MOTU announces and releases BPM - Beat Production Machine

MOTU has announced BPM, or Beat Production Machine, a complete rhythm production center for Mac and Windows that combines state-of-the-art rhythm programming technology with playable virtual instrument operation inspired by the classic drum machines of the 80's and 90's. It comes with a 15 GB library and it can sample too.

Sound libraries these days are awash with loops. And what is a loop, exactly? Someone else's beat. Isn't it time to take back creative ownership over your grooves? Isn't it time to once again release your own unique, inspired beats on the world? If only you had a rhythm production instrument that let you program beats as fast as your mind can "hear" them. There just hasn't been anything even close... until now.

Experience the ultimate Beat Production Machine
BPM unites drum machine-style operation with advanced virtual instrument technology to give you the ultimate rhythm programming experience. Combine drum kits, sequenced patterns, sliced loops and instrument sounds to realize your rhythmic vision, mixing and matching any playing style with any drum kit. Or plug in your pad controller or MIDI keyboard to capture your live, groove-quantized performance directly in BPM.

Explore a new universe of new sounds
Browse BPM's vast 15 GB sound library of expertly recorded and mastered 24-bit 96 kHz rhythmic material for urban, R&B, hip hop, techno, electro, house, pop, rock and other music styles. Sample your own drum sounds directly into BPM's drum pads, or simply drag and drop clips from your computer desktop, to add infinite possibilities to your own, unique sound. Add further punch with BPM's Drum Synthesizer. Combine unlimited sample layers per pad with programmable layer switching. Now add guitar, bass and other multi-sample instrument sounds from BPM's included library, MachFive or any other MOTU or UVI sample instrument library.

Let your beats flow, from start to finish
Trigger scenes during live performance from pads or MIDI notes. Drag and drop scenes into a song to build an entire track in seconds. Finalize your track with BPM's comprehensive graphic mixer, unlimited effects processing and dozens of world-class effects, including multi-band EQ, filter, delay, drive, distortion and convolution reverb. Advanced features include drag & drop audio import/export, multiple outputs, universal plug-in compatibility and stand-alone operation.

Feature Highlights

Overview:

• Complete rhythm production center for Mac and Windows.
• Combines state-of-the-art rhythm programming technology with playable virtual instrument operation inspired by the classic drum machines of the 80's and 90's.
• Provides complete creative control, from recording and programming individual samples to building and arranging entire songs.
• Includes a comprehensive, expertly produced urban sound and loop library for urban, R&B, pop, rock and other music styles.
• Combines drum machine programming, sampling, loops, synthesized drum sounds, multi-sample instrument sounds, mixing, effects processing, song arranging and asset browsing in one streamlined window.
• Plug-and-play support for hands-on pad controllers such as the Akai MPD32 controller.
• Exclusive SP1200 Emulation mode faithfully reproduces the unique characteristics of the classic sought-after E-mu SP1200.
• State-of-the-art environment for laying down beats as quickly as your mind can "hear" them.

Included sounds and loops:

• 15+ GB library of all-new, never before released loops, samples and beats.
• Over 10,000 individual samples.
• Over 1,000 new drum and percussion loops.
• 24-bit 96 kHz audio quality.
• Mastered at Sterling Sound, NYC by top mastering engineer Chris Gehringer.
• Beat Production/Sound Design by Eric K. Roz for Black Rose Corporation (www.eric-k-roz.com).
• Over 200 drum kits + patterns organized by style categories (Beat City, Old School, etc.).
• Over 100 urban multi-sampled instruments, including piano, bass, guitars, synths, pads and more.
• Built-in drum synthesizer for unlimited synthesized drum and percussion sounds (includes hundreds of preset sounds).
• Comprehensive percussion samples, patterns and loops.
• Dozens of classic "808" and "909" style beat box samples.
• Hundreds of patterns in many styles (hip hop, R'n'B, house, electro, techno, funk, soul, pop, rock, etc.).
• Play any pattern in any style with any drum kit (included or programmed) for virtually infinite combinations.
• Load any MOTU instrument sound from MachFive, Ethno, Electric Keys, etc.
• Load any UVI instrument sound.
• Add new sounds with BPM Expander packs and UVI SoundCards from UVISoundSource.com.

