Hügelton Instruments Kepra is a new emulation of the Korg KPR-77 analog drum machine for macOS and Windows (special intro price $1).
Actually, today we’re celebrating the Roland TR-808 on 808 Day. But there are many other drum machines that are part of history. One is the KPR-77, Korg’s answer to the Roland TR-606. It was an analog drum machine but never achieved the same success.
The poor man’s 606 seems to have some fans, though, because now there’s an emulation. Hügelton Instruments, developer of various Playdate extensions, has released Kepra, an emulation of the Korg KPR-77 drum machine. You get it now for $1 for a limited time.
Hügelton Instruments Kepra
Kepra is an authentic emulation of the Korg KPR-77 analog drum machine. According to Hügelton Instruments, Kepra was created through careful hardware analysis, including circuit analysis, waveform measurement, timing analysis, and spectral comparison.
As a reminder, the Korg KRP-77 was an all-analog drum machine with six voices and sounds (bass drum, snare, hi- and low toms…) adjustable in volume but without sound shaping options.
The Kepra drum machines offer more. It ships with 12 synthesized drum sounds, including the eight original plus mid toms, metronome, click, and the all-new shaker. It’s a voice expansion inspired by the architecture and character of the original hardware.
Unlike the hardware, the software emulation gives various parameters for six of the 12 instruments:
- bass drum: pitch, decay, and slope
- snare drum: snap and decay
- claps: tone and decay
- toms: pitch. decay, and slope
- hihat: ring and decay
- cymbal: ring and decay
Additionally, there are some smaller parameters available, such as frame rate, pink noise, ring frequency, and click decay.
Mixing & Sequencing
A built-in stereo mixer with a slider for each instrument allows you to mix all 12 perfectly. New is the ability to pan each instrument independently in the stereo field. Plus, you have a built-in drive and filter (tone) for further adjustments.
The voices of the Hügelton Instruments Kepra are powered by a 16-step sequencer with adjustable tempo, pattern length, and eight pattern banks. Alongside the instrument/note lane, you also have programmable flam and accent layers.
The plugin supports internal, host, and external MIDI clock syncing.
First Impression
I must admit, I hadn’t dealt with the Korg KPR-77 much before writing this article. It certainly doesn’t have the same level of recognition as a TR-606, especially when it comes to its sounds.
The 606, on the other hand, is ubiquitous and even more prominent through Behringer’s clone, the RD-6. I think it’s great that there are emulations of such lesser-known drum machines. To me, it also sounds nice, and at this introductory price, it’s certainly worth supporting the project.
Hügelton Instruments Kepra is available now at a special introductory price of $1. It runs as a VST3 and AU plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel) and Windows.
More information here: Hügelton Instruments
I had one that I bought new back in the day.I liked the sounds and they were different from the more common Roland and Yamaha units. I recall it was a lot easier to program than the TR-606. But it had one “feature” that drove me crazy. Korg decided to use 48 PPQ for its clock vs the 24 PPQ that Roland used for all of its machines. This was pre-MIDI when devices were synced via DIN Korg, one of the units had to run at double or half speed depending on which unit was the master. Later there were timing converters you could buy, but by that time I sold off the devices for ones that used that new fangled “MIDI” protocol.
Hugelton’s plug-in looks to be a nice trip down memory lane (without the timing headaches), so I’ll be adding it to my collection. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
One of the reasons these never had the same reputation that the TR-606 eventually gained was that they were notoriously prone to failure, with the internal chips themselves going bad (rather than a power supply issue which just needs new caps for example). So finding a working one even 20 years ago was nigh-on impossible. I bought two of them over the years and neither worked.