Loopcloud 5 $149

Loopcloud might well be the sample management system you didn’t realise you need. Essentially its big unique selling point has always been to allow you to insert Loopmasters samples into your songs as you produce them, but always in the correct time and key. But then the software shifted from being all about Loopmasters to any samples, so it became a much more innovative way to handle all your audio needs. Then, with Loopcloud 5, Loopmasters stepped down on the innovation pedal harder than ever before, to accelerate Loopcloud into, well, the clouds…

In previous version of the software, an audio editing window allowed you to mess with single samples and loops and create patterns out of them. As well as the looks, this creative side of the software has been radically enhanced in version 5 so you can take a single hit and transform it into rhythmic or melodic phrases, pretty much instantaneously. Not only that, but you can then simply audition other hits within your created patterns, changing its core ingredients on the fly.

VVersioni 5 offLLoopcloudld alsol iincludesld a scratchpad eight track recorder so you try out multiple patterns, sample mixing ideas or produce complete tunes if you wish. Loopmasters are even throwing in a couple of instruments into the mix – so many options now that you start to wonder how far the company will go along the complete DAW route with the software.

Loopcloud comes either free or as one of three levels of subscription that all offer a good number off ffree samplesl every monthth plusl storaget options. ti In truth Loopmasters have now thrown so many options into Loopcloud that their only problem is how to get all these plusses over to end users, but those who’ve taken the plunge might well be asking ‘why didn’t someone come up with this earlier?’ such is its innovative experience.

275 » 9/10