Cre8audio is the brand behind two semi-modular desktop synths, West Pest and East Beast, developed in partnership with Pittsburgh Modular. Today, the company releases two new products that should pair nicely with that duo: Boom Chick, an Eurorack-friendly analogue drum machine, and Assembler, an analogue mixer designed for synths.
Built around Pittsburgh Modular’s newly-designed analogue drum circuits, Boom Chick has five voices controlled via its knob-per-function interface. The Kick voice runs a specialized sine-wave oscillator through a dedicated overdrive circuit, while the Snare voice offers tweakable tone and a noise generator, capable of producing both authentic-sounding snares and more synthetic creations.
The Hats voice promises crisp hi-hats and metallic tones, while two additional multi-functional voices can be used to craft toms, claps, cymbals and experimental percussive textures through waveshaping and frequency modulation. These two channels were inspired by the “flexibility and musicality” of the Pollard Syndrum, the first commercially available electronic drum.
Boom Chick’s six-track sequencer offers both traditional step sequencing and live recording and can program sequences up to 64 steps which can be chained together in Song Mode. Generative rhythm tools, probabilistic sequencing and a Euclidean pattern generator can be used to spark rhythmic inspiration, while per-voice polyrhythms make it possible to create evolving sequences by using different pattern lengths across each track.
The drum machine can be used standalone in its included case, or incorporated into a Eurorack set-up as a 40HP module. Boom Chick is well-equipped to interface with your modular, thanks to individual outputs and trigger inputs for each voice, 3.5mm TRS MIDI in/out, and analogue clock/reset to keep everything synced up.
That's not all, folks. Also released today, Assembler is an analogue mixer - again usable standalone or as part of a modular rig - that Cre8audio says fuses the warmth of classic analogue mixers with a contemporary workflow for electronic artists and modular synth-heads. Compatible with both Eurorack and line-level signals, it’s intended to offer synthesists a stripped-back mixing solution that focuses on high-quality audio, ease-of-use and reliability.
Assembler's ten 3.5mm audio inputs (two stereo inputs and six mono inputs) are segmented into three channel types, and each is equipped with a dedicated preamp that offers a gain boost of up to 20x. Three assignable aux send channels provide plenty of scope for integrating external effects, while channels 1 and 2 feature “vintage-inspired” high and low EQs each capable of a +/-15dB boost or cut. Cute three-LED meters are on monitoring duties, along with a dedicated headphone output with its own cue mix.
Like Boom Chick, Assembler is based on circuitry designed by Pittsburgh Modular, and recreates the dynamic profile of vintage mixers through tonal shaping and analogue tape saturation emulation, subtly gluing mixes together with gentle compression and signal contouring. Cre8audio says this gives Assembler’s sound a “warmth, cohesion and character” that other mixes often lack. Oh, and it self-oscillates too.
Available for pre-order now, Boom Chick and Assembler are both priced at $399/€319. First units are expected to ship next month. Find out more on Cre8audio’s website.
