XLN Audio is promising to turn browsing for beats on its head with the new XO drum machine plugin.
XO will allow you to browse your entire collection of one-shot samples and display them within in a vast cloud-like universe. No matter what their location, your samples will be grouped together according to type, with similar samples grouped nearby. Further filtering options are available to aid in your search.
It looks as though the workflow for building beats and sequences is pretty slick, with simple drag and drop functionality.
Once your beats are finely honed, there are multiple options for incorporating the newly created loops into your existing workflow. A selection of effects is also included, and you can add further processing with your own plugins.
Other drag and drop options include the ability to export your beats as whole WAV or MIDI files, and even as one-shots into your DAW. You're also given the choice to select the a raw or effected version.
XO is available in VST, AU and AAX formats for both 64-bit Mac and PC machines. It also runs standalone. It's currently priced at €179.95, and a trial is available to download from the XLN Audio website.
