I really like the way the velocity and hits are the same control, but not sure about the whole app. I like the drag and drop midi files also. Anyhow, not ready to buy anything yet, but wanting to educate myself on what is out there, especially what is free. A sequencer-only module that drives other VSTi would be great, mostly I want that UI convention from iDrum.

You can try a demo of Archibald.
It does similar with the levels thing, but much more actually.
It does have a pretty deep sample edit function, hit random settings, playing slightly before, after, or on the beat, as well as a beat generator, and some really good samples (after purchase only) that make it a great app.
It has no plugin though, and uses Rewire or save to midi/wav/aif like that.
It's about 50usd. I own both iDrum, and Archibald, but now I'm using Logic pro with that included machine more often.
http://www.polyrythmic.org/en/archibald.php

NuSofting DK+, affordable but not free.

http://nusofting.liqihsynth.com/dk+.html

But iDrum seems to be able to do everything it does. The one nice thing about DK+ is it has auto-roll options on beats but I've found it doesn't export those to MIDI effectively. Maybe it will in v. 2, which is about to come out.

I've also wanted something like iDrum with live MIDI output, but haven't found it. I have yet to demo Giest because it's out of my price range for now, but it looks like it is a pretty comprehensive and advanced rhythm machine.

Yeah Geist is out of my price range probably permanently. iDrum seems like it is 8 years old with no updates, it seems to stall in my DAW, maybe that is something about the demo, I don't know. DK+ looks interesting. It has to be a VSTi, so Archibald won't work for me. How about just pattern-based, something like the display on an old TR-707 that you can drag and drop midi files from? I would really prefer something that had GM midi mapping so it can be used with other drum sound modules easily. I have NI's Studio Drummer and like the sound, but find editing patterns in the Reaper piano roll to be less than fun. I would rather have the old drum machine paradigm. I guess I should go beyond the iDrum hit/level thing and keep my options open. The main thing I want is a nice environment to compose patterns before entering in the sequencer.

Don't know about an old drum machine based sequencer, maybe Tatapoum (free):

http://soma.asseca.com/wiki/Tatapoum/HomePage

DK+ 2 is just about to drop with a bigger interface, more included sounds, and more features.

Yea, you are right about iDrum being ancient. If you want to reskin it with some very smart looking skins, you can get some here:

www.idrumskins.com

I got the 808 and the IridiDrum skin and I love working with them! Think I'll get one other one too.

That TriDrum skin looks nice ($8.08 haha!), but I mostly mean it doesn't seem iDrum is being developed as a product, it looks dated but I feel it IS dated It didn't seem too responsive on my system, and doesn't sound so hot, at least not the demo version.

Well, I think it's just a wav player. Should sound like the wavs themselves. I haven't noticed anything bad about the sound. You can repitch stuff and there are low and highpass filters--can't necessarily vouch for the sound quality being top notch with those.

EDIT: if you were referring with the tiny bit of included content not sounding good, I probably agree. I bought the Goldbaby stuff when I bought the plug-in, plus I have a lot of other samples. I particularly like the electronic sounds from Wave Alchemy.

Yeah maybe I just need to work with the demo a bit more, maybe it has very compressed, lofi sounds in the demo version. But then maybe I just need to learn to use the note mapping in the piano roll better

This might be cool to check out. Not sure if it has everything that you want.



http://www.imea-studio.com/ProductGrooveDrums.aspx

Cheers,

Club Ho

OO, that looks very much like what I'm after, downloading the demo version now thanks for the suggestion!

Poise get a lot of praise ...

http://www.onesmallclue.com/poise.php

Peace,
Andy.

But is doesn't have anything like the interface I'm talking about, not really what I'm after.

I took a look at Imea Studio but it really seems unpolished, doesn't sync right, it isn't very straightforward. iDrum would get my cash first since it is so simple and you can easily draw out patterns that have very dynamic levels and then mute the hits you don't want. It so far gets closest to what I want, but again, I don't know if I want to buy an ancient plugin at that price. $20 and I'd be there, $60 makes me start thinking I should save up for something more comprehensive.

Amazon has iDrum for $28.50, so maybe in a couple weeks I'll get that. I had a questions about authorization though, is it a straight serial or does it require some dongle? I don't want a dongle.

Right, I see what you mean now ... sorry, was confusing your thread with another drum machine thread ...

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4848073

Some good suggestions there. Geist from FXpansion is more expensive, but it has all the features you want: MIDI out and the step sequencer is excellent. It's one of the best drum machines / samplers (it actually samples ...) on the market:

http://www.fxpansion.com/index.php?page=120&tab=313

There is a free version on Computer Music magazine called Geist CM, but I don't know what restrictions it has.

Peace,
Andy.

What issue is the Geist CM in? I have Feb 2012 and no Geist. Maybe I should try their demo, but actually it is overkill for me, I don't think I'll ever make my own drum samples. It is a lot of cash and a fairly low priority for me.