Creating percussion tracks is one of the most interesting tasks in media music. Unfortunately it also is one of the most time consuming ones. Especially when on a tight deadline, sometimes there is no other choice than to use premade loops. I try to stay clear of these whenever possible, but it isn’t always.

Most of the loop libraries on the market focus on high-energy action percussion. Up to now what was missing was a library with fairly unobtrusive background tracks that nevertheless sit well in the mix and provide a good foundation for all the different things the composer wants to throw on top.


This has changed with Cinesamples’ Deep Percussion Beds. The 9GB library features 50 different looped beds in various meters. Every bed has three variations gradually building tension as well as a code. There are two incredibly great things about the library: The different parts of a loop are mapped as stems on different keys. That means you can only have, say, the toms, but not the metal stem. This makes the library far more flexible than most of the competition. The three variations per bed add to the individual touch. The second great thing is the time stretching engine: All loops can be used with almost any tempo, fast or slow. The library automatically adjusts the loops. Even with extreme tempos, the audio quality remains stunning.
A preview patch which has the full mix versions of all 50 loops ready for auditioning makes finding the right bed very easy and convenient.

All in all, Deep Percussion Beds is the first percussion loop library I have used that I feel does not hinder creativity. It provides a firm base and saves countless hours of programming when in a hurry, but still is flexible enough as to not make us all sound the same. I can only recommend this library and hope there will be a sequel.

Tags: cinesamples, deep percussion beds, sample library, review