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'Twas The Summer of Our Drum Content
OK, not all of the apps I'll mention here came out in summer, but 2015 has definitely seen a seeming renewed developer interest in drum machines. The days of DM-1 vs DrumPerfect vs Cubasis loops are behind us.
Here's my thing. I'm looking for feedback, so I'll provide a bit of background at the risk of breaking the unspoken THREE PARAGRAPHS MAX rule. I have two musical needs right now ... create and establish original music under my band moniker of "Sturgeon's Law." I already have a drum solution I quite like in Gadget for this need. The other is to fart out commercial music and build up a library of 30 second to 2 minute "jingles" that I can shop to Getty and other online services to generate some royalty income while pursuing my true passion of original music.
When I say fart out, I mean just that. I don't want to spend a lot of time on sequencing the perfect drum pattern for what might ultimately be background music for some Warfarin knock-off commercial. So ...
This year we've seen Beathawk, Diode-108, Waldorf Attack, Rock Drum Machine 2, and Patterning released, to name a few. Probability is big for me, because even farted music should have some spontaneity and excitement. I already have Elastic Drums and Seek Beats for more ambient genres. I also already own Diode-108, DrumPerfect, Beat Machine and DM-1, as an FYI. I am seriously considering going all in for Luis Martinez's apps (Rock, Latin and Afro-Latin drum machines), although that would blow most of my budget. That would definitely cover, say, "Ram Tough" style commercials. Beathawk looks interesting, and I suspect it would look even more interesting after another $10-$20 of IAPs. But the closest I've come to actually liking any MPC style drum machines to date is Beat Machine, which is remarkably capable for $1. Patterning - well, I'm still trying to wrap my head around what, besides the obvious UX sensation, the big deal really is, or if that pretty UI is the big deal. But it does have probability ...
Most everyone seems to think Attack kind of leveled out at a "meh" after all the pre-launch hype. Not a serious contender in my mind. I like Diode-108 and commend Rhett for REALLY leveraging this forum as a focus group to hone his product. Great job on both the app and developer responsiveness there. In my mind, Diode is kind of like the natural, more evolved next step up from DM-1. And then there's the old dinosaur, iElectribe. I don't want to overlook this option, although I wish the iPad version would join its new little brother in the $9.99 sale, because I've almost bought that app probably more than any other where my finger has hovered over the purchase button, just to have a box full of ready to roll, easy to tweak dance beats at my disposal. Again, quick farting is key.
So, any advice regarding any of the above-mentioned drum machines, on their own merits or perhaps as a fitting compliment to the Luis Martinez apps? Sorry this post ran so long. Any feedback welcome, long or short. Oh yeah, I'm a Midiot, so anything to do with MIDI bindings or program changes will probably not compute, sorry ...
^^If you read all this, I seriously thank you!
Comments
@eustressor Well. Luis Martinez Rock Drums for, you know, rock drums. I think you're at a point where you have a pretty full cabinet, but (for the RAM-tough world) you're right that this is going to help. Now, fair trade coffee? Drumjam
As said, you already have it sussed. Don't forget DrumJam.You could also consider recording your beats into Auria and then using Drumagog to mix things up.
@JohnnyGoodyear, @Fruitbat1919 - Thank you both for the Drumjam suggestion. Forgot I have that, too. Just curious, does it offer any kind of probability and/or song mode for stringing together a few patterns?
Damn I would have to look, as I just alter everything on the fly for jamming or record into Auria for making loops, so I never rarely use song mode in any drum apps. I also use Drums XD a lot, but I use midi for that and I notice you are not keen to go that route.
DrumJam has the ability to put a percentage chance to drop beats and even go crazy with the bedlam settings.
Beathawk is another great app, but it lacks quite a few features, such as a piano roll for editing. I kinda like it sometimes because it makes me come up with happy accidents when my timing sucks just enough to make it interesting. It also can import samples, so you don't have to buy the IAPs
O and iMachine is ok for a source of sounds and ideas as the IAPs are cheap and I quite like them, although I have seen some say they think the samples are pants...each to their own I suppose. iMachine itself is pretty limited though.
O and don't forget some of the other mini studio apps such as BeatMaker 2 or Nanostudio......I will shut up now lol
Oh, no, I appreciate the feedback. I didn't realize there was a percentage/bedlam setting for Drumjam, which is very good to know. I'm not opposed to, as you mention, altering things on the fly, or at least giving that a go. Also appreciate your perspective on Beathawk.
