The DRM1 is a sizeable, classic drum machine from German synth manufacturer Vermona. Its impressive frame, many knobs and clever design place it in a league all its own when considering the relatively low price. It’s a very hands-on device, having no external MIDI CC control, and so the user is drawn into its world, tweaking knobs and getting lost in the device. It has a decidedly vintage sound, definitely not an ‘out of the box’ modern industrial techno death machine by any means, however clean sounds such as these tend to take tremendously well to external effects, and the Vermona DRM1 has a lot of clever routing options which allow the user to integrate it into any setup.

This sample pack features 144 one-shot samples covering the full range of the drum models on offer - 16 kicks, 16 snares, 16 claps, 16 closed hats, 16 open hats, 16 percs, 16 low-pitched tones, 16 high-pitched tones and 16 ‘chords’! The samples range from muted and vintage to crisp and bright, and everything in-between. Perfect for electronic dance music such as techno and house, but equally at home in broken beat and hip-hop roles. All individual samples are provided in both 24-bit and 16-bit versions to maximise compatibility with samplers, and are all presented at 48khz sample rate. All samples are royalty-free.

There are also eight sample chains provided with the download, including .ot files designed for use with the Elektron Octatrack (pre-sliced sample chains), which allow for the sounds to be used from several big samples rather than 144 individual ones. These sample chains are presented in 24-bit and 44.1khz sample rate so they work better with the Octatrack, though the samples will work nicely in any sampler such as those from Native Instruments, Akai, Roland, Elektron, Korg, Pioneer, Synthstrom and 1010 Music, as well as all DAWs.

Finally, there is an Ableton Live Drum Selector rack (will work in Live Suite 11.2 and above) which allows you to program a pattern and change the sample with the turn of an encoder, as well as alter decay, pitch, distortion, compression and more with ease.

Each individual sound has been uniquely tweaked with dynamic EQ'ing and careful limiting they sound really full and alive right out of the box, but allowing enough headroom for further processing down the line.

Listen on:
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© R Gallagher (LØSTLVLS) 2022