Dreadbox Alecto: Analog Drum Machine From the Blood of Uranus
4,0 / 5,0 | 
Alecto is a two-voice analog percussion synthesizer from Dreadbox with a polymetric sequencer. And because it’s Dreadbox, you know it sounds goooooood.
Dreadbox Alecto
Dreadbox has flirted with drums before, like Drips, but this may be the Greek company’s first standalone drum machine. Well, they’re calling it a “drum synthesizer,” which to me means a percussion-focused synth with no sequencer. And Alecto has a sequencer… with a twist. And what’s this about blood? Let’s dive in.
Analog Percussion
Dreadbox likes to name its products after gods and other players in Greek myths, and Alecto follows suit. According to the company, Alecto was one of the Erinyes, born when the blood of Uranus was spilled on Gaia (that would be the god, not the Roland synth). Apparently Alecto’s name “echoes through rhythms that never stand still.” Sounds like the perfect moniker for a left-field drum machine then.
And that’s certainly what Alecto is. You get two voices, each with two oscillators (whoa, on a drum synth?), a noise source for hats and snares, dual filters and two envelope generators. Dreadbox describes it as both punchy and experimental, meaning you can use it as a drum box or as a drone machine.
Here Comes the Drums
As a percussion synth, Alecto has lots to make it thump. Along with Tune and Timbre controls, you can morph through waveforms and blend between VCO and white noise. For the envelope, you get an Attack switch (for punchy and soft), click control, a Decay knob, and a Bend control for dialing in toms, kicks and booms. There’s also a high-pass filter toggle for shelving out low end.
Drone On
To use Alecto as a drone synth, flip the Drone switch to on to disable the VCA envelope and let it cook.
This would also be a good time to get into the patchbay, which offers points for each voice individually, globally, the aequencer (more on this next), and the LFO, which you can only access patch-wise.
Polymetric Sequencer
So, is it a drum synthesizer or a drum machine? That’s a gray area, because while it does have a sequencer, it’s neither a step nor live affair, but something more akin to what you’d find in a modular rig. Which is fitting because it’s Eurorack-compatible.
The instrument offers two independent polymetric trigger sequencers with adjustable sequence lengths and clock division. So think repeating triggers rather than complex percussion sequences. You do get a trigger/reset button to change things up, but if you want something more involved, you’ll have to get an external sequencer involved.
Dreadbox Alecto: Price and Availability
Alecto looks like another winner from Dreadbox. Nobody does analog like them, and now that know-how has been applied to a standalone drum synth. If you’re into experimental yet rhythmic genres like industrial, techno or rhythmic noise, this will be right up your alley.
It’s available now from Dreadbox for €315 assembled or €250 in kit form.
More Information
- Dreadbox Alecto product page
- More about Dreadbox
- More about drum machines
- Buy drum machines at Thomann*
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