Beat Machine: Music Maker & DJ

Beat Machine is a launchpad you play. Not a timeline you fill in, not a grid you draw on. Twenty-four loops sit in front of you and every one of them runs on its own. Drop one in, pull it out, bring it back on the drop — the track is whatever you are holding down right now. THE PAD GRID Six groups of four: Beat, Bass, Lead, Synth, FX, Voice. Within a group the pads trade places, so switching the drums is one tap and never a mess. Across groups they stack. Hit start and beat, bass, lead and synth come in together — from there it is your hands. Every pad shows you what it is doing. Dotted when it sleeps, pulsing when it is waiting for the bar to turn, lit with an arc running around it while it plays. You hear the arrangement and you see it. TWIST IT WHILE IT RUNS The effects panel is live. Filter it, break it, throw it away and bring it back — nothing stops, nothing renders, the loop…