Aki Drum Machine

Column

AKI Drum Machine was designed for musicians, songwriters, producers, and performers who want quick, hands-on drum backing without opening a full DAW workflow. Import MIDI drum styles, trigger song sections live, assign your own drum sounds, and play everything from the screen or a MIDI controller. It gives you playable drum sections, fast tempo control, easy sound swapping, and a portable library of styles and sounds in one app.

Column

Stage Reader was built for performers who need to share PDF charts, lyrics, setlists, and sheet music across multiple devices on stage — without internet, without cell service, without cables, and without compromise. Any device can lead the session, control can hand off in a tap, and an external monitor can render in full portrait without special hardware. It's a focused performance tool for anyone reading from an iPad or iPhone on stage — though the iPad experience is the one we built around. iPhone works for personal use and emergency backup.

Column

Column

Aki dRUM MACHINE

Column

Performance & Playback

• Playable Beat Sections - Intros, Variations, Fills, Breaks, and Endings

• Musically Timed Section Changes

• Start/Stop Control

• Auto Fill - Automatically plays a matching fill when you switch variations

• Fill Loop and Break Loop

• Visual Metronome

• Multi-Meter Support - Styles can have different meters/time signatures for each style part.

• Background Audio - Playback continues when the app is backgrounded

Tempo Control

• Tempo Control - Increases or decreases tempo in real time

• Tempo Reset - Double tap to return to original tempo

• Direct Tempo Entry - Press and hold to enter a tempo value directly

• Multi-Tempo Support - Styles can have different tempos for different style parts

• Per-Part Tempo Editing - View, adjust, and save tempo by style section for supported styles

Column

Styles, Import & Library

• Built-In System Styles - Includes factory styles: 8 Beat ADM, 16 Beat ADM, Ballad ADM, Country ADM, Pop Latin ADM, Rock ADM, Samba ADM, Swing Jazz ADM

• Style Info - View import format, section details, and expanded tempo/meter information

• Built-In Style Library - Rename and Delete Styles

• MIDI Style Import

• Yamaha and Korg MIDI Style Import - Directly imports drum and percussion sections from Yamaha and Korg styles exported as MIDI files

• Files App Integration

• Open MIDI Files Directly in the App

Sounds & Mixing

• SF2 Sound Import

• Built-In Sound Library Assignable Drum and Percussion Sounds

• Per-Style Sound Assignment

• Assign Sounds to Any Saved Style

• Reset to Default Drum Sound

• Master Volume Control

• Drum and Percussion Channel Volume Control

• Dual Drum/Percussion Playback

Column

MIDI & Connectivity

• MIDI Input and Output Compatibility

• MIDI Learn

• Adjustable MIDI Input and Output Routing

• Automatic MIDI Hardware Detection

• Virtual MIDI Support

• Bluetooth MIDI Support

• Multiple Simultaneous MIDI Controllers - All connected hardware sources active at the same time

• MIDI Panic - Instantly stops all MIDI notes on all channels

Interface & Compatibility

• Light and Dark Modes

• iPad and iPhone Compatible

• iOS 16+ Compatible

• User Guide - In-app searchable user guide

features at a glance

iPad and iPhone Compatible

Column

iPAD IN PORTRAIT

Column

iPHONE IN PORTRAIT

iPAD IN LANDSCAPE

iPHONE IN lANDSCAPE

Column

APP VIDEOS

Watch on YouTube

PLAYBACK

VOLUME CONTROL

TEMPO

STYLE INFO

IMPORT MIDI FILES

Column

MIDI LEARN

Column

STYLE LIBRARY

Column

SOUND ASSIGNMENTS

tips & best practices

System requirements

- AKI Drum Machine requires iOS 16 or later and runs on iPad and iPhone.

Before you play

- Enable Do Not Disturb (DND) before live use. Incoming calls and notifications can interrupt audio playback on iOS.

- For the lowest latency and most reliable audio, use a wired USB audio interface via a Lightning or USB-C adapter. Bluetooth audio adds latency and is not recommended for live performance.

- Close other audio apps before starting a gig. AKI Drum Machine is built for rock-solid playback, but other active audio apps can compete for system resources.

Importing MIDI files

- AKI Drum Machine accepts any standard MIDI file. Markers must be labeled exactly as follows to import properly: INTRO1, INTRO2, INTRO3, VAR1, VAR2, VAR3, VAR4, FILL1, FILL2, FILL3, FILL4, BREAK, ENDING1, ENDING2, ENDING3. Markers are case-sensitive.

- Yamaha and Korg .sty files cannot be imported directly. Extract the style as a standard MIDI file first, then import — no modification to the original file is needed.

- If an imported MIDI file's drums sound wrong with the default kit, the original may not follow General MIDI drum mapping. Assign a custom drum kit in the Sounds menu to fix it.

Importing SoundFonts (SF2)

- SF2 files must be set to Bank 128 Preset 0 to import properly as drum kits. This is the General MIDI standard location for drum kits.

Built-in styles

- AKI ships with 8 built-in system styles: 8 Beat ADM, 16 Beat ADM, Ballad ADM, Country ADM, Pop Latin ADM, Rock ADM, Samba ADM, and Swing Jazz ADM. You can assign your own custom sounds to these system styles, but you can't rename or delete them.

iPhone users

- All iPad functions are available on iPhone with one exception: the dedicated FILL buttons are removed to save screen space. Fills are still fully available by enabling the AUTO-FILL function.

- iPhone playback is fully supported on iPhone XS and later. Earlier iPhone models (iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X) may experience occasional audio dropouts due to hardware limitations.

faq'S

1. Can I import my own MIDI files into AKI Drum Machine?

Yes. AKI Drum Machine accepts any standard MIDI file. Just make sure the markers are exactly formatted, like “INTRO1”, “INTRO2”, “INTRO3”, “VAR1”, “VAR2”, “VAR3”, “VAR4”, “FILL1”, “FILL2”, “FILL3”, “FILL4”, “BREAK”, “ENDING1”, “ENDING2”, “ENDING3”. The markers are case-sensitive.

2. Does AKI Drum Machine work with Yamaha or Korg style files?

AKI Drum Machine can't directly import .sty files. But if you extract the style as a MIDI file, you can import it without modifying the source file.

3. Can I use AKI Drum Machine for live performances?

Absolutely! It's built for the stage and delivers rock-solid timing, instant start and stop response, and professional-grade playback designed specifically for gigs.

4. Can each style part have a different meter/signature?

Yes, AKI Drum Machine handles multi-meter styles natively — including odd time signatures and meter changes within a single style AND tempos, which most iOS rhythm and drum apps don't do.

5. Can I connect AKI Drum Machine to external MIDI gear?

Yes. AKI supports standard Core MIDI connections. You can route it to external synths, sound modules, or USB MIDI controllers. It also works with USB audio interfaces for live audio output.

6. Does the iPhone version have the same functions as the iPad?

Both have all of the same functions, except for one difference. On the iPhone, the FILL buttons have been removed due to space. However, fills are still available by enabling the AUTO-FILL function.

APP SUPPORT

support@akimuzika.com

contact us

Column