Would you pay $1.99 for a (virtual) Roland TR-909?

That’s what the creators of nineOnine – a virtual TR-909 for iPad – are hoping. nineOnine is intended to emulate not only the sound of the classic TR-909, but also the logic of programming and saving rhythm patterns.

Features:

• 16 step drum sequencer
• 10 user defined presets
• 9 drum instruments
• 8 drum patterns (4 x 2 banks)
• 4 preset tracks
• Knob zoom for easier handling
• Effects rack (Reverb, Delay, BitCrush and Pan)
• Record and export loops in 16bit/44.1kHz stereo WAV format

While a couple of bucks for a virtual 909 sounds like a steal – nineOnine needs some additional features in order to become a no-brainer. MIDI features are missing in action and “Track Play is preset and can not be user defined.”

Developer Mirko Trkulja promises some significant enhancements with the next update, though, including:

• Knob automation
• Wi-Fi MIDI sync
• Full sound synthesis
• Step or Tap pattern write mode
• More patterns and presets
• User defined Track Play

These ‘enhancements’ seem like features that, at this point, should be part of just about any 1.0 music app.

At this point, even $1.99 doesn’t seem like a bargain for nineOnine. We’ll be interested to see how this app develops, though. If the feature set does mature, this could be a welcome addition to iOS musicians’ toolkit.