Sonic Data - ReFill - ReasonFreaks Review - February 2003 - Score: 9/10

Like:

NN-Xt is used to it's full potential
All sounds are really creative

Dislike:

No particular dislikes

Content:

Sonic Data: Volume 1 is another recent release from the synth-doctors at AMG. This CD contains over 700mbs worth of pads and instruments, a true collection indeed. The CD, designed by Marc Van Bork of Bitword [www.bitword.com] truly brings out the pleasures of working with pads and electronic sounds, and for all of you who've been paying attention to AMG's latest releases goes hand in hand with the Prototype Drum & Bass refill, a match made in heaven. According to the people at AMG, Mark does plenty of audio/visual web work such as bitword and www.sounds2picture.com which was designed for AMG. Impressive repertoire Mr. Van Bork, let's see how the sounds rate.

On the CD you get: (*drum roll please?*)

202 Synth Instruments for the NN19
48 Textured sounds for the NN19
228 Layered Patches for the NN-XT

That all break down into about 700 individual samples, so you professionals out there can map your sounds out on your own. That wins you points Mr. Van Bork, versatility and DIY expandability? I like the way you think.

NN-19

Ok, let¹s talk about instruments first ­ I've been playing around with this section of the refill and so far some pretty interesting results have come about. Firstly, clean ­ the sounds don¹t distort and are pretty receptive to having effects chugged on them. My particular favorite out of these would have to be Blow, which has this hollow Hitchcock movie-esque type sound to it. So as you can see, Marc's put allot of effort into making his instruments sounding unique and clean at the same time. The textures are lovely, they almost seem alive. One great example would be Admire the Aliens, which has an out of this world feel that makes the listener gasp for breath. The most excellent thing about these synth sounds is that they're all mod wheel controllable ­ for that human touch, and for perfect beat matching ambience, has all their LFO¹s synched.

NN-XTs

Well ­ I hope you're happy, the NNXT sample, Growth and Development may have just blown out my headphones ­ which is a good thing. It demonstrates the amount of power that goes through the samples. Definitely a very strong set of NNXTs which a nice mix of bass sounds, pads, and even at higher pitches, lead instruments.
Since the release of Reason 2.0 and the implementation of the NNXT sampler system, few producers have come close to utilizing the true power of this machine.

-Note to Mr. Van Bork: You are so cool in my books now, you have NO idea. -Note to readers: NORMALISE YOUR MONITORS!

Back to the review, there are over 228 lovely patches to sink your teeth into ­ and because they are multilayered ­ you can actually reassemble your own cool Marc Van Bork type sound patches! My hero!

Conclusion

This is a perfect accompaniment to any musician looking for the versatility of synth sounds in a sampler setting. This CD is definitely up there in my rankings. According to our friends over at AMG, Marc is talking about making another CD with them ­ a sequel? We might soon find out. So go pick this up ­ it rocks the house. And when you decide you too want Marc to be your Hero ­ drop him a line at amguk.co.uk and ask him when volume 2 is out!

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AMG Sonic Data Vol. 1
EQ Magazine

Quote: "If fresh synth sounds are what you're looking for in a ReFill, I haven't heard a better source than this."

I¹ve played with a bunch of refills for Reason, and nothing offers up so many great sampler patches as Sonic Data Vol. 1. Over a gigabyte of waveform data (uncompressed) makes up the raw material that Sonic's developers used to craft these patches, which range from utilitarian to otherworldly. There are a total of 202 NN-19 instruments, 48 NN-19 textures, and 228 layered patches for the NN-19/-XT. It's all here: Atmospheres, thick, dramatic basses, buzzing, bit-reduced blips, huge pads, and FX are all at the party.

The programming is very musical; all patches take advantage of the modulation possibilities in Reason, such as using mod wheel for filter sweeps and introducing multisample layers. Syncable parameters were called into service, too; this is key - rhythms, undulating effects, or whatever will stay in sync with your song.

'Alien Wedding', for example, blends a D-50ish bell pad with a wide Waldorf-like sweep with one of the LFOs modulating pan. The result is a patch that could work as the foundation of a track. There's no shortage of one-note jams, either. 'Bask In the Machine' is indicative of the kind of rhythmic sounds you¹ll find. This particular patch relies heavily on the syncable parameters of the NN-XT to create a kind of hybrid metallic and modular-sounding bed.

If fresh synth sounds are what you're looking for in a ReFill, I haven't heard a better source than this. EQ

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