March 2008: Beta Monkey Releases New Blues Drum Loop Library  

Beta Monkey Music announced the release of Drum Werks XII, a comprehensive blues and blues-rock drum loop library. Featuring over 675 samples, the disc offers traditional 12/8 blues grooves, half-time shuffles, rock shuffles, up-tempo boogies and more.

"We are very excited to introduce the new blues library to our ever-growing library," said Rich Rice, Creative Director at Beta Monkey Music. "This product was geared for anyone craving traditional blues drumming feels in their music. We feel it captures the soul and sweat of the essential grooves of blues and blues-based music and can be a great weapon in any bluesman’s songwriting arsenal."

With a wide span of tempos from a laid-back 60 BPM GrooveSet™ to a blistering boogie set at 180 BPM and multiple tempos in-between, Drum Werks XII delivers a versatile collection of blues drumming samples. For even greater songwriting flexibility, a complete matching multi-velocity drum and cymbal sample set of all the drums used to record the drum tracks is included.

"With so many musicians asking for a no-nonsense blues disc, we feel this one really delivers what they have asked for," Rice added. "We are proud to present a collection of blues drum loops that fills that need at a price anyone can afford."

January 2008: Beta Monkey Thanks You All !
 

With six new releases out this year, we did our best to keep up with all of your requests and demand for new products. Things really got cooking with our Nashville Brush series (Pure Country III and Pure Country IV) this summer and continued right up through winter with the two loudest and proudest members of the Drum Werks family, Drum Werks IX and Drum Werks XI. The response to these new groove discs was beyond our expectations and it was great to see so many familiar names pick up those along with the constant stream of "first-timers"!

And, with that in mind, we here at Beta Monkey would like to thank all of you, all of you musicians around the world, who continue to inspire your music with Beta Monkey drum grooves. We had no idea when we started this company over five years ago that we would be at the heart and soul of so much music, but we always hoped we would. Because of you, we have. Dare to dream, right?

Looking forward to a great 2008 with all of you.

~Chris

p.s. See some of you at NAMM 2008 in just a few weeks!

June 2007: Beta Monkey Releases Pure Country III: Nashville Brushes!
 

Sometimes when you want the real thing, there is simply no substitute. And, if you want to capture the heart and soul of country music, you need to get down to Nashville. Beta Monkey Music's Pure Country III: Nashville Brushes™ captures the authentic sounds of Nashville, laying down an entire disc of brushed drum parts for tradtional styles of country music.

Our third installment in the Pure Country Series is a complete country songwriting package, featuring over 400 acoustic brush and stick drum loops and a complete multi-velocity sample set taken from the drums used to record the drum tracks. If you need the real thing, all the nuances and textures of brushed drum parts, laid down with impeccable taste and time, then Pure Country III: Nashville Brushes™ will deliver, true Nashville inspiration for less than a night out at your favorite honky tonk.

Preview and Purchase Pure Country III: Nashville Brushes...

April 2007: Beta Monkey Releases Groove Construction Kits II!
 

After numerous request to combine the single hits sections of our latest discs, Groove Construction Kits II is now ready to ship.Get pure acoustic drum and cymbal samples from three of our previous discs as well as new and unreleased samples - ready to load into your software or hardware sampler.

Preview and Purchase Groove Construction Kits II...

March 2007: Beta Monkey Drum Werks VIII Now Avaialble in REX2 Format!
 

Another one for the collection! Drum Werks VIII is now ready to ship in REX2 format. Non-stop rock grooves, geared for a wide range of writing styles, just waiting to get your next tune going.

Get the lastest release solo or as part of our Three-Pack special while it lasts! Another new release is due soon...

Preview and Purchase Drum Werks VIII REX2...

February 2007: Beta Monkey in Music Tech Magazine
 

You can get your hands on some free Beta Monkey drum tracks this month in the recent issue of Music Tech magazine. We are featured in their "BEST OF 2006" cover DVD.

While we do have the best prices anywhere, we'd be hard-pressed to beat FREE! So, grab these until the upcoming release is out. We know a lot of you have been asking when it will be out but sometimes these projects take on a life of their own. By May we promise!

January 2007: Beta Monkey Thanks You All!
 
We would be remiss if we didn't use the first news entry of 2007 to offer our greatest thanks for the best and biggest year yet for Beta Monkey. So, to everyone out there using and abusing our grooves for rock, country, blues, jazz, metal and anything else in-between... THANK YOU!

Without your support, we would be nothing. We know that and will always keep that in mind as we continue to deliver the kinds of grooves not found anywhere else and at prices no one can match.

Looking forward to offering up more great grooves and samples in our fifth year of doing what we do best... laying down the grooves!

December 2006: Beta Monkey Releases Drum Werks XIII - No-Nonsense Rock Grooves!
 
