I have the Perkons. The ability to send and return all 4 channels independently through effects pedals (ie fuzz on the kick, delay on the hats, reverb on the snare, and chorus on the bass line) makes this thing a monster drum machine and sound designing tool. One of my favorite hardware machines ever.
Disadvantages Pulsar: Costs 4x as much as most other drum machines, can't be remote controlled unless you're willing to deep dive into CV. Does industrial best though and has a pretty decent recording function. Perkons is also super expensive - and I just sold my (much cheaper) Erica Synths LXR-02 as the user interface is very confusing. It can generate a lot of sounds, but there are no "snare/kick drum templates" like the Nord Drum does, which would make creating drums a lot easier. So you're quite limited when it comes to creating/adjusting your own sounds, loads of menu diving involved in sometimes obscure locations. Roland TR8S only plays samples - which is why I sold my Roland TR-09 as it was too much of the same, same. Also MIDI implementation is really terrible. But faders are a plus. Nord Drum 3P is actually the one that survived all the other drum machines I compared it to. It's a bit of a bummer that it doesn't have seperate outputs for each pad and I had to do a workaround with a AtoVproject 16n to assign some MIDI faders to it - but it has by far the best sounds and has the best user interface (also some of the decisions by Nord make no sense: if you choose between 6 pads with CC 70, why not use values 1-6 instead of 0-21, 22-43 etc? Also has some limitations where you can use note values only with a global MIDI channel, not individual channels, and the firmware hasn't been updated since 2016). Live it to bits and the only one where you can just beat in some variations, without tediously adjusting your velocity afterwards for some "human touch".
I mean CV is a pretty simple concept, your complaints about Nords odd choices in regards to the Nord drum 3p's midi implementation sounds a lot like a list of problems that are non-existent with Eurorack unless you are trying to convert CV or gate to midi.
@@ThomannSynthesizers I feel the 4 best modern drum machines are the tempest, the analog rytm mk2, the pulsar 23, and the Perkons, they are all quite different from one another in sound and input control, and features.
Never found a single drum machine in 32 years that worked for everything. Mixing and matching to your production is probably the best approach. Sampler/DAW. Though for 'those' genres the 808/909 will never be topped.
Nord 3P, and Syncussion ftw…One day I might pick up a pulsar. They sound so good. Wish Nord would make a Nord drum 4 with individual outs. It would sell like hotcakes. Especially considering they already have the research and development from the previous models and it really wouldn’t require too much more
I had this »problem« around 2 years ago. I made descent list of all drum computers/synthesizers available on the market. Due to versatility (in my case) it quickly boiled down to four machines: -- Elektron AnalogRytm -- Roland TR-8S -- JoMoX AlphaBase -- Sequential/DSI Tempest (used) At that time a »Pulsar« and a »Perkons« simply did not exist, otherwise they would have been on the list. I really REALLY liked to have an »AlphaBase« in my equipment park ... but after listening to a couple of videos I got the impression it is too »techno«, too »hard« (not my sound philosophy). At the end a »Tempest« made it ... especially after I realized the »Tempest« is more or less also an 6 voice synthesizer. Very happy with that machine right now (even though it is also a bit complicated).
For me it's quite easy. I like Techno, so I bought a 909. As I also enjoy Electro, I added an 808 a year later and could not be happier. You get instant results that just sound like the real things. Cause they are real ❤
An expandable alternative to Perkons / Pulsar that lets you design your own drum machine is to build a eurorack drum machine around a sequencer. start with say an Akai MPC One, and a cheapish 6-8 channel interface for it (Behringer UMC1820 is ok, Audient EVO). Or a Beatstep Pro or Oxi-One and a cheap small mixer. Then a 60u-80u Eurorack case. Maybe add an MI Ripples clone (for Bass drum), Noise Engineering Basimilus Iteritas Alia, maybe a small noise module and a cheap second filter (something MS-20ish?) Or Tip Top 808 / Patching Panda Hats module. There's some nice T-network modules that make satisfying tom/pop/clicks. The affordable Takaab 2LPG can do Buchla Bongos. Mutable peaks gives you useful envelopes, but can also do quite nice 808 drum sounds. Even with four to six voices, you do quickly get to 1800-2k+. And if you pack out an 80u with 8 voices, eurorack case can easily get to 3k+.