Beatmaker 2 is a no go for me ... I just can't open that app without getting pissed off over the interface. I know it has a lot of capabilities and some swear by it, but, me, I just swear at it. Nanostudio on the other hand is currently on sale. Lots of instances of their drum module could be interesting, hadn't thought of that ... Thanks again!
@eustressor Mister Bat is right. And Bedlam is worth drowning in just for the playing fun of it, irrespective of your farting etc.
My farts keep me warm and have fart babies with my wife's farts......good job I have lost my sense of smell...
@eustressor - yeah BeatMaker 2 has me so annoyed at the moment with its stupid keyboard grrrrr
....but not your wife, Sir. A fine achievement...
BM2 has a keyboard?
As far as jingle/hook writing goes, for some reason i bang out 30-second hooks more quickly on iMaschine than anything. Good variety of samples (USD .99 per pack) to help lead you somewhere if you're going in blind and just farting. I find my timing playing on-screen pads always leads to something more interesting than straight sequencing. All that said, you mentioned being satisfied with Gadget for your other project, so you could easily accomplish the same thing with it.
I only have the Brazilian drums by Luis Martinez, but the jam level and sequencer (you can throw in fills when desired with a couple taps) is nice and simple for spontaneity. I really like the bossa nova sound & pattern sets. They are unobtrusive and sound decent untreated; just a simple bass drum/rim shot and cymbals. Good for schmaltz but also light & airy acoustic guitar or piano jingle jangles.
Diode is not my cup of tea, but like someone said, it is the spiritual successor to DM-1. Like that app, it is reliable and does what it's supposed to with little fuss.
You mentioned probability specifically; for that I recommend Patterning. It truly is a great program beyond the aesthetics. It has the smoothest one-screen workflow of any drum program (& yeah I've used 95% of them), desktop included. The layer editing screen is so simple and just right there. In addition to complete probability control, there is an auto-rotate feature that you can apply per instrument. And that per-instrument goes for all of the automation effects, which I think is the true genius of the program. I've farted out quick ditties with 2-3 patterns and probability applied on just a couple instruments like hats and toms, and it's done in a jif.
All of this post assumes a solid collection of pro samples as a base. Even with iMaschine, I was disappointed with the WAV quality and editing when I exported the samples and took a closer look at them.
@oat_phipps Thank you for this feedback – you definitely provided a lot of info and food for thought!
Although I typically steer clear of MPC-styled drum solutions, I did go and check out some vids of iMaschine in action after reading your post. Some nice sounds and features, and the price is certainly right, but possibly not the best solution for me. I need at least occasional quantizing, and it seems iMaschine's audio export options are a bit limited. But it did get me thinking more about Beathawk, which is similar, but more expensive. If I can't see the music, it's at least easier for me to wrap my head around the concept of each pad being a track. I also like the idea of building the entire hook and then using the pad mute ability in song mode to quickly build up to the full monty.
Definitely considering going all in with Luis Martinez and adding Brazilian and Afro Latin to Rock Drummer. Everything I've heard sounds really good. I can see getting some decent milage out of both apps. But I could save that twenty bucks and use the highly recommended Drumjam for more worldly percussion needs.
I do have a pretty solid collection of drum samples to work with, built up over the course of a few months last year. I was waiting for someone to mention Patterning. I just saw today that it's the number 2 paid music app in the app store right now, so the hype would appear to be justified. I'm off to rewatch some demos, as I have a few nuts and bolts concerns (method/ease of sample import, audio export options). Sounds like Patterning is much more than a just a pretty face, and I do hate to miss out on what all the cool kids are doing
Anyone care to weigh in on iElectribe? Is it worth 20 bucks to have some ready to go dance beats? My background is soooo not EDM ...
I had the Gorillaz iElectribe, but just didn't find it much fun. Maybe too much like the hardware, but without the benefit of tacktile knobs. Seems limited just to be like the hardware, when it could be so much more.
I'm having a personal Renaissance with iElectribe at the moment. I just love the sounds it makes. And the new phone version effectively gives you 300 new drum kits and 300 midi drum patterns to play with.
But it's very electronic sounding. It sounds like a drum machine / weird synth.
Anyway, maybe you should try Robotic drums (as a gateway drug to patterning). It's actually really cool. Probability options are nice and it's got a nice way of painting in patterns that can be sent to midi out. But sadly no velocity control that I can see.
