The RetroDrums DMX Drum Module is modeled after the iconic Oberheim DMX hardware unit. Introduced in 1981, the DMX was the second digital drum machine ever to be sold as a commercial product, following the Linn LM-1 Drum Computer in 1980. Its popularity among musicians of the era contributed to the sound and evolution of 1980s new wave, synthpop and hip hop music, with its legendary sound instantly recognizable on hit singles like Run DMC’s “It’s Like That”, Madonna’s “Holiday”, The Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”, New Order’s “Blue Monday” and Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit”, and has been used by a diverse who’s-who of artists past and present such as Justice, The Chemical Brothers, Eurythmics, The Police, Reflex, Grandmaster Flash, Dr Dre, and of course: Davy DMX.
The original hardware unit consisted 11 8-bit sampled sounds that were played back at 12-bit resolution, with the upsampling through an analog playback circuit resulting in its signature “fat” sound. There were 24 onboard sounds in total, and removing the top panel revealed 8 removable voice cards, each containing 3 sounds, an output jack and a thumb wheel that allowed the samples to be tuned up or down.
The RetroDrums DMX Drum Module faithfully reproduces the original 24 sounds of the hardware unit, and we’ve moved the tuning controls to the front panel for easier tweaking. We’ve also added a pan knob to each voice card to allow you to position the output in the stereo field. On the rear panel you’ll find a pair of stereo output jacks along with a mono output jack for each voice card and a pair of send/receive control voltage jacks for each individual trigger pad (24 sounds in all).
