With DrumComputer, Sugar Bytes from Berlin presents a new interpretation of drum machines. A total of 8 sound engines enable classic and modern synthesis forms, whereby you can even use your own drum samples for the resynthesis.

The GUI

The first thing you notice is the modern and beautifully designed user interface. The Sugar Bytes UX designers have done a great job here and you can tell that simple and fast operation was the top priority when designing the interface. All important parameters can be seen at a glance and the color-coding always helps to know which of the 8 sound engines you are currently influencing.

The channel of the selected sound engine lights up in the main window and the three different synthesis forms resonator, wavetable, and resynth can be manipulated using rotary controls. The parameters differ, of course, depending on the type of synthesis, whereby all three have pitch modulation and decay. It’s amazing how quickly you can turn a percussive sound into a bassline and vice versa with just a few movements. Each of the eight sound engines can be edited individually. A mixer section can be used to regulate the volume of the individual channels in the main window, add room and reverb effects and adjust the panorama. A preset browser gives access to the twelve categories:

Sequencer

As befits a real drum machine, the sequencer should of course not be missing. It is therefore all the more gratifying that Sugar Bytes has equipped the drum computer with additional functions in addition to the 16-step and 16-pattern sequencer. The tempo can be set variably and the direction of play can be changed for each track. Using a randomizer, new patterns can be rolled over and over again with a click of the mouse and also randomly changed using a remix slider. If you are satisfied with a sequence, you can simply drag and drop it onto a MIDI track in the DAW and edit it there. This applies to all sequencer data including auto-fills and CCs.

Whoever is overwhelmed by all the synthesis parameters can switch to the KIT view. Here you have a slimmed-down interface in which you can assign sounds to the individual sound engines and provide them with pitch, decay, modify and a corresponding icon, which makes it easier to assign the individual types of instruments in the sequencer. The KIT view also includes access to the master effects section. Here is a transient shaper, compressor, maximizer and saturator, with which you can influence attack and release. In addition, up to two mute groups can be defined, with which one can mute the other by triggering one engine.

Sound

DrumComputer sounds fresh, electronic, and often technoid. Regardless of whether it is a bassline or a kick drum, the sounds all come through in the mix. Each sound can also be played tonally thanks to individually adjustable mapping zones, which in turn is very interesting for sound tinkerers, as drum computers can not only be used as a drum machine.

Wavetable & Resynth import

Thanks to the wavetable and resynth import, there are no limits to creativity. In the wavetable import, loaded WAV files are divided into 16 positions, which the engine converts into wavetables and which can be selected using a large rotary knob. Resynth loops the loaded material for one second and completely alienates it using the Resynth engine. In combination with the resonator engine, you can use it to create sounds that arise from three different synthesis sources, which in turn makes drum computers quite unique and interesting.

CONCLUSION

With DrumComputer, Sugar Bytes from Berlin has succeeded in creating an independent drum machine whose sound is primarily aimed at friends of electronic music. 400 global and 450 engine presets are supplied, but they can be combined with each other as required and new patterns can be generated in no time at all. If you like to make beats and are on the lookout for fresh inspiration, you should definitely take a closer look at drum computers.

DrumComputer is available in our store for a regular price of $119.

DRUMCOMPUTER

$119.00

Sugar Bytes DrumComputer plugin is the new specialist for synthetic drums, combining classic and modern synthesis with flexible modulations and luxurious sequencing.

Available for Windows and Mac as Audio Unit, VST2, AAX plugin + Standalone.