Is this drum machine online really free?

Yes. It's a free drum machine with no trial, no watermark on exports and no feature held back behind a plan. Everything on this page works without an account.

Do I need to install or sign in to use the beat machine?

No. The sequencer runs in the page itself - no download, no plugin, no login. Press play and it starts. Audio is generated locally in your browser, so patterns are never uploaded.

How many steps and voices can a pattern use?

Choose 16, 24, 32 or 64 sixteenth-note steps, so one to four bars. Eight voices are loaded by default and you can add more up to twelve, each with its own sound, mixer settings and mute or solo state.

What's the difference between the Rack and Pads views?

Rack shows every voice at once, which is the fastest way to write a full pattern. Pads shows one voice on large TR-style buttons, which suits editing while the loop plays. They share the same pattern data, so switching costs nothing.

Can I export the beat as audio or MIDI?

Yes to both. WAV renders the current pattern twice, so two bars of a one-bar loop and eight of a 64-step phrase, with your volume, pan, tune and decay applied. MIDI writes note data on the General MIDI drum map - kick 36, snare 38, closed hat 42 - so any DAW maps it to its own kit.

Does this online beat machine support swing and accents?

Swing shifts every second sixteenth later, reaching a triplet feel a little past halfway and a hard shuffle at the top, and humanize adds timing and velocity variance. Every step carries its own velocity: shift-click for an accent at full strength, alt-click for a ghost note, or on a phone turn on Accent or Ghost mode and drag a pad to shape it by hand.

Can I change the kit or load my own samples?

Switch between seven kits - TR-808, TR-909, acoustic, lo-fi, trap, electro and percussion - from the toolbar, or open the sample browser to assign any of the 91 sounds to a single voice. Sounds are synthesised per voice rather than streamed, which is why the page loads instantly and stays in time.

Are there presets, or do I start from scratch?

Open Presets to load one of more than fifty built-in grooves: starter beats, house and techno, hip-hop and trap, breaks, rock and funk, Latin and world, triplet feels, and long two- and four-bar phrases. A preset sets the tempo, swing, kit and pattern in the slot you have selected, so a few of them chain into a whole section. Save current keeps your own beat as a preset in this browser, and Export and Import move presets between devices as a JSON file.

Are my patterns saved?

Save stores the pattern bank, mixer and kit in this browser, so a reload brings the beat back. The beat stays on this device: to move it, save it as a preset, export it and import the file on the other one.

Does it work on a phone or tablet?

Yes, and a phone gets its own layout rather than a squeezed desktop one: sixteen pads laid out four to a beat, a bar picker once a pattern runs past one bar, and the mixer, kit browser and export in bottom sheets. Tap a pad to place a hit, drag it up or down to set velocity.

Which keyboard shortcuts does the sequencer use?

Space plays and stops, 1 to 8 select a voice, M and S mute or solo it, V switches view, square brackets nudge the tempo, P steps through patterns, R randomizes, H humanizes and Cmd/Ctrl+Z undoes. Press ? in the panel for the full list.

Beat Machine - Free Online Drum Machine

Eight voices, 16 to 64 steps, velocity on every hit. Over fifty presets, seven kits, swing and humanize, WAV and MIDI export - all in your browser.

No install, no sign-in

Tempo

124BPM

Swing18%

Humanize0%

Steps

1 bar

View

Pattern

Kit

Channels

Velocity - Kickdrag to shape, shift-click a step for an accent

Channel

Kick

BD-808

Vol

Pan

Tune

0.0

Decay

1.00

Drag a knob up or down to trim the voice. Tune shifts the pitch in semitones and decay scales the envelope. Both feed the WAV render and the live engine.

How the grid works

Tap or click a step to place a hit. On a pointer, drag across the grid to paint a run of hits.
Shift-click for an accent and alt-click for a ghost note, or use Accent and Ghost mode on touch. The bar height is the velocity.
Swing delays every second 16th. Humanize adds timing and velocity variance.

