INSTRUMENTS
Free online drum machine
Perfectly quantised drums are not neutral, they are a specific aesthetic. Program a pattern here and nudge individual hits to hear how a few ticks of timing change the whole feel of a groove.
Try it
- Load the House preset, or program it yourself: kick on every beat, clap on 2 and 4, closed hats on the offbeats.
- Listen for 30 seconds. Get used to it.
- Tap CP to select the clap lane. Drag its Nudge knob slightly to the right.
- Tap CH to select the hats lane. Drag its Nudge knob slightly to the left.
- Tap the toggle in the top-left corner (it says Groove) to bypass everything at once — it now says Grid. Tap it again to bring the groove back.
What to listen for
The kick is the anchor and does not move. Late clap pulls the track backwards and feels heavier; early hats push it forwards and feel urgent. Same notes, same tempo, different feel. The white dot on each active step shows the offset before you even press play.
Each lane has more to shape than timing. Timing and Velocity randomise a hit's position and volume within a small range, useful for a hi-hat that never sounds robotic. Tone shifts the pitch, Decay stretches or shortens the note. Mute and Solo, next to each row, let you isolate one instrument at a time. Try the Afro House preset — it uses Nudge and Tone the same way this exercise does, on a different genre.
This tool is one part of the picture. Electronic Music Production for Beginners covers the rest.