Hey everyone,

I’m a bit of a drum machine enthusiast and always on the hunt for new gear because I prefer to sample my own sounds. I don’t mind whether a machine is analog or digital, but it has to be hardware.

This thread is all about the best kick drum on a drum machine—what’s your top pick?

Over the past 12+ years, I’ve built up a decent collection of drum machines, but the one that truly delivers for me with minimal processing is the Alphabase OG. I’ve tried so many others, yet I often find myself underwhelmed by their kick sounds.

I own around 20 drum machines but, for this discussion, I’ll leave out the 808 and 909.

Some recent additions to my collection:
• Vermona DRM – Love the clap and percussion, but the kick feels weak to me.
• Pulsar – Great machine, but again, the kick doesn’t quite do it for me.
• Perkons – Amazing overall sound, but I just don’t connect with its kick.
• Tanzbär OG – Just picked one up and excited to see how its kick holds up.

I’ve come to accept that no drum machine is perfect, and I’ve ended up curating a mix of sounds from different machines:
• Vermona for claps
• Perkons for hats
• Alphabase for kicks

I’m not interested in samples or vintage machines (got that covered).

I also found that the Drumlogue and Rytm kicks didn’t really hit the mark for me. BTW anyone want a mint Rytm barely used msg me - I’m going to sell it.

So, I’d love to hear from you—what drum machines do you think have the best kick? I know everyone has their own preferences, but it’d be great to get some new perspectives!

Agree with all of the above.

Tanzbar OG is ok for "nicer" kicks. You can't beat Joms for the hard and tight edge, there's no competition, not even from stock OG 909 (try me).

I agree, my straight up 909 OG kick out of the box cannot keep up with the AB kick, it’s not even close.
I’m also not a massive fan of the 808 type kick for my kind of music/techno.

It can work but not my favourite.
Yeah I’m looking forward to hearing the Tanzabar kick. It sure sounds nice but then they all do until I compare the kick to my AB.

I love the 909 BD for obvious reasons but I'm certain there are harder tighter BDs out there straight out the box. Always been curious about the AB. Is there a big difference sound wise between the mk1 and mk2?

I’ve got an AB, 909, 808, 606, and overall I’ll take the AB(MK I) over the OG 909 by a hair.

Korg Volca Beats has my favourite kick. You can of course tweak the settings to suit different tracks but I never get sick of it.

Modor DR-2 is my pick. It has a few starter bass drum models and all of them are easily tweaked into all sorts of excellent flavors.

I don’t think there is any difference bro, same sound engine. I think they updated some other features but can’t be sure.

Perhaps someone can clarify? Did the AB MK2 get better? Imagine that hey.

Will check it out, lots of punch to this kick?

Yes. Hits hard. The dev says the original intent was to make an enhanced 909 but the machine has gone far beyond that now with many updates. There's also a lot of filter, EQ and envelope control which really helps to get the precise feel you want.

With the Perkons I felt you really had to work hard to massage the core sound. Likewise with the LXR-02 the best sounds take effort.

Now if the question was "which drum machine is the most versatile with the widest range of weird sounds" then I'd say the LXR-02 wins easily. But for almost effortless arrays of good bass drums, then the DR-2.

Matter of taste and music, but for wicked hardware techno MFB kicks are just incredible. I’ve only had a little experience with Tanzbar but liked it a lot, very tight and pleasant bd (2x!), but I use samples of MFB kicks almost in every track, really like Shlagzwerg modulated samples, they’re insane! To me they have right balance between being „full“, not too annoying, and always sound „exotic“.

Other than that I find Digitone kicks quite useful in IDM / glitch music, feel like good samples : )

Remember Jomox XBase kicks - yeah, but… never fit to anything, too huge Still want to try Alphabase at some point.

Most of the time I have 2-3 kicks in my tracks - the main is usually 909 or 808, they just work, the second makes „bass“ in empty spaces that’s where MFB or Jomox or Modular can be perfect (or tuned 808 ).

