Sample Packs – ModeAudio Sway & Sunset Electronica

ModeAudio | Sway – Hip Hop Loops & Samples

Sway is a lush, rhythm-oriented hip hop sample pack. The grooves and timing of the elements of this pack meander and swing in a way that is both laid-back and exciting at the same time.

The Bassline loops contain an amalgamation of warm/saturated grooving bass sounds. With respect to sound design, the feel is very vintage/analog synth. Many of these loops derive their power from their simplicity, and are well balanced in that they have just enough space and breathing room to make the listener want more.

The drums (folders Drum Loops and Drum Fills) have a superb amount of punch and texture to them. Processed with New York parallel compression (compressing the highs and lows in parallel alongside the dry signal) they elicit a ‘classic’ hip hop vibe. Many of the loops and fills shuffle or swing in such a way that is dancy in an intelligent way – there’s a sort of pushing and pulling happening with the timing that is subtle but highly effective.

The kicks sound are the perfect mix of sounding as if they might be sampled from vinyl while at the same time evoking a modern vibe. The claps, snares, and other percussive elements are well designed and compositionally very creative, but don’t fall too far from the beaten path, which allows them to be effective in supporting the overall groove while not distracting from more important elements.

The Instruments are highly vibey and classic sounding as well, most notably the pianos and the Rhodes. Many of these chords stab rhythmically or waver in and out, this movement giving the song drive and direction.

The Synths & Pads are mostly high twinkling arps and bright chord hits that weren’t altogether too interesting, but could be used to fill out the high end of an otherwise dark track. Textures & Rhythms offer a slew of unique background ambiences and organic rhythmic sounds, most of which are quite well done, perfect for filling out space in a track and making a song sound a bit less digital/electronic.

This pack is great for hip hop, indie-electronic, and various other related genres: the percussion and especially the kicks alone offer a great basis from which to build a track. When joined with the impressive processing on the other elements and synths, this pack delivers an equilibrium between modern rhythm and vintage sound.

Pack Contents
24 Drum Loops
12 Drum Fill Loops
17 Bassline Loops
40 Synth Loops (Synth Leads, Chords, Pads & Keys)
13 Instrumental Loops (Rhodes Keys, Piano, Xylo & More)
14 Rhythm & Texture Loops (Percussion, Drones & Textures)
16 Kick Samples
15 Clap & Snare Samples
14 Hi Hat Samples
111 MIDI Loops (Key-Labelled)
358MB (unzipped)

Price
$24.30

ModeAudio | Sunset Electronica – Guitar Loops & Beats

Sunset Electronica is a hazy, indie-electronic/guitar sample pack. While still vaguely beachy in vibe, many of these loops are a bit more dark and melancholy than your standard ‘nu disco plus guitar’ set of samples. Tempos range from 98 to 130 BPM.

The Bass Loops involve a healthy assortment of natural-ish sounding bass guitar, upright bass, and synths. They all support a fair amount of midrange as well – allowing them to cut through the mix even in less than ideal listening environments (e.g. laptop speakers).

The drum samples in this pack pack a lot of whallop. The kicks are very punchy while still sounding natural, and the snares and other percussive elements largely sound like they were actually played on real drumset – the perfect feel for combining synths and guitars. Even rhythmically, many of these drum loops have a lot of fun syncopation going on that does will to create tension and energy.
ModeAudio has even included a percussion folder with an variety of shakers, bells, marimbas and more for a bit of added high frequency rhythmic texture.

The guitar loops are a combination of washy, heavy, and funky. They’ve included both the dry and wet versions in addition to guitar tail samples for a natural fade at the end of each loop.
All loops are labeled by tempo and key, and many of the guitar loops have additional helpful descriptor categories such as Arp, Chords, Lead, Riff. The processing on the wet (FX) guitar samples is very well done by and large, delivering an airy yet powerful tone.

Synths & Instrumental Loops contain synth leads, pads, harps, Rhodes, many of which sound fantastic. Many of the riffs and chords the Rhodes plays are very funky and groovey, whereas the harps manage to deliver eerie melodies with a gorgeous sheen. Synth and pads can be likened to deep house and nu disco sound design, though I’m not altogether sold on one or two of the melodies.

This pack is ideal for producers seeking realistic guitars and a drum kit that is both natural and punchy. Relevant genres include: indie-electronic, minimal, house, and hip hop.

Pack Contents
38 Electric Guitar Loops (FX)
38 Electric Guitar Loops (Dry)
30 Drums Loops & Fills
22 Synth & Instrumental Loops (Pads, Leads & Keys)
16 Bass Loops
13 Percussion Loops
10 Kick Samples
13 Snare & Clap Samples
13 Hi Hat Samples (Open & Closed)
17 Percussion Samples
44 Electric Guitar Tail Samples
77 MIDI Loops (Tempo & Key-Labelled)
398MB (Unzipped)

Price
$27.33