BPM : Beat Production Machine

Lay down your own beats

BPM looks like a drum machine and feels familiar, while advanced, state-of-the-art virtual instrument technology simmers under the hood. The result is a powerful beat programming environment that lets your rhythmic ideas flow freely.

Start with kits+patterns

At its most basic level, BPM lets you load a kit (a set of drum sounds for the 16 pads) and then play the kit using a pattern (a sequence of notes in the Step Sequencer). Here's a basic BPM kit+pattern preset:

Browse patterns

But the power of BPM is that you can easily browse different patterns using the same kit. Here are a few different patterns using the same kit as above:

Browse kits

But you can also do the opposite: play the same pattern while trying different kits. Here's the same pattern as above with different kits:

Explore infinite combinations

By simply mixing and matching the kits and patterns in BPM's massive 15 GB library of kits and patterns, you have a virtually infinite number of unique combinations to get you started in programming your own beats. Then you can click the Step Sequencer grid to further customize your groove. In BPM, your own unique beats are literally just a few clicks away.

Layer up to four banks

BPM provides four separate banks (A, B, C and D), each of which can hold a different pattern and kit, allowing you to layer multiple kit+pattern combinations. That's up to 64 pads playing simultaneously. Each bank provides independent mute and solo buttons. In fact, each bank has its own mixer channel for bank-level volume, pan and output control, as well as unlimited effects.

On top of BPM's four banks, you can also layer two additional instrument/loop racks, which each hold unlimited parts.

Fine-tune your kit with advanced pad programming

BPM provides advanced programming for each pad, which has individual controls for volume, pan, mute and solo.

But BPM's pad programming goes much deeper. You can layer unlimited samples per pad. Here are three hi-hats assigned to the same pad as velocity layers.

Or you can assign them to the same velocity range and program BPM to cycle through them randomly, or randomly without repetition:

Each pad can have its own effects settings, and even its own synth settings, such as filter, envelope, tuning and others. You can even apply all of these settings individually to each sample layer!

Program your own sounds with the Drum Synthesizer

If you right-click the pad's oscillator tab, you access BPM' powerful Drum Synthesizer:

The drum synth lets you program an infinite variety of drum sounds, and there are plenty of presets to get you started.

Build patterns quickly with the Step Sequencer

BPM's Step Sequencer works just like a conventional drum machine, but it is loaded with powerful features. For example, right-click the grid to access features for programming each lane (line) in the grid, including dozens of useful line templates to give you the sound and feel you are looking for quickly:

Fine-tune pad performance with the Graph Editor

The Graph Editor provides precise, detailed control over the performance of every step for every note in the pattern. Edit each hit with precision, or draw sweeping curves or other shapes. There are even dozens of preset patterns to give you the feel you are looking for quickly.

Add loops and instruments

In addition to its four banks (for kits and patterns), BPM provides two racks which can hold an unlimited number of parts.

A part can hold a loop, an audio phrase (triggered by MIDI or the piano roll sequencer) or a multi-sample instrument (bass, guitar, keys, etc.), also triggered by its own piano roll sequence.

BPM gives you two racks (A and B) so you can organize your parts into two separate groups (loops versus instruments, perhaps) and then apply mute/solo, FX processing, etc. two the two racks independently. But you can use the two racks however you want, as BPM is totally flexible in their operation.

The keyboard at the bottom of the part list lets you play the currently selected part. You can even record your performance into BPM.

Drag and drop to import loops

Like just about everywhere else in BPM, you can use drag and drop techniques in the Rack part lists, too. Just drag and drop any loop or audio file from BPM's browser or your computer desktop into the part list to add it to your mix.

Sequence instruments and slice loops in the Piano Roll Editor

When you click a part, the Piano Roll Editor appears. This is where you program a MIDI note sequence that triggers the instrument or, if the part is loaded with a loop, the individual slices of a sliced loop. The Piano Roll Editor is like having a built-in sequencer with all the tools you need for fast and effective beat programming, right at your fingertips.

Edit part parameters quickly

The Part Editor for the currently selected part gives you detailed programming for the instrument or loop.

Control your loops

Loops have the following additional parameters in the Loop tab. As you can see, there are detailed controls for how the loop will start, how fast it will play, and how it will sync to the rest of BPM (or your host software). You can also drag and drop loops to export them as WAV files into your host software or to your computer desktop. Beat-sliced loops can also be exported as a standard MIDI file clip.

BPM provides three different loop modes so you can treat loops as traditional samples, non-slice loops or slice-loops. In Slice mode, BPM gives you access to the individual slices in a slice loop so you can play them separately. This allows you to completely rebuild the loop from scratch using its individual slices.

