Hey everyone,
We've been working on a new plugin called Marla Real Grooves.
It's a MIDI-based drum plugin featuring 44 live-played grooves with real human timing and velocity, rather than programmed or heavily quantized patterns.
Our goal was to make it easier to find natural-feeling drum grooves while keeping the workflow simple and fast.
Key features:
44 live-played MIDI drum grooves
Natural timing & velocity
Preview grooves inside the plugin
Drag & drop MIDI directly into your DAW
Works with any drum instrument
AU & VST3 (macOS)
We'd really appreciate any feedback or suggestions from the community.
https://marlaaudio.com
Here's a quick demo of how it works:
Marla Real Grooves – Live-Played MIDI Drum Plugin
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- KVRer
- 10 posts since 24 Mar, 2026
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Hewitt Huntwork Hewitt Huntwork https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=7460
- KVRAF
- 1654 posts since 2 Jun, 2003
As a person who owns many, many drum plugins, it's hard to be excited about 44 grooves. Even for free, I'm not sure that would capture my attention. Real grooves played by a human is something that has existed for decades, and I have thousands of them.
I think in the music software space, a new offering should do one of the following: 1) something nobody else has done; 2) something that has been done, but better; 3) something that has been done, but cheaper; 4) something that has been done, but simpler or, conversely, deeper.
If your target audience involves experienced producers, you have your work cut out for you. If your target audience is beginners, you should emphasize ease of use or value for money.
Lastly, Marla is a first name, so when you call your product Marla Real Grooves, be prepared for people to wonder who Marla is, and wonder if she's a good drummer.
I think in the music software space, a new offering should do one of the following: 1) something nobody else has done; 2) something that has been done, but better; 3) something that has been done, but cheaper; 4) something that has been done, but simpler or, conversely, deeper.
If your target audience involves experienced producers, you have your work cut out for you. If your target audience is beginners, you should emphasize ease of use or value for money.
Lastly, Marla is a first name, so when you call your product Marla Real Grooves, be prepared for people to wonder who Marla is, and wonder if she's a good drummer.
If every KVR member wrote one review a year we'd have 1340 reviews each day!
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 10 posts since 24 Mar, 2026
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.
I completely understand where you're coming from. There are indeed thousands of MIDI drum grooves available today, and as a drummer myself, that's actually the reason I created Real Grooves.
I've been playing drums for over 25 years, and one thing I've always felt is that many existing MIDI libraries still sound programmed, even when they're marketed as "human." In many cases they're heavily edited, quantized, or limited to very short loops, so they quickly start feeling repetitive.
My goal wasn't simply to release another MIDI pack. It was to capture the feel of an actual drummer playing complete 4-bar performances with all the subtle timing variations, natural dynamics, and phrasing that happen in a real performance. Those small imperfections are exactly what make the groove breathe.
Another important aspect is that these are complete 4-bar performances rather than short repeating patterns. When you copy and paste them into a song, they naturally feel much closer to a real drummer performing instead of a one-bar loop repeating over and over.
Because the timing remains natural, I've also found that the other instruments often sit more comfortably around the drums. A groove doesn't only affect the drums, it influences how the entire track feels.
It certainly won't replace every existing groove library, and that's not the intention. It was built for producers who are looking for a more natural performance rather than another perfectly programmed MIDI loop.
As for the name, you're right that Marla is a woman's first name. That's actually intentional. It's the name of our company, so we decided to keep it as part of the product branding.
I completely understand where you're coming from. There are indeed thousands of MIDI drum grooves available today, and as a drummer myself, that's actually the reason I created Real Grooves.
I've been playing drums for over 25 years, and one thing I've always felt is that many existing MIDI libraries still sound programmed, even when they're marketed as "human." In many cases they're heavily edited, quantized, or limited to very short loops, so they quickly start feeling repetitive.
My goal wasn't simply to release another MIDI pack. It was to capture the feel of an actual drummer playing complete 4-bar performances with all the subtle timing variations, natural dynamics, and phrasing that happen in a real performance. Those small imperfections are exactly what make the groove breathe.
Another important aspect is that these are complete 4-bar performances rather than short repeating patterns. When you copy and paste them into a song, they naturally feel much closer to a real drummer performing instead of a one-bar loop repeating over and over.
Because the timing remains natural, I've also found that the other instruments often sit more comfortably around the drums. A groove doesn't only affect the drums, it influences how the entire track feels.
It certainly won't replace every existing groove library, and that's not the intention. It was built for producers who are looking for a more natural performance rather than another perfectly programmed MIDI loop.
As for the name, you're right that Marla is a woman's first name. That's actually intentional. It's the name of our company, so we decided to keep it as part of the product branding.