Name: Rhyth-O-Matic
Brand: Desert Moon Audio
Price: 74.00 USD
Availability: InStock

Rhyth-O-Matic ROM-16 - Desert Moon Audio plug-in

Analog Drum Machine

Sixteen rhythms, any two at once, and nothing sampled

Rhyth-O-Matic is an analog drum machine plugin for Mac and PC: sixteen rhythms on chunky push-keys, any two of which play at once, on eleven drum voices built as circuits rather than samples.

14-DAY FREE TRIAL

Full version, free for 14 days. No payment details needed.

Works with all major DAWs

AU / VST3 / AAX for Mac · VST3 / AAX for PC

Yours forever — no subscription

Instant download after purchase

Hear the difference

Press play to hear Rhyth-O-Matic through its effects panel. Tap CLEAN for the same groove with the effects switched off, at the same moment.

Dusty Break

Backwards Mambo

Dub Beguine

Banana Kong

Where it goes

Four of the places it lives, each with a demo above.

Dusty Break
A rhythm swung and accented into a break you would want to sample.
Hear it
Backwards Mambo
Two rhythms pressed at once make a pattern no preset box ever had.
Hear it
Dub Beguine
A slow Latin rhythm through the effects panel: wide, wet and dubbed out.
Hear it
Banana Kong
Two rhythms together, with a fill thrown in, is a drummer having a moment.
Hear it

About Rhyth-O-Matic

Rhyth-O-Matic is an analog drum machine: sixteen rhythms on chunky push-keys, a TEMPO dial with a red beat lamp, and eleven drum voices. Press START, or just press play in your DAW, and it grooves.

Press a second rhythm key and both play at once, each on its own grid against the same bar clock. A 16-step rock under a 12-step shuffle, or a samba under a waltz, gives lopsided combinations no drummer would play, which is exactly why these boxes were loved. SWING, ACCENT, BALANCE and WEAR shape the feel, from tight and clean to loose and tired.

Nothing is sampled. The drums and congas are resonators that ring and fall in pitch, the snare rattle and maracas are filtered noise, and the hats, cymbal and cowbell come from six square-wave oscillators through band-pass filters. That is why TUNE and DECAY reshape every sound continuously instead of stretching a recording.

Key features

Sixteen rhythms, any two at once
Rock, slow rock, swing, shuffle, waltz and jazz waltz, and the Latin and ballroom set from bossa nova to foxtrot, on straight, triplet and 3/4 grids.
Eleven analog voices
Bass drum, snare, rim shot, closed and open hats, cymbal, cowbell, claves, maracas and two congas, built as circuits rather than samples.
Feel controls
SWING drags the off-beats toward a shuffle, ACCENT sets how hard the marked hits push, BALANCE trades drums against percussion, and WEAR makes it play like a well-used box.
Fills and phrases
FILL turns the current bar into a fill with a crash on the next downbeat. AUTO FILL does it every 2, 4, 8 or 16 bars in four styles, and the arranger alternates two rhythms or uses one as the fill.
The effects panel
TUNE and DECAY for every voice, then FUZZ, CRUSH, TONE, REVERSE, a tempo-synced DELAY and a spring reverb on the whole kit, with a dry/wet MIX.
Locks to your song
HOST SYNC follows the DAW's tempo and bar through loops and tempo changes, and every voice plays from MIDI on the General MIDI drum map.
17 factory presets
From Lounge Bossa and Dusty Break to Dub Beguine and Haunted Ballroom.

Rhyth-O-Matic panel, with its controls numbered

The panel at a glance

Volume Output level.
Balance Drums against percussion.
Swing Drags the off-beats toward a shuffle.
Accent How hard the accented hits push.
Fill Turns this bar into a fill, with a crash on the next downbeat.
Effects Tune and decay for every voice, then fuzz, crush, tone, reverse, a synced delay and a spring reverb.
Arrange Alternate two rhythms, or use one as the fill.
Wear The looseness of a well-used box.
Tempo The unit's own clock, 40 to 240 BPM. Or press Host Sync to follow your DAW through loops and tempo changes.
Start / Stop Runs the unit's own clock.
Rhythm selector Sixteen rhythms, any two at once: rock, swing and waltz through bossa nova, cha-cha and foxtrot.

More details

Yes — 14 days, fully featured, from the first time the plugin loads. Every rhythm and every control, no interruptions and no signup. When the trial ends, the unit goes silent until a license is entered, and your sessions and settings are kept.

Yes. It's a one-off purchase, not a subscription, and there's nothing to renew. Updates to a plugin you own are free — download the current installer and run it over the top.

Every plugin is sold on its own, so you can buy just the one you want.

Your license covers up to 4 computers you personally own — studio desktop, laptop, spares. Enter the same key on each; the first activation on a machine takes one quick internet check; after that it works offline, apart from a once-a-day check for a newer version. Moving on from a computer? Deactivate This Machine in the plugin's preset menu hands the seat back, and if a machine dies before you can, just ask us.

Your download link and license key are in the order confirmation email sent at purchase. Run the installer, open Rhyth-O-Matic, click the trial notice on the panel, paste the key — done.

Can’t find the email? Check spam, then write to info@desertmoonaudio.com and we’ll resend it.

Yes — after activation. Entering your license key needs an internet connection once; from then on it works offline — the only other time it goes online is a once-a-day check for a newer version.

Tech specs

Mac: AU, VST3 and AAX — universal, native on Apple Silicon and Intel. macOS 10.15 or later.

Windows: VST3 and AAX, 64-bit Windows 10 or later.

DAWs: All major DAWs — Ableton Live, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, FL Studio, Cubase, Studio One, Bitwig, Reaper and Reason.

Engine: sixteen rhythms on straight, triplet and 3/4 grids, eleven analog circuit voices, and a fuzz, crush, tone, reverse, synced delay and spring reverb chain on the drum bus — 44.1 to 192 kHz. An instrument: AU music device, VST3 Instrument, AAX. MIDI in on the General MIDI drum map.

DOWNLOAD MANUAL