Beatmaker VICE

Name: Beatmaker VICE
Price: 19 USD
Author: UJAM

by UJAM · Drum Instrument · 80s drum machine instrument

Not rated yet

A drum instrument with 1980s drum machine sounds and modern processing, for synthwave and retro pop.

It has 10 kits and 460 patterns in 20 styles, plus a Time Machine control; it lists at $49 and was $19.11 on sale.

Best for: Drums. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Pop.

Keywords: 80s, drum machine, retro, modern, classic, acoustic drums, resizable UI, set-and-forget, tight.

What it does

VICE is a drum instrument in UJAM's Beatmaker series that gives you the drum machine sound of the 1980s with "modern usability". You pick a style and play keys, and it plays ready-made synthwave and retro pop beats.

Kits: 10 drum kits built from classic 80s drum machine sounds, with tight, mix-ready processing.
Patterns: 20 styles with 23 patterns each, 460 in all, covering intros, verses, choruses, fills and endings.
Time Machine: VICE's own special control for shaping the period character of the beat.
Playing: the keys from C3 to B4 trigger song parts in sync with your DAW. White keys play looping verses and choruses; black keys play intros, fills and breakdowns; B4 stops. Latch keeps a part running after you let go.
Per-drum controls: click a drum key to set its Volume, Decay, Pitch (plus or minus 6 semitones) and a lowpass/highpass Filter, with Solo, Mute and an individual output for mixing in your DAW.
Mix and Master: 12 mix presets with an Amount knob, then Sweep (filter), Saturate, Maximize and Ambience on the stereo output.
Performance: the mod wheel lowers beat intensity and the pitch bend wheel fades the kick or snare out.
MIDI drag and drop: drag any phrase from the on-screen keyboard to a DAW track to edit or combine it; the UI is resizable.

A free trial download is available. All included sounds and MIDI phrases are royalty-free. Current Beatmaker version: 3.19.

Source: UJAM product page

When to use it

Beatmaker VICE is the quicker pick when you want an 80s drum track now rather than a kit to build. Compared with XO or Battery 4, it gives far less freedom over sounds and sequencing, but you get a finished synthwave groove with fills and mix processing in a few clicks. Next to EZdrummer 3, which also works with ready-made grooves, VICE is electronic-only and much cheaper, and its sounds come pre-mixed for one era instead of an acoustic kit. Nerve is better if you want to edit and resample the drums yourself.

Best for: synthwave, retrowave and 80s-style pop drums, quick sketches and backing tracks.
Genres: synthwave, retro pop and 80s-inspired electronic music.
Look elsewhere if: you want to design kits and program beats from scratch; XO or Battery 4 give more freedom.
Tip: start from a preset, then shape it with the mix sliders before touching single drums, and drag patterns to MIDI to build your own variations (KVR user review).

What producers say

There is little written about VICE, but the one KVR user review is very positive.

KVR users rate it 5 out of 5 from 1 review (version 1.0). The reviewer praised the classic 80s sounds, the instant results and the layers of customization, calling it "a drum plugin of considerable talent".
Criticisms: none in the review; note that it dates from the first version in 2020.

KVR user reviews

Where to buy

AudioDeluxe: $19 (regular $49)
UJAM: $49

Tutorials and reviews

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