very nice, just looking for something like this mate. thx. so, an MPC One as Master? Then connect an "big" interface directly to the MPC? How is the Connection to be made; like: Midi, Audio? And then i can use several Sound Sources, like Eurorack, Behringer Syncussion, Edge, MFB 522 etc and lots of vintage cheap flangers/multieffekts/reverbs, delays with the unit, right? And when i wanna record that in Ableton, do i need a second Interface, when i wanna route the single tracks to single.ableton-tracks? LOOOOTS of questions, maybe u can help me with 1 or 2? 🙂 Your Ideas sound very interesting and i guess its superfun and a creative boost, to make music with an own eurorack-modul-drumkit
@@FelixPatek No worries. Lots of questions is appropriate. It's a complex topic. So, basically, an MPC One has three ways it can control/trigger(gate) other gear. MIDI over DIN, MIDI over USB, and CV/Gate. . For modular, mainly it's the latter CV/Gate, unless the module has a MIDI in (most don't, some do, some modules like Squarp Hermod, Expert Sleepers FH can convert midi to CV/gate). For drum modules, can configure the MPC Ones CV/Gate outputs to be gates, so they just send a trigger which fires a drum hit. Then with the others, I would say if the synth has USB midi, simpler to use that (most modern synths, including Behringers have midi USB). Because can use a USB hub, and USB cables, and chain everything off one USB hub connected to the MPC One. Anything that doesn't have MIDI USB, use the MIDI DIN, but keep your daisy chain of MIDI over DIN connected devices short, for drums maybe 2-3 and use the MIDI thru, rather than out, to connect each device that's next in the chain. For the audio interface part, the MPC One supports multi-channel audio. Basically you can connect a class compliant audio interface to it, again via USB. Then once you have a multi-channel audio interface connected to the MPC you can have the output of each synth/drum module connected directly to that audio interface. Then the MPC can function as digital mixer/multi-channel sampler and basically a DAW in a box. Or if you prefer hardware mixers could send the synths/drum outputs to a small cheap hardware mixer, like an Allen&Heath Zed 10, 12 or similar. Then you get convenient faders you can use live for setting levels, with pots for panning, analogue EQ, some mixers can be driven hard for nice saturation (modular outputs HOT signals), and FX sends/returns for plumbing in delay & reverb or even basic built in FX.
@@FelixPatek Oh and on the recording/Ableton live question ... yes, you'd need another interface for the computer/DAW/Ableton end but onlyy IF you want to be able to sample each source seperately into the MPC. If you don't, can just use the stock MPC stereo, maybe patched into the sends or record output of your mixer, so you can sample a stereo signal easily into the MPC when you want to. Otherwise, if you want the MPC to be able to capture from each source, you could connect two interfaces, one to MPC One, one to the DAW, interconnected 8 channels at 44.1khz over just one thin ADAT optical cable between them. So long as they both have ADAT outputs and inputs (like the cheap Behringer UMC1820M does, Focusrite 18i20, etc...). That saves another round of additional analog/digital conversion, and cable mess. If you wanted to use a mixer with your synths/modules, could choose one with direct outs, for recording. The more FX send/returns the better too, if you are planning to use a bunch of FX pedals. Then connect the direct out of each channel to each input of your audio interface. Then you have the benefits of the analogue mixer for easy live hands on control control of levels, EQ, pan, FX send returns to those effects. But also can record each track seperately into the DAW/Ableton. I guess the point it, these systems are very powerful and flexible, but it's a good idea to plan them out in advance - because they are basically fully fledged electronic music studios in a few boxes :) So expect a bit of a learning curve, a bit of head scratching but there won't be too much you can't do with a setup like that (MPC One, drum machines, modular, synths, fx pedals, mixer, Ableton).
good luck with the audio interface you go with working just as well when Akai releases a firmware update, lol. The new MPC's are a joke they also have bugs that have never been fixed since the product was released and I highly doubt they will ever be able to fix some of them.
@@donnydarko7624 yip. That was in the back of my mind. In theory any class compliant audio interface _should_ be compatible. In reality, it's more pot luck than that. Though, that's can be the case even with PCs. Some things don't work well together (e.g. some USB controllers). But, you are right. Bugs, incompatability and poor quality software has been definitely been an issue with the newer Akai MPCs. They do need to get their act together. Then again, Ableton went through a phase like that a number of years ago. And community pressure forced them to tighten up. They've progressed more carefully and been more thorough in dev & testing since then.
