Sample Library Review (SLR) is a music production resource blog created by award winning composer Don Bodin. SLR posts news, reviews and tutorials for composers and music producers to evaluate and learn about computer aided music production.
SLR is a collection of curated content with a focus on education. SLR is centered around Bodin’s personal experiences with tools to create music as well as the tools that are on his radar.
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Email us with some basic info about your product and include any important information like, link to product and walkthrough videos as well as your Launch Date and we will get back to you ASAP.
“I use virtual instruments everyday in my work. I know that getting as much information as you can before investing in a sample library or virtual instrument is very important because most composers and music producers have a limited budget to spend on their tools.
I created SLR as a way to “pay it forward” after years of self-education through internet/youtube tutorials. I felt there was a better way to pass along some of the music production knowledge and techniques I had learned. I hope to share my unique experience making music in many genres for advertisements, film, television and games to help others create better, more expressive music using technology.”- Don Bodin
Mission
Sample Library Review’s mission is to contribute to the global community of music makers by sharing news, creating brief overview videos as well as written reviews with a focus on creating concise content for busy professional seeking out knowledge base about new virtual instruments as well as gems we discover.
History
Don started Sample Library Review as a simple blog to post many of the video tutorials and walkthroughs that have helped him create music with software instruments.
Then he got ambitious and thought. . . “why not make it bigger, add reviews, create tutorials, post product trailers and music demos to make it a valuable resource for composers and music producers like myself.”
Sample Library Review is currently teaming up with software instrument developers and is creating original video walkthroughs, reviews and audio demos. If you have your own audio or video content and would like to submit video or audio content and be featured click here
The Sample Library Review Team
db • Host
db (Don Bodin) is a composer creating music for commercials, television, film and interactive media. He started Sample Library Review as a blog in 2015 and handles all duties of a traditional publisher. You can check out his music here: www.DonBodin.com or contact Don Here.
Pete C – Contributor
Pete is am a freelance composer and sound designer based in the United Kingdom. For more information or to hear some work of Petes work, check out his official website.
Raborn Johnson • Contributor
Raborn Johnson is a musician and film composer. You can check out his music at RabornJohnson.com.
Sam Burt • Contributor
Sam is a songwriter, producer, composer and educator based in the UK. A former BMG/Sony Records/Universal Publishing artist, Sam now creates music as part of the duo Border Scout and for trailer houses. Sam also works as an educator, tutoring musicians of all ages for the non-profit TICE.
Andrea Wellard • Production Assistant
Andrea is an awarding winning singer-songwriter, composer, producer and virtual instrument enthusiast based in Switzerland. You can check out some of her music on SoundCloud
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Shaun Chasin • Contributor
Shaun Chasin is a Canadian composer for film, TV and video games. He studied at Berklee College of Music majoring in Film Scoring with a minor in Video Game Music. Following this, he attended the University of Southern California’s Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television graduate program. There, he studied with composers such as Bruce Broughton, Garry Schyman, and Christopher Young. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his cat Bogie.
T.M.K.Davis • Contributor
Tim has been playing keyboards and drums for 20 years and composing orchestral music for about 10 years. He is currently working on his bachelor’s degree in music production with a focus on video game scoring and commercial music.
MCR (Michael Reinmuller) • Contributor
MCR is a working composer/producer who pitches relentlessly and hasn’t had a vacation longer than he can remember. He owns Melodikiln, a company specializing in media for film, TV and corporate clients and is also the founder of OffOffIndie, a small independent record label.
Raymond D Ricker, Les Carose Enterprises • Contributor
Raymond has a BFA in Music Composition from Bard College and studied with Ben Boretz (his mentor), Virginia Gaburo (Perspectives of New Music), JK Randall (Princeton University) and Joan Tower (De Capo Chamber Players). Raymond specializes in playing live improvisational “space music” heavily influenced by Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and Radio Massacre International utilizing VSTs alongside his collection of hardware synths.
Andrea Federici • Contributor
Andrea is a Composer and Sound Designer for Film and Videogames.
