Not counting computer plugins or samples, what new drum synths today can do synthwave and darkwave drums in hardware? I get close on my Virus but looking at new hardware options. Otherwise can just use samples in Ableton Live.
Syntakt is really great, for your described use case and more.
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Iâm fan of this genre and will give you my .02 along with some shameless plugs that are germaine to this question.
If you look at a lot of artist that associate w/ the darkwave label youâll notice that most of them are using older digital drum machines. Lebanon Hanover uses an RX-11
Glaring/NONE uses a BOSS DR-660
https://glaring.bandcamp.com/album/dr666
Boy Harsher actually uses samples of a Korg DDD-1 in Ableton.
My personal desert island machine is a TR-707.
I do make a WAV sample pack that has 16,700 drum samples of drum machines that would work perfectly for this genre along with Round Robins of a lot of them as static drum samples donât capture the nuances of the VCA from machines like the 707 or the fluctuations of oscillators in analog machines.
I also just released an Ableton compatible sample pack for version 12 that is a best-of of all the synth packs Iâve made over the years and focuses on darkwave and minimal wave sounds
Granted these are all more retro styled packs and suggestions, but modern artists seem to gravitate towards the older machines. If I had to use a âmodernâ drum machine for darkwave I would just buy a Digitakt and load it w/ samples from old machines. Good luck in your search.
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Donât think this counts as a drum synth, but the TR-06s is my modern fave for those genres.
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Collateral question that I was asking myself these days and might help the OP: isnât the synthwave and darkwave typical sound defined more by specific uses of filters, reverbs and delays rather than whatever drums/synths you put before these effects?
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Erica Synths LXR-02
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This has inspired me to unbox my RX15 which I havenât used since the 80sâŚnice. Not sure why itâs taken me so long to to think about using this when doing synthwave. Cheers!
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The obvious answer has to be the TR8S (/TR6S).
The Syntakt and Rytm would work too⌠as would the Digitakt if you used samples.
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Older drum machine wavs into some sampler.
Syntakt is also good, but it has only 4 analog voices and not all the digital engine do sound vintage (if thatâs the case).
Hereâs a pic from one on my sample sessions. I would actually recommend most of these for Darkwave.
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Digitakt loaded up with all the drum machine samples from Samples From Mars. The SFM âall the drumsâ bundle is seriously good, and if you get it on sale, seriously good value.
You can get close to the exact sounds used in a lot of tracks where vintage drum machines defined a big part of the vibe.
Alternatively, Syntakt, although (while I love my Syntakt and wonât ever part with it), Digitakt plus drum machine samples is a lot more versatile.
Rytm is also a good choice although IMO itâs starting to show its age a little compared with the Syntakt.
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nice and if I recall correctly, Sasha K from KMDFM uses a TR 707 too!
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cool yeah the LXR 02 and Perkons would be fun! Add in the Zen delay and Erica DB01 bassline. Maybe Jomox too but that does more techno/house stuff.
arenât the LXR02 and the DR2 some kind of modern 707/RX5 ? like, wouldnât the Sisters use one of them today?
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Plus one for the LXR-02, especially for the darker side of things. It may not be what all the top darkwave artists now are using, but it instantly transports me to the vibe of all the early darkwave records I love. In its best moments it sounds kinda like an 808 or 707 blasted through an overdriven guitar amp, which is precisely what some of the early darkwave artists were doing.
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right on yeah would love to get the LXR02, DB01 Bassline, Perkons and Jomox and Mordor. Drum machines are super addicting!
i also like the sonicware stuff
affordable and with big potential
Modor looks and sound fâkin nice, what kept me from pulling the trigger is that I heard too many people complain about the build quality.
If weâre just talking strictly drum âsynthâ you can be a sonic auteur and roll your own with a Nord Modular or Analog Modular. Some of the kewlest plastic drums Iâve gotten I created in a Nord lead 1. Another personal favorite is sampling the noise generator in a synth and creating an Ableton Sampler from that w/ a fckload of macros. Then using the Random button you endlessly generate new drum sounds.
The gear we used is what gave us our sound aside from the hours of creating patches. Definitely the Roland JX-3P, Korg Poly 800, Roland TR-707, Roland JC 120 and the LinnDrum.
Itâs never a bad time to share Twin Tribes music:
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none. all of that stuff Iâve ever heard uses sounds from sample-based machines. usually Linndrum, DX/DMX, Drumtraks, TOM, etc⌠or sometimes much cheaper stuff like an RX7 or R8. I donât recall any being done with drum synths.
if you want the modern workflow though, and lots of flexibility, I think the RYTM is a great solution for this. load the samples in and then you can use the analog engine to round them out where theyâre lacking.
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