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I’m proud to announce the release of Gruss Loops Volume V. The first complete pack of grooves recorded in my new studio, it represents another step forward in the Gruss Loops series, both sonically and musically. From spacial, jazz explorations to tight, aggressive rock, this pack of loops covers a massive range of styles and sounds that will help bring your tracks to life.

Gruss Loops - Volume V

173_PopUp – Upbeat. Crisp. Snappy. If these loops aren’t ready for Top 40 radio, then I might as well start tucking and head to Vegas with my Lada Gaga tribute act.

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118_ECMish – Someone from the Münich headquarters just called. They want their drum tracks back. A minimalist approach with an emphasis on dynamics and texture, these are the eighth note grooves that will land your album in the “Jazz” bin while exploring the world outside of triplets.

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122_StraightUp – Round and punchy. This set of pop/rock loops warms things up with some hand hammered cymbals and loose, open tuning on the drums. Slick, yet earthy, these beats work just as well with acoustic guitars as they do with racks of samplers.

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90_Tuff – These loops haven’t showered in three weeks and aren’t afraid to shank you if you look at them the wrong way. Dirty and tough, they’re the grooves that will help your lightweight pop song “grow a pair”.

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245_Punkd – No, these aren’t outtakes from Avril Lavigne’s next record (though I’m sure those sound pretty punk rock). These loops were dipped in a special CBGB sauce and then thrown into a mosh pit to marinate. Oi!

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To become a subscriber and gain instant access to all of the 100 loops (AIFF, WAV and REX2) in Volume V, just click the button below.

I just wanted to give everyone a quick (and not so subtle) reminder that today is the last day to subscribe and download Gruss Loops – Volume IV. At the stroke of midnight (EDT), it will be swiped from the membership shelf and replaced with the eagerly awaited, critically acclaimed Volume V. As I’ve mentioned before, the end of the month is the best time to join, since you’ll be able to download over 200 different loops in the span of 24 hours…. all for the insanely low price of $9.95 Normally, you can’t buy 2 ham sandwiches for that price… let alone over 200 loops.

Look kids, Big Ben!

If you’ve been thinking about joining, now’s the time. And don’t just take it from me. Check out some of the recent subscriber feedback:

“Like I said before, I like your loops: most loop collections – and over the years I bought quite a few pricey cd-roms for my old Roland S760 sampler over the years – inherently have stuff that doesn’t fit your particular taste or material, that’s fine and inevitable, but I find a lot of drum loop stuff disappointing for another reason: the loops are well-played and well-recorded but they’re not handy or usable in any kind of musical setting because they’re too ‘busy’ with too many funky details and flourishes and bass drum hits in all the wrong places… I don’t need a drum clinic, I just need a drum track for my pop song. You seem to understand what these loops are for! So thanks!” – Herman G.

“I signed up as the feel of your loops sound awesome, and more useable than what I’ve heard from other offerings, especially from Beta Monkey or Drums on Demand. Otherwise, I think your product stands head and shoulders above anything I’ve heard, both in feel and attitude.” – James. B

So, in short, stop paying way too much for those tired, sloppy beats from those “loop companies” and start enjoying the satisfaction and inspiration that comes from receiving over 100 new loops every month, recorded, edited, produced and brought directly to you by a real drummer.

Last week it was cheese. This week it’s ice.

Warning – This video contains an overabundance of ponytails and Dockers.

When I was much younger, while being chauffeured around from elementary school to Cub Scout meetings in my mom’s awesome station wagon, I used to get so frustrated whenever I heard Fleetwood Mac’s, “Go Your Own Way”. Not by the melody or lyrics, but by the drum beat.

Every other pop song I was used to hearing at that point in my life had nice, steady backbeats on 2 and 4, along with plentiful amounts of reverb. This song, however, didn’t follow that particular rhythmic formula. In an effort to fuck with every nine year trying to air drum along in his mom’s car, Mick Fleetwood decided to only play the snare on “two” and add some offbeat tom shit at the end of each measure. It’s only in the chorus that he straightens it and lets the kids rock along.

Mick Fleetwood

Loop #96

In the spirit of confusing the hell out of young musicians everywhere, here’s a loop that takes the snare backbeat and displaces it by one eighth note. You might recall that I did this in the past with a more fusion oriented groove. This time, the confusion rocks a little harder.

Preview Here:

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93 BPM

Dutch jazz drummer, Han Bennink, is a crazy old man.

In my quest to tame the overly-live tracking room in my new house, I bit the bullet and trekked out to my local Guitar Center to find a solution. I figured I could pick up a few of those foam panels and line the walls of my studio on the cheap. I mean, how expensive could foam be?

According to the ponytailed sales guy in the pro audio department, I needed to cover my walls with Auralex foam. He said these foam panels were the “Rolls Royce of acoustical treatments” and were priced accordingly. Not wanting to suffer in that godforsaken store any longer than necessary, I took his word for it and handed over my Amex. Several hundred dollars later, I walked out with a box full of luxury foam.

Wall of Auralex

The panels came with tubes of permanent adhesive for mounting the foam on the wall. Since I’ll soon be moving the studio into the carriage house, I knew I didn’t want to be gluing the overpriced panels directly to the wall. My ingenious solution? Plywood and Velcro. I headed out to Home Depot and had the lumber department cut eight pieces of plywood into 1′ x 6′ sections. I then mounted the 1′ x 1′ Auralex panels directly to the plywood with industrial strength Velcro strips.

With three foam panels on each sheet of plywood, I was able to easily move the acoustical treatment around the room until I got the sound I desired. Along with LENRD bass traps in the corners of the room, I soon had a room that sounded more like The Hit Factory and less like a garage. The harsh, high frequencies coming off of the cymbals were no longer an issue and the low end from the kick and floor tom seemed more controlled and punchy. Maybe the guy with the ponytail was right?

Loop #95

Today’s loop is the first from my “acoustically controlled” studio. In this uptempo, pop-rock groove, you’ll notice things sound a bit tighter and more focused than the past few loops. All thanks to some really expensive foam. And Velcro. Lots of Velcro.

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173 BPM

My good friend, tv and film composer extraordinaire, Will Bates, just informed me that some Gruss Loops will be featured tomorrow night on VH1’s live special, Divas. The show is being hosted by the shit bat-crazy one and only, Paula Abdul, and will feature live performances from Cindy Lauper, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus and the first person l think of when I hear the word “diva”, Stevie Wonder. I was wondering when Miley and Stevie would finally work together.

Paual Abdul

Anyway, sandwiched between Paula’s incoherent rambling and Stevie’s diva-ing, listen for some beats from Gruss Loops Volume III (now available in the back issue store) as well as a mix of fills and breakdowns from previous packs.

This might be even better than the Journey video.

Loop #94

No trip to Home Depot would be complete without purchasing a big, orange bucket. And no drummer would ever begin using said bucket for its intended purpose until turning it over and playing “Wipe Out” for 10 minutes straight. Instead of filling it full of joint compound and skim coating my dining room walls, I took the bucket into my studio and mic’d it up for some loops.

With a Shure Beta 52A underneath to capture the low end, a Rode NT5 overhead to capture the attack, and one very frustrated wife, I spent the next hour recording a variety of bucket grooves, ranging from samba to hip hop.

Bucket Mic'ing 101

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103 BPM