Hydrogen

What is Hydrogen?

Hydrogen is a powerful and versatile drum machine designed for GNU/Linux. Its primary goal is to provide professional-grade, yet intuitive and user-friendly pattern-based drum programming capabilities. The application offers a wide range of advanced features, including an unlimited number of patterns, the ability to chain patterns into a full song, and up to 192 ticks per pattern with individual level control for each event. Users can work with an unlimited number of instrument tracks, each with volume, mute, solo, and pan controls, as well as support for multi-layer instruments with up to 16 samples per instrument Hydrogen also includes a sample editor with basic cut and loop functions, as well as time-stretch and pitch functions powered by the rubberband-cli package. The application introduces several new features, such as playlists with scripting functions, advanced tab-tempo, a director window with a visual metronome and song position tags, a timeline with variable tempo, single and stacked pattern modes, and the ability to export and import individual patterns into song projects. Additionally, Hydrogen offers MIDI learning capabilities, allowing users to map GUI controllers to MIDI inputs, and provides the ability to import and export song files Unique features of Hydrogen include its human velocity, human time, pitch, and swing functions, enabling users to add a natural, organic feel to their drum performances. The application also supports multiple patterns playing simultaneously, providing musicians with enhanced creative possibilities

Highlights

• Pattern-based sequencer with unlimited patterns and song chaining
• Up to 192 ticks per pattern with individual event levels and variable pattern lengths
• Unlimited instrument tracks with volume, mute, solo, and pan controls
• Multi-layer instrument support with up to 16 samples per instrument
• Sample editor with cut and loop functions
• Time-stretch and pitch functions using the rubberband-cli package
• Playlists with scripting capabilities
• Advanced tab-tempo and timeline with variable tempo
• Single and stacked pattern modes
• Import/export of individual patterns and full song projects
• MIDI learning and mapping for GUI controllers
• Human velocity, time, pitch, and swing functions for natural-sounding drum performances
• Support for multiple patterns playing concurrently