January 6, 2026
Loop dreams vs feature screams
Show HN: Make audio loops online
Bedroom beats go viral: fun loops, but missing save, edit, and a teaching mode
TLDR: A simple browser tool to make drum and melody loops is grabbing attention, but users want save/export, editing, and a learning mode. Fans say it’s addictive for beginners, while critics call it low effort and point to Roland50, igniting a toy-versus-tool debate that matters to aspiring creators.
Show HN dropped a candy-colored beat toy: [makeloops.online], a browser playground where you tap a grid of drums and notes, pick instruments like Piano or Synth, hit record, and make a looping groove. There’s a BPM (beats per minute) slider, a randomize button, and a looper that stacks your riffs. Newbies are vibing hard: treavorpasan confessed, “Love it… got me hooked,” proving you don’t need music lessons to feel like a bedroom DJ.
But the comments turned into a feature wishlist jam session. The loudest chorus: save, export, and edit your loops after recording. Antback’s pragmatic praise was basically, “Looks great—give us Save/Load and Import/Export.” Another camp wants a educational mode, a hand-holding tutorial so total beginners don’t just mash buttons. And then came the spicy snare: fassssst labeled it low effort and pointed to the shinier roland50.studio, sparking a toy-versus-tool fight. Some joked they’d accidentally invent the next TikTok sound; others begged for an “undo my bad beat” button. The vibe: fun now, features later—with a side of humble pie. Whether it becomes a real music maker or stays a delightfully simple loop machine, the community is dancing and debating in equal measure. Either way, the beat goes on
Key Points
- •Makeloops.online provides a browser-based interface to create audio loops.
- •Users can select instruments (Piano, Synth, Pluck, FM, AM, Membrane) and switch between Drums and Melodic modes.
- •A step grid labeled 1–16 is available, with drum lanes such as Kick, Snare, Hi-hats, Clap, Rim, Toms, and Crash.
- •Controls include Randomization, Preview, Clear, Add to Looper, BPM, and a position readout (0:0:0).
- •The Looper section starts empty and instructs users to press the record button and play to create and manage loops.