TECHNEWS IN ASSOCIATION WITH RE-E-VERSE, WHEN THE CROWD SAY...


REVERSING a section of a keyboard part can yield surprising and atmospheric results, as Jonny from Point Blank shows.


APP REVIEW


APP NAME : DRUM TOY DEVELOPER : MAZ & KILGORE FORMAT : PRICE :


IPHONE/IPAD £0.69


IF you’ve ever tried to record a bassline or synth lead using your MIDI keyboard and your sequencer’s metronome, you’ll know that the end results are not always as ‘funky’ or ‘grooving’ as you’d hope – even if you’re fairly decent on the old ivories. Fact is, when it comes to funk, playing to a rigid 4/4 click ain’t right. Enter Drum Toy from Maz & Kilgore, billed as ‘the world’s funkiest practice metronome’.


Essentially, Drum Toy is a simple drum machine with an element of clever randomization. You create basic loops using the app’s Every and Offset knobs for each sound (Kick, Snare and HiHat) and then feather in the secret ingredient:


probability. In a way, Drum Toy ‘thinks’ the way drummers do - locking into the main groove then deciding when to apply judicious fills to liven up proceedings.


Although its core architecture might be built around chance, Drum Toy yields a surprising array of variations, and the results are undeniably funky – it was a joy to lay down an elastic slap bassline with this app as our metronome.


VERDICT 7/10


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