Warning: If you’re feeling some deja-vu, it could be because I recently reviewed another library by Audio Imperia, and some facts are just the same.

Audio Imperia have already produced a respectable amount of libraries geared towards cinematic action and sound design. SHREDDERS VOL.1 – MODERN ACTION CINEMATIC TOOL KIT, produced by Darin Leach, is one of their most recent tools, and despite the name, it is not about fast and furious guitars!

Installation

First of all you, need the full version of KONTAKT to run this library. After purchasing, you download a ZIP file with the contents of the library and extract it into the folder of your choice. No installer – no problem. You will get:

• High definition 96kHz / 24bit .WAV files
• 179 files + 10 synths (another 400 files) /  1.8 GB

Documentation

Every WAV file has a detailed description that comes in an Excel and PDF File – Very handy! The “Read Me” PDF is very lean, but I would still have loved to have some more information in it.

Patches

There’s plenty waiting for you in the library’s 66 patches and 189 sounds:
• Bass Synth Hits
• Braaams
• Drones
• Hybrid Spiccato Synths (Bass & Lead)
• Pulses 3/4
• Pulses 4/4
• Short Hits
• Shredder Drum Kit
• Shredder FX
• Stutter Downers

Interface

A very moody GUI is presented with the Kontakt patches. Since it is based on Jeremia Pena‘s open source Photosynthesis engine, the elements are sort of standard and don’t always make sense with every sound.

The Photosynthesis Engine serves filters, 13 effects, and a rhythm section featuring a step sequencer, filter sequencer, 2 filter LFOs, and gain/pan/pitch LFOs. As I mentioned before, not all the sounds react usefully to the numerous possibilities, but that’s fine. Other libraries have the same approach, and you still have the power to decide what makes sense and what doesn’t. For my taste, there are too many knobs and dials. I feel that less is usually more.

Of course, you can use Learn MIDI CC# everywhere and run wild with automation!

Main Engine

Effects Engine – Insert FX

Effects Engine – Send FX

Rhythm Engine – Source

Rhythm Engine – Filters

Output Engine

Sound

Like Scenes from the Multiverse, the sound is more focused on the synthetic world rather than the organic, and so you may find yourself missing some raspy and “rusty” sounds. As you explore this library, you can hear that it isn’t just a bunch of randomly chosen sounds, but rather well produced tool that makes sense as a whole.

Bass Synth Hits
A collection of bass synth hits that aren’t meant to be playable in the classic style (even though you still can). Some of them will work your sub-woofer really hard.

Braaams
22 “braaam” sounds (like this), some with really good decaying tails.

Drones
You get a whole soundbed with a single key. There are a lot of nuances and little things going on. I really like these drones, and there are 15 of them to sink your teeth into.

Hybrid Spiccato Synths (Bass & Lead)
The tag “Hybrid” is a bit misleading, since these are very synthetic. You can create some great driving fast pulses and arpeggios with these patches.

Pulses 3/4 &  Pulses 4/4
Many great pulses that can be combined in interesting ways. I think these patches are great for game soundtrack design and will save you a lot of time.

Short Hits
Punches and mechanical style hits. They’re nice, but don’t expect an earthquake.

Shredder Drum Kit
If you look at this library as a complete tool box for your tracks, the drum kit makes sense. But I assume that most composers already have kits on their hard drives that offer more flexibility and more instruments.

Shredder FX
A bit of a “dubstep” sound, with a some distorted and tweaked robot voices and some old school synth FX.

Stutter Downers
A collection of downers that often remind me of old arcade games.

Check out the sound samples below:

Value

You’ll get 179 files + 10 synths (another 400 files) for $65.  I think it would make sense to consolidate Shredders Vol. 1 and Scenes From The Multiverse  Vol. 1 into one big library.   There is a lot of good stuff in this library, even if some sounds live too much in the arcade game style (not that it’s a bad thing, that’s just my opinion). The drones and pulses are the gems in this library, and I am sure these sounds will often be heard coming out of your game consoles in the future.