The response to Drum Werks VII was great. Everyone thought the sounds were just happening - nicely ambient, clean-sounding acoustic drums in a nice mix of grooves styles. The comments we received always asked that, if we could, could we release more grooves from this sessions done in the Winter of 2006.

Well, you asked and we are delivering. More great grooves, completely compatible with the grooves from Drum Werks VIII (they are from the same kit, room, drummer, and day afterall!) for our usual nice price..

If you need some great-sounding, no-nonsense rock and bluesy-rock grooves to inspire your next project, well, you know the rest...

Preview and Purchase Drum Werks VIII here

September 2006: Beta Monkey Releases Double BAss Mania II: The Return of the Beast!
 
The response to Double Bass Mania I was always enthusiastic. Metalheads always asked for more and more of the heavy stuff since there was no one else doing anything remotely metal in terms of drum loops. A lot of the "other" companies tried to call their stuff metal, but you can't fool anyone with some of the fluff out there being touted as metal.

With that in mind, the beast has returned! 800 pounding loops, running the gamut from classic metal sixteenth-note runs to modern syncopated double bass runs to the truly insane fast stuff (try 280 BPM and then some).

In a world of pretenders, these are the real deal.

August 2006: Beta Monkey Releases Drum Werks X: Punk Drums!
 
After receiving numerous requests for some aggressive and in-your-face punk loops, we knew it was something we could deliver. Straight, no-nonsense grooves, pushing the tempos up past 280 bpm.

It was a fun project to get done in between other projects. And, judging by the first-week response, the thirst for some all-out punk was pretty intense.

And, to think, this monster collection was inspired by a sole Beta Monkey guy who asked ever so innocently, "Do you guys have anything I can use for punk music?" So, don't hestitate to ask if you see we don't offer something you want.

Look for two Fall 2006 releases, Drum Werks VIII and IX! You didn't think we forgot those, did you?!

July 2006: Beta Monkey Three-Pack Contest Winners!
 
We were happy to receive such a nice response on the custom three-pack giveaway (well, who doesn't like stuff for free?). But, what's even better is that we are getting a chance to get some great grooves to some great musicians. We want to thank everyone for entering and for the nice words of praise, but, in the end, we had to choose only TEN lucky winners!

So, here are the Custom Drum Loop and Sample Package winenrs: Marc Van Bork, Darren Hodroski, Peter Guy, ONEANDONE Productions (Germany), Robert Latham, Niklas Nord, Kenny Carter, Doug Pinard, Philip Guidry, and Dianna Landes. Congratulations to them all!

Look for a Fall 2006 Promotional in a few months! You can get this month's three-pack on the special page.

June 2006: Beta Monkey on XM Radio!
 
So, we're driving to a gig the other night and the old XM Radio unit is tuned in to the best metal station on the planet - XM Radio's channel 42 LIQUID METAL. In between one of the songs, during the station ID, what do we hear but some headbangin' action from our very own Double Bass Mania CD! There are a number of the spots in rotation but all involved some headthrob inducing loops from DBM and some demented grunts for" MORE F*CKIN" METAL!"

So, the moral of the story? If you need to listen to full-on metal 24 hours a day, seven days a week, get XM Radio and tune to LIQUID METAL. And, if you need to get some aggressive, slamming drum tracks, get Double Bass Mania.

You can also read the kind words of metal psychos the world over at the feedback/testimonial page.

May 2006: A New Look for Beta Monkey and Win FREE Stuff!
 
To celebrate the launch of the new Beta Monkey Music website, we are offering ten (10) lucky musicians their choice of a custom three-pack! That's right, simply join the Beta Monkey mailing list and you are entered to win your choice of a three-CD drum loop and sample set. Nothing to buy, nothing complicated to fill out. The deadline for entering the Custom Three-Pack Giveaways is June 30, 2006. Winners will be announced on this news page on July 5, 2006. Enjoy the new Beta Monkey site and good luck!

April 2006: Prepare to Rock. Lucky #7!
 
As the seventh release in the ever-popular Drum Werks series, Beta Monkey Music's Drum Werks VII offers over 900 powerful and versatile drum loops for multiple rock styles. Dig into this sample collection that is all about nononsense rock feels and phrasings. A “go-to” collection of grooves for rockers everywhere. And, even though it is one of our finest discs to date, we haven't raised our prices one bit! Download official press release (.pdf).

We pre-released a bunch of Drum Werks VII's to our prior customers and the feedback has been unanimous...this disc totally rocks. See the full range of comments on the feedback/testimonial page.

Otherwise, preview the grooves and get your Beta Monkey Drum Werks VII today!

March 2006: Get Some of the Monkey...Free! New Releases!
 
Get some of our tastiest grooves from Double Bass Mania and Drum Werks V in the latest issue of Future Music Magazine. A great new mag, worth every penny for the cover CD alone.

Check out Future Music online or get some free Beta Monkey at your local book retailer!

