The sound of this product is amazing in it's own right. You can't find software anywhere (so far) that gives you such great sounding, high quality, kits. This is definitely something that hip-hop/r&b/urban music of all styles and genres should look into. As much as I love it, there are a few quirks that need to be worked out in the pre 2.0 releases. The use of knobs in the software makes adjusting levels and fx pretty annoying. Sometimes it just drives you insane especially when you're wanting to be precise. The other thing missing would be a limiter effect or option where you could set the max velocity on the pads from the pattern without having to go into edit mode of the actual kit.

No accessories other than a USB key preloaded with installer files come with this product. As far as features, the BTV is equipped with a sampler! It will catch audio directly from YouTube in a breeze! BUT if you own a PC, it's not so easy depending on the soundcard that you own and the initial setup can be pretty annoying. It is not nearly as easy on PC as it is on the Mac. It's almost more worth it to sampling using something else and chop the wave up into the BTV. Pad/Track silence, mute, song mode creation. All very nice! One thing this could definitely use (being software) is the ability to separate the tracks on export. Currently you will have to mute or delete tracks in order to track for track your patterns out if you plan on mixing and editing them more professionally.

I'm going to rate this as a 7 here but let me say the interface is great! The software itself is a little buggy (PC) and you have to learn a specific process/work flow to best keep the program stable. There are a lot of great things here but there's no shortage of complaints concerning the sometimes fickleness of the program. The idea is incredible and 2.0 upgrade should resolve a lot of these issues. The interface is clean, snappy, and downright sexy (imo). It really grows on to you.

The sample/kit browser is a little clumsy in appearance. Varying text sizes make it look tacky. As far as quality goes, I have to say, user experience varies a bit too much for me to give the BTV flying colors. It can almost be said that if it works flawlessly for one individual, it's more or less good fortune for that person than it is for the rest of us. Intermittent crashes from pissing the software off unknowingly, especially in the middle of a really banging beat is frustrating. But the BTV still manages to deliver when you settle into using it. So I'm going to give this an 8 on quality for the direction it's headed though this particular release is closer to a 5 in my opinion.

In short, even with the the few glitches here, there, and a couple of missing wishlist features, you can not beat a program with this many high quality, raw, gritty, grimy, hard, hip hop sounds. I'd pay $150 just for the sample packs alone but the fact that they included a drum machine makes this a steal. Some people may suggest less, but those of us that have played with it long enough can vouch for the amazing sounds that come out of the BTV. It's totally worth it.

The team at Beat Kangz are very fair in their approach to customer service. Some people may complain but contacting them through their forum and directly via e-mail, sometimes with Aja (the ceo) even makes it all more friendly. They are quick to answer questions and even provide Beat Thang University to answer and demonstrate how to appropriately use the program. They are very good!

You want it. Free upgrade to 2.0 is going make investing now pay off later! It's very sexy and the moment you start banging on the drum pads is an instant turn-on. It definitely sets the bar and will definitely be something to rave about before long. You want it. Today!

Recording Engineer

Hip Hop, Techno, Drum and Bass, Dance, Trance, Trip Hop, .etc

With 3,000 sounds out of the box you can't go wrong. Some are usable and others, well. The drums are absolutely THE best. You can create your own kits which is even better. The instrument sounds are both good and bad. The one thing some people may have a problem with is the "processed" sound out of the box. Everything is adjustable but you're going to have to dig into the manual in order to do so.

I am not a fanboy of anything. The way I see it I pay them not the other way around so honesty is not a problem for me. Times and technology change and I stay current with what fits my needs. The lack of rewire is really the only thing missing here. It just so happens that for most people that would be the only way to really consider this. Personally, I have it installed on a laptop that goes out into another computer. Depending on what I'm doing I've recorded this into Logic Pro 9, Cubase 5, and Record for excellent results. Again, I have the benefit of multiple computers so while it's not a major problem for me it could be for many who will use it and only have one computer. You can send each track out as a waveform and import that into whatever you're using as a work around which is actually in the manual. The only other feature I feel is really lacking is that at the moment (2-22-2010) you can only record 8 midi tracks. That's the only complaint since it is nothing to use up 8 tracks of internal sounds. Hey they really do sound that good to do so. Again, having an external computer solves that issue.