Explore BPM's Sounds

BPM includes a massive library of never-before-released drum sounds, patterns, loops and multi-sample instruments conveniently organized for quick browsing.

Here are a few impressive facts about BPM's extensive sound and pattern library:

• Over 15 GB of all-new, never before released loops, samples and beats
  
• Over 10,000 individual samples
  
• Over 1,000 new drum and percussion loops
  
• All recorded at 24-bit 96 kHz resolution
  
• Mastered at Sterling Sound, NYC by top mastering engineer Chris Gehringer
  
• Beat Production/Sound Design by Eric K. Roz for Black Rose Corporation (www.eric-k-roz.com)
  
• Over 200 drum kits + patterns organized by style categories (Beat City, Old School, etc.)
  
• Over 100 urban multi-sampled instruments, including piano, bass, guitars, synths, pads and more
  
• Comprehensive percussion samples, patterns and loops
  
• Dozens of classic "808" and "909" style beat box samples
  
• Hundreds of patterns in many styles (hip hop, R'nB, house, electro, techno, funk, soul, pop, rock, etc.)

Find kits, patterns, samples, loops and instruments quickly

Access BPM's extensive sound library from the browser:

Just click a tab across the top and then browse items by stylistic category. The categories are the same across each time to make it easier to find corresponding elements for your beats. For example, if you want to find a loop that goes with a kit+pattern you've loaded from the "Machine" folder, just click the Loops tab and look in its "Machine" folder. Loops provide instruments (bass, rhythm guitar, etc.) as well as beats, so this is a quick way to add instrumentation to your beats.

Browse sounds and patterns interactively

With BPM's AutoLoad feature enabled, items you click in the browser, even files on your hard drive, load into BPM as soon as you click them. This really keeps the creative flow going because the beat never stops. AutoLoad provides several options for controlling what gets loaded, even on a pad-by-pad basis for kits. You also have the option to AutoPreview instead of loading.

Build up beats or break them down with BPM's exclusive construction kits

At the core of the BPM sound library are 200+ “construction kits” organized by stylistic categories. A construction kit is a kit+pattern for which BPM provides all the individual elements separately(samples, loop layers and the pattern by itself) organized by the same name so you can easily access the individual elements that make up the kit.

Construction kits give you a great deal of flexibility. For example, if you find a loop that you like, but you’d like to work with the individual elements separately, you can go to the loop’s corresponding Kit+Pattern for complete control over every individual element.

Here's a a construction kit (kit+pattern) called Five Billion:

Not only does BPM provide the kit separately and the pattern separately (under the same name), it also provides all the individual samples in the Sample folder, under the same name:

Each construction kit is also supplied at multiple loops, along with extra loops that include instruments, hits and other sounds. Here's the Five Billion kit+pattern playing with its associated bass and instrument loops (again, found under the same name in the Loops folder):

Notice that you could also use just the Bass Drum and Snare (BD+SD) as a loop, or even just the hit hat by itself (HH).

Load material from any UVI sound library

BPM lets you load any MOTU instrument sound from MachFive, Ethno, Electric Keys or any UVI-based MOTU instrument product. You can also load third-party UVI instrument sounds, including BPM Expander packs (coming soon) and UVI SoundCards from UVISoundSource.com.

Adding your own sounds

Of course, BPM lets you add your own sounds, loops and audio files.

Advanced programming

BPM provides advanced programming features for creating dynamic beats.

Synth engine

BPM's powerful engine provides separate synthesis controls that let you carefully shape the sound of any individual pad layer, pad, loop, or instrument. Use the filter, AHD/ADSR envelopes, drive/distortion, aux effect sends, and pitch controls to construct killer sounds.

MIDI Learn

Tweak your sounds in realtime with external MIDI controllers. Nearly every parameter can be automated via convenient "MIDI learn" — simply right-click a control to assign a MIDI controller.

Apply Grooves

Grooves give your beats that extra "something" that takes a good track and makes it great.

Apply classic groves from MPC, LinnDrum and others

Get that classic sound with legendary grooves from MPC, LinnDrum, and more at your fingertips.

Grooves apply globally to patterns and loops

Instantly tighten the feel of all of your patterns and loops at once, with independently variable controls for position and velocity.

Create and save your own grooves

Like the feel of that beat you just laid down? Save it for later as a groove and apply it to other beats.

Make BPM sound like the classic SP1200 drum machine

BPM's exclusive SP1200 emulation mode faithfully reproduces the unique characteristics of the classic sought-after E-mu SP1200. Instantly apply "old school" sound to individual banks or racks.

