Show HN: I built a website for sharing drum patterns

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reception & use cases

  • Many commenters praised the site as fun, focused, and inspiring for learning or sketching drum ideas.
  • Several users bookmarked it to export patterns into DAWs (e.g., Ableton, TR-8S, Hydrogen) or for general beat inspiration.
  • People appreciated the “forking” model: copying existing patterns, tweaking them, and sharing variations.

Audio playback & platform quirks

  • Multiple users on iOS and mobile Firefox initially had no sound; hardware mute, iOS audio restrictions, or work proxies blocking WAV were involved.
  • Suggestions included:
    • Playing a silent <audio> element to “unlock” Web Audio on iOS, including for background playback.
    • Adding hints for iOS users to disable silent mode.
  • Some reported visual/audio desync (especially on Safari/iPhone). The author iterated with alternative audio modes and received a detailed explanation about Safari’s missing latency APIs and inherent sync limits.

HTTPS and security debate

  • A lengthy subthread revolved around the lack of HTTPS.
  • One side argued that a drum-pattern site “doesn’t need security” beyond logins; HTTPS everywhere is seen as overkill or cargo cult.
  • Others countered that:
    • There is a login, so credentials and cookies need protection.
    • ISPs and other intermediaries have injected ads, tracking, or malware into HTTP traffic.
    • HTTPS provides confidentiality and integrity cheaply (e.g., via free certificates) and avoids browsers’ “Not Secure” labels and search de-ranking.
  • A minority claimed HTTPS “does nothing for security,” which others challenged as ignoring basic threat models like password sniffing.

Feature requests & UX feedback

  • Common asks:
    • Triplets/shuffle, non-4/4 meters (e.g., 3/4), longer patterns (2+ bars), accents/dynamics.
    • Metronome, clearer bar lines, darker beat-one, better pattern length control.
    • Filters, BPM and sample changes, generic MIDI mapping, and an API for MIDI pattern access.
    • PWA support and better mobile compatibility.
  • Instrument ordering drew strong opinions: users wanted kick/snare at the bottom and cymbals at the top, closer to standard drum maps; the author reversed the order and added options.
  • Other niceties requested and/or implemented:
    • Hi-hat choke behavior, hover labels for instruments, per-instrument audition, copy-on-variation instead of blank, pattern text paste, favicon, and search-by-pattern.

Implementation & related projects

  • The author explained building a crawler to recover patterns from an archived 808 site, then using WordPress for the front-end.
  • Commenters linked similar tools (Funklet, visual “rhythm wheel”, Euclidean rhythm sequencers, other web drum apps) and offered ports to environments like Glicol and Hydrogen.