Erica Synths - Hexdrums

Take the celebrated Hexinverter Mutant drum circuits, mix it with Erica Synths' design ideas, and build it all into a no-nonsense drum machine with the classic X0X-style workflow that we all know and love. HexDrums is exactly that — eight fully analog percussion voices plus sample-based cymbals, individual outs, wrapped in a hands-on sequencer with those lovely cherry-style mechanical keys. It’s the “classic drum machine” layout, but loaded with modern niceties like per-step probability, microtiming, and ratchets.

Under the hood, you get eight fully analog voices plus sample-based crash/ride. Two different kicks cover thump and boom (BD1’s VCO core with click, sub, and pitch sweep; BD2’s 808-style twin-T circuits for that vintage body). The Machine voice pulls off everything from deep toms to snarling drones by blending two triangle VCO “membranes” with a snappy noise engine. The Snare voice moves beyond standard 80s tones — it uses two bridged-T sine oscillators for its shell tone and a filter with selectable resonance modes for the snappy noise section. Clap runs on an LFSR noise source with switchable “reverb” behavior, while Rim/Clave brings triple bridged-T bite through a multimode filter. Hi-hats are dual 808-inspired with FADE/EXCLUSIVE/INDEPENDENT interaction, and the Cymbals slot loads 10 crash/ride sets—with pitch, decay, and even a ride loop mode for dubby, delay-like tails. And yes — you can also upload your own crash/ride samples via USB!

All ten voices have individual outputs, and they're panned in the stereo field before hitting the master section. Once they do, they run through a hi-fi, soft-knee stereo compressor (using the same premium audio ICs found in some 500 Series studio gear) and Master Drive with blend — that's parallel smack and tasteful filth on tap. The drive circuit is derived from their "Mutant Hot Glue" module — complete with sidechain ducking tied to the kick. This is the “glue” that makes patterns feel record-ready right from the main outs, while individual outs let you treat voices separately when you want to go full studio mode.

Programming feels familiar and fast: classic X0X step entry or tap record, up to 64 steps per pattern, per-track length, scale, and play direction, and 16 banks × 16 patterns with Song mode for arranging a full set. Performance tools are baked in: accent, per-step ratchets, probability/odds, microtiming, track shuffle, instant mute/solo, rolls, reload to bail out of on-the-fly edits, and analog/digital clock plus MIDI I/O for tight sync in hybrid rigs. It’s all the tactile joy, with the modern tricks you will most likely actually use.

Bottom line: HexDrums distills the mutant spirit into a live-ready box — punchy analog voices, flexible cymbals, serious master processing, and a performance-first sequencer. What can we say? This is a very compelling drum brain!

Features

• 10 drum voices: 8 analog (BD1, BD2, Machine, Snare, Clap, Rim/Clave, Open HH, Closed HH) + 2 sample-based (Crash, Ride) with 10 selectable sets, per-voice tuning/decay; Ride loop option; user sample upload via USB (48kHz/16-bit mono).
• Individual outputs for all voices, balanced stereo master with hard-panned kit; stereo compressor (soft-knee) with threshold/ratio/response and blend; Master Drive with blend.
• Hands-on X0X sequencer: up to 64 steps, step & tap programming modes, per-track length/scale/direction, accent, ratchets, probability/odds, microtiming, shuffle, rolls, mute/solo, reload; 16 banks × 16 patterns, Song mode.
• MIDI In/Out, analog Clock In/Out (configurable PPQ), USB-B for MIDI, pattern backup, sample upload, and firmware updates.
• Headphone out, external PSU (12VDC), on-unit display/encoder for tempo and settings.