Record And Sample

It's never been easier to sample and program beats than with BPM's integrated audio and MIDI recording.

Record patterns

Record and overdub patterns interactively in real time from any MIDI controller, with plug-and-play support for pad controllers such as the Akai MPD32. Use BPM's Input Quantize option for precision input, or let BPM's TimeShift property keep track of the smallest variations in feel of your performance.

Sample directly into a pad

BPM makes it easy to add your own sounds by sampling audio directly into the pads. Simply select a button, choose the input source, and hit record.

Using the included BPMSampler effect plug-in, you can tap into any external audio input source or any point in your DAW's signal path to create inputs for BPM to record from. You can even record BPM's own output back into itself.

Drag and drop sampled clips

Selections within a waveform can be dragged and droppoed to another pad or layer. Sampling numerous hits in the Clip window then dragging them to the desired pads makes quick work of building an entire kit.

Mix and process (FX)

With a top-notch effects and and flexible mixer built right in, BPM has what it takes to add polish and punch to your production.

Mix pads, loops and instruments with ease

BPM's graphic mixer provides a channel strip with level meters, volume, pan, mute, solo, and FX controls for every pad and part in BPM. For top-level control, there are also channel strips for each bank and rack, letting you adjust entire kits or racks of instruments in one motion. Add in returns for three aux effect busses and a master fader, and you've got everything you need to fine-tune your mix.

Apply world-class effects

Dozens of professional quality effects are built right into BPM, including EQ, compressor/gate, filter, delay, reverb, phaser, chorus, drive, distortion and many more, all within easy reach with the multi-column FX browser.

Use unlimited effects slots

Everywhere effects can be added, you can add as many as you want — and with the ability to add effects at nearly every point in BPM's signal path, you've got total control over your sound. Add unlimited effects to anywhere from individual pad layers to whole kits to all the way up to BPM's master output.

Place your beats in real acoustic spaces

For absolute realism, BPM's CPU-efficient convolution reverb places your beats into actual sampled locations. Dial in one of the dozens of included presets, or sculpt the sound until it's perfect.

Use three FX busses

Share effects between pads and parts using three aux effect busses. Each pad and rack part has independent sends for each aux bus.

Send banks and racks to independent outputs

You can mix everything within BPM's Mixer and send it all to the stereo main outs, or for maximum flexibility, you can route individual pads or parts — or entire banks or racks — to BPM's aux outputs. Use up to 99 stereo outputs (depending on the host) to break out individual elements for further processing.

Perform Live

From a simple sound module to full-on song playback with on-the-fly changes, BPM has you covered when you're playing live.

BPM's flexible pattern and scene architecture provides the backbone to your performance.

Use patterns to build scenes

Each bank and part has sixteen patterns, and those patterns are collected in scenes. Freely assign the patterns to any scene to create the perfect combinations.

Trigger scenes during live performance

BPM's Live mode gives you access to all sixteen scenes at the push of a button. Change scenes by clicking the sixteen pads in BPM or by sending MIDI from a controller keyboard or sequencer.

Export scenes for use in other applications

To export a scene as a new audio file, simply grab the Scene section header and drag out of BPM to any location that accepts audio files, such as the Mac or Windows desktop, or an audio track in your DAW.

Build a song

When it's time to look at the big picture, Song mode gives you the macro control you need to put it all together.

Build your track from start to finish with Song mode's graphical timeline.

Drag and drop to build a complete song

A song can be built in seconds. Drag and drop scenes from the pads to the Song Editor, where they automatically appear at the correct length for the patterns they contain. If you want a scene to be shorter or longer, grab the edge and stretch it repeat for as long as needed.

When using BPM as a plug-in, the Song matches its position and tempo to your host.

Export the song as a WAVE file

Exporting the finished product is one click away.

Import and export

Basic rhythmic elements go in, your beat comes out — all in a few clicks.

BPM's intuitive interface puts everything within your reach.

Drag and drop just about anything

BPM makes it simple to load in samples, patterns, and even entire banks with the ease of drag and drop. Hovering over an area in BPM will highlight if it can accept the file you're dragging.

When working with sliced loops you can drag & drop the loop as audio or MIDI, to the desktop or your host sequencer.

Import and export just about anything

Import any standard audio file format — WAVE, AIFF, Sound Designer II, REX, Apple Loops, and more — as hits or loops. Load instruments and loops from any MOTU or UVI sample library. Import Standard MIDI Files as patterns in the step sequencer or piano roll.

Save your BPM settings and sounds in any degree of granularity from a single sample to a performance file snapshot of everything you see and hear in BPM.