Assessing the value of a sample CD is not unlike choosing garden furniture: its usefulness lies in its continued durability. Some manufacturers would have to admit that, inevitably perhaps, some of their releases have begun to sound a little dated already - if only through the sheer number of samples now identifiable in so many recordings. One good reason, no doubt, to keep shelling out for the latest and greatest releases.

Including AMG's new Remix! CD by Megabass - an appropriately titled platter with determinedly dancefloor leanings. Split predominantly into two sections - loops and 'everything else' (stabs, hits, FX and instruments) - the range is satisfyingly diverse. The loops themselves are subdivided into 'House', 'Rave' and 'Slow'.

My personal favourites include the slower hip-hop, funk and swing loops - sampling styles whose feel many attempt but few succeed in achieving. Inevitably, there are still sounds that come within close range of the cliche - the Run DMC and NWA loops, for example - but generally the 2-bar loops are fresh 'n' funky.

It's a drum- and percussion-based collection, but many of the loops are just about complete enough to be considered as complete rhythm tracks in their own right. They're certainly atmospheric enough.

The single-shot sounds are more orientated toward the vocal/FX side of things than the usual collection of 367 drum hits we've all heard before - and that's obviously to be applauded. I particularly like the vocal shouts, which should prove highly usable: a veritable litany of radio DJ babble and classic dancefloor lines.

Rave, though not perhaps the force it once was, still gets a look-in, and the CD provides plenty for the technoheads to get their teeth into (how about 'Italo Bleep', or 'E-legal'?). You'll also find such DJ delights as scratching, spin backs (a fast flip of a record backwards), deck stops (that 'dumpf sound of a record being stopped on the beat as on Caron Wheeler's 'Living In The Light') and the usual collection of "Whoo-yeahs!" and whooshes. There's also a heavy male "Yeah!" (that may or may not be Derek B), which, when doubled up makes for a great jump-jump style shout - perfect for those current 'jeep-beat' rap tracks like House Of Pain's 'Jump Around' and Naughty By Nature's 'Hip Hip Hooray'. For Stylophone freaks, there's even a (let's face it, pretty unusable) Rolf Harris section. Can you tell what it is yet?

All in all, a highly useful collection of dance samples - as atmospheric as oxygen and as manic as a truck load of wallabies.

Price: £49.00 inc VAT & delivery

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