ModeAudio Grid Racer Review – Find Your Retro 80s Edge

ModeAudio’s Grid Racer hopes to transport you to a fantastic sonic throwback full of retro flourishes. Alex Holmes takes up pole position…

Price £18
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Grid Racer key features:

• Retro inspired synth music
• 470 MB of 24-bit audio
• 15 kits, 80 to 136 BPM
• 150 loops, 69 tails, 72 drum hits, 121 MIDI files
• Wax, ReFill or Ableton Live versions

Grid Racer from ModeAudio taps into the continuing rise of ’80s retro-inspired synth music with this cool collection of video-gamey, neon-tinged loops, tail samples, drum hits and MIDI files based on 15 construction kits.

Aside from the main WAV download, there’s a ReFill version that adds REX loops and Dr.Octo Rex patches, or you can opt for the Ableton version that adds 15 Live 9 projects. From the cascading arps and sweeping synth leads to the resonant bass riffs, the characterful synth sounds are absolutely spot on, with plenty of analogue unison and subtle movement to make them sound big and appropriately sci-fi.

These are backed up by drum machine loops and hits with a solid sound and some especially powerful toms, but not a great deal of variety. We found the loops to be a little on the messy side when played side-by-side in the kits, but when treated as individual audio files they can be both beautiful and highly inspiring for evocative new musical ideas.