New Stuff Coming! Three new Beta Monkey releases are ready to go and will be released in Spring 2006. Get on the mailing list to get member-only deals and specials.

February 2006: Let the Odd Times Roll!
 
Some fresh material for everyone! And, some very strange grooves at that. Our third Signature Series release, Odd Time Meltdown will definitely get you thinking differently about grooving!

If you need some grooves that will push you and your music out of a rythmic rut, then we bet this disc will do the trick.

Keep the emails coming with your requests - this is what drives future releases!

Read the official Odd Time Meltdown press release.

Preview and order Odd Time Meltdown!

December 2005: Finishing Up Some New Projects and Taking it Easy!
 
After the barrage of orders for Rock Hard Funk in November and Jazz Essentials in October, December is a month to finish up some projects slated to go in 2006. We are also preparing for another visit to NAMM in January.
A lot in the works, but we hope to enjoy the spirit of the holidays as well. We wish the same for you all.

Looking forward to 2006!

November 2005: Beta Monkey Announces the Release of Rock Hard Funk: Two-CD Drum Loops and Samples Library for Funk, Funk Rock, and Beyond

October 25, 2005 — Beta Monkey Music today announced the release of Rock Hard Funk, a two-CD collection of funk and funk-rock drum loops and samples with over a thousand acoustic grooves to inspire any serious "groove intensive" project. Mix the improvisational mentality of jazz, the groove inventiveness of funk and the powerful drum sounds of rock - a beautiful mix of groove experimentalism all captured in Rock Hard Funk. This is the second installment in the Signature Series collection of drum loops and samples.

“With this latest addition to the Beta Monkey collection of drum loops and samples, we’ve included the kinds of grooves and features that our users have requested over the past year. Plus, we’ve made this available for one of most affordable prices anyone could possibly find,” said Beta Monkey Music Creative Director, Richard Rice. “We captured the grooves of several accomplished funk and rock drummers. We set them loose to a variety of different tempos and feels. We've recorded the beautiful sounds of a maple Drum Workshop recording kit and made sure to complement the 1000+ loops with a matching set of multi-velocity drum samples from the actual kit used in recording the loops. We then included a huge set of cymbal samples to allow writers even further flexibility in authentic drum track construction. We just think it’s essential to provide all of this to help our users unlock the full potential of their music. We know they will quickly build funk rock tracks that feel right and sound great with this jam-packed toolbox of funked-up grooves - that's why we created it.”

Rock Hard Funk Two-CD Set Features and Previews

October 2005 Seven NEW REX Format Releases from Beta Monkey Music...more on the way!
 
We have been so busy getting new releases done that we haven't taken time to update the site. We promise to spend more time here to keep everyone up to date.

As of October 2005, we now have eleven REX discs to chose from, having just added seven new ones. Pretty much everything will be in REX by November 1st. So, all you Stylus RMX guys should be very happy!
Also, work continues on several new projects. We have put out some great stuff in the past, but these should be our finest work.

Stay tuned.

July 2005 Word Continues to Spread About Beta Monkey Music!
 
Some extremely kind words from the most respected music magazine on the planet. We are truly humbled. Read it in the July edition of SoS or on our Reviews Page.

June 2005 Beta Monkey Interview with Macworld Magazine!
 
Look for the September issue of Macworld to have a nice interview and feature on Beta Monkey. It basically addresses the growing need for quality AppleLoops for GarageBand and how we are supplying the grooves that are sorely lacking in that format. It was great fun and a true pleasure to speak with Jim Dalrymple - he really knew where we here at Beta Monkey were coming from!

April 2005: Beta Monkey Reviewed in April '05 Recording Magazine!

Check out what Recording Magazine had to say about our Drum Werks Vol. V:

"These drums are all one kit, recorded very cleanly in a damped but not totally dead room. All the emphasis is on getting the sounds down as simply as possible, leaving sweetening to the recordist. For any given tempo there can be a couple of dozen different grooves with different elements emphasized or left out, plus halftime and doubletime loops, intros, fills, and enough extras to assemble a very convincing drum track. Special attention is paid to hi-hat and ride patterns, with tons of variety presented for each tempo.

Those little touches combine with the overall clean and clear sound of these drums to make Drum Werks 5 a real treat for engineers who like to put their own audio magic on instrument tracks rather than having them arrive all dolled up and ready to go. Beta Monkey has a wide variety of products organized by style and data format; check out their website for more details.

Oh, one more thing: did we mention this library costs well under thirty bucks? Instant no-brainer!" -- Mike Metlay Recording Magazine

03/23/05: Alt and Modern Rock III Ready to Ship!
 
A rock-hard collection of 24-bit grooves for today's modern rock styles. Grooves, fills, single hit samples for days with the punch and creativity you have come to expect from Beta Monkey. Tired of rock drum loops that don't? The new release will take care of that!
 
Currently shipping to previous Beta Monkey customers only - official release date April 5, 2005.