orDrumbox: Free Online Drum Machine & Step Sequencer
orDrumbox-v2 is a free, open-source (MIT) drum machine and multi-track step sequencer that runs in a web browser: program drum patterns, generate rhythms, bass lines and chords, design sounds with the built-in synthesizer and export your music as WAV or MIDI, without installing anything.
Note on versions. orDrumbox exists in several forms. The 0.x and 1.x releases were written in Java and are now obsolete (legacy). The current web version (2.0.0) runs in any modern browser and can be installed as a PWA for offline use. The Windows program (0.1.0, written in Rust) is the newest and the one being actively developed; it is available from the download page. The user guide, the FAQ and the tutorial describe the web version; the Windows version has its own user manual.
orDrumbox at a Glance
- Price: free of charge.
- License: open source, MIT license (source code on GitHub).
- Platform: any modern web browser with Web Audio API support, on Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Android and iOS.
- Installation: none required; it can also be installed as a Progressive Web App (PWA) and used offline.
- Windows version: orDrumbox for Windows 0.1.0, a native program for Windows (x64), distributed as a ZIP file (download page).
- AI assistants (MCP): orDrumbox for Windows can be driven by an MCP client such as Claude Desktop or Claude Code (MCP guide).
- Sequencing: multi-track step sequencer with per-track loop points, polyrhythms, Euclidean fills, swing, conditional triggers and probabilities.
- Sound: drumkits, custom sample import and a synthesizer with three oscillators, FM, filter, noise, ADSR envelope and two LFOs.
- Export: WAV audio and standard MIDI files; patterns, songs and drumkits as JSON.
What Is orDrumbox?
orDrumbox-v2 combines a step sequencer, rhythm-generation tools, sample-based drum tracks and a software synthesizer. It can be used to create patterns for House, Techno, Hip-Hop, Rock, Chiptune and experimental music.
Multi-Track Step Sequencer
Each track of a pattern has its own notes and settings, so tracks with different rhythms and lengths play together.
- Pattern editing: add, remove and edit notes on the sequencer grid or in the piano roll.
- Per-track loop points: each track loops over its own length.
- Polyrhythms: tracks of different lengths shift against each other from one loop to the next.
- Euclidean fill and retrigger: add evenly spaced sub-hits or repeated hits to a note.
- Swing: per-track delay of odd-numbered steps.
- Triggers and probability: a note can play every N-th loop, with a phase offset, or with a given probability.
- Note and track controls: velocity, pitch and stereo panning per note; volume, pitch, pan, decay and filter per track, with LFO modulation.
Automatic Generation
orDrumbox can generate parts of a pattern and vary them over time. Generated notes can then be edited like any other note.
- Drum, Bass and Chords buttons: generate the corresponding parts from a genre-based song structure.
- Auto: regenerates a track at each loop while the other tracks stay unchanged.
- Variation: adds ghost notes or doubled notes, removes notes, and changes velocity or pitch at random at each loop.
Software Synthesizer
Any track can play a sound generated by the built-in synthesizer instead of a sample. The synthesizer includes:
- Three oscillators (sine, triangle, sawtooth, square) with octave and detune.
- FM synthesis with five routing algorithms.
- A resonant filter (low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, notch) with envelope modulation.
- A white noise generator with its own filter.
- An ADSR envelope and a glide (slide) setting.
- Two LFOs, free-running or synced to the tempo.
- Built-in and user presets.
Drumkits and Audio Samples
orDrumbox includes several drumkits and demo patterns. The sounds cover acoustic drums and percussion, vintage drum-machine sounds, electronic drums and 8-bit sounds.
Audio files (WAV, FLAC, MP3, AAC) can be added to a kit, and a folder of samples can be imported as a new drumkit; each sample's gain, tuning, decay and instrument can then be adjusted.
Effects and Mixing
- Per track: filter, saturation (soft, hard, tape), reverb (room, hall, plate, spring, gated) and delay (slap, tape, ping-pong).
- Master bus: pre-gain, compressor, low-cut and high-cut filters, master volume and a spectrum analyzer.
Saving and Exporting
Patterns, songs and drumkits are stored in the browser and can be exported as JSON files. Audio export renders a pattern as a WAV file for playback, sharing or further processing in a digital audio workstation (DAW). MIDI export creates a standard multi-track MIDI file, and MIDI files can be imported into new patterns.
MIDI Devices
In browsers that support Web MIDI, orDrumbox can send notes to a MIDI output device and follow an external MIDI clock.
Browser Compatibility and Supported Devices
orDrumbox runs in a modern web browser that supports the Web Audio API, on Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Android and iOS. An internet connection is required for the first load; once installed as a PWA, it works offline. On screens up to 768 px wide, a bottom tab bar replaces part of the toolbar. Performance depends on the device.
Documentation
The user guide describes every panel and control. The house beat tutorial builds a complete pattern step by step.
User Guide House Beat Tutorial FAQOpen Source Music Software
orDrumbox is a free and open-source project released under the MIT license. Bug reports and contributions can be submitted on GitHub.
- GitHub: github.com/cadeli/ordrumbox-v2
- Contact: contact@ordrumbox.com
Screenshots
Click to view the full-size screenshot of orDrumbox-v2.