHERE else -- for licensing reasons. Stuff I loved. Like this:

Yes, my cover songs/RU tracks. If you've been with me for a while, you know about them from my previous newsposts, which was the only place I could share them here without cover licensing. But if you're new, it's gonna feel a little abrupt -- like I suddenly fell off the wagon from modern-ish EDM and hip-hop into a whole new world of bootleg Russian djent, or in some cases 90s pop a la t.A.T.u.

It'll be about 5 songs. I still have some remastering to do before I submit requests, because the bulk of these are from 2019-2020 and need some TLC. I like to think that I learned a lot and do things differently now. Having better-recording-equipment and de-essing my vocals, cough.

Getting the licenses might take up to 14 days, but once Distrokid fleeces me for a dollar a pop per month and gives me the green light, I'll drop! It's gonna cost me like $50 a year extra, but I think it's worth it.

If you want to help keep them live, you can make it hail over at ko-fi, or I dunno, gift me a supporter sub. I actually like the second option not just because it will save me money, but because NG is life. xD

Also

(Art by @TostiToast on DeviantArt -- gasp!)

Other projects and events:

NGUAC and NGADM are still in full force! You can check the post history of @TaintedLogic and @AED-4 respectively for their progress, or, ya know, check the Audio Forum. ;) It's too late to enter if you haven't already, but you can ask to get on the mailing list for next year!

If you haven't received a review from me and you wanted my thoughts on your entry, I have a dedicated playlist for that. Send me a PM and I'll add you to the list!

Sound Kits!

I have updated Take My Cymbals on beatstars in anticipation of this month's freebie plugin/vst mega-list. More about that when it's out.

Speaking of, when my next Frontpage announcement is available, I'll drop the Music Producer Mag. Looks like that'll be the 24th or 25th. So a little later than usual, but September we should be back on track!

Projects/Work

I have several songs in progress, three of which being collabs, one or two which I'm waiting to hear back an OK to release after about a year's wait, some sound engineering work. It's taking a while, not least because of a WHOLE lot of dish washing and teaching English between managing my RL and judging two music competitions.

In short, I'm still super tired and short on sleep, and RL has been full of BS. As always.

The biggest and most labor intensive of the things I actually got done this month is this: I voice acted the previously un-voiced sections of Bell, Mason, and Belikov (from Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War) for @MATRVG over several sessions and LOTS of back and forth for files. The fruits of our combined labors are now featured on his channel as a full movie!

This so far is the coolest (and longest) solo voice acting gig I've ever done. Not only did I have to voice act the characters themselves, but I had to do so in a way that the vocal AIs (which I made myself) would act properly. So, basically I had to impersonate the original actors for Mason and Belikov, plus invent a persona and headspace that made sense for Bell, who was a silent protagonist. I even translated some lines into Russian for the intel-grab at Lubyanka (a KGB stronghold), which was such an AWESOME feeling, especially hearing the final product!

It also got me REALLY excited for CS#2 Remake! (which I have waited for anxiously since voice acting lines!) @MATRVG's idea <3

So all in all, while I haven't published as much MUSIC as I'd like this month, and I've been super busy AND dealing with writer's block, I'd say I'm doing pretty alright. I thank God for you guys here on NG, because without you, I wouldn't be where I am today, and I'd probably go insane. This world is hell in a hand basket, and because of you, I get to spend all day inside ignoring that fact and instead pursuing my passion. So thank you!

I still recommend the part-time job for anyone stuck in the "starving artist" crowd btw. It's working for me so far! Financial freedom ftw!

Anyway that's all for now.

Big shoutout to my supporters: @MATRVG, @MariogD, @Cyberdevil, and @JimmyTheCaterpillar. See ya soon!

Happy late Independence Day (was July 4th to those of you not reading from the US)! It's been more like Independence Month for me, editing like mad to get this post under the limit of 10 images and be legible, and having everything that can possibly go wrong do so IRL.

When I finally did all the editing and dealt with Murphy's Law, none of the images pasted, and I realized I was going to be VERY late posting, lol. Fumbled the bag for the producer freebie mag. Woops.

