Got the Ethnosphere Refill!

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Arrived today... With Canada Customs all over it. :( $5 to tell me I owe the Goverment $3.50GST and $4.50PST = $13 extra. And then the goverment goes on the news saying 'We've got no money for anything'. :roll:

Anyhoo, Ethnosphere Refill is pretty cool. Mainly a crapload of additional 'loops', but are really good!
Belafon's @ 70, 80, and 106BPM x16, Darbuka's @ 90, 102BPM x22, Djembe @ 102BPM x5, then a ton of Brass Djembe @ 70, 80, 102BPM x33, Fiber DB(?) @ 102BPM x2, Frame Drum @ 102BPM x5, Rythem Stick (Don't hit me Ian Dury! :lol: ) @ 102BPM x3, Shaker (various) @ 80, 106BPM x25, Talking Drum @ 70, 106BPM x9, Udu drums @ 70, 106, 120BPM x12, Tom Rythems @ 70, 80, 106BPM x12, Tom Rythems w/Brushes @ 70, 106BPM x14, Tom Rythems w/Drum Sticks @ 106BPM x14, Cymbals @ 80, 106BPM x12, Ride Cymbal @ 80, 106BPM x20, and then Full Loop @ 102BPM. Some of these loops seem incredibly long and varied and offer different time signatures than just 4/4 throughout. Plus, they are keyboard pitched at C3 center - so really complex patterns can be acheived by octaves. The sound is great, and you can even hear nuances of sticks and/or hand scrapes. I stretched a Darbuka 102 loop from a Wav stream down to 95BPM, and it kept it's sound integrity amazingly! :D

So all that PLUS a crapload of single hit percussions of all the above you can compose yourself, and great tambourines, Rain Makers and Wood Blocks as well. And some really nutty 'Cymbal FX' that sound more Industrial than 'Ethnic'? :lol:

Additonal 'instruments'... Sadly not much. :( 'BIG' Banjo, Polish Xylophone, Comtemplation (choir), Orient Wind (Whoosh!), and a good Sci-Fi voice called 'Alien Ride' that would be at home in any Star Trek soundtrack. ;) And a 'BIG' Acoustic Guitar - and that's it! :(

So - for $60, I give the Refill **** The loops are inspiring and very well done - but in a difficult venue for handling 'rythems' per say when using Orion, or other VST suites. The instruments have been tweaked a bit and sound much better in cases. But I was hoping for a little more 'adventurous instruments' to play and incorporate into my music.
But all in all, it's a welcomed addition that will be useful in future I'm sure. And only hope that Sound Burst continues this ReFill practice, and maybe will offer more unique and diverse playable tonal instruments in the future. :D

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Sorry mate, but I thought it was crap.

Just my stooopid CurryPop opinion though.
...well officer, it was like this...

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After experiencing a few sampling CD's, I think what Refill offers is pretty decent for it's price. And I usually use Ethnosphere in 'the background' of my tracks, and do freaky lo-fi music as is. But I suppose if you're looking for 'up front' presence and readiness out of the Refill, I can see why one would be pissed. ;)

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