⠀⠀⠀I haven’t performed as a DJ in years, focused on raising my son and home studio work instead, but i was pretty active as one around the Colorado Springs area from about 2010 until 2014. One of the my favorite toys to use to manipulate beats live on my laptop was Alexkid’s Instant Haus, which “instantly generates drum patterns to craft into your own house track” (available free via Ableton). It’s great way to add variation to beats in an organic fashion.

⠀⠀⠀Well, i’ve been inspired lately because we now have available the freshest incarnation of beat juggling voodoo in the form of the 501k Creatives new Beat Shaker device, crafted by the very same Alexkid. It’s a similar concept, but greatly expands on the potential and flexibility.

⠀⠀⠀Beat Shaker is a MaxforLive device that works in conjunction with specifically tailored drum racks and MIDI clips which can be used to generate beat patterns that can be modified at whim. The standout feature is the ability to “shake” (think dice) either individual drum channels, or the entire pattern for a mathematically insane amount of possible combinations.

⠀⠀⠀The best thing about it overall, i would say, is how much care has been put into the patterns themselves, resulting in an impeccable rhythmic vibe no matter which coincidental instantiation happens to occur, and likewise with the drum samples themselves: they are all choice selections that blend together exquisitely for an always tasteful sound.

⠀⠀⠀ Three expansion packs are currently available in the Beat Shaker line:
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀•Beat Shaker 808 & 909 Flavor
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀•Beat Shaker UKG Flavor
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀•Beat Shaker Analog Flavor Volume 1

⠀⠀⠀ No matter which pack you acquire, the Beat Shaker MaxforLive device comes along with it. So just pick and choose which packs you desire most, install the Beat Shaker, install the beat packs, and everything (including any future expansions you acquire) will work together seamlessly, automatically.

⠀⠀⠀Check out the videos below for an inkling into the moods so far available. More will be on the way!

⠀⠀⠀ [Full disclosure: i helped with testing and setup for the racks so am involved with the product to a minimal degree. But they are so cool and fun that i would probably write a blog post about them anyways!]

Peace!
⠀⠀⠀-animus