iOS Music Production New, Free Loops, and Hardware

Gumdrops by Hanson is an interactive drum app for iPad with the power of a 64 track / 32 step sequencer with a unique and powerful user interface.

One feature that truly stands out is the ability to trigger entire patterns on and off by tapping one of the circles. You can set the trigger to retrigger or to latch and loop. Gumdrops also lets you customize all 32 steps on each of the 64 pads. Set the velocity for each step by simply swiping your finger across the steps in the pad editor. Load your own samples by using Open-In from another app or directly from AudioShare or AudioPaste. You can also record directly to a pad and trim or reverse your sample for unlimited creative control.

Another unique feature has to do with the user interface and layout. There are eight groups of eight pads on the board. By default, the 8 pads in a group are all assigned to the same sound. The two pads at the bottom of a group are half notes, then moving up to quarters, then eighths, then sixteenths. The left column of pads is filled with the patterns that would be played by your right hand if you were on a drum kit, and the right column is filled with patterns that would be played by your left hand. Playing the left and right pad in the same row combines into a pattern twice as fast. You could think of the left column as down beats and the right as up beats. So playing a pad in the right column will sound funky and off beat. Playing a pad in the left column will sound solid and on beat.

What’s New in Version 1.5

+ Audiobus 2.2 w/ remote triggers for playback, A/B/C/D quick patterns and first 3 groups of pads
+ AudioShare
+ Auto sets beat mark upon loading sample (Applying sample to all pads in group also applies the same beat mark)
+ Now supports “Open In” so you can easily import audio from your favorite apps directly to a pad in Gumdrops
+ Now supports the standard Document Picker so you can easily import audio from your iCloud Drive and 3rd party storage providers like Dropbox and Google Drive.
+ Long press in MIDI learn to un-learn a mapping
+ Fix IAP (In-App Purchase) download progress
+ Fix bugs in MIDI Learn
+ EZAudio updated

[ Legacy Features ]

* Live performance oriented drum machine
* 64 tracks * 32 steps * 4 patterns per “Beat”
* 24 step pad setting to play any pad in “triplet” timing
* Record directly to a pad or import from other apps
* Share “Beats” with other Gumdrops users
* MIDI note send
* MIDI clock send/receive
* MIDI controller support lets you adjust master volume and level for each group using a hardware mixer as well as control playback and switch patterns.
* Audiobus
* Audiobus Remote for Playback, A/B/C/D quick patterns and first 3 groups of 8 pads
* AudioShare
* AudioCopy/Paste
* Inter-App Audio
* WIST

[ Background ]

CJ Hanson is a drummer and the idea for Gumdrops came to him during a discussion about making beats using devices like the Roland TR-808 and the Native Instruments Maschine. Tapping out beats on pads can be tiresome and manually programming steps on a sequencer then playing it back to hear how it sounds is painstaking.

On a drum kit playing quarter, eighth or sixteenth notes is easy with either the left or right hand (or feet). If you have your right hand holding steady eighths on the hi-hat, introducing your left hand in between produces sixteenths. Then removing your right hand leaves eighths but on a syncopated pattern. Gumdrops is revolutionary because it makes playing these sort of natural patterns easy.

Synchronize with other apps and hardware using MIDI clock sync. Connect your MIDI mixer to control the overall mix, group levels, and pan.

Record and apply effects using Inter-App Audio and Audiobus.

Gumdrops is available for $1.99 (60% off for a limited time)