If you can't figure this out it is only because you have not read the manual. You don't even need to read the whole thing to be honest. Just read the part about recording and you're set. Literally, you click new pattern, click the 1-8 buttons to pick your track, hit the plus button on the kits or instruments, and double click to audition each one. You hit the record button (a round button you can't miss) and then hit play and you're up and running. To switch tracks just hit the track number and there you go.

It simply works! The drum sounds are probably unmatched for someone looking for "processed" drums. Once you start to layer them the possibilities are endless. I'm not overly worried about the instrument sounds as I have more sounds than I will probably ever get a chance to hear. They do have some instrument sounds that are absolutely the real deal. The only thing holding this thing back from moving Reason and FL aside is the lack of rewire. In all fairness it is something they are working on and for $149 it's really hard to complain about if they never do it. The sound quality more than makes up for it and I've never had it crash on my Mac. I can't speak for the PC side as I have it loaded on a PC but just never used it there.

$149. You can't beat that. Personally, if they add rewire and the ability to do more tracks within the program they could easily get much more. Even without that they could get more than what they charge right now. It's just that good.

Their support is FAST. I had an issue loading it because of pace issue or something to that effect. (I got this last year at a music conference before it was even released) I emailed them and not only had a swift response but a link with clear cut directions to go along with it. The fact that they do not lie on their website about what it can and cannot do speaks volumes about them. The things that are forthcoming are clearly stated as well as the things they are unsure about at this time. You can't ask for more from a start-up company.

Active Musician

Some of everything. I love music period.

The sound of this product is very diverse. At times, It reminds me of when sampling drum machines first hit the streets, products like the E-MU SP-12 (and 1200), the original MPC60 and the Sequential Studio-440 with raw, punchy, gritty, powerful and warm sounds that truly kick. At other times cleaner and more crisp like some of Native Instruments products like MASCHINE. I like the sound of Beat Thang Virtual more though, as it's more authentic and has a vibe all it's own. The great thing about this is that it lends itself more to a wider range of musical styles rather than having a narrow sound set, you really will find there's something for everyone, no matter what style of music you make. You get 3,000 sounds out of the box and you can load in or sample your own. Also worth noting is that each kit has 88 pads which you can bank up and down. Very cool.

The more you dig into this product, the more you'll be rewarded. When I started making my own kits with the 16 layers of sample playback per-pad, it really blew me away and when making instrument sounds, it really comes into it's own. How many synths do you know that can have a different ADSR per key, 16 layers to a single sound and also a different filter cutoff and resonance setting per key for $149.00??? Graphic waveform editing, auto-chop and some great effects are a bonus to the final sound and you can really make this "Thang" kick (watch your speakers). Also, from what I have read of the website, AU and VST plugin support is coming soon, so you'll have more than just standalone mode and be able to load it up in your DAW. This will really take it to the next level. Updates are pretty frequent too, which is better than waiting forever for the manufacturer to "eventually" get around to it. Very impressive for a new company.

When you first load up Beat Thang Virtual, it may take you a little time to get to grips with it if this is your first beat making software. For those who have used MPC's and MV's (such as myself), you will find it a breeze! Everything is laid out in the same way as the hardware version and this makes it great for if you plan to own both and move your ideas around from studio to stage. There is no load time when moving from one pattern to the next and this makes radical sound changes possible with no glitches in the sound. Everything is smooth and in all the time I've had it (and in the time I evaluated the demo version), I couldn't get it to crash once. If you plan to use it live on a laptop, you'll be set with this (unlike some other software beat machines I could mention, but won't).

There's not much to fault here. The software is supplied on a USB key and the quality of the key is more than solid. It's also on it's own lanyard making it easy to carry around with you and load the key with your own custom samples to take to different studios. Excellent.