Am I understanding correctly - the new iPhone version has more sounds and patterns than the iPad version? I might not be averse to running it on my iPad if that's the case, for 10 bucks ...
That's OK, that's kinda what I'm looking for, something to slam out EDM/Industrial style sounds that I can tweak here and there.
Also, thanks for the suggestion on Robotic drums. I'll give that a look as well!
DrumJam has a split personality, half of it is percussion loop permutations, with some ability to randomly change those permutations over time, but no song mode (yet). The other half is the hands-on pads area where you have to be an active participant, but can lean on some nice quantized auto-repeat dragging or tapping, along with some probabilistic glitch effects and a wide variety of velocity layered kits and ethnic percussion.
And all of that is why it's so triffic, but why it'll be even more triffic when this clause has been retired: but no song mode (yet)
Yeah, I remember feeling like DrumJam was almost two apps, with the GarageBand-esque grid on top, which was fun to play with, and then the area for live performance on the bottom half, which I do remember also having fun with, now. I have decided to dive in and give it a go for my more "world beat" needs as they arise. Thank you for the explanation and performance tips! Looking forward to song mode when it arrives
BTW, away from my iPad right now and can't remember ... does DrumJam have Steel drums? For no better reason than someday, I'm convinced, I will cover Black Sabbath's "Supernaut," and you just have to have Steel drums for that.
DrumJam doesn't but ThumbJam does.. in downloadable section under Sounds->Download Samples, called Steel Pan.
Just had to say, I could have posted this exact thing as well. Although I have been using the only version of iElectribe I own, the iPad version. It's a great app and a lot of fun with the effects and a bit of flutter. Got to dig in though and synthesize some new sounds. It is pretty capable as a drum synth.
Am out of save slots now though which is kind of a big pain in the A.
Coming back to this app after time apart and then an affair with patterning has been enjoyable. So even after all these years, I am excited to load it up this morning. Even updated my background image!!
I know DrumJam has some rock kits; I wish it also had some rock IAPs.
I've been playing with Rock Drum Machine for the last week. It's a lot of fun, and the raw materials are quite good (patterns are named clearly, lots of variety in the sounds). For production, though, it's inefficient. Martinez has said he's working on MIDI sync, but it's not here yet. It does work with Audiobus (yay!), but there's no way to output EXACTLY 4 bars (or 2, or 8) of drumming: you have to record into another app, then go back and trim that recording to length. This is more or less what it would be like recording an Alesis SR-16 drum machine, minus the audio interface. It seems churlish to complain: compared with cutting physical tape, this stuff is easy. But the appeal of this app -- for me -- is that it jump-starts your jam. And it does that; I just wish the hurdle between jump-start and actual production were a little shorter.
Thank you - I had a feeling you had to have one hiding in one of the two apps. Appreciate the pointer
wanders off to locate iPad, humming "Supernaut" ...
@dokwok2 - agree RDM has some great sounds, and if you crank the jam up on the initial beat, you could play almost anything over it and sound like you had a young (JP - "Sin After Sin" era) Simon Phillips in your pocket. Very cool. But your point about exporting precise loops is well taken. I agree, more developers should do this. If you are making a quantized recording, I just don't see why you would not provide loop export, especially in this Ableton clip-style enabled world we live in. Points to Virsyn, Alchemy that was and the others that do create easily exportable, ready to go loops.
That includes SampleTank, which, while they love to give you 8 slight variations on a kit and call it "8 New Kits!" - they do actually have some good drum samples, including EDM-style. I just put together a nice trap beat using their "Dirty South 3" kit and exported it over to Audioshare no problem. Plus ST lets you go up to 16, maybe even 32 bars and quantize up to 64ths.
Funny, I always overlook SampleTank and it always comes strolling in at the last moment with useful sounds. I just need to get better at MPC style beat-making, as I prefer sequencing drums (need to SEE it!) vs building beats over repeated passes. But it's good practice, good fun
Still debating shelling out 20 bucks for iElectribe (I would prefer to spend the extra 10 over the iPhone version and know I was getting solid audio export options). It sounds great in demos and has better visual sequencing than MPC style options.
Goes back, looks Sound Canvas in the eye, says sorry bub, deletes, heads over (again) to the Sample Tank ranch....
Yeah, funny how she lets you keep coming back, never holds a grudge, never asks where you've been, packs you a sandwich before you take off again ...
So what we're saying is music apps can be associated with a genre and Sample Tank is all country?