I was hoping for the modor dr2. You know. The no menu diving fun machine that gets barely any love and got updates often. Unbelievable the nord only has stereo out (total dealbreaker) and the pulsar is fun if you like 🐊 cables… the tr8 is boring so i never went tr8s… not sure if the perkons is for me… it would ve been cool to see the latest jomox… Elektron is totally not for me, sold the rytm and never again
I‘m a huge fan of analog synths, but when it comes to drum machines I really miss the digital ones of the 80s with their crisp samples. I had a Yamaha RX-11 back then; are there any equivalents today???
I want a Perkons with the sounds of the Syncussion. (at a third of the price). The interface is awesome but i could not get a sound i liked out of it. Also mine had a lot of bugs, support was not helping so i sent it back.
@@snörre23 Yeah, I am under the impression that Girtz either needs to hire some more help in regards to Erica's firmware implementation to its satisfactory conclusion or scale back his release schedule so he can make the customer base whole or he's not going to have any customers at a certain point.
I like the kick and hi hat from soma, the snare from the perkons, the freedom of sliders from the tr8s and by far the snare on the nord drum. The kick in some ways is weaker from the nord. the voices for basslines seems limited from those two expensive perkons and soma instruments. the freedom of sampling from the roland is quite useful. I agree the output situation on the nord makes little sense. If there were four outputs to choose to send an alternate amount of pads to another output on the nord the freedom to split the outputs could be useful. When I've seen drum machines with multiple outputs for kick, snare, hat, etc. that sort of thinking should have gone into the nord drum3. In your video and from what I heard the issue is while you were offering a look at the four drum machines the nord required you to use the octatrack to trigger the nord. The nord sound was excellent in this video compared to the other instruments but could not be triggered on its own like the other instruments. Buying a nord and elektron would mean the nord costs more. might it been better to use the korg sequencer for a few hundred dollars to example to usefulness of triggering the nord it would put the approach of the nord drum3 into the same price category as the other instruments and be much less than the soma and perkons. There are alternative sequencer options whereas no lower options for the soma or erica synths, unless one goes with their collab drum machine. Why did you only feature very expensive drum machines? In some ways the perkons sounds like a volca beats mixed with a volca drum. I'd rather buy two volcas for $300 than pay $2000 if the sound is going to be the same quality. The soma sound quality is scientific and electrifying and I like it but I can't afford it. It's not everything though and some of their weird science like sound is less desirable in my view. this post is probably too long.
Buy them ALL, send the ones you don't like back. I know that sounds stupid but eventually, over a period of a few years, that's what you end up doing anyway.
Interesting. I dont like the sound of these machines though. They all sound way too artificial. I am more into machines with a real drum sound. Do they exist?
I have the Perkons. The ability to send and return all 4 channels independently through effects pedals (ie fuzz on the kick, delay on the hats, reverb on the snare, and chorus on the bass line) makes this thing a monster drum machine and sound designing tool. One of my favorite hardware machines ever.
True! Imo it goes beyond a drum machine, been able to record sounds I've never heard before. Especially with the Bass Voice
Why is it comforting too hear a German talk about drum machines?😂❤
haha, thanks I guess? :D
I can't wait for the Jomox Alpha Base MKII to arrive, should be shipping in a few weeks.
That was actually one of the contenders I would've expected, same as some cheaper alternatives like the Erica LXR-02.
Disadvantages Pulsar: Costs 4x as much as most other drum machines, can't be remote controlled unless you're willing to deep dive into CV. Does industrial best though and has a pretty decent recording function.
Perkons is also super expensive - and I just sold my (much cheaper) Erica Synths LXR-02 as the user interface is very confusing. It can generate a lot of sounds, but there are no "snare/kick drum templates" like the Nord Drum does, which would make creating drums a lot easier. So you're quite limited when it comes to creating/adjusting your own sounds, loads of menu diving involved in sometimes obscure locations.
Roland TR8S only plays samples - which is why I sold my Roland TR-09 as it was too much of the same, same. Also MIDI implementation is really terrible. But faders are a plus.
