"There is no doubt that many sample developers are now becoming very keen on the "library plus software

front end" approach for delivering their library products. Zero-G's The Operating Table is another example,

and is supplied with a version of Native Instruments Intakt as the playback engine. I looked at a number of

these types of library from both Zero-G and East West in SOS February 2005. This review covered the

details of the specific version of Intakt, so I'll not dwell too much on the front end here. That said, two

features are worth restating. Firstly, Intakt offers three modes of sample playback; Sampler, Beat Machine,

and Time Machine. The first is self-explanatory, while the last provides Acid-like time-stretching. In

contrast, the Beat Machine allows loops to be sliced and diced Recycle-style.



Secondly, the samples have to be used with the supplied version or the full version of Intakt - they cannot

be opened for use in an alternative sampler application* (*Note from Zero-G: In fact NI's KONTAKT sampler

can also load the sounds). If you are happy with Intakt (*or KONTAKT) as a playback device (and even in the

cut-down version supplied here, it is still fully featured) - then this is obviously not a problem. Devotees of

other samplers (*other than INTAKT or KONTAKT) might be less enthusiastic about this restriction.

Installation takes just a few minutes, although the final stage of this process requires authorisation of the

library. This can be done very efficiently if the computer is on-line, but other options exist if your music

computer does not have an internet connection. In total, the library and front-end require just under 400MB

of hard drive space. What you get is, essentially, a collection of breakbeat-style drum loops, and the sample

material is organised into two categories of presets.



First up is a collection of just over 200 rhythmic loops. These are grouped into categories of between seven

and 22 loops based upon their original tempos, with tempos covering a huge range of 45 - 240bpm. Each loop

is available individually and uses the Beat Machine mode, with the full loop mapped to C1 and the sliced-up

version of the same loop then spread across the rest of the keyboard. Second, the same groups of loops are

organised into Multis, each one mapping all the loops from one of the tempo groups to individual keys in Beat

Machine mode. An additional set, referred to as XX Multis, takes this approach further by combining several

Multis so that every key has a Beat Machine loop mapped to it. Rather oddly, these XX Multis do not have

the Sync button engaged, so they play back at the original tempo rather than the project tempo. Although

this is very easy to rectify if required.



These preset combinations provide the user with the best of both worlds - either work with an individual

sliced loop or multiple loops, all of which can be synced to the project tempo as needed. That said, as only

one of these presets can be loaded at once, if you want to work with several beat-sliced loops ina particular

song, this requires several instances of the Intakt plug-in to be loaded. So much of the organisation. What

about the content? Eclectic is probably the best description - all the loops seem to be based around live-kit

playing, but these are far from straight drum loops. There are also plenty of percussion elements added to

introduce some extra spice. In addition, many of the loops have been subjected to some studio processing,

and this varies between just some subtle ambience through to a little lo-fi treatment. Interestingly, this has

all been done at the recording stage, as no use is made of Intakt's own processing possibilities. The recording

quality itself seems to be very good indeed.



However, perhaps the best feature is the playing and, more specifically, the attitude provided by the loops.

This is first class. At lower tempos, there is plenty here that might suit some hip-hop or R&B productions,

provided that they were of the more grungy variety. At mid-tempos, there is material that would work in a

rock or funk context - although you might want to add an ?alt-? To both of these genres, as the playing is

suitably (and very inspiringly) quirky. At higher tempos, there are loops that would work in harder-edged

electroncia or dance styles (think the Chemical Brothers or The Prodigy) with enough going on to make

things sound aggressive and a little extra on tap via Intakt's Lo-fi, Distortion, or Filter processing if required.

All in all, these breakbeats are inspirational and have plenty of character.



While I've no reservations about the quality of what is offered by The Operating Table, some might suggest

that quantity (400MB) of material is a tad on the skimpy side. As a comparison, a good number of the other

Intakt/Kompakt libraries I've looked at, including some of those reviewed back in the SOS February 2005

issue, weigh in at over a gigabyte of sample content. Obviously, size is not always important, but if I could

give The Operating Table two ratings then it would be five for the quality of the content but perhaps three

for the quantity - there was some great material, but I was left wanting more. Four stars it is then. Overall,

however, if you like your breakbeats to have attitude, then these loops are certainly worth a spin."