# Beats drum machine

32 Hacker News commenters recommended Beats drum machine and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free, open-source browser drum machine with an instant, fun step sequencer and a retro look. Caveat: some hear crackling or odd sounds in Firefox.

## Why people recommend it

- Addictive and fun to play (3 comments): "Decent UI for a first cut -- trying it out, I found it really addictive." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46672956)) "Really nice, loved playing with it!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46683993)) "I can’t stop using this app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46681936))
- Retro scanline and 8-bit look (3 comments): "The scan line effect is very nice. Not over done like many others are." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46680188)) "I see scanlines, I upvote. Simple as." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46682273)) "The 8-bit aesthetic looks great too." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46675483))
- Web-based, instant access (2 comments): "the UI is immediate and instant play" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46675613)) "having this on, Web based, is great!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46675978))
- Careful work, plain JavaScript (2 comments): "You can tell a lot of care and effort went into the experience." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46680518)) "I love how you're not using a framework just pure javascript." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46674575))

## What people warn about

- Crackling or odd sounds in Firefox (2 comments): "This is great! I can report a bit of odd sounds here and there on firefox ubuntu, but chromium ubuntu works perfect." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46677195)) "Lots of crackling and popping in firefox on macos, pretty cool otherwise" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46674213))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Techno machine](https://hackerapproved.com/p/techno-machine-in-one-html-file.md): 11 recommend
- [Make Audio Loops Online](https://hackerapproved.com/p/make-audio-loops-online.md): 7 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Beats drum machine", https://hackerapproved.com/p/beats/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).