SUPERBOOTH 2026: Polish developer Polyend clearly has a fondness for releasing simplistically-named gear. Following in the footsteps of the tracker-inspired Tracker and Synth synth comes Drums, a new hybrid drum machine said to be “built for immediacy, depth and performance.”
Housed in an aluminium body reminiscent of Polyend’s Synth or Play hardware, Drums is an eight-track drum machine that combines analogue, digital and sample-based sound generation.
Its four analogue voices are based on modern SSI chips that produce two VCOs, an additional noise source and a third digital oscillator that can be used for creating layered sounds or set up for frequency modulation. Each analogue voice also packs a multimode VCF and envelope-controlled VCA.
Article continues belowThe remaining voices can make use of a variety of digital synthesis engines or samples. According to Polyend, options include “more than forty instruments, each with its own sub-mode mutations, giving users hundreds of sound options to choose from.” These digital tracks also have acces to eight individual LFOs to provide modulation.
For sequencing, Drums makes use of what Polyend calls its “most intuitive sequencing system so far.” This involves a combination of fills, probability, micro-timing, parameter locks, pattern chaining, generative tools and multiple track play modes. Drums can also save and recall up-to 64 patterns, 64 drum kits and 48 song arrangements.
The drum machine also has an ‘XOY’ fader, which allows users to fluidly morph between two versions of a drum kit during performances. There’s also a broad selection of effects, available as sends, inserts or part of the master chain. Effects can be sequenced per-track making, in the words of Polyend, “effects part of the rhythm rather than something added only at the end of the signal chain.”
The Drums hardware has eight individual drum outputs as well as a stereo audio input for external processing. There’s also an individual headphone output and MIDI-over-TRS ports. It is available in both black and silver designs.
Under-the-hood, Drums makes use of a dual-core main CPU with auxiliary processors handling peripherals and analogue control. Audio processing is 32-bit floating point at 96 kHz, with 24-bit/96 kHz DAC and ADC conversion for audio input and output.
“Drums is a return to the fundamentals that defined Polyend from the beginning,” says Polyend CEO Piotr Raczyński. “We wanted to build the drum machine we would want to use and own ourselves. Something uncompromising in sound, materials, and workflow. Like our earliest instruments, Drums is made in small batches, with close attention to every detail, and built to stay relevant for decades.”
Drums is available for reservation now via a refundable $500 deposit, with the first run of units due to ship in around three or four months. The retail price will be €/$2,699, and Polyend says there will be quantities available at launch.
Head to the Polyend website for more information.
