Industrial Strength Records has recently released Vintage Breaks Vol. 1, a sample library featuring drum breaks by Evan Pazner.
Even if you think you don’t know any “breaks” you have probably heard many of them in tons of songs. James Brown’s “Funky Drummer”, “Apache” by the Incredible Bongo Band, and the (in)famous Amen Break as heard on the Winston Brothers track “Amen, Brother” are used in countless productions.
The appeal of drum breaks is apparent; you get the sound of a live drummer with that authentic groove that is so incredibly hard to reproduce from scratch.
On Vintage Breaks Vol. 1 NYC-based drummer Evan Pazner shows how you don’t necessarily need to sample old vinyl soul recordings to get some quality vintage drum breaks.
Evan’s eclectic taste in music is reflected in the variety of groups he has played with over the years. His playing style ranges from straight ahead jazz, soul, rock, hip hop and funky breaks. While growing up in New York City Evan was exposed to music at an early age and began playing in clubs at age 14 with the funk/rock group Soul Sauce.
Evan attended NYU and the New School University’s Jazz and Contemporary Music Program where he studied with Jon Riley, Billy Hart, Jimmy Cobb and Reggie Workman among others. Evan can be heard on numerous recordings and has toured the U.S. and Europe extensively with a number of projects. Evan also maintains an active private teaching schedule and has been on the faculty of the National Guitar Workshop. Evan’s playing style made him perfect choice to start ISR’s Vintage collection.
Vintage Breaks Vol. 1 includes a total of 381 samples:
- 99 original breaks, 28 drum fills and 8 cymbal & hihat loops by Evan Pazner.
- 93 BHK drum and bass breaks, 30 BHK dubstep breaks.
- 123 drum hits.
The drum breaks were recorded in a dead room to minimize reflections. For the recording a late 1960’s Ludwig drum kit was used, as well as some vintage mics, pre-amps etc.
Besides Evan, Industrial Strength’s BHK (Alex Borel), Lenny Dee and Derek Nievergelt each bring in their expertise in the recording, production and editing of this sample pack.
So what do I think?
Format: (Acidized) Wav/REX/Apple Loops & ReFill
Price: £39.95 GBP
A good break makes my head bob. I just can’t help it, they’re just too funky. Vintage Breaks got me bobbin’ all through this sample pack. Evan’s breaks have that vintage vibe while still sounding quite original (or maybe I just never get tired of these breaks…)
The cymbal & hihat loops are a nice extra, as are the single drum sounds. With the included fills in various tempos you can mix and match loops to create your own variations without too much cutting/editing of the samples. I really like some of the background noise/sound that comes through, giving it more life. There’s even one with a James Brown-ish shout in it, love it.
I was not too impressed with the BHK dubstep loops. Maybe it’s just not my genre but I found the samples to be a little inspiration-less, like it was a quick cut ’em up exercise. However, I found the drum and bass samples to be most excellent. They are well edited & processed and sound absolutely great for this specific genre.
With tempos ranging from 85 to 175 bpm you get a good variety of breaks suitable for any style of music that needs a good groove. The samples scream to be cut up in your favorite sampler (easy with the provided formats) as you would with any other vintage break you’d sample from vinyl. Same authentic vibe, no copyright issues.
Vintage Breaks Vol. 1 is a great sample library for anyone looking for some genuine drum breaks, especially if drum and bass is your thing.
More information: Loopmasters / Vintage Breaks Vol. 1
Hey there, I'm Ronnie and I run Rekkerd.org. I'm a bedroom music producer and guitar player, and I love chicken vindaloo & all things glitch.