Software operation:

• Runs as a stand-alone application on Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista.
• Runs as a plug-in with any Mac or Windows audio host (Audio Unit, VST, RTAS and MAS).
• Next-generation UVI Engine XT delivers state-of-the-art sound quality and operation.
• Supports multiple separate outputs for multi-channel mixing.
• Drag-and-drop importing for MIDI data, audio data and audio loops.
• Slice loops and patterns can be exported to the computer desktop or audio host software as audio clip or MIDI clip.
• Scenes and songs can be exported to the computer desktop as an audio clip.

Sampling and synthesis:

• Records individual samples or loops from any external source via plug-in host software.
• Quick sampling feature lets you quickly record into the currently selected drum pad.
• Supports self-sampling (record BPM output back into BPM itself directly).
• Programmable drum and percussion synthesizer with hundreds of factory presets.
• Mix, match and layer drum samples and drum synth sounds, even on the same pad.
• Exclusive SP1200 Emulation mode faithfully reproduces the unique characteristics of the classic sought-after E-mu SP1200.

Drum machine programming:

• 64 pads per scene (4 banks of 16 pads).
• Independent step sequencer for each 16-pad bank.
• Use multiple banks to quickly layer basic drum kits with additional kits (percussion, etc.).
• Convenient controls for mute, solo, gain and pan for each pad.
• Detailed parameter adjustment for each pad, including velocity, pan, fine/coarse tuning, fill, time-shift, filter cutoff, resonance, decay, and others.
• Graph sequencer for each note for ultra-dynamic expression (includes presets).
• Unlimited sample layers per pad with programmable velocity switching or cycling (random or programmed) for expressive "human feel".
• Independent synth programming for each sample layer (AHD/ADSR, filter, drive, aux sends, pitch envelope, etc.).
• Unlimited FX slots per pad and per bank.
• Waveform Editor with fade in/out, normalize, silence, gain, etc.

Loops, audio phrases and instrument sounds:

• Two independent rack modules hold loops, audio phrases and/or instrument sounds.
• Unlimited parts in each rack.
• Independent piano-roll sequencer for each part (instruments and slice loops).
• Imports REX files, Apple Loops, AIFF, WAV and all standard audio file formats.
• Automaps, plays and grooves REX files in real time.
• Up to 64 MIDI channels.
• Unlimited FX slots per part and per rack.
• State-of-the-art time-stretching algorithms provide best-available audio quality at all tempos.
• Loads and plays any MOTU or UVI multi-sampled instrument.

Real time pattern recording with groove quantize:

• Record, overdub and quantize patterns interactively in real time from any MIDI controller.
• Plug-and-play support for pad controllers such as the Akai MPD32.
• Apply grooves with independent control over timing and velocity.
• Choose among dozens of groove presets or create and apply your own.
• Combine kits, patterns and sequences into scenes.
• Trigger scenes live with pads and/or MIDI notes.
• Build songs in seconds via simple drag and drop of scenes.
• Comprehensive and flexible scene and song programming.
• Operate stand-alone or synced to host tempo and timeline.

Comprehensive mixing and effects processing:

• Comprehensive graphic mixer with independent channels for all 64 pads and instrument parts.
• Master mixer with master channel strips plus FX processing for entire banks, instrument racks and aux channels.
• Stereo main outs plus 16 or more stereo aux channel outputs (up to 99, depending on the host).
• Unlimited effect slot architecture for pads, banks, instruments, racks, aux outs and master out.
• CPU-efficient convolution reverb.
• Dozens of professional quality effects, including EQ, compressor/gate, filter, delay, reverb, phaser, chorus, drive, distortion and many more.

Convenient browsing and file management:

• Convenient, intuitive, unified browser for all assets (samples, loops, patterns, kits, instruments, etc.).
• Optional auditioning while browsing (list items play as you click them).
• Drag and drop loading from browser or desktop (including audio files, MIDI files and loops in all standard formats).
• Optional auto-loading from browser (list items load as soon as you click them).

Pricing and Availability

MSRP is $295. BPM will be available shortly for Windows (XP or Vista; 32 or 64 bit) and Mac OS X (10.4 or higher) in VST, AU, RTAS, MAS and stand-alone formats.