EGDR909 - 909 Drum Machine 4+

Missing about 1/3 of the unit (updated)

I was really hoping that the low review from the other party was just a fluke however I just purchased this wanting to have something like an old 909 and I find that the right third of the machine is not showing any buttons on my iPhone 6. Not happy with this at all however I am curious if the developer can fix this. If not, I just wasted $3.99. If the developer contacts me I can fix this, I’ll look at changing the rating.

Update: I’ve been playing around with this app and got it working to I could actually see what I could do and I was very impressed. I was still having problems however the developer responded and is aware of the issues and looking at getting them all fixed. That being said, I find this a great little app to re-create that 909 sound. I thank the developer for responding and listening to the reviews and working on improving the app.

Developer Response ,

Thanks for reporting the issue. I've found that the app don't load correctly the interface if launched in portrait mode, but it needs to be started with the phone already in landscape mode. I'm gonna fix it in the next update.

Solid 909 offering hampered slightly by interface

Like it's sibling EDGR808, EDGR909 offers an "authentic" Roland TR-909 experience on your iPad, for better or worse. While many drum apps take vintage 909 sounds and repurpose them with a modern step sequencer, EGDR909 (like its competitor Boom!909) aims to reproduce the same interface you'd get on an actual 909.

While the app sounds good, the issue is that the TR-909 isn't exactly user-friendly. The machine asks you to program pretty much everything using the 16 step keys along the bottom, plus some other combination of "shift" and "instrument" key modifiers. While I picked up on it quickly with EGDR808, I struggled with this app. More experienced users may have no problem, but it's a fair warning to some.

One thing I appreciate about the EGDR series is the full tonal flexibility it offers. So you have pitch, decay, and snappy controls for your instruments, and it sounds very convincing. I do believe the app works well with both AudioBus and IAA, but I wish it was a little friendlier about exporting loops via AudioCopy. You can't export a measure-sized loop (that I can find), but rather use the record feature and then export that loop through the file management screen. Also, not sure why EGDR808 was universal, but this app is not (maybe later). But at this price, there's little to regret.

Awful and unreliable

For the price it sounds decent, not great, but passable. Use with Audiobus to send through some effects and EQ and it starts to sound good.

However, the EG apps all suffer from the same problem. They are programmed by a lazy moron. The knobs are too small and fiddly, they are so sensitive it’s hard to get an accurate setting, the UI overall is clumsy and does things when you don’t want it to (like slide out an overlay or enter a different mode). I have 3 of the EG drum machines and they’re all the same. Should be called Elliott Garbage, because that’s what they are. They’re cheap so at least it’s not a huge wasted investment. But the time taken to learn them is.

Trying to integrate with a larger Audiobus driven system, it’s painful. The drums don’t respond to clock or transport commands very well or reliably. So getting tempo sync is almost impossible. Yes the 909 supports Link, so that can help tempo.

There surely better out there. Don’t waste your time and energy

Developer Response ,

Hi and thanks for your feedback. I'm updating all my drum machines to support AU3 standard and I'd like to have more info from you. Could you please write me at info@elliottgarage.com?