ryangruss.com

I just received a link to a blog post from one of my subscribers, demonstrating the use of Record’s Line 6 guitar and bass amp modeling on a loop from my Volume III pack:

Below is an example of just that, a looped beat from the latest Gruss Pack thrown thru the Line 6 guitar amp modeling device, set to “Bassy Drive”, with a 1968 4×12 greenback cabinet, and the middle turned up a touch. I could see The Beasties trade rhymes over this one:

Give it a listen here.

This is a great example of taking a straightforward beat and using amp modeling (normally reserved for guitars and bass) to give the drums some grit and extra character.

As we find ourselves at the end of the month, I just wanted to remind those of you who were thinking about subscribing and downloading Volume II that the clock is ticking. In less than twelve hours from now, Volume II will be yanked from the shelves and replaced with the much anticipated and highly touted, Volume III. By subscribing before midnight (EDT), you’ll have the chance to download over 200 loops in the next 24 hours… all for the stupidly low price of $9.95.

For those of you new to the blog, here’s a preview of some of the loops inside of Volume II:

157_DeathCabbage – Indie rock meets your backyard garden. Poppy enough to get signed to Atlantic Records yet dirty enough to be welcomed in Williamsburg.

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118_CoolQuest – A series of grooves and fills inspired by the one and only, ?uestLove. Afro and hair pick not included.

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300_BeBop – What, you were just about to ask when I’d include jazz loops? Consider yourself served. Uptempo and aggressive bop for your inner Sonny Stitt.

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96_Cowbell – I’m bringing cowbell back. As I previously mentioned, my favorite percussion accessory is now out of retirement and back on the dance floor.

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129_Distorted Shuffle – Who said shuffles were just for blues bands? Step back from the speakers. This set of shuffles is about to kick you in the ‘nads and walk off with your girlfriend.

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118_AfroCuban – The product of my collaboration with Bob Reynolds, this set of loops brings together the traditional Bembe patterns of West Africa with the slickness of a coked out LA session musician from the 80’s.

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So, I wanted to get back to the experiment that I started with Bob Reynolds a few weeks ago. For those of you just tuning in, Bob and I decided to collaborate together on my loops by bouncing some musical ideas off of each other and building grooves around them. Bob was the first to offer up a track and sent the following rough demo:

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Do You Think I Read This?

I opened up Bob’s demo in Logic and started experimenting by tracking different grooves. As you subscribers will recall, this is how I decided to approach the recording:

My initial reaction, I’m feeling this as 12/8. Not necessarily with a traditional funk beat… but something that blurs the lines of afro/jazz and pop music (this sounds like something Sting would really fuck up… but I promise I won’t). If Jeff Porcaro and Art Blakey had a baby, he’d (assuming they had a boy) be my first call for this session.

So with that in mind, I recorded the “main groove” for the track. Taking a “Rosanna” ghost note approach on the snare (along with a halftime backbeat) and one of Art Blakey’s afro/cuban bembe patterns in the right hand, I came up with the following:

The main groove for the A section

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Maybe some cowbell for the bridge? No jokes allowed.

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Perhaps some straight-up 4/4 on the coda?

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Check out more notes, a rough mix along with Bob’s track and a list of our next steps after the jump…

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I’ve read some recent discussions on various message boards and blogs across the internets about my site and I wanted to set the record straight on a few things.

1. I’m still going to post FREE loops on a regular basis. I started this blog with the intent of sharing and exchanging musical ideas (and insults) with the rest of the world and I will continue to do so.

2. The “Members Only” aka “Subscription Service” = Premium Content. Think of it this way; Those of you working with the free loops are eating Big Macs. Sure, they’re tasty… but you’re going to eventually get fat and might start playing D&D every night. Plus, how much are you going to do with just one beat? Those of you working with the Loop Packs are dining on fine filet mignon (medium rare). You have abs of steel and are getting tired of constantly being stalked by runway models. You have a wide variety of beats and fills and at your disposal and can’t remember what life was like before you became a member of this blog.

Which would you rather eat?

Ok…. enough with the bad analogies. I just wanted to take this opportunity to address the confusion. Now I’m hungry. Off to eat some McNuggets…

Saturday Night Live’s, Shawn Pelton, is back to show us how to layer ‘down n’ dirty’ drum loops in Ableton Live.

You’ll have to excuse me for the lack of loops the past few days. Many of you probably assume that I’ve been spending the weekend on the couch, eating Cheetos and watching reruns of The Golden Girls. While I do love me some Cheetos (and Betty White), I’ve been doing quite the opposite. You see, big things are coming to ryangruss.com

I’ve been locked up in the studio the past few days working on actual loop packs which will soon be available to everyone (for a nominal fee). These packs are chocked full of grooves, fills and variations of a wide variety of genres and tempos. From 93 BPM hip-hop to 160 BPM rawk to 230 BPM fusion freak-outs, I’ve got it covered. I’ll also be supplying the loops in the following formats: WAV, REX2 and AIFF.

On top of the loop packs, I’ll continue to post free loops on a daily (almost) basis. So hold tight and stay tuned. In the meantime, Karen Carpenter(s) is here to blow your mind.