Nord Drum 3P is actually the one that survived all the other drum machines I compared it to. It's a bit of a bummer that it doesn't have seperate outputs for each pad and I had to do a workaround with a AtoVproject 16n to assign some MIDI faders to it - but it has by far the best sounds and has the best user interface (also some of the decisions by Nord make no sense: if you choose between 6 pads with CC 70, why not use values 1-6 instead of 0-21, 22-43 etc? Also has some limitations where you can use note values only with a global MIDI channel, not individual channels, and the firmware hasn't been updated since 2016). Live it to bits and the only one where you can just beat in some variations, without tediously adjusting your velocity afterwards for some "human touch".
I mean CV is a pretty simple concept, your complaints about Nords odd choices in regards to the Nord drum 3p's midi implementation sounds a lot like a list of problems that are non-existent with Eurorack unless you are trying to convert CV or gate to midi.
so what's your favorite over all?
@@ThomannSynthesizers I feel the 4 best modern drum machines are the tempest, the analog rytm mk2, the pulsar 23, and the Perkons, they are all quite different from one another in sound and input control, and features.
"I sold it to flume" very subtle flex
😅😅
Who's flume?
@@Ohjeezno somebody, not a nobody like you
@@gazjaz2010 That's it. I'm gonna end myself now
What the hell is a Flume? 😂
Never found a single drum machine in 32 years that worked for everything. Mixing and matching to your production is probably the best approach. Sampler/DAW. Though for 'those' genres the 808/909 will never be topped.
Nord 3P, and Syncussion ftw…One day I might pick up a pulsar. They sound so good. Wish Nord would make a Nord drum 4 with individual outs. It would sell like hotcakes. Especially considering they already have the research and development from the previous models and it really wouldn’t require too much more
I had this »problem« around 2 years ago. I made descent list of all drum computers/synthesizers available on the market. Due to versatility (in my case) it quickly boiled down to four machines:
-- Elektron AnalogRytm
-- Roland TR-8S
-- JoMoX AlphaBase
-- Sequential/DSI Tempest (used)
At that time a »Pulsar« and a »Perkons« simply did not exist, otherwise they would have been on the list. I really REALLY liked to have an »AlphaBase« in my equipment park ... but after listening to a couple of videos I got the impression it is too »techno«, too »hard« (not my sound philosophy).
At the end a »Tempest« made it ... especially after I realized the »Tempest« is more or less also an 6 voice synthesizer. Very happy with that machine right now (even though it is also a bit complicated).
Uh yes Tempest is such a beast 🫣
Kind of an mis-title. Four of my favourite drum machines would be more accurate. I enjoyed watching it nevertheless.
Very true
For me it's quite easy. I like Techno, so I bought a 909. As I also enjoy Electro, I added an 808 a year later and could not be happier. You get instant results that just sound like the real things. Cause they are real ❤
fair 🤔
soma looks interesting. I love my modified drumbrute + some modular drum modules I build myself
Holy sht the kick of the last tool sound excellent
that Perkons looks like a monster!
it is
An expandable alternative to Perkons / Pulsar that lets you design your own drum machine is to build a eurorack drum machine around a sequencer. start with say an Akai MPC One, and a cheapish 6-8 channel interface for it (Behringer UMC1820 is ok, Audient EVO). Or a Beatstep Pro or Oxi-One and a cheap small mixer. Then a 60u-80u Eurorack case. Maybe add an MI Ripples clone (for Bass drum), Noise Engineering Basimilus Iteritas Alia, maybe a small noise module and a cheap second filter (something MS-20ish?) Or Tip Top 808 / Patching Panda Hats module. There's some nice T-network modules that make satisfying tom/pop/clicks. The affordable Takaab 2LPG can do Buchla Bongos. Mutable peaks gives you useful envelopes, but can also do quite nice 808 drum sounds. Even with four to six voices, you do quickly get to 1800-2k+. And if you pack out an 80u with 8 voices, eurorack case can easily get to 3k+.
very nice, just looking for something like this mate. thx.
so, an MPC One as Master? Then connect an "big" interface directly to the MPC? How is the Connection to be made; like: Midi, Audio?
