Dato Drum is a new portable playful drum machine with drum sample voices, developed for the whole family, and now on Kickstarter.
Most people make music in their rooms alone, using synthesizers, drum machines, etc. But making music is not something you have to experience alone. In many families, making music is a tradition, even from a very early age, mostly on classical instruments such as acoustic guitar, violin, etc.
Dato from the Netherlands showed that this is also possible in a modern electronic way with the Duo, a Synthesizer for young and old. It is a super playful, easy-to-use synth that brings people together, whether friends at a party or family, without the usual synth nerdy stuff. The journey now continues into the drums.
Dato Drum
Every Synthesizer needs a drum accompaniment, and Dato has now taken care of that. The first prototype was already showcased at Superbooth 24, and the instrument is now available for support on Kickstarter.
Dato Drum is a colorful, playful circular drum machine that brings people together to make beats. Where many drum machine developers try to squeeze as many features as possible into the engine, the Dutch developers take a completely different approach.
A minimal feature set is implemented here playfully and directly so that every child, adult, or grandparent can use it. Dato Drum features four drum pad voices with retrigger functionality.
Each voice has selectable built-in sounds, or alternatively, you can load in your own samples. This gives different user groups the opportunity to personalize the instrument with sounds that suit their age. It also features a pitch slider per voice that invites people to explore.
No sequencer, no drum machine! Dato has created a unique, circular, hands-on visual 8-step sequencer for each voice, the DUO’s rhythmic partner. Here, the 8-step sequencer runs through its steps in a circle, visualized with color lights, showing the patterns of the voices.
To bring more fun into the play, it also offers four buttons, each mapped with audio and sequencer effects: distortion, filter, repeat, and random.
Connectivity
On the connection side, it offers a 3.5mm (1/8″) headphone/line output, a sync in/out, MIDI in/out, and USB-C for power and data. This allows you to connect the drum to existing setups.
There is also an internal speaker that guarantees drum fun everywhere.
First Impression
It was in the air that the Dato DUO would get a rhythmic part in the future. Considering the idea and target group, I think the implementation is very successful. Dato Drum is not a drum machine that should be compared with the feature sets of Roland TR-8S and others.
This is a musical toy for the whole family. It’s fun and playful to explore and an excellent way to make the first creative steps, also without a tablet or screen.
You can support the Dato Drum development now on Kickstarter for 300€. The official retail price will be 379€. Shipping starts in July 2025.
More information here: Dato / Kickstarter
hungry hungry hippos? i’ll wait for the rock’em sock ’em robot version.