Ah, how times have changed. I remember back in the day when the rex file format was first introduced by Propellerhead Software and Recycle 1 and how it changed the way I worked with loops and audio files. At that time there simply was no other program that would slice and dice and allow the kind of tempo changes and tweaks that Recycle did. Trimming loops was so much easier with Recycle. And it worked flawlessly with my Ensoniq 16 plus sampler. It was a dream program allowing me to import audio files as individual hits into my sampler along with a midi file that triggered the individual slices and played the loops in perfect time. And you could even increase or decrease the tempo, quantize or perform any number of tricks.

The one limitation of that early rex format and Recycle 1 and 1.7 was that you could only use MONO files. Bummer. That was ok for a while, but soon other slicers and dicers emerged allowing stereo files to be tweaked. Plus applications started to support rex files and some even implemented recycle-like features. I waited and waited for Recycle 2 to be released and it seemed to take forever.

Recycle 2 is finally here and it is better than ever, allowing stereo files to be sliced, as well as offering a bunch of other cool new features. It is still a must have software tool for loop manglers of all types.

What exactly is Recycle?

Recycle 2 is a software tool for the Mac and PC that allows you to perform a number of "pretty amazing tricks" on drum and audio loops. It allows you to do some pretty cool stuff with audio loops of all types. Customize them to make them your own.

Installing and setting up Recycle is a breeze. Optionally you can set up a hardware Sampler utilizing midi and/or SCSI.

Recycle 2 now has some nifty new features:
Support for stereo files.
You can open stereo audio files and import stereo files from a hardware sampler and then save/export them as stereo after slicing them.
Preview listening.
You can now listen to the loop at new tempo and pitch settings.
Realtime effects.
Effects to tweak the sound of your loops:
Envelope. A stretch feature was included in previsou versions too, but this time it has an attack and decay setting too.
Transient shaper. This is a compression utility that trigs it's gain reduction on each slice. Perfect to get more snappiness from your loops.
EQ. All the bass you want. Or not want. ReCycle's EQ has a Hi-cut, a lo-cut and two parametric filters.
Support for new samplers.
AKAI S-5000/6000 and all SMDI capable samplers are now supported.
Move slices
You can now move the slices you have added manually.
Support for REX2
ReCycle 2.0 uses the REX2 format as it's native save format. REX2 files can be played in programs such as Reason 2 and Cubase. The format also has a 50% non lossy compression.

All in all, Recycle 2 is very easy to use and comes in handy when working with loops.

So, if you work with loops and want a powerful tool that allows you to work quickly and easily, Recycle would be a valuable addition to your toolbox. Even if you do not have an external hardware Sampler, Recycle will allow you to work with loops in programs like Reason 2, Cubase, Sonar, Acid and Ableton Live. You can use it to trim loops to play perfectly and export as a single audio file, or slice it up into bits and pieces for mangling in your favorite host sequencer or loop program.

While not as revolutionary now as Recycle was back in 1995 when it was introduced, Recycle 2 is still a top program for loop creators and manglers. You'll surely get some use out of this program.

Beat Mode gives Recycle 2 an 8 out of 10 star rating!
"Very good product with many plusses. Highly useable."