Fingerlab DM10 is the successor of the popular DM1 drum machine app for iOS with new features, including AUv3 support, synth, and more.
Everything has a beginning, including drum machines on iOS. One of the first drum computer apps on the mobile platform was DM1 from Fingerlab, released in 2011. It offered a super simple app layout and great-sounding drum sounds.
After 14 years on the market, the app gets a complete makeover called DM10 with many new features.
Fingerlab DM10
DM10 inherits the popular DM1 drum machine app and continues it. The new Fiingerlab DM10 has all the DM1 features plus many new features.
The new engine is part of this modernization. It offers drum playback and two new synth engines—the first hosts 170 ready-to-use drum kits that can import custom samples. Side by side on the drums, there are now two all-new virtual analog bass and lead synths
The bass synth engine features three VCOs with square, sawtooth, and triangle waveforms, three octaves, detune, a lowpass filter, an ADSR envelope, and a bit crusher effect.
The lead engine then provides two VCOs with sine, sawtooth, and triangle waveforms, a three-octave range, VCO mod, vibrato, a lowpass filter, and an ADSR envelope.
It ships with 40 basses and lead factory presets to get things started. Plus, you can find 10 sampled instruments, including Piano, Wurlitzer, and more.
Each sound area has its dedicated track with an assignable effects processor with real-time modulation selectable from effects slots: overdrive, delay, formant, texturizer, reverb, filter, robotizer, and more. There is also a mixer with level, pitch, length, pan, and automation controls.
Sequencing
The built-in sequencer of the original DM1 app was very limited and used classic step sequences. Fingerlab has wholly overhauled it in DM10 and incorporated many new features.
The sequencer now features variable step counts and supports accents, triplets, and polyrhythms for the tracks. An upcoming DM10 update will also feature step randomization, step probability, and mutation. A song mode with editing options and different time signatures is also onboard.
Another major new feature is AUv3 support, which allows you to use the Fingerlab app in multiple instances and easily incorporate it into your mobile DAW setups, such as Logic Pro for iPad.
Other features are randomizer tools, track renames, fast audio export (master & separated tracks), MIDI support (MIDI import comes in an update), Ableton Link, and more.
First Impression
It’s very welcome that the popular DM1 app will get a successor with features you would expect in any audio app in 2025, especially AUv3 support.
Fingerlab DM10 is available now for an introductory price of $9,99 (30% OFF). It runs as a standalone app and AUv3 plugin on iOS (iPhones/iPads) and macOS.
More information here: AppStore
DM1 was among the first apps I used on iPad– and moreover, it felt like a wonderful example of what was possible in terms of a smooth user experience, a best-in-class GUI, and a really nice song editor.
Though it offered time-signatures, 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 didn’t work correctly. They were just two 8th notes per beat (rather than 3). In other words, no way to define a dotted-quarter as a beat.
I expect DM10 won’t offer much in the way of step rates, apart from being able to split a step into an all-or-none triplet– which is like a little buzz roll. And while the ability to have differing track lengths will be useful for POLYMETRIC rhythms (different groupings of the same subdivision); it has nothing to do with polyrhythms (different step rates).
Glad I can load it into Cubasis. The synth’s seem to be a confusing addition at this point. Perhaps they will shine a bit more when being run through the modulated FX, as on their own they are pretty simple.