Drum machines

July 18, 2005 9:02 PM

I need help finding a PC based drum machine.

I would like to find pc based drum machine software that I can use to accompany myself on piano or guitar. I only need it to do what old fashioned standalone drum machines do: play different rhythms styles on different sounding drum kits.

I would like it to have "fills" like regular drum machines have and it should sound like real drums, not like the instruments built into my computer. I do not want to program my own songs or do anything fancy other than play music. Audio will play on my computer speakers or through a stereo system. I would like to know about any good options, but ideally would like to spend under $50. I have looked at some via google but they're either $250 or lousy. Can anyone help?

One additional question - is there a way to hook up foot pedals to tell the software when to start/stop/play fills?

posted by kdern to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

iDrum may be out soon.
posted by Rothko at 9:37 PM on July 18, 2005

You're definitely better off hunting down a cheap used drum machine with built in patterns.

Two PC apps that will do what you need - but will also be quite expensive :

Groove Agent

BFD

Both offer a wealth of pre-programmed patterns, fills and grooves - and BFD is the closest you'll get to a real-sounding drumkit in software right now. A stunning piece of work, but possibly overkill for what you want to do.
posted by coach_mcguirk at 4:21 AM on July 19, 2005

Would Hammerhead fit the bill? It's probably way too simplistic for what you want, but I don't know enough to not mention it.
posted by yerfatma at 4:49 AM on July 19, 2005

Bram Bos, Hammerhead's creator, has a newer app Tuareg, or Tu2, that has a drum loop gizmo that's similar to (it's also easy and fun) but much more flexible and powerful than Hammerhead. It's included in the freeware version.
posted by tiny purple fishes at 6:14 AM on July 19, 2005

Sounds like you want a groove box that's specifically marketed to guitar (or to a lesser extent, piano) players. With a "real" drum machine, you're going to find you'll have to do way more of what you'll consider "work" than you'd prefer, just to get something passable.
posted by electric_counterpoint at 6:48 AM on July 19, 2005

Bah. Better off with a hardware box? Not necessarily.

Get something simple, like FL Studio (aka fruity loops). Simple step-sequencer input like the traditional drum machines, and you can load any wav you want into it, quickly and easily. Endless drumkits, in other words.

Lots of software will do this. Reason, for example, although the learning curve is a little higher for reason. Tuareg is a possibility as well.

Check out sharewaremusicmachine.com and see what looks good to you, or download the demos of Reason/FL studio/et al.
posted by Espoo2 at 7:59 AM on July 19, 2005