Throw in some FX and realtime control options and you've got a very capable drum machine that comes at a very reasonable price.

Samples, meanwhile, can be added via drag 'n' drop and tweaked using the pitch envelope, modulation, distortion, filter and loop editing options. In the sequencer, track lengths can be adjusted independently and you can assign a probability value to any step in a sequence. There are four synthesis algorithms to work with: bass, snare and wood drums and a hi-hat. If you just want a drum synth, check out AudioSpillage's rather tasty DrumSpillage 2, but if sampling options and an 8-track rhythm sequencer are also on your must-have list, Elecktroid is the product you should be checking out. Nithonat offers many more sound-shaping controls than its hardware predecessor and is definitely one for electro lovers to check out.

All of the sounds are synthesised in real-time. There’s also a step sequencer with pattern-based arrangement capabilities.

Nithonat is a turbo-charged version of Roland’s TR-606 drum machine, the sister product to the TB-303 bassline synth that was released in 1982.Īs on the real thing you get kick, snare, high and low toms, open and closed hats, and cymbal sounds. With that stipulation made clear, let's get into the results… Note that we haven't included drum samplers/modules here: in order to qualify for this list, a plugin has to have its own sequencing capabilities. We asked MusicRadar users to nominate and then vote for their favourite beat making software in 2015, leaving us with the list of the best plugin drum machines in the world today that you're about to dive into. This being the case, you might decide that you need more than one of the things: it isn't really the case that there's one drum machine out there that can do absolutely everything. Some are designed specifically to emulate the classic hardware beatboxes of the past - perhaps adding a few new features to aid tone-shaping and flexibility - while others offer an original take on the concept and are capable of producing sounds of the type that won't be so familiar. Broadly speaking, drum machine plugins fall into two categories.

Best step sequencer vst