When you look at what you're getting here, it's pretty amazing value for money. Just about all of the competition is at least double the price and not without some major problems. What I've found with Beat Thang Virtual is that it really puts the fun back into making a beat and that's because you're not sat trying to work out what not is on what key thanks to the chromatic pad layout, which really works. The individual bar lengths on each track are great, as you can have your kick drum playing a one bar loop while your synth plays 8 bars and your bass plays 4 or whatever. It doesn't tie you down to having to make each track the same length, as they loops around perfectly and the swing value really adds a lot of extra feel too. I love this product and will no doubt order the hardware version in time. If beat making and producing is your thing, this is the "Thang" for you!

I have had no trouble contacting support, as I had a few questions before I bought the product while I was still checking out the demo. I was also fortunate enough to get to speak to the CEO directly via a streaming webcast and got a revealing insight into the company and the products. Not many companies you can say that about, so you feel more attached to the product by being directly in contact with those who make it.

While I don't think anyone can ever really call a software product "sexy", it does have a lot of appeal. The hardware version really is the most desirable version, but that doesn't mean the software is second place by any means, it's just as good. There will most likely be a lot of lazy people out there that will try and stay put with what they know but that really is a shame as if you do, you are missing out on what I feel is a modern day classic that's up there with the Hip-Hop legends of the SP-1200, MPC60, Studio-440 and TR-808. If you're thinking "oh, come on - you have to work for them", I don't. I live in the United Kingdom and have no ties with Beat Kangz Electronics, though actually wish I did as I would love to be a part of the future of this amazing product.

Producer, Remixer, Recording Artist

Hip-Hop, R'n'B, Dance, Pop

The included samples are not the greatest, but there are a few exceptions. The fact that they do allow you to load your own samples in helps. The built in FX are not very convincing, and I got much better results by just bypassing them and using plug-ins after BTV in the FX chain.

In the end, this doesn't include a sampler, it IS a sampler. When put head to head against other samplers and beat machines, it just doesn't stack up. Although it's selling point is to create beats, most samplers allow velocity information, multiple layers, etc. In Kontakt, they have entire instruments built into the sampler. That is simply not possible with this, which I touch on in the value section. It does have the ability to record from video off the internet, but you can download things like YouTube Downloader for free, which enable you to do the exact same thing, so this really isn't a feature that has any significance, although it can make things a little easier by putting everything all in one place. I personally don't keep my music PC online, so it has absolutely no use for me.

For a new users, this could be a little difficult to decipher, but reading the manual makes things a little easier. The layout could be a lot better, and it would be a lot simpler if they made the GUI look a little less toy-like.

The samples aren't the greatest, although there are a few that do shine. They are just too over-produced to be able to manipulate afterward. On the bright side, you can at least load your own samples into this, so there is a way around it, but this basically means you are paying $150 for a sampler and will need to purchase sample libraries on top of it. I use Ableton Live's built in sampler, and it is far more capable than this. I've had a few issues with BTV crashing, and it doesn't allow you to recover your work if you haven't saved... I don't mean to sound like a hater, but when you look at this as a sampler, it's one of the worst on the market.

When you consider that this is a sampler, it's a bit pricey to not be a fully-functioning sampler. Native Instruments Kontakt, or even Battery, offer much more bang, and although they will set you back a little more, its well worth it, as you won't have to wait for an update to see if this investment was worth it. As I mentioned before, Kontakt has entire instruments built with the sampler. You cannot do that with BTV, so it's not expandable beyond laying out simple beats. For the money, I'd like to get something more expandable and versatile.

Never had to contact them, so I don't know.

After using it for about a week, I decided that it just doesn't do what I need it to do. It is probably great for rookies, but once you outgrow it and need a full blown sampler, you'll wish you had the $150 you spent here to spend on a proper sampler.

13 years

Hip Hop / Rap beats, R&B, Urban soundtracks, along with other electronic/urban fusion projects