Save & export

Save keeps the four patterns, mixer and kit in this browser. To take a beat to another device, save it as a preset and export the file.

WAV - the pattern twiceMIDI - GM drum map

A free online drum machine, right in the browser

This is a free beat machine built on the two ideas that made hardware sequencers stick: a grid you can read at a glance, and a transport that never stops to think. Load the page and the pattern is ready to go - no account, no download, no plugin. Everything runs on the Web Audio clock in your own browser, so latency stays low and nothing you make leaves your machine.

The layout borrows from both traditions. Rack view is the FL Studio channel rack: one row per voice, steps running left to right, the whole arrangement visible at once. Pads view is the Roland TR row: sixteen big buttons and a single voice under your fingers, which is how you tweak a hat pattern while the loop runs. Both edit the same pattern, so you can switch mid-take.

What this beat machine online gives you

Velocity on every step

Bar height is the hit strength. Shift-click for an accent, alt-click for a ghost note, then drag across the lane to shape a whole phrase. Flat sixteenths become a groove once the offbeats drop back.

Swing, shuffle and humanize

Swing delays every second sixteenth, from a straight grid through to a hard shuffle. Humanize adds small timing and velocity variance so repeated bars stop sounding stamped out.

16 to 64 steps

One bar for a loop, 24 for a bar and a half of odd-meter, 32 for a two-bar phrase with a turnaround, 64 for a full four-bar section with fills at the end.

Seven kits, more than ninety sounds

TR-808, TR-909, acoustic, lo-fi, trap, electro and percussion kits: 91 synthesised sounds, from congas, claves and shakers to tambourine, agogo bells and electro zaps. Each voice has volume, pan, tune and decay. Swap a single sound from the browser or change the whole kit and keep the pattern.

A preset library to start from

Over fifty presets, from four on the floor to drill, samba, jazz swing and a four-bar trap phrase with a fill. Each sets the tempo, swing, kit and pattern, and loads into whichever slot you are on. Save your own, export them as JSON and import them on another device.

Pattern bank and chaining

Four patterns per session. Chain them and the sequencer walks A to D on every loop, which is enough to sketch a verse, a lift and a fill without leaving the page.

WAV and MIDI export

Render two bars to WAV with your mixer settings baked in, or export MIDI on the General MIDI drum map to carry the pattern into any DAW.

How to make a beat, step by step

Put the kick down first. Four-on-the-floor means steps 1, 5, 9 and 13. For hip-hop or trap, keep step 1 and move the rest off the beat.
Add the backbeat. Snare on steps 5 and 13 carries almost every popular style. Nudge one of them a step late for a half-time feel.
Fill in the hats, then take velocity out. Sixteenths all the way across, then drop the offbeats to roughly half strength. That single move is most of what separates a loop from a groove.
Set tempo and swing by ear. Tap the tempo if you've got a reference, then push swing up until the hats start to lope. Most house sits near 124 BPM, boom bap near 90, drum and bass near 174.
Stretch to 32 steps and write the turnaround. Copy the first bar, then change the last four steps - an extra kick, an open hat, a rim shot. Export when it loops without tiring you out.

Starting points by genre

Step numbers below are 1-indexed sixteenth notes, one bar of sixteen. Program them as written, then break them.

House

120-128 BPM

Kick 1 · 5 · 9 · 13 Clap 5 · 13 Open hat 3 · 7 · 11 · 15

Boom bap

86-96 BPM

Kick 1 · 7 · 11 Snare 5 · 13 Hat sixteenths, swing 25-35%

Techno

130-140 BPM

Kick every 4 steps Closed hat 3 · 7 · 11 · 15 Rim 4 · 12, tune down, decay short

Trap

130-150 BPM (half-time)

Kick 1 · 8 · 11 Snare 9 Hat sixteenths with ghost notes, decay low

The beat machine writes the pattern. These tools take it further.

