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Reviewed By Diametric [all]
December 29th, 2022
Version reviewed: 1.2.0 on Windows
After watching Beat Scholar's refreshing take on step sequencing on youtube, I picked this up on a holiday sale for $49. There are some other pros/cons that differentiate it from other beat makers to qualify my 3-star rating. For context; I can find my way around most step sequencers in DAWs and VSTs, and sharpened my teeth on Scream Tracker in the mid-90s.
+ intuitive beat/pattern visualization.
+ flexible randomization tools.
+ each bar can have it's own measure.
+ lots of keyboard shortcuts.
+ factory preset patterns are useful for learning what's possible (but not much else).
+ developer seems responsive to community feedback.
- UI feels a bit clunky: Needs tooltips, larger clickable areas on buttons, and better control affordances on hover, press, etc.
- Aside from note and velocity, I don't think any other parameters can be modulated/automated (humanizing, sample pitch, panning, reverse, etc.).
- Most factory preset kits/samples are not inspiring (YMMV) and the sampler is.. minimalistic. For that reason you'll almost certainly be routing the pads to another VST via MIDI.
- Remapping MIDI keys for each drum pad is difficult (improvements to this are planned).
- Regular price is high for it's current capabilities (buy on sale).
Overall: I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to sketch out intricate beats, but many will still reach for their favourite step-sequencer/DAW to polish and fine-tune the exported MIDI.
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