The first thing to notice after a first, quick listen is that Best Service isn't too clear about the structure and idea behind the library. The website nor the enclosed pdf documentation sheds any light of what the categories mean. Ok - pretty much everyone can figure out what upsweeps, impacts and atmos mean - but modulations? or PreArrangementFX?

Straight out from the virtual box - K-Size FX Edition is big. 1400 wav effects spread over 1,33 gigabyte is quite a lot and multiply that with the additional formats for acid, rex2, Stylus RMX, NNXT, Live 8, Kontakt 3, Halion, EXS24, Battery 2 and Apple loops.

For the sake of clarity this review focus only on the wav format. Rex-lovers only get the loops pre-chopped.

WAV by the numbers:

Atmos: 115
Downsweeps: 101
Hits: 131
Impacts: 104
Loops 128 Bpm (mixed): 200
Loops 128 Bpm (simple): 100
Modulations: 66
Noise: 23
PreArrangementFX: 40
Singleshots: 204
UpSweeps Long: 100
UpSweeps Medium: 102
UpSweeps Short: 114

Total number of loops: 300
Total number of one-shots: 1100
Total number of files: 1400

The atmospheric sounds are mainly synthetic, and by synthetic I not only mean sounds that have a synthetic origin, but sounds which have a synthetic edge to them. There are exceptions, of course. One sample sounds like it's been recorded on a busy marketplace somewhere. The style of the atmospheres goes from neutral to moody to uplifting. There are not so much material that could fit your latest track in the Horror Techno genre though - sure - there are lots of tense and even disturbing moments, but the really scary stuff are absent from this library. Although not short, these atmospheric soundscapes aren't long either (which in a way make them shortish, of sorts). It's not uncommon for atmospheric sounds to drone on for twenty seconds or so. With these sounds the average is usually around 6-13 seconds.

The downsweeps are intended to pave the way for a new musical part such as a break. Again, the style is of a synthetic nature and there are classic analog 'ufo landing' sounds (Zzzz) to vinyl stops and events combined with a long reverb tail, sometimes layered with a crash cymbal and delay.
Personally, I've never really understood the point of downsweeps. Upsweeps - oh my, yes, but down? Does not rub our kettle. But if you need some inspiration - these will undoubtedly be of help.

The categories Hits and Impacts are so closely related that it makes more sense to write about them together. Generally speaking, Hits contains impact/hit-sounds with a deeper end - usually a kick drum at the bottom and a crash cymbal, noise or synth sound on top - with a massive amount of reverb and delay. Impacts contains sound of a lighter style. Generally speaking, I would describe the Impacts as Hits minus the kick.
These kind of sounds are highly useful for to create depth in any track. A classic trick is to start with an upsweep then finish it with an impact. Very effective to quickly create drama and release. On one hand, these hits and impacts doesn't bring anything new into the arena - but in all fairness they don't have to. These are designed to lift your attention for a few moments and they do this in the best possible of ways. There are over 230 of them and the selection is varied - they span from dark and moody to huge and filled with energy.

With K-Size FX Edition comes 300 loops divided into two folders: mixed loops and simple loops. These loops are all in the popular house tempo of 128 bpm and can best be described as synth-percussion-esque loops. The loops in the 'simple loops' folder can easily be sorted into a kickless loop category - here you'll find hihat loops and synth-style percussion. The style is more towards minimal techno rather than classic house. The sounds are sparse and often programmed in a more intelligent way (compared with static 16th hihats and open hats between the beats). These loops are made with care and are a part of the highlights of this collection.
The 'mixed loop' category is still based on percussive sounds but have been processed to the degree they become something else: resonators are used a lot to turn percussive loops into tonal and rhythmical loops, filter sweeps, short delays to make the sounds stutter and bit crushers. 'Mixed loop' is a mixed bag category with no clear definition - just rhythmical loops that once have been percussion.

The noise category is interesting and worth a mention. Instead of just having a bunch of samples of different colored noise - these samples have a flavor toward crash cymbals, open hats and impacts - but since they only are based on noise, they sound interesting. Half on the mark - half off the mark if you know what I mean.

Finally we come to the upsweeps. While it's not difficult make these kind of effects yourself, they are often extremely useful to have around. Many problems with breaks that don't hold together can (partially) be solved by using upsweeps. In this library there are 300 upsweeps and they are all sorted into folders of length: long, medium and short.
These samples are actually quite nifty and in many cases very well done. Example - some of the samples doesn't just use the normal fade-in to achieve the upsweep but there are tonal sweeps as well and sounds that change character during the transition. The long sweeps are indeed long and gradually introduce the effect. They span from reversed reverb-crashes type to ambiences that are building up in a very clever way.


Conclusion
While I'm always bashing on Loopmasters libraries that they generally are too short, this library shows the opposite. Numbers never tells the truth - although it's very tempting to believe so. Best Service K-Size FX Edition is not by any means a bad quality product. It got highs and lows, just like any other library. But I can't shake the feeling that this library would have been a better one if its producer would throw away a third of the samples and distill this whole package to a more condensed form. Its main strengths are the loops and upsweeps - two very important areas - but many of the one shots and other effects feels so uninspired that even the royalty-free sounds from Future Music and Computer Music are better.

Best Service K-Size FX Edition
Web: www.bestservice.de / www.soundstosample.com (distributor)
Price: 87 euro.
Good: very good kick-free loops and very clever upsweeps.
Bad: many of the effects are uninspiring. Expensive.

Review copy: thanks to Sounds to Sample for NFR review copy.