Erica Synths Konstrukt-8 connects all Moritz Klein’s EDU DIY drum modules in a modular analog drum machine.
Erica Synths teamed up with YouTuber and designer Moritz Klein a few years ago to create the EDU DIY series. These are DIY kits that apply the theory presented in comprehensive manuals to practical applications.
The first EDU DIY series focused on a full Synthesizer voice, while the second went the drum machine route. With Konstrukt-8, you can now buy all Erica Synths EDU DIY modules as a set that, after assembly, becomes a modular analog drum machine.
Erica Synths Konstrukt-8
Konstrukt-8 brings all eight EDU DIY drum-focused modules together in one system. Each of its eight DIY modules comes with a detailed build guide and can be explored on a breadboard first, letting you trace every circuit design decision before assembling the final instrument.
Erica Synths Konstrukt-8 features four fully analog drum voices:
- Kick Drum: A resonant bridged-T network produces deep, punchy kicks.
- Snare Drum: A burst of filtered transistor noise layered over a tuned resonator creates a crisp snap.
- Hi-Hat: six dissonant square-wave oscillators are mixed, filtered, and overdriven to create metallic percussion.
- FM Drum: two interacting oscillators form a versatile percussion voice capable of kicks, toms, bells, and cymbal-like sounds.
While not the most comprehensive analog drum machine in terms of the number of voices, it has the significant advantage of being modular.
Each module offers a much wider range of possibilities through its CV inputs and routing options compared to a drum machine with a fixed signal path.
Addon-Ons
A four-channel drum sequencer powers the four drum voices and lets you tap in rhythms that loop automatically. It’s based on shift registers that store the pattern as a circular sequence of binary data.
Further, you have a four-channel mixer with per-channel FX sends and a master insert, perfect for mixing and shaping your drums with external effects. The mixer circuit also includes a built-in distortion (drive).
Two effect modules complete the Erica Synths Konstrukt-8. First, you have an analog bucket-brigade delay (BBD) with flanger and delay modes, and second, you have a diode-based compressor with sidechain capability.
You can buy the modules as a bundle or in a system with a matching Eurorack enclosure, integrated power supply, and 15 braided patch cables. And if the system proves too limited in the long run, the modules can be removed and used in a larger set.
First Impression
It’s neat that Erica Synths has taken the same approach here as with the Synth Voice and offers the whole set as a system. This way, you can get all the EDU DIY drum modules in one go.
Erica Synths Konstrukt-8 is available now as a DIY kit in two versions: a set (only modules) for 490€ (without cases) and an EDU DIY system with a case for 615€ (without VAT).
More information here: Erica Synths
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