iPhone drum beats/ machine apps?

[deepestend]

I've been using search, but does anyone have a good, basic drum app that they like to use to practice?

 

[pecBass]

I am looking for one as well

 

[Art Araya]

drumgenius
groove bank
drum beats+

 

[whatizitman]

There are a couple cheap/free apps available. I have EasyBeats on my phone. It's MIDI based (I think), and could probably be externally controlled. You can also use garageband - the iphone/ipad version is cheap enough. Both require time to set up basic patterns, but are easier and faster than, say, an SR16. Garageband wins in the ease department. Neither has great sounds IMO, though.

This best solution I have come up with - and the cheapest - is this. I have reaper on my PC (still 'evaluating'), with the trial version of XLN/addictive, which has fantastic drum sounds. All free, but you didn't read that. I make drum tracks for complete songs, export them to WAV. Run them through Audacity/Lame to make MP3s, and then load them to dropbox so I can access them with the dropbox phone app. For my purposes, the sound player on the dropbox phone app is adequate to play the tracks. I used it for practice, and plugged into a mixer for band practice and/or gigs.

 

[ics1974]

Easy beats and DM1

 

[AFRO]

Easy beats and DM1

DM1

Plus one for this, when I got it it was like $7.99 USD. some of the best money I've spent in the app store.
I don't know how to yet, (just havnt done it yet) but it says you can import your beats into Garage Band.

but at any rate, you can create simple-to-complex beats on the app; with a variety of different sounding "Drum kits", effects and sounds. its awesome IMO. you can record your work and edit as well.

 

[Jeff Bonny]

DrumGenius is brilliant.

 

[deepestend]

I'm going to look into all of these... do any just have preset beats like a "blues" or "funk" or "country" beat?

 

[Inertialsky]

DM1 looks awesome. I've just found that spending more than an hour tweaking settings a smaller size screen (iphone 5) can be a little annoying sometimes. I use NanoStudio and some other instrument tool apps.

All these great new music apps are finally giving me a need to consider getting an ipad

 

[Jeff Bonny]

DrumGenius is loops of some of the best drummers of all time. There are some shuffles and the funk section is outstanding. No country or straight up rock but Garage Band can do that for you ok.

 

[mistergoats]

I just paid $5 for EasyBeats 2 - it's great if you love the sound of totally digital fake drums.

 

[gregmon79]

How the heck do you use DM1?? I downloaded it a few months ago and had no idea what I was doing so I havent used it since. I dont like the fact that you have to tap on the dang screen to make a beat. How are you supposed keep your timing right that way? I mean, I have good time, but its effected by the interface at times which ensures a bad beat....

 

[deepestend]

So, you're saying no on easybeats? drumgenius sounds like a winner.

 

[whatizitman]

DM1 looks awesome. I've just found that spending more than an hour tweaking settings a smaller size screen (iphone 5) can be a little annoying sometimes. I use NanoStudio and some other instrument tool apps.

All these great new music apps are finally giving me a need to consider getting an ipad

DM1 gets good reviews. I was just using my Easy Beats 3, and it sounds ok for what it is. I still don't have the patience to build drum maps and songs on a phone, though. So I've stopped buying music apps - they just don't get used that much. Ipad makes it easier, and garageband on the ipad is easier still. But I found I still don't do enough recording direct to ipad, and exporting becomes an issue since I'm too cheap to make my entire house mac friendly.

Soooo, Reaper and Dropbox for me. Dropbox as a media player is ridiculously straightforward, quick, and reliable. And setting up drums on a full DAW and screen is so less frustrating.

 

[whatizitman]

I'm going to look into all of these... do any just have preset beats like a "blues" or "funk" or "country" beat?

Preset sounds or kits? Sure. Preset patterns? Varies. Easybeats, no - at least not that I can see. Garageband, yes. DM1, don't know.

 

[whatizitman]

How the heck do you use DM1?? I downloaded it a few months ago and had no idea what I was doing so I havent used it since. I dont like the fact that you have to tap on the dang screen to make a beat. How are you supposed keep your timing right that way? I mean, I have good time, but its effected by the interface at times which ensures a bad beat....

Good software/hardware utilizes timing correction and quantization. Or you can use drum mapping if an editor is built in. But generally your fingers are still the time keepers for triggering any pattern that's not preset with just about any drum sequencer - if it sounds off, record it again. Welcome to wonderful, aggravating world of MIDI drums.

 

[deepestend]

preset patterns... might be time to redownload garageband.

 

[whatizitman]

preset patterns... might be time to redownload garageband.

I don't know why people diss garageband. It can do pretty much anything you need for basic music production and various instrumental tools. Not the best drum sounds. But in general the software is very seamless and intuitive - even on a phone. Unless you need pro sounds and production level software (most people don't, despite what they think), garageband has bought electronic music production to the masses far more than anything else. And the built in amp sounds are surprisingly good. Kudos to mac.

 

[AFRO]

DM1 looks awesome. I've just found that spending more than an hour tweaking settings a smaller size screen (iphone 5) can be a little annoying sometimes. I use NanoStudio and some other instrument tool apps.

All these great new music apps are finally giving me a need to consider getting an ipad

Yeah, I have iPad, so its much easier to interface with larger screen.



@ OP..
as far as pre-built tracks, there are a few. but they more showcase the various 'sounds' and drum kits that you can emulate..(some keyboard and 808 tones come to mind)

However, once you figure out what you need to do to program a beat, which IMO is dirt simple.... you can easily 'create your own' Blues, Funk, Rock, Country, or just metronome etc..generic beats..and loop them. then save them and you can load them at any time. as I said in the previous post, you can then edit them and change the drum kit, and add/or effects to flavor them to your liking, (accent beats, delay, distortion.. some really cool stuff on the effects pads)

Watch some you tube vids and you can see if you like it before you purchase it.. but IMO its worth every penny. between the Garage band and the DM1, for about $15.00 USD you can essentially have a mini studio to record your ideas on. I bought the iRig too, so I can play along to tracks I create in Garage Band.. eventually I will learn how to import the DM1 into Garage band and blend both programs.

(My FX pedal has several preset drum tracks in it so I use those regularly and my keyboard has some different ones too as a nice change up. essentially I can duplicate them on the DM1/GB if I so choose.)

 

[deepestend]

I don't know why people diss garageband. It can do pretty much anything you need for basic music production and various instrumental tools. Not the best drum sounds. But in general the software is very seamless and intuitive - even on a phone. Unless you need pro sounds and production level software (most people don't, despite what they think), garageband has bought electronic music production to the masses far more than anything else. And the built in amp sounds are surprisingly good. Kudos to mac.

I liked it when I was using it... it just took up a lot of space and I only want a few loops to practice to, not the whole banana.