Reviews

See what people are saying about our libraries…

“This set of three virtual drum kits and one percussion kit is designed to recreate the vintage sound heard on countless classic breakbeats, and is based around a 4GB [collection] of drum samples recorded with dozens of velocity and round-robin variations. The result is kits that are essentially simple – you don’t get a huge variety of sounds, despite the size of the library – but sound authentic and phat when programmed via MIDI… Overall, this is a good library that makes a decent alternative to virtual drum software. 8/10.”

“If you’ve been frustrated trying to find these types of vintage drum sounds, you probably didn’t even bother reading this far and have already placed your order. But for those who need further convincing, just take a listen to the demos on Impact Soundworks’ website. These kits are certainly a worthy addition to the library of anyone seeking that sound, but clearly this is a library that drummers will get the most enjoyment out of given the range of expression that is possible with disciplined playing technique. Regardless of your level of ability, however, this is a great sounding collection of the types of drums that aren’t exactly abundant on the sample library market these days.”

“This library is killer. Interesting, unusual and dramatic textures – all well-recorded and excellently programmed – make this a new favorite for my scoring work. I’ve been having my students sample their kitchens and bathrooms for years to get new and interesting percussion textures – this library takes that idea and elevates it to a higher level. Thanks to Will for this great addition to our composing tool-box!”

“The download and installation seems to be successful—been having so much fun playing with the Large Steel Frame L-R patches I almost forgot to respond back! They sound great and fill a big hole in the percussion template. Having developers like yourself address specific niches is a godsend for those of us needing new dynamic, playable instruments every couple of years. Thank you so much for doing this.”

“Impact Steel has found a home in my template. It’s a unique collection of sounds that is often just the right spice that I am looking for.”

“I’m thoroughly astonished by the incredible quality of this sample library. It’s the best library of its kind I’ve ever heard and it’s so useful for me. I don’t really make “orchestral” music, but the dramatic effect I can achieve with it on many kinds of musical segments is absolutely awesome. The price? Hell, for this kind of recording and arrangement quality, Steel is a true steal.”

“I’ve been playing with Impact: Steel for a little over a week now and it has already found a place in my regular sample library. As the demos on the site suggest, it works extremely well to add metallic flavor and impact to your compositions. I’ve found it really wants to be ‘played’ – that is, I find it hard to not want to smash my keys while I’m playing with the samples!”

“This library focuses on rock and metal rhythm guitar with raw samples DI’d from a Guitar tuned to Bflat (ie. its meant for use with an amp sim). Articulations include sustained notes, power chords, pinch hammronics, mutes and slides, with switching accomplished via velocity. The note range goes up to around the first A (fifth fret) on the high E string, which is plenty.

The 1GB sample set sounds superb, and with eight round-robin alternatives, up and down strokes and double-tracked patches (using Kontakt’s multiple outputs), it can be highly convincing, even with frenetic thrash and metal picking patterns. 9/10!”

“If you are in need of some electric rhythm guitar tracks, or just a fan of power chords, Shreddage is for you. It’s affordable and you get a lot of sound and flexibility for the price. As a matter of fact, the value is tremendous if you are in need of some solid power chords to spice up your arrangements.

The dry nature and good consistent recordings allow you to create the sound YOU want, instead of having to write based on the sound they give you. Some minor tuning issues and a couple of small omissions such as no vibrato abilities notwithstanding, Shreddage is a solid and fun library.

Easy to play, light on resources, and open sample mapping and editing give you a library that will find it’s way into your tracks, whether they be scratch tracks for a future live replacement, or they are a final, render-ready guitar part. It serves both purposes very well. 9.5/10“

“Sitar Nation: Classical Instruments of India ($119) is easily the best collection of sampled sitars I’ve ever played. Given some of the sampled sitars we’ve all heard, that may sound like faint praise, but this set from Impact Soundworks pole-vaults over the others with a playability, a musicality, and a complexity that place it alongside the best sampled instruments of any stripe.”

“This is the best sitar library on the market. It’s not only exceptionally authentic and expertly edited, but it’s extremely versatile. ISW has taken the time to give us not only traditional sitar patches, but also some really cool processed patches that build a bridge between organic and synthetic tones. I’ll definitely be using this library in future compositions. 5/5 stars!”

“The sound quality is unexpectedly high class for a new developer… Sitar Nation is not only one of the best ethnic instrument libraries available but also one of the cheapest. With its unique sound and patch design… it has set the bar for all future Indian instrument libraries to live up to.”