Another story - DSI Tempest. Never liked its sound in a studio, really need a lot of processing or tweaking, but in the club it sounds very very nice, almost the best live drummachine I’ve used (on pair with of 808 or 909 ) in terms of sound. Can be lush or nasty. Very cool analog vibe.

DR-2 not sure. Very pleasant to play with, in the club it hits ok, and I record it often, but still I usually replace DR-2 kicks in my tracks with samples. Maybe too „midrangey“, not sure… Need to spend more time with it.

Ok, let me check out this machine.
LXR is nice but still the kick is not as punchy as the AB.

I’m actually surprised that most other machines fail when it comes to the kick!

Interestingly enough some guy on YouTube did a comparison between the AB, RD 9 and the DR-2.
Blind test with 3 beats was conducted- and I beat 3 was my favourite and swore it was the AB. It turned out to be the DR-2. :(
Interesting

I guess it depends what you want from your kickdrum.
For hard kickdrums, there are several styles. I like the beat-on-wooden-box sound of the 909 and the AB. Others prefer the more oldschool hardcore overdriven sound of the DR-2.

I'm not sure if I like Jomox, especially Alpha Base, kicks from what I've heard to this day. They are somewhat hard sounding, not as soft & punchy as I would like. There seems to be a lot of energy in the lows/ sub, but they lack some above it. Then, their LFO'd kicks are pretty useless.

In my opinion, it’s versatile—it can deliver a hard, powerful sound, but I’ve also heard punchy, softer kicks from it that are reminiscent of the 808.

Yeah, the Alpha Base is a 909 successor in spirit. Hard kicks are its forte. If I wasn't such a sucker for an evolved 909 kick (and hihat, and snare...) I'd probably look elsewhere.

I will also add that they (AB kicks) remind me of gabber sound, not the extremes of it but the overall flavour. I hear this distorted character (just not as pronounced ofcourse) even in already soft sounds from the demos of it. I guess I don't like it's sound then.

Regarding the Vermona DRM1, MKIV is supposed to have upgraded circuits, especially for the kick. There were already reviews that it has improved alot.

I use my Syntakt for kicks. Admittedly, the Elektron sounds sits in its own wheelhouse and doesn’t work so well outside of it.

Less immediate, but some synths can also make really cool kicks. I’ve had great results with the Microwave XT and Nord Modular G2 in the past — both of the “wooly but deep with nice click” kind, but that’s the style I was going for at the time, can potentially do more, especially the Nord.

Edited to add the MS-20 which can produce some sweet kicks a la Depeche Mode, of the “small but punchy” kind.

Just spent a few hours trying to understand what I don't like about DR-2 kicks (and its sound in general ) - somehow they feel very static and thus lacks a bit of groove. The machine generally sounds very "straight" and "soulless". Of course, everything is possible and you can find ways to make it sounds like you want (almost : ), but the primal character (sound and groove of its sequencer ) is not my thing.

Funny that working with samples (MFB, Jomox etc... ) in Ableton feels more alive and groovy, and less static to me. And it's much faster to build a drum part that really works.

At the same time DR-2 interface is a dream, I really enjoy programming it. Just the best knobs and buttons I've in drum machines (besides 808 maybe... I really like those big step buttons and instrument selector! ). Probably DR-2 is better for IDM, some kinds of "banging" / "military" modern techno, and some experiments.

The only kick model I like is "Noise BD", it's easier to tweak it to something more punchy and "dancefloor sounding". Others tends to sound like hard techno hammer, lazer weapon or digital torture tool : ) Also for some reason it's quite hard to make BD short enough (I don't like a lot of decay on BD these days... ), even with different envelope curves it's always too long for me and then suddenly too short : )

I'm quite happy to be in situation when I can just keep the machine for variety reasons and don't worry too much that it stays on the shelf for the most of the time. For sure it can provide something unique and make a few sounds here and there... Another aspect: I believe Marcel - the DR-2 designer - is genius and really enjoy communicating with him and see how he implements more and more features, it's something quite unique too. Also I took DR-2 to live gigs few times and it was quite nice on PA, also looks killer : ) But I would avoid it as my main drum maker and BD provider.

