“I'm so glad that the Erica Synths crew was able to carry out the vision and finish the dream!": Hexinverter Électronique’s planned analogue drum machine never made it to market, but the HexDrums is set to put that right

Erica Synths x Hexinverter HEXDRUMS teaser - YouTube Erica Synths x Hexinverter HEXDRUMS teaser - YouTube
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Superbooth 25: Eurorack module specialist Hexinverter Électronique may have closed its doors in 2022, but its tech lives on thanks to collaborations with Erica Synths.

The latest of these is HexDrums. Taking the DNA of Hexinverter’s Mutant series of percussion modules, this is an analogue drum machine with 10 sound sources. These include two kicks, an optimised Mutant Machine, snare, clap, rimshot and hi-hats. There are also 10 sets of crash and ride cymbal samples from Erica itself.

There are individual outputs for all the drum sounds and stereo panning on the master channel. The compressor and master drive effects, meanwhile, have their roots in the Hexinverter Mutant Glue module.

Of course, to achieve full ‘drum machine’ status you need to have a sequencer, and the one in the HexDrums has 64 steps and offers per-track accent, per-step microtiming, ratchets, rolls and per-step probability. Each of the 16 banks can hold 16 patterns.

Discussing the HexDrums - which is set for release later this year - Hexinverter Électronique’s Stacy Gaudreau says: "Our plan was always to use the Mutant Drum DNA to create a next-level desktop drum machine. We began early work on one before the pandemic. I'm so glad that the Erica Synths crew was able to carry out the vision and finish the dream!"

Find out more on the Erica Synths website.

Ben Rogerson
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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