The Loopmasters Patchworx 103 Indie Dance & Electronica Serum Presets pack is a solid, genre-specific preset library for $20.00, but it's outgunned on sheer volume by packs like Prominence (107 presets) and gets close to matched on quality by Sample Magic's indie electronica offerings on Splice. Here's where Patchworx 103 actually lands in that comparison, and whether the bundle format is the thing that tips it in its favour.
This review is for Serum users making melodic indie dance, post-punk-influenced electronica, or any genre sitting in the LCD Soundsystem–to–Bicep corridor. If you're building techno or hard trance, look elsewhere immediately.
How It Compares Out of the Box
We loaded the pack into Serum (v1.363 and above required) alongside Prominence and had both sitting in the browser simultaneously. First difference: Patchworx 103 gives you 64 presets across 6 clearly labelled categories. Prominence gives you 107 with a looser genre brief.
The Prominence presets skew more toward progressive and festival-ready sounds. Patchworx 103 stays noticeably more restrained, which is either its strength or its weakness depending on your reference tracks.
The differentiating factor here is the bundle. Patchworx 103 ships with 64 matching MIDI files and 64 WAV-rendered loops inside its 193MB total footprint. Prominence gives you presets only. That bundle approach changes the workflow entirely, and we'd argue it's what actually justifies the purchase for most buyers.
The WAV loops are printed at 24-bit / 44.1kHz. That's not cutting any corners.
Performance Deep Dive
We dropped the chord patches into an Ableton session running at 115bpm, which is the native tempo for every WAV loop in the pack. No warping needed. The loops locked in clean.
We loaded "Chord Patch 07" and ran it through a bus with a Glue Compressor at 2:1 and about 3dB of gain reduction. The upper harmonics sat between roughly 3kHz and 6kHz without needing a high shelf boost. That's useful. It means the chord sounds already have presence built in and don't compete badly with a lead sitting above them.
The bass presets carry real low-end weight, peaking around 60–80Hz with a defined transient that cuts through at around 1.5kHz. We played back three bass patches against a TR-808 kick with the sub sitting at 50Hz. The basses sat cleanly without too much masking. We'd still high-pass the kick above 40Hz and the bass above 35Hz to dial in headroom, but the starting point was better than we expected at this price.
Lead patches are the sharpest-sounding category here. The high-frequency content was aggressive enough that we cut 1.5dB at 8kHz with a Q of 1.2 on two of the 14 leads before they felt right for a mix. That's not a complaint. It's easier to pull brightness than add it.
The 6 pad patches are satisfying. Wide stereo image, slow attack around 80–120ms, long release. They fill the mid-field nicely. The frustrating part: there are only 6 of them. For a genre where atmospheric pads carry whole tracks, that's thin. We'd love twice as many.
2 FX patches. That's it. Honestly ridiculous for a pack at any price point.
Where It Wins
The bundle format is the real win. You get 64 MIDI files, one for every preset, plus a WAV render of that same MIDI played through the patch. That's three layers of the same idea: preset, MIDI, and bounced audio. This is actually a clever teaching tool. Load the MIDI into your DAW, call up the corresponding preset, and you immediately see how the sound was meant to be played.
We ran this workflow in Logic Pro X and it took under 10 minutes to have a full eight-bar arrangement sketched out using three chord patches, one lead, and a bass. That's a genuinely fast starting point for a session.
At $20.00 for 64 presets, you're paying roughly $0.31 per preset. Prominence's 107 presets cost more per unit at its standard retail price. Value math is simple here.
The genre specificity is also real. These presets don't pretend to be everything to everyone. They're built for indie dance and melodic electronica, and they stay in that lane.
Where the Competition Wins
Prominence wins on density. 107 presets versus 64 is a straightforward numbers advantage. More options before you start editing means more chance of hitting a sound that just works.
Sample Magic's indie-focused Serum content on Splice wins on flexibility. Their packs lean toward a broader melodic palette, and Splice's per-credit model lets you cherry-pick individual presets rather than committing to a full pack. If you only need 10 great bass patches, that approach beats buying a 64-preset bundle where 6 of your "slots" are FX patches you'll probably never use.
