ER-99 online drum machine is based on the infamous Roland TR-909
Matthew Cieplak, an electronics and software engineer, has created a browser-based drum machine that’s based on the original Roland TR-909.
The online drum machine is fully operational and does a very good job of emulating the classic drum synthesizer.
Named ER-99, the online instrument is ready for you to use – courtesy of Cieplak’s Extralife Instruments webpage – and the instrument has a big offering of features. Cieplak has multiple hardware and software projects but this is his first drum machine built for the web.
You can use the browser-based ER-99 drum machine by pressing the number buttons on your computer keyboard. “Turn the knobs to change the sound of each instrument,” reads the ER-99’s description.
“The 16 buttons at the bottom show the sequence for each instrument. Click once to activate a step, and click again to add an accent (indicated by a brighter light). The emphasis of the accented notes is controlled by the ‘Accent’ knob,” it adds.
You can make 64-step sequences with the “BARS” button in the center of the interface too. “You can store Sequences and Sound Presets using the menus above,” continues the ER-99’s description. “These are stored in your browser’s memory and will be recalled the next time you visit (on this computer).”
While the ER-99’s drum sounds are synthesized with WebAudio API, everything else is actually sample-based. Cieplak also notes that WebMIDI adds about ‘70-100 milliseconds’ of latency while receiving notes-trigger information.
Mixmag reports that some of Cieplak’s previous creations include a ‘Hex Drum’ 6-channel trigger sequencer, a Eurorack analog guitar synthesizer patch “loosely based on the Moog Moogerfooger MF-107”, and Super Sixteen, an open-source hardware sequencer for the Eurorack synthesizer format.