Play a drum kit liveAn acoustic kit you play from the keyboard, for feel rather than programming.Find a song's tempoTap along to a track, read the BPM, then dial it into the transport here.Build a full backing trackPut chords under the beat and jam over the whole arrangement.Record over your loopLayer guitar, vocals or keys on top of an exported bar.

Want pads under your fingers?

A pattern you built here is easier to play live on real pads. A small controller or a drum machine gives you something to hit instead of a mouse.

BudgetMIDI pad controllerPads you play with your fingers, over USB, in any music app.Check price →No computerDrum machineIts own sounds and sequencer, runs on batteries and needs no computer.Check price →For monitoringStudio headphonesClosed-back, so the click stays in your ears and out of the mic.Check price →

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. These are affiliate links - you pay the same price, and it helps keep emusic.tools free.

Frequently asked questions

Is this drum machine online really free?: Yes. It's a free drum machine with no trial, no watermark on exports and no feature held back behind a plan. Everything on this page works without an account.
Do I need to install or sign in to use the beat machine?: No. The sequencer runs in the page itself - no download, no plugin, no login. Press play and it starts. Audio is generated locally in your browser, so patterns are never uploaded.
How many steps and voices can a pattern use?: Choose 16, 24, 32 or 64 sixteenth-note steps, so one to four bars. Eight voices are loaded by default and you can add more up to twelve, each with its own sound, mixer settings and mute or solo state.
What's the difference between the Rack and Pads views?: Rack shows every voice at once, which is the fastest way to write a full pattern. Pads shows one voice on large TR-style buttons, which suits editing while the loop plays. They share the same pattern data, so switching costs nothing.
Can I export the beat as audio or MIDI?: Yes to both. WAV renders the current pattern twice, so two bars of a one-bar loop and eight of a 64-step phrase, with your volume, pan, tune and decay applied. MIDI writes note data on the General MIDI drum map - kick 36, snare 38, closed hat 42 - so any DAW maps it to its own kit.
Does this online beat machine support swing and accents?: Swing shifts every second sixteenth later, reaching a triplet feel a little past halfway and a hard shuffle at the top, and humanize adds timing and velocity variance. Every step carries its own velocity: shift-click for an accent at full strength, alt-click for a ghost note, or on a phone turn on Accent or Ghost mode and drag a pad to shape it by hand.
Can I change the kit or load my own samples?: Switch between seven kits - TR-808, TR-909, acoustic, lo-fi, trap, electro and percussion - from the toolbar, or open the sample browser to assign any of the 91 sounds to a single voice. Sounds are synthesised per voice rather than streamed, which is why the page loads instantly and stays in time.
Are there presets, or do I start from scratch?: Open Presets to load one of more than fifty built-in grooves: starter beats, house and techno, hip-hop and trap, breaks, rock and funk, Latin and world, triplet feels, and long two- and four-bar phrases. A preset sets the tempo, swing, kit and pattern in the slot you have selected, so a few of them chain into a whole section. Save current keeps your own beat as a preset in this browser, and Export and Import move presets between devices as a JSON file.
Are my patterns saved?: Save stores the pattern bank, mixer and kit in this browser, so a reload brings the beat back. The beat stays on this device: to move it, save it as a preset, export it and import the file on the other one.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?: Yes, and a phone gets its own layout rather than a squeezed desktop one: sixteen pads laid out four to a beat, a bar picker once a pattern runs past one bar, and the mixer, kit browser and export in bottom sheets. Tap a pad to place a hit, drag it up or down to set velocity.
Which keyboard shortcuts does the sequencer use?: Space plays and stops, 1 to 8 select a voice, M and S mute or solo it, V switches view, square brackets nudge the tempo, P steps through patterns, R randomizes, H humanizes and Cmd/Ctrl+Z undoes. Press ? in the panel for the full list.

Beat Machine