Free: 4ms VCV Rack ROMplers put gobs of drums under voltage control

The library for the free and open source VCV Rack has been on fire lately. But this one is a standout: 4ms has a sprawling library of ROMpler modules based on classic drum-machine samples. And don’t let the “ROMpler” part fool you: those samples are ready for full voltage control.

Vermona DRM, the company’s DDR-era analog drum machine, as seen on Hainbach

In must-watch “TV” this week, it’s the 1987 Vermona DRM, a Roland-style East German analog drum machine. It’s from when DRM didn’t mean DRM.

Peter Kirn - March 30, 2023

Father of 808 and founder of Roland Ikutaro Kakehashi has died

Few people loom over electronic music instruments quite like Ikutaro Kakehashi. As founder of Japanese giant Roland, at Roland’s helm through decades of its most historic creations, and as an engineer, Kakehashi has had a hand in the evolution of electronic music instruments – and particularly the notion of the electronic drum machine – as […]

Peter Kirn - April 2, 2017