Big Fish Audio Grindhouse 2 review

Produced in collaboration with Funk/Soul Productions, Grindhouse is a 13GB Kontakt Player library of multisampled instruments, clips and loops with a 60s/70s ‘exploitation’ cinema theme - think spaghetti Western, kung-fu, horror and sci-fi B-movies.

It’s six folders (Drums & Percussion; Horns &Winds; Vocals; Strings & FX; Keyboards; Basses; Guitars) are a joy to explore, calling up everything from mariachi horn sections, psychedelic flutes and filthy electric basses, to funky guitars (Deconstructed Shafty Guitars is a highlight), horrific keys and plenty of perfectly evocative percussion. 

Many of the patches feature multiple keyswitched articulations, and the scripted Kontakt interface is focused and effective, featuring convolution and delay effects, distortion, pitch modulation and noise, and a dedicated mixer for the drum kit instruments. 

The skittish, ‘crate-digging’ approach really pays off, and while a few of its sounds stray towards cheesiness, the vast majority strike the right balance of authenticity and modern relevance.