From the kicks that I have in different forms and that I like (will make list shorter):
- Moog DFAM - this thing tastes like done especially for kick drums and here is where things are really interesting - while I appreciate its sound, it isn't my favourite, while my friend claims it is the best kick drum he has ever heard, and I get, where he comes from, based on his taste for music;
- DSI Tempest - I really like the kick that was made by professional sound designer (don't remember his name, but he had few tutorials on YT), to arrive at best kick I have heard on Tempest (I'm more into 909, rather trancey kick than 808) he had to utilise envelopes modulating envelopes for proper curve.
- Syntakt - it has the most usable kick possibilities that I heard, very easy to arrive at something satisfying, same goes for other sounds needed in compositions that I like.
- RYTM mk2 - this one I also like, but less than specially crafted kick on Tempest.
- Analog 4 mk2 - I left the best for the dessert, because stock preset 909-like kick, but then multimode filter changed to Peak and sweeped for extra juice is the best kick that I ever had, which made me hold on to A4 for longer, when otherwise it was destined to be sold.

Cordially,
Norman

DFAM is pretty cool actually... just need to spend more time with it! Also have DRM-1 + Expander from Bugbrand in modular frac format... Feels like DFAM but more precise and even more crazy. Sample them both a lot!

And yes - I know that Tempest kick from youtube designer - very nice one. There are some other commercial sound sets where you can find useful Tempest BDs. And I really impressed how they mod amp and pitch env with another env. Never seen that before Tempest but it's really nice method.

Adam Schneider makes excellent tutorials for the Tempest.

[QUOTE=plexiglass;17339987]Regarding the Vermona DRM1, MKIV is supposed to have upgraded circuits, especially for the kick. There were already reviews that it has improved alot.[/QUOTE

I recently acquired the Vermona MKIV and have been exploring its capabilities. Overall, I’m impressed with its sound quality. The clap stands out as exceptional—the best I’ve encountered on any machine—making the clap and percussion module alone worth the investment.

However, the hi-hats leave much to be desired. The snare is very good, one of the best I’ve heard. Unfortunately, the kick drum falls short in my opinion. I was hoping it could replace my reliance on the Alphabase, but it doesn’t meet my expectations.

The kicks possess a substantial low end but lacks the necessary punch, even after applying heavy compression and saturation. I prefer not to rely heavily on EQ, as I believe a great kick drum should sound nearly perfect straight out of the box or require minimal processing.

On a positive note, I’m impressed with the Tanzbär’s BD2 kick. I had previously overlooked this machine but recently managed to acquire one. The new Tanzbär 2 doesn’t appeal to me, and I also parted ways with the Tempest, as it didn’t meet my expectations either.

As I’ve mentioned, no machine is perfect, but I’m eager to find one with a kick that rivals the Alphabase yet offers a different character—something else I can rely on for kicks.

I’m beginning to think that I’m shit out of luck here

But my search continues.

I appreciate your insights into the Modor DR-2. Your observations about its static feel and the character of its kick models are valuable. I understand your point about the machine’s “straight” and “soulless” sound, and how working with samples in Ableton provides a more dynamic and groovy experience for you as I do the same. I sample every drum machine I own which are either sequenced on the SP 1200/MPC 3000 or straight into Abelton when I couldn’t be bothered firing up the SP or MPC.

It’s a workflow that suits me fine.

I see now, thanks for claryfing. I suppose you didin't get what you were looking for from MKIV drum 1, 2 channels and maybe layering them with kick?

I’ve experimented with various layering techniques for kick drums, but I prefer not to rely heavily on them, similar to my approach with EQ. This changed when I discovered the Jomox Alpha Base; its kick sounds exceptional straight out of the box. Typically, I apply mild saturation using the Culture Vulture, followed by gentle compression, and it achieves the desired sound effortlessly. While layering works well for some, I find better results without it.

For instance, the clap on the Vermona DRM1 MKIV is outstanding right from the start. A touch of compression, and it truly shines.

The sound of booting someone up the arse makes for a great kick sound.
It might sound a little bit flabby though!