Beat Making Programs
The sequencer is the heart of all beat-making programs, the canvas upon which you paint all of the various aspects of your beat.
If you’re in the market for beat making programs, finding out about the sequencer is a good method of judging the merits of the program as a whole. The new beat-maker gives you 16 tracks to play with, more than enough to create multi-layered, complex beats, and includes plenty of options for further shaping the sound and the mix.
Learning about the various features can help you decide if Dr. Drum is right for you.
The layout of Dr. Drum’s sequencer is simple and effective. The lower portion of the screen is taken up by the sequencer’s grid, with sixteen rows for the tracks, and ongoing columns to show the passage of time.
Each column on the sequencer represents a beat, and most music has four beats in a bar. You select the bars you want to cover, and then choose which sample you want to place there.
The top half of the sequencer screen is made up of a master volume control and a mixer panel, which you can use to adjust the volume of the individual tracks and shape the sound.
The mixer on Dr. Drum is made up of 16 sliders, used to control the volume of each track, and four additional controls. Three of these extra controls are used to alter the low, mid or high frequencies to suit your composition. If you want a bass-heavy sound, for example, you can crank the lows and support it with some mids.
The final control is used to pan the track’s audio into the left or right speaker. The mixer also includes options for muting any specific track or playing it alone.
The program features several thousand samples for you to choose from, and you can create your own using Dr. Drum’s in-built drum machine and keyboard. As well as this, you can upload new samples easily.
Once you’ve combined the components into a beat you like, Dr. Drum can be used to export your beat as a professional quality 44.1 stereo .WAV file. You can also upload your track to YouTube with one single click, and open your music up to a global audience.
The sequencer on Dr. Drum has an intuitive layout and all of the features you need to create beats with thumping drums, driving bass-lines and catchy melodies. You can use the mixer to balance the volumes of each element, pull out the tones you want and to create a full stereo listening experience.
The sixteen tracks included with this Beat Making Programs give you ample room to craft textured, complex beats and express your musical creativity.
The Difference Between Dr.Drum From DubTurbo
With so many beat making programs available online, choosing one out of the deluge of options seems like an impossible task.
Two of the leading beat makers, Dr. Drum and DubTurbo offer professional recording quality, a 16 track sequencer, a four octave keyboard and a drum machine. Whilst these two programs both offer a lot of options for making beats, there are some key differences that set them apart.
DubTurbo and Dr. Drum both have 16 track sequencers with dedicated mixing panels, useful for creating complex, multi-layered beats. On both programs, each track has a dedicated slider for setting the volume, along with options for muting or playing a track solo.
Dr. Drum surpasses DubTurbo by allowing you to pan the audio of each track to the left or right speaker. Although stereo recording is the standard for each program, only Dr. Drum lets you use it to its full potential.
You can have your beat pounding out front and centre, but set your melody to play through one speaker, or to oscillate between the two. You can also adjust the lows, mids and highs for each track through the Dr. Drum mixer, so you can shape your sound in any way you like.
The additional option brings your stereo recordings to life, and opens up a new avenue for your creativity.
Understanding where you are in your songs in terms of bars is vital to music composition. Without a clear indication of when your bars change, or where the beats fall within a bar, you can end up making arrhythmic compositions.
On DubTurbo, the bar count is hidden way up at the top of the page, and if you’re focusing on the sequencer you might forget it’s even there.
Dr. Drum’s bar counter is directly above the sequencer, which means you’re always aware of your position within the bar. As well as this, each beat is marked, which helps you keep your compositions in time.
Both programs feature a drum machine, which is vital for creating your own beats. Each individual drum sound, such as the snare, is loaded up onto a pad, and you click on the pads to add the sound to your beat.
DubTurbo gives you 10 pads to play with, and each one has its own dedicated volume control. Dr. Drum raises the bar and provides you with 12 pads, each still featuring an individual volume control to mix the sound within your beat. The two extra pads mean each drum kit features two additional sounds, which give you valuable extra options in your composition.
Whilst DubTurbo and Dr. Drum are both great for making beats, Dr. Drum has the variety of options that sets it above the competition. If you’re serious about making beats, denying yourself functionality isn’t an option. Dr. Drum is a massively diverse platform for your creativity, and that fact separates it from competitors like DubTurbo.