And then i can use several Sound Sources, like Eurorack, Behringer Syncussion, Edge, MFB 522 etc and lots of vintage cheap flangers/multieffekts/reverbs, delays with the unit, right?
And when i wanna record that in Ableton, do i need a second Interface, when i wanna route the single tracks to single.ableton-tracks?
LOOOOTS of questions, maybe u can help me with 1 or 2? 🙂
Your Ideas sound very interesting and i guess its superfun and a creative boost, to make music with an own eurorack-modul-drumkit
@@FelixPatek No worries. Lots of questions is appropriate. It's a complex topic. So, basically, an MPC One has three ways it can control/trigger(gate) other gear. MIDI over DIN, MIDI over USB, and CV/Gate. . For modular, mainly it's the latter CV/Gate, unless the module has a MIDI in (most don't, some do, some modules like Squarp Hermod, Expert Sleepers FH can convert midi to CV/gate). For drum modules, can configure the MPC Ones CV/Gate outputs to be gates, so they just send a trigger which fires a drum hit. Then with the others, I would say if the synth has USB midi, simpler to use that (most modern synths, including Behringers have midi USB). Because can use a USB hub, and USB cables, and chain everything off one USB hub connected to the MPC One. Anything that doesn't have MIDI USB, use the MIDI DIN, but keep your daisy chain of MIDI over DIN connected devices short, for drums maybe 2-3 and use the MIDI thru, rather than out, to connect each device that's next in the chain. For the audio interface part, the MPC One supports multi-channel audio. Basically you can connect a class compliant audio interface to it, again via USB. Then once you have a multi-channel audio interface connected to the MPC you can have the output of each synth/drum module connected directly to that audio interface. Then the MPC can function as digital mixer/multi-channel sampler and basically a DAW in a box. Or if you prefer hardware mixers could send the synths/drum outputs to a small cheap hardware mixer, like an Allen&Heath Zed 10, 12 or similar. Then you get convenient faders you can use live for setting levels, with pots for panning, analogue EQ, some mixers can be driven hard for nice saturation (modular outputs HOT signals), and FX sends/returns for plumbing in delay & reverb or even basic built in FX.
@@FelixPatek Oh and on the recording/Ableton live question ... yes, you'd need another interface for the computer/DAW/Ableton end but onlyy IF you want to be able to sample each source seperately into the MPC. If you don't, can just use the stock MPC stereo, maybe patched into the sends or record output of your mixer, so you can sample a stereo signal easily into the MPC when you want to. Otherwise, if you want the MPC to be able to capture from each source, you could connect two interfaces, one to MPC One, one to the DAW, interconnected 8 channels at 44.1khz over just one thin ADAT optical cable between them. So long as they both have ADAT outputs and inputs (like the cheap Behringer UMC1820M does, Focusrite 18i20, etc...). That saves another round of additional analog/digital conversion, and cable mess. If you wanted to use a mixer with your synths/modules, could choose one with direct outs, for recording. The more FX send/returns the better too, if you are planning to use a bunch of FX pedals. Then connect the direct out of each channel to each input of your audio interface. Then you have the benefits of the analogue mixer for easy live hands on control control of levels, EQ, pan, FX send returns to those effects. But also can record each track seperately into the DAW/Ableton. I guess the point it, these systems are very powerful and flexible, but it's a good idea to plan them out in advance - because they are basically fully fledged electronic music studios in a few boxes :) So expect a bit of a learning curve, a bit of head scratching but there won't be too much you can't do with a setup like that (MPC One, drum machines, modular, synths, fx pedals, mixer, Ableton).
good luck with the audio interface you go with working just as well when Akai releases a firmware update, lol. The new MPC's are a joke they also have bugs that have never been fixed since the product was released and I highly doubt they will ever be able to fix some of them.
@@donnydarko7624 yip. That was in the back of my mind. In theory any class compliant audio interface _should_ be compatible. In reality, it's more pot luck than that. Though, that's can be the case even with PCs. Some things don't work well together (e.g. some USB controllers). But, you are right. Bugs, incompatability and poor quality software has been definitely been an issue with the newer Akai MPCs. They do need to get their act together. Then again, Ableton went through a phase like that a number of years ago. And community pressure forced them to tighten up. They've progressed more carefully and been more thorough in dev & testing since then.
