2 questions about REX files and Loop slices

[Damashii!!]

If the answer is already in this thread >>> here or another then please link me to the post that seems to answer these questions.

1)http://www.propellerheads.se/products/recycle/

Is this the "only" REX file creator?

2) regardless of above, are REX files the only way to create slice-able loops?

my scenario is that I have a bunch of pre-recorded drum beats, turntable scratch sounds, favorite speech clips, etc.

I've been cutting the individual needed sounds (a particular snare hit, a few seconds of cool scratching, etc.) and then pasting them into the exact places in the given song that I needed them in. I'm used to it now but after playing with REX files for a few months I see that there is an easier way to manipulate my own loops and sounds and stuff, but I don't want to be limited to using other peoples REX samples.

for example,

Listen to the beginning of this song. Is there a program I can buy/download/whatever/acquire to let me do this easily by assigning each sound to a note/button on my MIDI controller?

sorry if I'm not making sense

[Esker]

Good you make this thread, I wanna know this too.

[Kidd Cabbage]

Yes, the REX filetype is owned by Propellerheads, and buying Recycle is the only way to create them.

No, there are some other ways to do this, but to have it as streamlined as REX is very software-specific. For instance, FruityLoops has a built-in plugin called "Slicer" that can do things similarly. I don't know of any third party ones, and I don't use FL, so when I want to do this, I just take the sample and manually chop it up, then map each part of the sample to a different key trigger on a standard sampler plugin like Kontakt or the drum rack in Ableton Live.

Ableton also has a built in way to do that automatically:

[Damashii!!]

No, there are some other ways to do this, but to have it as streamlined as REX is very software-specific.

okay, I see what my DAW had, but I guess I never knew how to use it.

I was looking on the FL and NI sites but I'm not on my own computer right now so I can't download (or purchase a download link). Are Kontakt 4 player, Slicex, and/or Edison available as a free universal download for use in any/most DAWs or are those examples of what you meant by software-specific and I should just learn my DAW's slice/audio snap tool?

just asking because Slicex seems to appeal to me the most.

EDIT: I see, they're all demo downloads. I'll still try when I get home to my own computer.