TOUCHED BY SOUND

Jan 1, 2001 12:00 PM, Dave Longo

Syncussion DRM1 Analog Drum Synthesizer Drum machines like the Roland TR-909 and TR-808, and to a lesser extent the TR-606 and TR-707, have long provided the foundation for a lot of great dance music. Over the years several products, such as the Novation Drumstation and the Jomox Xbase-09, have attempted to duplicate or update the classic "xox" boxes, with varying degrees of success. Add to this list Touched By Sound's Syncussion DRM1, an analog drum synthesizer module that does a great job of emulating the Roland boxes - and, in fact, goes way beyond them.

When I took the DRM1 out of the box, the first thing I noticed was the abundance of knobs - 73, to be exact - cleanly arranged on the front panel. There are nine controls for each of the eight sounds (Drum 1/2/3, Multi, Snare, Cymbal, Hi Hat, and Clap), plus a single Master volume control. The front panel also sports eight individual outputs for independently processing each sound, as well as a headphone output. The rear panel is sparse by comparison, with just left and right Master outputs and MIDI In and Thru jacks. The entire unit takes up five spaces in a standard rack, or you can put it on a tabletop - the bottom is set at an angle so that the knobs point up at the user.

The DRM1's construction is almost bulletproof; I suspect that you could drop-kick the unit across the room without damaging it (although I wouldn't recommend trying this). The knobs are large and the pots feel very smooth when you turn them, like those of an expensive mixing console. The front panel's luxurious polished-gold finish makes the DRM1 look as if it belongs in Puff Daddy's Cadillac. My only gripe is with the power-connection insert (wall wart - ugh!): it has a tendency to wobble, and there's no stress-relief clip for securing the power cord to prevent accidental unplugging. The unit lacks a power switch, but a red LED on the front panel lets you know whether it's getting any juice.

DIALING TONES Each of the DRM1's eight sound sections has its own volume and panning controls and a trigger switch for auditioning sounds. The control functions on each section vary somewhat. Drum 1, Drum 2, and Drum 3 all feature Decay, Pitch, Bend, Attack, FM Interval, FM Frequency, and Distortion controls. These sections are for creating kicks and toms; I was able to dial in a huge variety of sounds - fat kicks, skinny kicks, distorto kicks, distorto sub basses, and so on. The Bend control modulates the decay envelope, creating an effect similar to resonance.

The Multi section's controls include Decay, Pitch, Bend, Attack, Pitch 2, Pitch 3, and High Pass filter. This section is a cool concept, letting you combine three separate pitched oscillators to generate everything from bell and percussion tones to Moog-like sounds and very out-there "space" effects.

The controls on the Snare section include Decay Reverb, Reverb, Decay Noise, Noise, Attack, Resonance, and Filter. These snares are purely electronic - nothing here even remotely resembles the acoustic variety. I dialed in the classic 808 and 909 as well as a lot of unusual, unique snares. This section's extremely versatile Resonance and Filter controls made me wish the Drum 1/2/3 sections included these controls as well.

Controls on the Cymbal and Hi Hat sections consist of Decay, Filter, Bend, Attack, Resonance, Mix, and High Pass filter. Both of these sections sound great - the only drawback is that the Hi Hat section can only generate either a closed or open hi-hat sound but not both, which is a bit of a limitation.

The Clap section, the unit's weakest link, has Decay Reverb, Reverb, Clap, Noise, Resonance, Filter, and High Pass filter controls. Despite all the controls for shaping sounds, this section offers little more than clap sounds, ranging from your standard percussive smack to crowd claps and thunder effects. These claps all sound excellent, but I was expecting a little more variety, especially considering how versatile the other sections are.

The DRM1's MIDI implementation is somewhat limited. It's set to MIDI channel 10 and maps each sound to a single MIDI note number. The factory's key-mapping arrangement is a bit unusual: it spaces sounds several keys apart instead of keeping them next to each other as they are on most drum modules. Fortunately, you can remap the MIDI note numbers if you prefer a more standard arrangement or if you want to use a drum machine to trigger the sounds.

DESERT ISLAND DRUMS The DRM1's sonic versatility impressed me. You could lock me up in a room for an entire weekend with the DRM1, a sequencer, and some food, and I would have no desire to leave. In addition to drum sounds, it can create weird bleeps, strange bloops, and other bizarre sounds that would normally require a synth to generate. This box has more in common with drum synthesizers like the good old Simmons and Drumfire units than with the current crop of drum modules and XOX-box emulators. If you are looking for a full selection of analog drum sounds as well as more unusual tones, the DRM1 is the way to go.

TOUCHED BY SOUND Syncussion DRM1 Analog Drum Synthesizer $875

PROS: Wide variety of analog drum sounds and percussive effects. Indivi-dual outputs for each sound. Massive selection of controls.

CONS: No built-in sequencer. Cannot generate both closed and open hi-hat sounds simultaneously. Limited MIDI implementation.

Overall Rating (1 through 5): 4

Contact: tel. (402) 398-0198 e-mail enport@home.com Web www.enport.com

Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus

Want to use this article? Click here for options!