5 of the Best Percussion Synths: Dial in the Drums
Banging drum synths from Behringer, Body Synths, Vermon, and Jomox.
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Looking for a synthesizer that specializes in drums? You need a percussion synth, an analog or digital instrument for crafting electronic kicks, snares, hats, and other impactful sounds. Here are our choices for the best percussion synths on the market today – for all budgets.
The Best Percussion Synths
Most synthesizers are made for creating a wide variety of sounds. The clue is in the name, really: synthesizer. They synthesize sound to create something new. While some can do drums like kicks, snares, and hats in a pinch, it might not be their bread and butter. If you’re looking for a synth with a percussive speciality, then what you need is a percussion synth, an instrument designed to make drum sounds.
Keep in mind that these are not sample players, but devices that sculpt sound into percussion. The original percussion synths from the 1970s were all analog – and most on this list are too – but that doesn’t mean you should avoid digital percussion synths. If virtual analog and FM can replicate synth bass and pads, they can do electronic drum sounds, too.
Lastly, keep in mind that these are all synthesizers, not drum machines. There are no sequencers here – just the sound generators. That means you’ll need a sequencer or drum pads to trigger the sounds.
OK, let’s get into it. These are five of the best percussion synths on the market today.
Many of the products mentioned in this story are available at Thomann*.
The Best Percussion Synths: Behringer SDS-3
In 1978, Dave Simmons released the SDS-3, his first drum synthesizer and a precursor to his later (and more famous) drum kits with hexagonal pads. Behringer has now recreated the SDS-3, giving you a four-voice percussion synth that excels at electronic drum sounds – think synth pop and cold wave but also techno and other modern rhythm-oriented genres.
The SDS-3 has four identical sound generators, each with click, pitch, decay, and two-way bend controls, an Impact level for changing the attack of the transient, and a noise generator for cymbals and hats. There’s also an LFO that you can assign to each module separately, plus an “effects” section for setting overall vibe. Triggering happens via MIDI, CV, and – interestingly – microphone, meaning you can use incoming audio to trigger drum sounds.
The Best Percussion Synths: Behringer Syncussion SY-1
Another Behringer remake of a classic percussion synth is Syncussion SY-1. Based on Pearl’s Syncussion SY-1 from 1979, it’s a two-voice drum synth that was originally meant as an add-on for acoustic kits. It even included drum pads. Behringer’s version does away with the drum pads and instead drops the instrument into its usual Eurorack-ready case.
Each of the two identical drum sections offers six oscillator modes: single oscillator, FM, dual oscillator mix, dynamic oscillator mix, FM/noise mix, and pure noise. This provides you with enough variety to create a large number of different percussion sounds. There are tune, decay, and filter cutoff controls, plus a pitch sweep function and an LFO for modulating the oscillator and filter. While you might not be able to dial in “realistic” percussion sounds, you can get some pretty tasty techno and IDM drums, which you can trigger via MIDI, CV, or drum pads.
The Best Percussion Synths: Body Synths Metal Fetishist
So far, we’ve looked at two vintage-style analog percussion synths, the kind that producers in the late 1970s used to make “pew pew” sounds. If your music trends heavier and noisier, and ends up in playlists alongside EBM and industrial bands, then Metal Fetishist from Body Synths could be your new best fiend… er, friend.
Unapologetically digital, Metal Fetishist gives you two oscillators, a white noise generator, and a multimode filter, all arranged in a (mostly) one-knob-per-function desktop box layout. It also sports two randomness generators that control the trigger probability and step modulation of the pitch, cutoff, and internal mixer. There’s also a digital overdrive and a downsampler for extra grit, plus phaser, flanger, and chorus.
The Best Percussion Synths: Vermona DRM1 MKIV
Vermona’s DRM1 series of percussion synths has been kicking it since the mid-90s, with the latest version, the MKIV, continuing the tradition for the 2020s. All-analog, it’s got eight drum sounds, each with its own unique set of controls for tweaking and adjusting.
The sounds are: Kick, from thud to boom; Drum 1 and Drum 2 for all manner of percussion like toms, blocks, bongos, and even metallic sounds; Multi gives you cowbells and zaps; Snare includes rimshots; Hihat 1 and Hihat 2 with open and closed variations; and Clap.
Vermona DRM1 MKIV is available in two versions: just MIDI (DIN plus USB) or with optional analog trigger inputs.
The Best Percussion Synths: Jomox ModBase 09 Mk II
Jomox got its start in 1997 with the XBase 09, an analog drum machine, so it’s fair to say the company knows a thing or two about drum synthesis. While most of its percussion products are drum machines with proper sequencers, if all you need is drums – and more specifically kicks – and you’re comfortable with Eurorack, may I present ModBase 09 Mk II.
Named one of the best Eurorack drum modules by our own Stefan Wyeth, ModBase 09 Mk II lets you alter the tune, pitch, decay, harmonics, pulse, noise, attack, and EQ of the bass drum, with four assignable CV inputs for live modulation. It also offers patch memory for up to 100 kicks.
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