As if the headlines weren't looking quite Orwellian enough at the moment, Arturia has decided to give its DrumBrute Impact drum machine a retro spin with the introduction of DrumBrute Impact 1984, a new visual rework of the boisterous analogue beatmaker first released in 2018.
With a fresh lick of paint, DrumBrute Impact 1984 looks undeniably fetching with its orange-accented off-white stylings, but under the hood this limited-edition variant is identical to the original version, itself a stripped-back successor to the DrumBrute, a gutsy analogue drum machine unleashed in 2016.
DrumBrute Impact features 10 analogue drum voices accessible via eight control lanes and pads. Kick, Closed Hat, Open Hat, High/Low Toms and Cymbal/Cowbell are joined by two snares and an FM Drum voice that generates unconventional percussive tones via frequency modulation, and you're able to access unique tonal variations on each voice by engaging the Impact's Color mode.
Effects are absent, aside from an output distortion that can be used to add edge and saturation to the machine's already-potent percussion, but Impact's 64-step sequencer is versatile, with swing, polyrhythmic and randomization functionality joined by a Beat Repeat-style Pattern Looper and Roller function for fills and transitions. Up to 64 patterns can be stored and multiple sequences chained together via the Impact's Song Mode.
Impact has a decent array of I/O for a drum machine this affordable: you've got USB, MIDI in/out and sync in/out alongside a main stereo output, headphone out and four 3.5mm outs for the Impact's kick, snares, hi-hats and FM Drum voices. All in all, DrumBrute Impact was - and is - a stellar drum machine for $299, and the new vintage-inspired aesthetic is miles easier on the eye than the original's gloomy dark blue. We're on board.
Find out more on Arturia's website.
