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Architecture before mythology

Kick Drum Machines and Instrument Architectures

Compare analogue, sampled and hybrid kick instruments through their excitation, envelopes, phase, controls, sequencers and musical workflows.

24 machine and architecture guides

Immediate answer

Identify the architecture before copying the controls

A decay knob can damp an analogue resonator, shorten an amplifier contour or truncate a sample. Machine names matter because the mechanism determines which setting changes the pitch, transient, body, tail and hit-to-hit behaviour.

Machine family

Roland rhythm machines

Compare architecture, era and musical role instead of treating every classic machine as an 808 variation.

Drum Machines — TopicsExplore drum machines — topics in Kickopedia. What Is the TR-808Explore what is the tr-808 in Kickopedia. How the Roland TR-808 Kick Drum WorksHow the Roland TR-808 creates its analogue bass drum, what tone and decay control, who developed the instrument and… What Is the TR-909Explore what is the tr-909 in Kickopedia. How the Roland TR-909 Kick Drum WorksHow the Roland TR-909 analogue bass-drum voice uses tune, decay and attack inside a hybrid 1983 drum machine, with… TR-808 vs TR-909 Kick DrumCompare TR-808 and TR-909 kick architecture, controls, onset, pitch, decay and musical role using matched settings… The Roland TR-606 Kick Drum in ContextPlace the compact analogue Roland TR-606 bass drum in its 1981 Drumatix context, including the TB-303 partnership,… The Roland TR-707 Kick Drum in ContextUnderstand the 1985 Roland TR-707's digital PCM kick, fixed sample architecture, original controls, outputs and… What Is the CR-78Explore what is the cr-78 in Kickopedia. What Is the CR-8000Explore what is the cr-8000 in Kickopedia. What Is the R-8Explore what is the r-8 in Kickopedia. What Is the R-70Explore what is the r-70 in Kickopedia.

Machine family

Sampled drum machines and production centres

Stored sounds, pitch methods, sequencers, pads and converter paths created new ways to perform and reshape a kick.

Linn LM-1 and LinnDrum Kick Drum HistoryTrace Roger Linn's LM-1 and LinnDrum sampled kicks, Art Wood recordings, Timing Correct, Swing, replaceable… Oberheim DMX Kick Drum HistoryUnderstand the Oberheim DMX sampled kick through its programmable digital architecture, voice cards, stored sounds,… E-mu SP-12 and SP-1200 Kick Drum SoundLearn how the E-mu SP-12 and SP-1200 transformed kicks through user sampling, pitch, 12-bit conversion, 26.04 kHz… How the Akai MPC Changed Kick Drum ProductionHow Roger Linn's 1988 Akai MPC60 changed kick production by joining sampling, velocity-sensitive pads, timing,… How Sample Rate and Aliasing Change Drum Machine KicksLearn how sample rate, bit depth, aliasing, spectral images, pitch conversion, filters and analogue output stages…

Machine family

Synthesised and hybrid kick instruments

Start with excitation, resonance, pitch contour, amplitude contour, phase and any sample or noise layer.

The Kick Synthesis and Drum Machine AtlasA source-led atlas of electronic kick drums: analogue and digital synthesis, sampling, envelopes, phase, FM, Roland,… How Analogue Kick Drum Synthesis WorksUnderstand analogue kick synthesis through excitation, resonance, pitch trajectory, damping, noise, harmonics and… Simmons SDS-V Kick Drum SynthesisExplore the 1981 Simmons SDS-V kick as a pad-triggered modular analogue voice shaped by player dynamics,… Jomox Analogue Kick Drum ArchitectureCompare modern kick architectures from Jomox Alpha Base, Elektron Machinedrum and Analog Rytm: analogue synthesis,… How to Synthesize an FM Kick DrumSynthesize an FM kick with carrier pitch, modulator ratio, modulation index and separate envelopes for a complex… Synthesized vs Sampled Kick DrumsCompare synthesized, sampled and hybrid kick drums by control, variation, pitch, duration, velocity, artifacts and… Should a Kick Oscillator Reset Its Phase?Choose fixed phase retrigger or a free-running kick oscillator by comparing first-cycle consistency, onset shape,…

Comparison method

Listen in the same order every time

  1. Source: synthesised, sampled or hybrid?
  2. Onset: fixed click, noise, pitch sweep or recorded attack?
  3. Body: resonant ring, oscillator, acoustic sample or layered event?
  4. Control: which parameters are continuous, switched or unavailable?
  5. Performance: how do accent, velocity, swing, outputs and sequencing change the result?