Loopmasters’ sampling powerhouse Loopcloud just got a massive update – here’s what’s new

Loopmasters has launched Loopcloud 8, the latest and most feature-packed version of its sample subscription and production platform.

Heading up the new features are Inspire and Listen – described as “intelligent tools for idea generation and harmonic matching” – plus Advanced search functionality, and Loopcloud’s first iOS app.

There’s also five new effects, 1,000 fresh presets for Loopcloud’s sound remixing tool Flip, a MIDI refresh with a new preview engine, plus upgrades to DRUM and PLAY, and access to Producertech video tutorials for every subscriber.

That’s the top-level, but let’s dive a little deeper into what’s new for Loopcloud 8…

Loopcloud 8: what’s new

First up in what’s new for Loopcloud 8 is Inspire, a new platform which offers producers, you guessed it, inspiration for where to start for a track. Simply pick a genre, and Inspire builds an arrangement of samples, chords and drums which can be used as a starting point for an idea.

Of course, inspiration might not only be required at the start of the creative process; you may need a little nudge along the way, and that’s where Listen comes in. It essentially takes a look at your track and uses Loopcloud Intelligence – the platform’s harmonic-matching algorithm – to recommend samples that work with the material you already have.

Music artist and Loopcloud 8 beta tester Saint Evo waxes lyrical on Listen: “[It] has been particularly useful in helping me narrow down sounds much faster based on the direction of a project. I’ve found it equally useful when starting a new idea and when I’m in the final stages of a project looking for that elusive ‘cherry on top’ to complete the sound.”

Meanwhile, Loopcloud 8 features Advanced Search, which uses a prompt-style user interface to allow producers to enter more complex descriptions like “warm analogue bassline” or “vinyl-crackle boom bap drums”, as opposed to just tags.

Five new effects also come as standard with PLAY, Loopcloud 8’s sample-based instrument: Gator, a step sequencer with swing, tied runs and randomisation capabilities; a Looper; Utility, which combines gain, pan, width and mono-bass in one effect; Chorus; and a crunchy Bitcrush effect.

Significantly, Loopcloud 8 coincides with the launch of the platform’s first iOS app, which brings Inspire, catalogue browsing, previewing and more to your smartphone. This means you can generate idea starting points, and browse and save sounds on the go, which sync to your Loopcloud account so they’re ready to go when you return to your DAW. “Ideas don’t wait for a studio session, so now neither does Loopcloud,” the platform says.

Flip, which takes any sound and reworks it into something new, has now doubled its preset library to 2,000, which each one built for a specific instrument or sound type. In addition, the platform’s MIDI library now has more than 125,000 files, including around 8,000 drum patterns.

Extra perks

Each subscription to Loopcloud 8 also offers access to over 400 hours of tutorials covering production, synthesis, EQ, compression and more, taught by working producers and industry tutors. And if that wasn’t enough, Loopcloud is offering 12 free plugins a year – one per month – to subscribers, with plugins from Baby Audio, Tone Empire, Rhodes, and Beatsurfing.

What is Loopcloud saying about the latest update?

“Loopcloud 8 is built to help producers finish ideas faster, whether they’re searching in their own words, starting with Inspire, or using Listen to find the last sound a track needs,” says Loopmasters CEO Matt Pelling. “This is the most complete version of Loopcloud we’ve released to date.”

Pricing & availability

Loopcloud 8 is available now, priced at £7.95 / $10.95 / €9.95 per month. You can also sign up on an annual basis to get 4 months free. A 14-day free trial is also available.

Head to Loopcloud to learn more.