Make old-skool beats and b-lines with RD3 Groovebox

The Story

Vintage synthesizers and drum machines certainly don’t come cheap, but with RD3 Groovebox you can be laying down authentic, old-school beats and basslines using nothing more than your Android phone. For sure, it takes time and practice to nail great results, but you’ll have a good time along the way.

The Experience

The apps three tabbed-windows allow you to switch between the synth, drum machine and mixer modules. An old-fashioned sequencer enables you to lay down your beats and you can then add a bassline over the top. There’s a choice of eight classic drum-machines plus a synth modelled on Roland’s classic 303, complete with authentic-looking virtual knobs, with which you can fine-tune the sound.

Unless you grew up with analogue gear you’ll find the learning curve steep here. Nevertheless, grasshopper, with some practice you can create brilliant old-school tracks. A slight delay on the onscreen keyboard, sadly, makes it hard to time your basslines right and, though you can save your efforts and then share them, it would be nice to be able to export these out of the app itself in a format that most people could then listen to.

The Bottom Line

Enables you to create classic Eighties sounds, if you’re prepared to put in some graft

Additional Info:

Requires Android version 2.1 or above

Mikrosonic.com