How to Make a Beat in Drumhaus

Updated

Open drumha.us in a browser and you can build a beat immediately: pick sounds across 8 voices, place them on a 16-step grid, then shape each hit with velocity, flam, ratchet, and accent. Chain up to four pattern variations into sequences as long as 8 bars, adjust per-voice filters, pitch, decay, pan, and mute/solo, run everything through the master FX bus, and export to WAV or share the preset by link. No account is required.

Step 1: Set up the pattern

The sequencer is a grid of 8 voices (rows) by 16 steps (columns). Each row is one drum sound; each column is one step in the bar.

  • Click a cell to place a hit on that voice at that step.
  • Click it again to remove it.
  • Build the backbone first — usually kick on the strong beats, snare on the backbeat, hats on the offbeats — then add the rest.

If you want to start from an existing groove instead of an empty grid, load a shared preset link before editing.

Step 2: Shape individual hits

Each step is not just on or off. Once a hit is placed, you can modify how it plays:

Control What it does
Velocity Sets how hard the hit lands, for dynamics and groove
Accent Marks the step as emphasized
Flam Adds a quick doubled/grace-note feel to the hit
Ratchet Retriggers the hit multiple times within the step

Use velocity to keep a loop from sounding robotic, accent to push key beats forward, and flam or ratchet sparingly for fills and transitions.

Step 3: Tune each voice

Per-voice controls let you treat each of the 8 sounds as its own instrument:

  • Filter — shape the tone of that voice.
  • Pitch — tune it up or down.
  • Decay — shorten or lengthen how long the sound rings.
  • Pan — place it left, right, or center in the stereo field.
  • Mute / Solo — isolate or silence voices while you work.

A common approach: solo a voice, dial in its filter, pitch, and decay until it sits right, then unmute and check it against the full pattern.

Step 4: Chain pattern variations

Drumhaus supports four chainable pattern variations, and chaining them lets a sequence run up to 8 bars. This is how you turn a one-bar loop into a full arrangement:

  1. Build variation A as your main groove.
  2. Copy or create variation B as a fill or a variation on the same groove.
  3. Create C and D for further sections — a break, a build, a drop.
  4. Chain them in the order you want them to play.

Keep the core groove consistent across variations so the chain feels like one piece of music rather than four unrelated loops.

Step 5: Process through the master FX bus

The master FX bus applies to the whole kit and includes:

  • Reverb
  • Compressor
  • Phaser
  • Saturation

Add these after the pattern and voices are working, not before — processing a weak groove usually just makes a louder weak groove. Small amounts of reverb and compression go a long way on a drum bus.

Step 6: Export or share

When the beat is done:

  • Export to WAV to get an audio file you can drop into a DAW or upload elsewhere.
  • Share presets via link to send the exact pattern and settings to someone else.

Common sticking points

  • Everything sounds flat. Add velocity variation and accents rather than more sounds.
  • The loop feels static over 8 bars. Use the pattern variations for changes instead of piling on more steps.
  • A voice is buried or overpowering. Use per-voice filter, decay, and pan, or mute/solo to check it in isolation.
  • The mix is muddy. Pull back reverb and saturation on the master bus before adding more.

Drumhaus is free and requires no account, so you can start building and exporting beats right away.