Interesting selection! Sorry you didn’t get to work on the Nord with a set of sticks!
I was hoping for the modor dr2. You know. The no menu diving fun machine that gets barely any love and got updates often. Unbelievable the nord only has stereo out (total dealbreaker) and the pulsar is fun if you like 🐊 cables… the tr8 is boring so i never went tr8s… not sure if the perkons is for me… it would ve been cool to see the latest jomox… Elektron is totally not for me, sold the rytm and never again
I‘m a huge fan of analog synths, but when it comes to drum machines I really miss the digital ones of the 80s with their crisp samples. I had a Yamaha RX-11 back then; are there any equivalents today???
If Nord made a Nord drum eurorack module with plenty of modulation inputs it would be super popular I bet.
Never thought of this, but would love that so much! Need this now :D
Gotharman's Spazedrum never seems to get a mention for some strange reason
Love the idea! Could you do the same with bassline synths?
Good call! Will try to work one out tho 😌😊
1. SH-101
2. SH-101
3. SH-101
4. SH-101
@@kgbinfo hahaha most definitely :D
I want a Perkons with the sounds of the Syncussion. (at a third of the price). The interface is awesome but i could not get a sound i liked out of it. Also mine had a lot of bugs, support was not helping so i sent it back.
@@snörre23 Yeah, I am under the impression that Girtz either needs to hire some more help in regards to Erica's firmware implementation to its satisfactory conclusion or scale back his release schedule so he can make the customer base whole or he's not going to have any customers at a certain point.
I still miss my old Sequential Tom.
Was that all raw audio from those drum machines or did you use any processing?
Yess no processing, no effects, no compression :)
1. Jomox
2. Elektron
0. Roland from the early 80s 🎉
How can Vermona DRM not on this list?!
maybe part 2 🤔
me over here watching this immediately after I bought a Drumfire DF-500 on Reverb lol
Where is the Elektron devices? Best ones
we did extended features with almost all of them, check our channel for more 😊🙏🏻
@@ThomannSynthesizers niiice 🫶 thank you! I’m going check right now 🙏
Nord drum 3p ❤❤❤
Forever 🫶
You are not wrong. The only drum synth I’ve kept
Actually, im just struggling to sell my gear, to get the drum machine i want...
I like the kick and hi hat from soma, the snare from the perkons, the freedom of sliders from the tr8s and by far the snare on the nord drum. The kick in some ways is weaker from the nord. the voices for basslines seems limited from those two expensive perkons and soma instruments. the freedom of sampling from the roland is quite useful. I agree the output situation on the nord makes little sense. If there were four outputs to choose to send an alternate amount of pads to another output on the nord the freedom to split the outputs could be useful. When I've seen drum machines with multiple outputs for kick, snare, hat, etc. that sort of thinking should have gone into the nord drum3. In your video and from what I heard the issue is while you were offering a look at the four drum machines the nord required you to use the octatrack to trigger the nord. The nord sound was excellent in this video compared to the other instruments but could not be triggered on its own like the other instruments. Buying a nord and elektron would mean the nord costs more. might it been better to use the korg sequencer for a few hundred dollars to example to usefulness of triggering the nord it would put the approach of the nord drum3 into the same price category as the other instruments and be much less than the soma and perkons. There are alternative sequencer options whereas no lower options for the soma or erica synths, unless one goes with their collab drum machine. Why did you only feature very expensive drum machines? In some ways the perkons sounds like a volca beats mixed with a volca drum. I'd rather buy two volcas for $300 than pay $2000 if the sound is going to be the same quality. The soma sound quality is scientific and electrifying and I like it but I can't afford it. It's not everything though and some of their weird science like sound is less desirable in my view. this post is probably too long.
Buy them ALL, send the ones you don't like back. I know that sounds stupid but eventually, over a period of a few years, that's what you end up doing anyway.
Not everyone is that rich.
@@A-Grat-A you're taking this too seriously
This is a showcase, not a guide
Interesting. I dont like the sound of these machines though. They all sound way too artificial. I am more into machines with a real drum sound. Do they exist?
hmm maybe Roland SPD or Alesis?
This is not a guide at all. Just a bunch of short demos of different machines.
This is not a comment at all. It’s just a bunch of letters and words.
@@chadthecurator1974 You're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you.