10 of the best beatmaking apps
We’re talking ‘drums only’ with this list of creative beatmaking apps that allow you to create patterns, automate and generally provide a great backbone for whatever tunes you produce…
01 RUISMAKER NOIR $7.99 AUV3 | iPAD/iPHONE | MONO, N/S PRESETS
Described as a ‘Relentless Rhythm Synth’, Noir creates beats and loops from scratch and is packed with drum synthesis options – indeed, such is its flexibility it almost veers into bass-sounding territory at times and we nearly put it in our Groovebox category (see p30). The layout will be familiar to any synth user with oscs, filters and amp sections but it’s all about sequencing, morphing and fluid sounds with superb implementation. ruismaker.com
02 6X806 NOISE DRUM SEQUENCER $2.99 AL/IAA/AB | iPAD/iPHONE | N/S SOUNDS/ KITS, MULTIPLE EXPORT OPTIONS
This six-track drum synthesiser and sequencer is ideal for “creating beats, electro rhythms or wacky synth blips”. The interface is a little unclear at first, but once you get your head around the creation of the core beats, you can quickly assemble some quite striking and unusual loops. With the added benefit of effects, filtering and randomising this is very much one for getting extreme beats down quickly. apps.apple.com
03 ARTURIA ISPARK $19.99 AL/IAA/AB | iPAD/iPHONE | 640 INSTRUMENTS, 40 PRESETS, 32 PATTERNS PER PRESET
The bigger music technology developers have some long-standing drum machines out there that are beginning to look a little long in the tooth (and have suffered review-wise), but Arturia’s iSpark is still garnering favourable comments. That might be to do with its ease-ofuse and specs that include a ton of sounds, patterns and kits. Straight-up, this is very easy to use and there’s enough connectivity to get a range of electronic and acoustic beats into your iOS tunes. arturia.com
04 BEAT MACHINE $FREE AL/IAA/AB | iPAD/iPHONE | 10 KITS, 11 PATTERNS
There aren’t too many freebies included in our app tour this time around and this is one of the better ones, following the standard XOX sequencer and style for creating classic dance beats. You also get MPC-style pads and parameter editing, including Pitch Drive, ADSR and filter. The screens are a little basic but it’s very easy to use – in terms of creating patterns and kits and saving them – and pretty flexible in its sound. apps.apple.com
05 ELLIOTT GARAGE EGDR909 $2.99 AUV3/AL/IAA/AB | iPAD/iPHONE/AN | 8 TUNABLE SOUNDS, MULTIPLE EXPORT OPTIONS
It’s pretty obvious what machine this is emulating right from the UI, even if you haven’t yet spotted the ‘909’ numbers at the end of the name yet. Yes, it’s the ubiquitous Roland inclusion that just about every drum machine round up – be that hardware or software – must include. 909 beats have been the cornerstone of many a dance genre and this one delivers them with a 16- step sequencer and 48 programmable rhythm patterns. It is only slightly hampered by small controls as it follows the original so closely. Still, for the price and AUv3 support it’s still a bit of a bargain. You can also buy an 808 version. elliottgarage.com
06 FINGERLAB DM1 – THE DRUM MACHINE $4.99 AL/IAA/AB | iPAD/iPHONE | 108 KITS, MULTIPLE EXPORT OPTIONS
On the face of it, this is a straightforward drum machine with nine pads and over 100 kits, but it comes with enough effects (including Overdrive, Delay, Reverb and Dalek filter) plus a duo of FX trackpads to “distort, modulate and transform your beats” and with automation, it allows some pretty crazy beats. Pretty good price too, although there are some IAPs in there. fingerlab.net
07 MOMINSTRUMENTS ELASTIC DRUMS $19.99 AL/IAA/AB | iPAD/iPHONE | 6 CHANNELS, 13 SOUNDS, MULTIPLE EXPORT OPTIONS
Described as the ultimate groovebox, we’ve not included it in that category as it only features drum sounds, but it’s what you can do with them that counts, when all is said and done. You get six drum synth channels with 13 different percussion engines (including kick, snare, hi-hat, drone and sampler) so you could wrestle some non-drum sounds out of it, but really this is all about the beats and being totally dynamic with them. A 16-step sequencer allows you to record the channels and there are 12 parameters per channel to adjust, automation for eight effects plus performance stutter type effects. Elastic, indeed. mominstruments.com
08 OLYMPIA NOISE PATTERNING $19.99 AL/IAA/AB | iPAD/iPHONE | 63 KITS, EXPORT TO ABLETON LIVE OR AUDIO
Patterning 2 has what you might consider a unique circular method of creating beats, that is both intuitive and creative in that looped beats can be easily created with velocity changes for a human feel or automation for a more out-there feel. There are effects and filtering parameters to add per sound and certainly enough linkage both internally and externally to fuse your beats with other creations. It’s one of the fastest – and indeed most satisfying – ways for musicians to create beats on an iPad and iPhone. It’s available for free (with IAPs). olympianoiseco.com
09 SKIIID $5.99 AUV3/AL/AB/IAA | iPAD/iPHONE | 500+MODULES, SEQ AND OTHER MODULES
One of the newest drum machines here, Skiid features AUv3 compatibility and an attractive UI that gets you creating deliberately scrunched-up beats. The emphasis is on both morphing between a set of kicks, snares, hi-hats and percussion (each with four slots) and dirtying them up with noise, a bitcrusher, distortion and resonator. It really is “dirty and alive”. all-the-machines.com (pretty sparse so far)
10 SONOSAURUS DRUMJAM $7.99 AL/IAA/AB | iPAD/iPHONE | DOZENS OF LOOPS, 20 PATTERNS, MULTIPLE EXPORT OPTIONS
You can expect most drum apps to really make the most of the iOS touch interface and that’s certainly the case with DrumJam. A central area allows you to drag loops together and easily move them around the screen to adjust pan and volume levels. Meanwhile a pad/ keyboard allows you to play along or record your own beats with a selection of performance effects. You can also add effects (including lowpass filter, pitch bend, delay, reverb, lo-fi, and distortion), and many of the loops were recorded by Pete Lockett (who has played with Peter Gabriel, Bjork and Robert Plant). Inspiring stuff all-round. drumjamapp.com