In keeping with the Indie theme, this month of the Music Producer Freebie Mag is all about the independents. We're going to go over all my favorite Indie plugins, samples, and sample instruments -- almost all of them for Decent Sampler!

If you don't know what Decent Sampler is, it's basically fancy sforzando, or Kontakt Lite ;) And yes, it's more than decent! Google it now, if you don't have it already.

Up first is a little creator appreciation for some seriously OCD sampling! Jazz producers take a peep, and possibly take notes.

Creator Spotlight - Larry Seyer

This guy makes some EXTREMELY detailed drum kits, with FINE tuned control in mind. Don't believe me? His snares have something like 8 zones on them, mapped from E2 to E3! Absolute mad lad!

Larry Seyer Acoustic Drums  Resonant Donut Surgical

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/larry-seyer-acoustic-drums-resonant-do/

Larry Seyer Acoustic Drums  Beefy Room Tuned High Rod

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/beefy-room-tuned-high-rod/

Why is this important? Well, for those of us (okay, well mostly just me) who strive to get the EXACT articulation we want, the average drum kit can literally be hit or miss. Most of them have 4-8 round robins on the snare, regardless of the spot hit and usually smack the same one at different velocities or a random spot at the same velocity RR.

It goes without saying that for a particularly picky producer (sometimes me), you might not want that. If you like deeply sampled kits, and you're not trying to play them on an e-kit, one of Larry's just might be for you!

Okay, enough nerd jazz, onto more cool ass patches! We got some real atmospheric horror in store for you with these next couple instruments.

Atmospheric/Filmscore

Pianodrop #68.4 - Scary Metal Shelves 668 MB Kontakt by Daniel Philistin

But wait, it gets better (scarier):

Spooky McSpookyFace (Scary Metal Shelves Demo)

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/scary-metal-shelves/

This instrument sounds absolutely bonkers good to me, like bowed cymbal bonkers. To be fair, I think that's kind of the whole principle behind this pack. The cheap amazon shelves basically create a giant reverberating sound prison. Have you ever rubbed them the wrong way and thought to yourself, wtf? Well, the creator of this patch certainly did, and it's no wonder why!

Spooky Organ (that sounds like it's dying inside) is next up.

SpookyOrgan - Soundpreview by Jonas Krug

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/spooky-organ/

Considerably smaller and pretty atmospheric. This one performs best with long tones, and I've loved playing with it. Check out the demo!

Braaaaaaam!

No shocker here what this is. Tons and tons of submissions went into this Pianobook Braam Library, the World's Biggest Braaam! Filled with tons of horns, trailer sounds, and straight up drama, this one is a slick add-on for anyone's collection.

The World's Biggest BRAAAM

Percussion

Next is one I was positively thrilled to try -- we got some taikos! If you know me, you know I love 'em. Here's the demo and a little profile of the pack.

Pianodrop #95.5 - LOW Explosive Taiko Drums

Link: https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/low-explosive-taiko-drums/

Creator: Performed by I Have No Mouth (Grady), Recorded by Sam Friend, Robert Katz, & Barret Ver Planck

Includes: 1 O-daiko (lowest), 2 okedo-daiko (tom-like medium pitch), 2 shime-daiko (highest pitch) in 7 articulations (center, edge click, mute hit, rimshot, flam, buzz, slap)

Mapping: Mostly symmetrical, so that they can be played with 2 fingers on 2 keys, mimicking the left and right hand.

I love, love, love ethnic drums, particularly taiko and daiko. Maybe it's the fact that I played a lot of Samurai Warriors as a kid, and you could legit slam the daikos in all the enemy camps, lol. There are even a few taiko/daikos hidden in the percs from my Adreanaline Sample Pack (but thankfully these are faithfully named!)

Here's a little making of the kit for those interested:

Recording/Mixing Taiko Drums for Low

Next is a little drum machine. Cute, minimal, and perfect for all sorts of occasions!

Pianodrop #45.5 - The Pocket Drum Machine

And a grungy acoustic kit perfect for your black metal/punk/lo-fi needs:

Basement Drums Pianobook Demo by Ryan C Herma

Followed by these sleek and sexy gongs. I haven't seen a good set of these since the old, relatively low quality, and hard to find Chai Gongs (32-bit). These ones below impress <3

Tuned Thai Gongs by Aarush Bothra (1.2GB Decent Sampler)

And these cans stoke my inner child, so I couldn't go without dropping them as well.

