Mike (no blog...yet), a friend of me, has been working on something for almost a year now, and it's finally live. What is it? It's The Beaterator! He did it for Rockstar games, makers of the Grand Theft Auto game series. He's also done the past three games' websites. He did Tourney Logic, and he's done three other apps I've been involved with too. He's an awesome designer.

Anyway, his latest creation lets you create your own beats. It's a very cool tool, but be forewarned. You will waste lots of time messing with this thing. I would describe it myself, but I'll let his words do it:

The Beaterator, once considered an item of folklore originating from the dense White Pine forests of Western Michigan, is now a truthful reality.

Many of you have heard rumors, others have seen it in development. And most have never heard of it at all. What is "The Beaterator," you ask?
The Beaterator is the long-awaited follow-up to The Rhymerator, 2001's Rockstar Games + Median Group collaboration and the web's first rap lyric generator, providing countless wack MC's with the necessary tools to create verses that wouldn't get them booted from a rhyme cipher.
While one could say that The Beaterator is the instrumental counterpart to The Rhymerator, it would be a poor comparison. The Rhymerator is a crude flint tool; The Beaterator chops like a Ginsu.

The Beaterator far exceeds any existing online sequencer tool in power, capability, and sound banks. It is a real-time music sequencer that provides users with the tools to create complete beats, from scratch, for free.

- A series of massive loop and instrument sound banks have been created by musical auteurs: Matthew Dear, King Britt, Juan Atkins, and more.
- Flip a sample in the extensive effects console, with 5 ear-popping effects for dat ass.
- Got a sound you think should be up in da club? Upload it and drop it in the mix--another Beaterator first in the online sequencer arena.
- Build a beat like Legos with the Loop Crafter; 4 bars and a grip of 16th notes is the canvas upon which your snares never sounded so fly.
- Of the mind that it's not music unless it's got a melody? Tickle the keys, music snob, on the 2-octave keyboard.
- As if that's not enough, download the entire mix to mp3 and rock it in your iPod (or your iPod knock-off).

In case you didn't know, there's also a Rhymerator, so you can make your own beat, get your own lyrics, and put together your own song!

So, go out there, create your own beat, and let me know what you come up with. I'm hoping to have some time to put together a real beat, and get it up here at some point too.

Congrats, Mike. This is awesome!