Adding drums to the modular looking for ideas

[bjarlstedt]

Thanks you! Yes, that drummer is a friend (and neighbor).

[WeatherSystem]

If you use VCV Rack, all the prOk drums (plus a bunch of other modules) have just been released. $25.

VCV Modules

[ThurberMingus]

After examining some different drum module options, I took a chance on a 1010music Bitbox mk1 (which can be found used at a nice discount). Loaded it up with some of my favorite x0x samples, and it is really a pleasure to use. I’ve never had a sampler this nice, and the touch interface is really quite beginner friendly. I’ve had my eye on other hardware samplers, but I’ve resigned to eurorack as my format of choice, and I’m happy to have a powerful sampler in the modular ecosystem.

I also snagged a second-hand uGrids (before reading Grey’s disdain for the little versions), but I’m very happy with it for generating evolving drum beats that don’t require too much brainpower. Definitely suffers from the same ergonomic shortcomings as all uTable modules.

Super happy that I decided to liquidate (most of) my other synths to slightly expand my eurorack. I’m very happy with the results and can’t think of anything that I would want to change at this point. Other than maybe another clock, but that isn’t a priority at this time.

[andrewhuang]

Not sure if this would work (for you, or at all) but what if you had a sample of some rhythmic triggers loaded into Bitbox? You’d still have to trigger that sample from your other clock, but could be a way to get all kinds of divisions and multiplications if you pitch shift it!

[forrest]

I just picked up a WMD fracture and it to pieces, instant Venetian Snares vibes when patching up many of its inputs to gates/ratchets…

[grey]

It’s so good. As I have said too many times, and will say again, it’s super underrated.

[Joseph]

Yeah, my favorite kick is an fm’ed & synced complex oscillator mixed with a little pink noise, combined with a touch of short room reverb.

My second favorite kick is simply a filter, because that always works.

In real life recording, it’s never the heaviest or hardest kicks that sound good, it’s the ones that sit in the mix correctly for a particular song and tempo i.e. those with low mids texture (similar to complex oscillator example), maybe recorded with a U47 Fet some feet back, or close without being super pointy, such as with a Beyer M88 of M380 (more like the filter). Or a mix of the two.

[bran]

I recently added a sample-based percussion section to my system which I’m having a lot of fun with. It’s by no means as clever or resourceful as solutions which fit a true modular paradigm like the excellent ideas posted by Joseph above, but it does offer a somewhat immediate and literal workflow which might appeal to various people.

For me the impetus was regularly using up too many Hermod tracks to trigger and modulate percussion, so I ended up with the Steppy for sample trigs. The Sample Drum has six assignable CV ins to manipulate various params (sample position & selection, fx levels, etc). I use the A-160-2 to send clocked gates & trigs to these at varying divisions which can create some really lively patterns.

As an aside, with this module arrangement I can also limit the extent of clock distribution to the first half of the first row of the cabinet. (AUM master -> Hermod -> Pam’s -> Steppy -> A-160-2 -> Voltage Block).

[Blit]

Adding a waveshaper into your setup can make a whole difference in sound. I used to have a Mutant BD which I passed through a A137-1 in order to get the gnarliest, meanest, brutalest (?) sounds
Here’s an example

ALIEN KICKS. MUTANT BASSDRUM INTO A137-1

[betweenmachines]

+1 for the Sample Drum.

I also have 2. Modulating decay and amplitude via the CV inputs can produce some very expressive sequences. The Performance menu, where you can assign the 6 encoders to change any number of parameters is also super-useful.

You can load it with a single WAV that contains slightly different versions of a sound one after another, chop the sample into x number of chunks in the Sample Drum and set it so that it plays through those chunks in sequence each time it receives a trigger. So you get variety in the drum hits.

Lots of possibilities.

The only downside is the menu-ness of it. But most of them are only one layer deep and navigation is pretty self-explanatory, so it’s not too much hassle.

[bran]

It’s really a fantastic module. In some ways it’s like having a little bit of Elektron DNA in your case.

I know this thread is about drums, but since it can also record, SD also opens up a lot of possibilities for mangling and sequencing your other modules. YouTube user ‘tl3ss’ has a recent video or two showing some pretty gnarly explorations in that area.

[grey]

I bounced off Sample Drum. It can do a lot, but I found it unpleasant to actually use the interface. Slicing/editting samples on board is a really poor experience. Recording is weird as well, and the input they use doesn’t match the bitrate of the output. The effects are nice to have, but I found that many of them weren’t especialy useful on their own. I’d personally suggest Squid Salmple over it.

[soggybag]

What he said.

I’ve been combing Bitbox with Robaux SWT 16. Which adds up to a 40 HP sample player drum computer combo. I haven’t worked out a patch that uses all 16 triggers with all 16 sample inputs yet, but it seems like a challenge that needs to be met.

[Voltmeister]

If anyone is looking for a versatile kick drum in 8ph, you should definitely check out WMD’s Crater. It is basically an analog kick, with the option to layer various click/attack samples on top. It has a lot of modulation options and 3 overdrive flavors on board. It can produce kicks ranging from poppy electro to full on hardcore techno. I played with a concept version at Superbooth ‘19 and got it once it was available. Highly recommended.

[varispeeder]

while I had a camera set up to demo some Stages ideas (including using it as a clock divider & decay envelopes to make a drum machine!), I also did a quick test of the ADDAC 104 VC T-Networks that had just shown up. It was mentioned once earlier in the thread, but in general there’s not a ton out there about this rad module.

I loooooove the sound of old drum machines like the Maestro Rhythm King and the TR-77. I sampled my Rhythm King before selling it to a friend, but I do dearly miss it. The T-Networks is based on the same circuit and it nails the sound of those classic kicks, congas/toms, and clave/rim.

ADDAC 104 VC T-Networks - first patch

It’s not nearly as versatile as other kick options, but in terms of bang for your buck & hp, it’s a fantastic way to add some extra percussion voices for extra rhythmic complexity.

[geh2oman]

I’ve been doing the same but smaller; Bitbox micro and the Robaux LL8!

[dianus]

My synthesizer voices are particularly focused around melody, chords, pads, fm percs etc (Just Friends, TNSM + Rings, Lorre Mill + Akemies Taiko) I don’t currently have a plan for integrating sampling/percussion in a deeper way. Long term I’m really interested in a pams + squid sample combo but right now I am looking for something simpler. Any suggestions for like four on the floor drum machine that’s simple to integrate into a eurorack setup? I’ve been looking at some of the pocket operators like KO or Rhythm, or maybe one of the volca drums? What’s your favourite?

[G4B3]

Do you want to trigger the drums from your modular? My favorite drum synth is the Nord Drum line but unless you want to hit some pads you’d need something outputting MIDI to sequence it.

[dianus]

Yeah I’m looking for something that’ll sync to my main eurorack clock source, volca and PO seem to be good candidate for this but I’m curious as to what else is out there.

[G4B3]

I haven’t used it personally but the Vermona DRM1 MKIII sounds great and has trigger inputs. Could also grab an old Simmons or similar drum synth on Reverb/eBay. Those expect triggers from the piezo in a drum pad so if you put a modular trigger through a VCA you should get velocity.