Tin Can Drums (Plus a Free Decent Sampler VST)

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/tin-can-drums/

And check out this funky little kit!

From The Groove by Adam Vito

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/michaels-drums/

Abbey Road Institute Drumkit - Carlos Bricio

NO DEMO, but the reviews are smacking good. Since Abbey Road is such a buzz word, I figured why not toss this one in for curiosity's sake.

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/c75-drums/

Back to demo land, we have a fair sounding standard kit here. I can never get enough drums, so you know I couldn't say no!

Garage Sale Kit - Sample pack

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/garage-sale-kit/

I've also had a TON of fun using this next patch, the bombo! Has a deep, earthy feel to it. A great addition to any ethnic perc groove!

Pianodrop #59.2 - Andean Bombo

Bells

I can't actually install this one since my Kontakt is too old (cries in useless updates), but these chimes sound CRAZY good.

Koshi Water Chimes

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/koshi-water-chimes/

Dream Vibes by Benjamin Freeland (pianobook) 1.8 GB Kontakt

I think the demo speaks for itself!

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/dream-vibes/#

Pianodrop #100.4 – Rental Marimba 181 MB Kontakt by David Michael Celia

One does not simply rent a marimba without recording every single note at multiple velocities ;)

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/rental-marimba/

Keys

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/southsea-glimmer/

UNBELIEVABLY SMALL AND GORGEOUS^^^

The Experience - Yamaha S6 5.6 GB Kontakt & SFZ by Dore Mark

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/the-experience-yamaha-s6/

Synths (some of these are actually nuts)

Americana Granular Pad - Joshua Meltzer

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/americana-granular-pad/

I particularly enjoyed this one below for pure nostalgia.

ASIMOV - PIANOBOOK PROMO (FREE SYNTH)

Retro Synth Alert: Yamaha PortaSound 130

For those of you that love soundblasts from the past, this section will be up your alley. Below I've compiled several demos and downloads from the absolute coolest retro patches I've ever seen! Or well, heard.

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/yamaha-pss-130/

80's Module - Decent Sampler Instrument (demo)

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/80s-module/

Little FM Module - Free instrument for Decent Sampler (demo)

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/fm-little-module/

Phase Distortion Synth for Decent Sampler

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/pd-big-brother/

Pianodrop #84.1 - Kawai K4 Collection

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/kawai-k4-collection/

Free Omnichord sample plugin (Omni-84)

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/omni-84/

Winds

We got some really sick instruments and ensembles coming out of the Pianobook community. I mean, seriously blew me away, no pun intended.

Shaba Flute Ensemble VSTi - Showcase (Pianobook) KONTAKT

Link: https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/shaba-flute-esnemble/

Creator: Pavel Sabacky

Includes: 3.2 GB 6 Flute Ensemble (Baby Ocarina, Ocarina, Recorder, Dizi, Xiao, Native American flute)

You might sneeze at the file size, but the articulations, recorded riffs, and ability to solo each individual flute is CRAZY. Don't believe me, watch the video. Perfect for scoring, with multiple patches.

And probably better than your favorite paid library. It was for me at least!

STRINGS

Probably my absolute favorite toys, the strings below, whether I wrote a blurb or not, are friggin' ear tickling good!

MANDOLIN GUITAROPHONE (MARXOPHONE) and 3 Choirs. by Black Aurora

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/mandolin-guitarophone-marxophone/

A Clearing at Dusk (Wildmother's Dulcimer Only) by Hunter Rogerson 4.6 gb Kontakt

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/the-wildmothers-dulcimer/

Three string patches that MIGHT make your Kontakt solo violins/cellos obsolete

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/scary-flautando-violin/

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/flautando-violin/

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/beyondbow-cello/

And the sickest eastern European dulcimer/lute/mandolin replacer ever:

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/three-strings-domra/

This one pairs nicely with the Mountain Dulcimer (with controllable strumming) by PMEDig

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/strummed-mountain-dulcimer/

And you can toss in this next patch for a little extra spice… I think I have a problem lol.