On Serum 2 com
Who Should Buy Which
- ✅ Buy Patchworx 103 if you want a 115bpm-locked bundle with MIDI and WAV loops ready to drop straight into a session.
- ✅ Buy it if you're new to Serum and want to study how genre-specific sounds are built, using the included MIDI as a guide.
- ✅ Buy it if your reference tracks sit in the melodic indie dance space and you want a preset bank that matches that aesthetic without tweaking for an hour.
- ❌ Skip it if you need more than 6 pads and 2 FX patches. The atmospheric depth just isn't there.
- ❌ Skip it if you work at a tempo other than 115bpm consistently. The WAV loops won't stretch gracefully past about ±5bpm without quality loss.
- ❌ Skip it if you've moved to Serum 2 and haven't confirmed compatibility. Don't buy uncertainty.
Score Breakdown
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Quality | 3.5/5 | Bass and lead patches are strong; pad selection is too thin to score higher |
| Value for Money | 4.0/5 | $0.31 per preset plus MIDI and WAV loops is a fair deal at $20.00 |
| Ease of Use | 4.5/5 | Six clear category folders plus matching MIDI files make navigation fast |
| Features | 3.0/5 | Only 6 pads and 2 FX patches drags this down; 64 total presets is light |
| CPU Efficiency | N/A | Preset pack; load is entirely dependent on your Serum instance and host DAW |
| Overall | 3.5/5 | Genre-specific, well-priced, and bundle-smart, held back by a thin atmosphere section |
Alternatives to Consider
Prominence Serum Presets (107 presets): More presets, broader sound palette, no bundled MIDI or WAV loops. Better for producers who want to browse a larger menu before committing to a sound. Prominence Serum Presets review
Sample Magic Indie & Alternative Serum packs (via Splice): Flexible per-credit purchasing means you're not locked into a full pack. Works best if you already have strong pad and FX patches and only need to fill specific gaps. best Serum preset packs for indie producers
Cymatics Serum Presets (various genre packs): Cymatics packs frequently hit 100+ presets with broader FX coverage, often at a similar or lower price during promotions. Worth comparing if atmosphere and FX design are core to your sound. Cymatics Serum presets review
If you're building a full preset library from scratch, also check our complete guide to Serum preset packs which covers the best options across every genre and budget.
Patchworx 103 earns its $20.00 cleanly, but only if the MIDI and WAV bundle format is actually useful to your workflow. If you want more atmosphere, more FX patches, or a guarantee of Serum 2 compatibility, keep shopping. For everyone else: load the chord patches, drop the MIDI in, hit play at 115bpm, and you'll have a verse section before your coffee gets cold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Indie Dance & Electronica Serum Presets pack work with Serum 2?
The pack was built for Xfer Records Serum v1.363 or higher. Loopmasters hasn't widely confirmed native Serum 2 support for Patchworx 103 specifically. If you're already running Serum 2, check with Loopmasters or Plugin Boutique support before purchasing to avoid compatibility headaches.
What's included besides the 64 Serum presets?
The pack ships with 64 MIDI files and 64 WAV-rendered loops, one of each for every preset in the bank. Total download size is 193MB. All WAV loops are recorded at 24-bit / 44.1kHz and sit at 115bpm.
Is Patchworx 103 worth it if I already own a general Serum preset library?
Probably yes, if your existing library is genre-agnostic. General Serum packs often underserve melodic indie dance and electronica because the sounds are built for flexibility rather than a specific aesthetic. Patchworx 103's bass and lead patches are dialled for that specific sound in a way that generic packs rarely match. The MIDI files are also a genuine bonus on top.
Can I use the WAV loops at tempos other than 115bpm?
You can warp or time-stretch them in any DAW, but quality degrades beyond roughly ±5bpm without advanced algorithms. The loops were produced and bounced at 115bpm, so if your session tempo sits closer to 120bpm or 128bpm, you'll hear artefacts. Use the MIDI files and the presets directly in those cases instead.