1.1.1 Main Features

Whether you’re programming beats for a hip-hop track, layering sounds for a cinematic score, designing electronic grooves, or performing live, DrumX gives you the sounds, the tools, and the feel to create something that moves people.

Main Features

A Beats That Move: Sequencing & Grooves

  • Hundreds of Jimmy Jam Grooves — Browse exclusive groove presets spanning Dance/Industrial, R&B/Funk, Pop, Hip-Hop, and Ballad genres — every one programmed by the producer behind 42 Billboard No. 1 hits. Use them as creative starting points, customize them, or generate entirely new rhythms with the built-in Groove Engine.

  • 16-Track Step Sequencer — Program beats up to 4 pages (64 steps) with global swing and per-step accent (via note velocity) for dynamic, human-feeling grooves. Choose between 8th, 16th (default), and 32nd note step resolution. Record patterns in real time from your MIDI controller, or hit Randomize for instant inspiration.

B 10 Machines That Changed Music

  • 10 Legendary Drum Machines — The TR-808, TR-909, TR-606, LinnDrum, LM-1, DR-55, DR-110, DMX, DrumTraks, and SP-12 — the machines that built hip hop, house, electro, new wave, and pop. Each captured with up to 4 round-robin variations for natural repetition.

  • Jimmy Jam’s Custom Samples — Alongside the 10 drum machines, a curated set of exclusive custom samples created by Jimmy Jam appears throughout the Jimmy Jam Kits and altogether as a construction kit in the All Kits category — distinctive sounds and textures you won’t find anywhere else in the library.

  • Tape Saturation & Signal Paths — Up to 7 ways to hear every sound: clean DI, four levels of Studer A820 analog tape drive (Push 1-4), a Studer J37 tube tape or Distressor compressor/limiter stage, and room ambience captured at close and far mic positions. Blend clean kicks with saturated snares, or push everything through warm tape for grit and character.

  • Machine-Specific Parameters — The original hardware controls are here. Sculpt the TR-808’s iconic kick with Tone and Decay. Dial in the TR-909’s snare with Pitch, Snap, and Decay for snappy, driving hits. Shape the LinnDrum across 7 snare variants. Every parameter is a true multi-sample — not a synthesized approximation.

C Shape Every Hit: Processing & Effects

  • Per-Pad Controls — Each of the 16 pads has its own envelope (2 modes), volume, pan, tune, transpose controls, machine-specific parameters, room ambience control, high and low pass filters, reverb and delay sends, and tape saturation selection. Shape every hit independently.

  • Professional Effects Chain — Master bus processing with an SSL Channel Strip for EQ and dynamics, SSL Transient Shaper for punch, Bitcrusher for lo-fi grit, Tape Saturation and Distortion for warmth and bite, SSL Bus Compressor to glue the kit together, Limiting Amplifier for output control, Convolution Reverb with hundreds of real spaces, and the EP-1 Delay — an emulation of the legendary Echoplex tape delay.

  • DX Layers, DX Stacks, DX Pitched, and DX All Kits — Mix and match sounds from different machines. Load a Kick Layer to layer with an existing drum kit. Stack every snare into one massive hit. Play any drum sound melodically across the keyboard for tuned bass lines, melodic patterns, and creative sound design. Or build your own hybrid kit from scratch with DX All Kits — a construction-kit template drawing from all 10 drum machines and Jimmy Jam’s custom samples.

D Your DAW, Your Way: Routing & Integration

  • Multi-Output Routing — Keep everything as a stereo mix, or route each of the 16 drum channels to its own dedicated stereo output for total control in your DAW’s mixer.

  • DAW Sync & MIDI — Lock the sequencer to your DAW’s tempo and transport, or run independently. Drag and drop MIDI grooves directly into your DAW. Use the built-in Chromatic and GM maps, or create your own custom configurations with MIDI Learn.