Drum Monkey

What Drum Monkey is

Drum Monkey is a drum-loop generation plugin for music producers on macOS or Windows. Choose from 30 music genres and a loop length, generate a loop, then drag it into a project or export it as audio or MIDI. Its maker describes an engine built around more than 7,500 genre-specific MIDI drum patterns, more than 3,000 drum samples, machine learning, and drum-pattern recognition algorithms.

For shaping loops, Drum Monkey has a piano roll with velocity, swing, and humanization controls, plus a saturator, ADSR envelope shaping, and panning. Users can draw on its library of more than 3,000 samples or load their own sounds onto the drum pads. Groove Saver keeps loops as presets in a user bank, including their MIDI and samples. The product works with Mac and PC and all major DAWs; one activation code can authorize up to two purchaser-owned machines at once. Generated loops are described as royalty-free and cleared for commercial use, though loops made with factory samples cannot be sold as standalone products or sample packs. Plans start at $14.99/mo, and the product page offers a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Who it suits

Drum Monkey suits beginner, intermediate, and advanced producers who want to generate drum loops across multiple genres and shape them before using them in a project. It fits desktop workflows on macOS or Windows, particularly for people who want MIDI or audio export and compatibility with major DAWs.

Limits

There is no free plan or free trial. Rent-To-Own is billed at $14.99 a month for 22 months; the 1 Single Payment plan is $397297.00 USD once. A single activation code authorizes up to two purchaser-owned machines simultaneously, and loops made with factory samples cannot be sold as standalone products or sample packs.

Getting started

1. Visit https://unison.audio/drum-monkey.
2. Choose the Rent-To-Own plan at $14.99/mo or the 1 Single Payment plan at $397,297, paid once.
3. After purchase, retrieve the installer link and activation code from the email and your Unison account.
4. Install on macOS or Windows and authorize the machine with the activation code.
5. Choose a genre and loop length, generate a loop, then drag it into a project or export it.

Verdict

Choose Drum Monkey if you want a desktop plugin for generating, editing, and exporting genre-based drum loops. Its broad editing and sample workflow may suit producers at different skill levels. Look elsewhere if you need a free plan or trial, or intend to sell factory-sample loops as standalone products or sample packs.