Formerly a Metal guitarist, he loves Action, Horror, and Thriller but often ends up composing for Cartoon and Adventure titles! He is a real geek and surrounds himself with computers, music software and gear. He graduated Cum Laude from Berklee Masters Degree in Scoring for Film, TV and Video games.
Kent K.
I am a composer, writer, and breakfast food enthusiast living in Hollywood, California. Find me at kentkercher.com!
BenG.
Benjamin Goldman is an award-winning composer who specializes in creating original music for film, television, games and other media. He has collaborated on over 40 projects from around the world and for more information about his work, please visit benjamingoldmanmusic.com
B. Free
Brian is a musician/composer for video games and all media, a technology enthusiast, and all around music nerd. www.bfreemusic.com
Nick Rivera
Nick Rivera a.k.a SCOReONYX is a graduate from the University of Arizona’s School for TV, Film, and Theater. Nick works as an independent composer in those fields and has a passion for connecting with people’s inner artists. Questions, comments and collaborations are welcome. Hear SCOREoNYX music here and here and connect with Nick here
dt
Dedric is a composer for film, TV and advertising. He is also the owner of Sonicreative,
which in addition to film scoring, provides audio post production services (www.sonicreative.com)
He is also the artist behind Sola Musika, an electronic/ambient music project (www.solamusika.com).
Giuseppe Corcella
Giuseppe Corcella is an award nominated composer (writing music for film, commercials, but not only), an arranger, a music transcriber based in Italy. He’s got a Bachelor’s Degree in Musicology, a Master’s in Science of Music and Performing Arts and he’s about to graduate at the Conservatory of Rovigo (Italy) in Composition for Film and Media. You can check out his music and works here..
Guest Contributors
Brian Brylow • Editor Emeritus
Brian is a Composer, Multi-Instrumentalist, Sound Designer and Demo Writer from Milwaukee. He is a member of the electronic duos Parallaxe and Gorgon Nebula. Check out his solo releases as Arpegiator here. He also has a huge body of work on SoundCloud under his own name.
AMM (Alexandria M. Mueller) • Contributor
Alexandria M. Mueller is an award winning composer and violist based in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Christopher (The Darris) • Contributor
Christopher Byrum Harris is a film composer living the Bay Area of California. He creates composition tutorials as well as reviews of software for FilmandGameComposer.com as well as his own Sample Spotlight Series Contact Christopher Here.
ndc
Nathan David Carlton’s music for media was heard on MTV, HBO, CNBC, Bravo, E!, Nickelodeon, The History Channel & The Food Network in recent years. Highlights include Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Total Bellas, MTV’s The Challenge, VICE News, Dude Perfect, Vegas Cakes, Flipping Out, American Greed, Blood Money, Hunt for the Zodiac Killer, and Buried: Knights Templar and the Holy Grail.
Gary Hiebner • Contributor
Gary Hiebner is a sound designer and composer based in South Africa. He works on music productions for Film, TV and Games, and is also an online course creator for music tutorials. You can find out more about him at ontracktuts.com
Christopher Siu
Christopher Siu is a pianist, singer/songwriter, composer, arranger, and teacher. He creates cinematic orchestral music drawing from Nintendo, Disney, and iconic film composers such as John Williams, Michael Giacchino, and Richard Rogers.
Steven McDonald • Contributor
Steven is a composer and producer working in the Television, Games, and Trailer fields. Digging into virtual instruments and sample libraries to get the absolute most out of them has been a specialty of his since the beginning of his career. His music can be heard at StevenMcDonald.com
Steve Blizin • Contributor
Steve Blizin is a producer, sound designer, audio engineer and composer. He has been creating loop based music for nearly 20 years. He lives in Southern California and can often be found hiking or mountain biking the Santa Monica Mountains when he’s out of the studio.
Advertising and Affiliate Statement
Sample Library Review (SLR) currently has opportunities for companies to advertise and is currently testing out affiliate programs to help cover the costs of the website. Please note that some of the links on the site are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, Sample Library Review will earn a commission if users decide to make a purchase. Please understand that Sample Library Review recommends products because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions made if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.