The Vintage Japanese Mandolin (Plus a Free Decent Sampler VST)

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/the-vintage-japanese-mandolin/

There's also Lyre-Lyre:

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/lyre-lyre/

And even an Ornamental African Banjo! (Decent Sampler 42 Mb)

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/ornamental-african-banjo/

Another perfect add-on for your family of plucked strings is the Taishogoto:

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/taishogoto/

And last but not least, we have the Bulbul Tarang

Free Kontakt Instrument - Bulbul Tarang

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/bulbul-tarang/

Do basically all of these instruments sound similar? Yes. Do you think it will stop me from downloading them all and taking over the world? OF COURSE NOT MWAHAHAHAHA!

But in all seriousness, I copped all these and am currently in the process of creating a frankenmonster of stringed folk instrument bliss!

Closing thoughts

Usually I would use this space to ramble on about something or other FOREVERRR, but it's been a long, long month. Tbh I just want to go to bed. IRL we've had an assassination attempt on the former president, and online, the Audio Deathmatch AND Underdog Audio Competition (NGADM & NGUAC) are raging, with the conclusion of auditions just around the corner. Today was a busy day at work, and my brain is fried. I'm so, so tired.

I haven't had much time to think of what to write, but what I want to say is this -- internet impermanence is as real. If you like something and think it's cool, find a way to save it!

Whether that means getting several cheap USBs to hold you over for 6 months to a year, CD or DVDs (because yes, they're coming back in style), or even a big ol' suitcase of platter drives, do what you gotta do. External HDDs and cold storage solutions are cheap and getting cheaper. $150 bucks will get you a few externals that can last you up to 5 years or even longer, and they're pretty big for the price nowadays.

I remember 10 years ago a 64 gig flash drive was something like 80 bucks on sale, and now a 512 gig drive goes for the same price. Shocking, but super cool.

I thought about this after I switched PCs, only to catch that a sizeable cache of my photos were missing from my new drive. Then I noticed some missing plugins in my library, so I tried to go get them, and that process sucked. Some of the developers straight up no longer existed. Some of their DRM completely locked me out of putting my plugs on a new PC from scratch. And still more assholes straight went to a subscription service and tanked their lifetime licenses (Fuck y'all for that)

Not only were some of my favorite plugin companies going under or giving their old customers the finger, but as I restored my old setup, I caught onto a disturbing trend. Several more digital streaming platforms and consoles were caught deleting digital content that their customers paid for, straight out of their libraries. That'd be like Walmart breaking into my house and stealing my Xena collection because they decided to stop selling it (Ty for the analogy, Louis Rossman).

I came to one conclusion. The only way to actually own the content you have is to physically control it. And you can't do that with a movie you purchased the right to stream. You CAN however on a hard drive or USB, if you save it ;)

This isn't just limited to online purchases. Sites like YT constantly remove my favorite content from my playlists for one reason or another, even if you select to download their encrypted file format videos to your device for offline streaming. The only solution to that is to download your favorite content to a device you control, in a format you can access easily. Cough. YT downloader. Cough.

I do this infrequently, when I really like something, like a mashup that's almost certainly going to get taken down for copyright violation or a provocative indie artist's videos. Does this mean I'll stop streaming them to show my support? Nah, just saving for posterity, when either it or YT falls off the face of the earth.

We've had our own scares here on Newgrounds, albeit for less draconian money-grubbing reasons. Anyone remember Numa Numa's debut, or the old Naruto AMVs that used to flood the portal? Me too. They're gone because record labels rained down some scary DMCAs over the "unlicensed" use of their music on other submissions; in the aftermath, NG was forced to remove potentially offending content in advance, just to be safe. Had all of us had the mind of fighting internet impermanence, a lot of NG history would still be intact.

Just a little food for thought. Get yourself some storage, and use it wisely!

-A

This edition was made possible by viewers like you. Shoutout to my amazing supporters: @MATRVG, @MariogD, @Cyberdevil, and @JimmyTheCaterpillar.

Hey guys, slight delay on the next freebie mag. RL duty calls. Just gotta fix the draft, so next edition will be out by the 20th! Thank you for reading!