Drums

spool. has two drum machines, and they live where every other sound lives — in the engine picker. Select DRUM or NINE in Synth mode and the keyboard becomes your pads.

DRUM — kits from your own sounds

DRUM chops a sample into slices and lays them across the keyboard, starting at C. The layout repeats up and down the keys, so the whole keyboard always plays.

Getting sound in:

• MIC — record straight from the microphone.
• FILE — import audio from the Files app; a crop screen lets you keep just the part you want (see Sampling).
• You can also LIFT audio from the tape and DROP it onto the kit.

Building the kit: the waveform editor shows your sample with slice markers. Use SLICES to set how many hits the sample is chopped into (up to 24), and KEY to pick which slice you’re editing. Then shape the selected slice with the four knobs — PITCH · IN · OUT · GAIN — plus LOOP and REV (reverse) toggles. Tune one hit up, trim another tight, flip a third backwards: one recording becomes a whole kit.

NINE — the synthesized kit

NINE is an analog-style drum machine in the spirit of the classic 909 — no samples needed. Pick a pad and shape it with TUNE · DECAY · TONE · SNAP. It’s instant punchy kicks, snares and hats, and it never needs the microphone.

Sequencing drums

Both drum engines pair naturally with the sequencers — put the PATTERN sequencer in WRITE mode, tap in a beat on the grid, and let it roll while you switch to another favorite and play on top.

DRUM and NINE are Spool Pro engines.

Next: Sequencers →