Drum Machine/Looper For iOS And Android

US Kovaluu's Beats and Loops can be used hands-free like a guitar pedal      17/04/20

Kovaluu has released Beats and Loops, a drum machine/looper app for iOS and Android phones. They tell us that it has a unique 'virtual pedal' mode, allowing you to use it hands-free like a guitar pedal. They say that you can trigger drum fills, record loops, etc., by swinging your foot a few inches above the phone.

A spokesperson told us, "Beats and Loops is the first musical mobile app to utilize phone sensors for gesture detection."

Here's the full press release...

Kovaluu is excited to announce the release of Beats and Loops, a looper and drum machine app for mobile devices, available now in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Beats and Loops provides accompaniment for musicians when jamming, practicing or writing songs. It comes with a unique feature never seen before in a musical app: you can control it with your foot, like a guitar pedal!

The “virtual pedal” is used by placing the phone on the floor and swinging your foot a few inches above the display. You don’t need to physically touch the phone. You can start and stop songs, trigger drum fills, switch song parts, and record loops – all while having your hands free to play music.

You can use Beats and Loops with guitar, bass or any other acoustic or electric instrument. It can completely replace its expensive hardware counterparts when jamming at home. You can use it even on stage by hooking up to external audio and MIDI interfaces.

Drum Machine

The drum machine comes with over 50 pro-quality beats, each with A and B parts, and unique fills. You can freely adjust the tempo and program new kick drum patterns.

There’s an acoustic drum kit, Cajon kit, and a metronome. The acoustic drum sounds are sampled using an awesome vintage 60’s Ludwig kit and are played back in uncompressed, multi-sampled 24bit quality. The Cajon kit allows you to use the app in an acoustic setting.

The virtual pedal feature allows you to start and stop the song, trigger fills, and switch between song parts hands-free.

Looper

The looper can be used with just the phone microphone. It’s simple – place your phone next to your instrument or amplifier, and start rocking. Perfect for jamming or practicing at home, and no messing with cables!

You don’t need any additional recording equipment, but to avoid feedback the phone needs to be connected to an external speaker, such as headphones, Bluetooth speaker, or AUX input of a guitar amplifier. The app also features built-in feedback cancellation to prevent the drum track from leaking into the recorded tracks.

The virtual pedal can be used to start and stop recording. The recordings get automatically synced to the beat, so you don’t have to worry about timing when starting or ending the takes.

Feature summary

•     “Virtual pedal” mode allows you to use the app hands-free
•     Drum machine with fills and A/B parts
•     Over 50 presets for the drum machine
•     Tap tempo
•     Program new kick drum pattern
•     Acoustic, Cajon and metronome sounds
•     Looper with unlimited overdubs
•     Chromatic tuner
•     MIDI and external audio interface connectivity

 

How does the virtual pedal work?

The “virtual pedal” uses the phone proximity sensor to detect the foot swingings. All phones have a proximity sensor for disabling the phone screen during calls (when holding the phone against the ear), but it can be used for other purposes as well.

Beats and Loops is the first musical application to utilize the proximity sensor for gesture detection.

Pricing and Availability:

$3.99 at the app store.
£3.39 at Google Play. 

More information:

• Beats and Loops

 

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