Discovering Drumazon 2: The Ultimate 909-Inspired Drum Machine Plug-In

The Roland TR-909 is one of the most iconic drum machines of all time. This beast of a machine dropped in 1983 and instantly changed the game, leaving an indelible mark on the electronic music scene.

Its analogue drum sounds were simply unmatched at the time, from that earth-shaking kick drum to the sharp, snappy snare – it became the essence of dance music.

The sounds of the 909 have entered the lexicon of house, techno and even hip hop; they are part of the language of how those genres sound. Even in the 2020s there are countless recordings released each year that make use of samples from this classic machine. 

D16 released their 909 emulation, Drumazon, way back in 2007. It was meticulously crafted to reproduce those classic 909 sounds; each module was coded to replicate its analogue counterpart. Despite advances in music production technology, Drumazon remained a market-leading 909 emulation due to its incredibly accurate sound – as well as some nice advanced features that let you take the sound of the original box even further. 

Now they are back with Drumazon 2, retaining the epic sound of the original but taking those advanced sonic features even further while also updating the interface to bring it up to 2023 standards. If you want the opportunity to win a free copy of Drumazon 2 then read on!

 

On opening Drumazon 2, the first thing you notice is the completely redesigned sequencer. Presented as a matrix, it’s extremely intuitive to use, ensuring that you can dive in and begin programming immediately. You can control the velocity of your drum hits, and can make use of advanced features such as flam, shuffle and ‘sub hits’ (that allow multiple, faster hits to be generated from one drum trigger). These features are all easily tweakable in the interface. 

There are three edit modes to switch between; draw, tap and randomise. Draw mode is the default and provides access to the full range of editing tools that can be used on the matrix. Tap mode allows you to play in MIDI information at the touch of a button; so if you like to program your drums by attaching and playing a MIDI controller you can set this up extremely easily. It is also quick and easy to remap each drum hit using the ‘triggers/MIDI’ sub menu, so that you can map the kit across your drum pads in your preferred configuration.

The third edit mode is an extremely welcome return from the first iteration of Drumazon; an ‘intelligent’ randomise function. You can tweak a dial for each individual kit component to define how ‘densely’ they are represented in your pattern.

So if you dial all the toms right down, they won’t appear in your randomly generated patterns at all, and if you dial the high hats right up, then there will be a lot of high hat in your beat! Some programming has gone on under the hood to ensure that these random patterns are as useable as possible, and as with the original Drumazon, we found that it was really quick to generate remarkably serviceable beats with this function. Features like this are great for getting you out of a period of writers block, or as song starters for new beats. 

Drumazon 2 adds another two serious new features that separate it from its predecessor, and indeed from the original TR-909; two bus effects chains and additional, per-drum channel strips.

Those original 909 sounds do need a certain amount of processing in order to really bring them to life, and Drumazon 2 lets you do most, or even all of that, right there in the plugin. The first effects chain features distortion, EQ, chorus, delay and reverb. The second features EQ, two compressors, a bitcrusher and filter. The effects can all be re-ordered and switched on and off.  

Each drum now has its own channel strip that allows you to change its pitch and envelope as well as giving you access to optional EQ and compressor inserts. From here you can also change panning and bus send levels. In addition to all of this there is also a master channel that features a built-in multiband compressor and limiter. 

This all means that you should be able to produce incredible sounding beats in Drumazon 2 without needing any additional processing; the plugin could therefore be a real winner in live performance situations as well as being a formidable piece of studio equipment. 

It’s also worth quickly mentioning the presets that are bundled with the plugin as they are very thoughtfully put together. There are lots presets for kits and beats as you’d expect – but there are also dozens of presets for each individual kit piece too, as well as a bunch for the master channel! This all makes it very easy to quickly explore Drumazon 2’s capabilities. 

Drumazon 2 is available from D16’s online store for Mac and PC. It’s available in VST2, VST3 or AAX formats and comes in 32 and 64 bit versions on PC but only as a 64 bit version on Mac. It’s nice to see that the plugin is already fully compatible with Apple Silicon as well, I used it on a Mac with an M1 chip and it worked perfectly. 

Drumazon 2 costs €119 at the time of writing, which is great value for a plugin of this quality, but if you’d like the chance to win a copy for free then you can do so by entering SoundGym’s BeatRace competition.

BeatRace is a real SoundGym favorite; users compete with fellow members to demonstrate their prowess in recreating drum machine beats as swiftly as possible. Every single week, the top-performing BeatRace participant, known as the ‘BeatRace Legend’, will receive a copy of Drumazon 2!

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