Way back in January 2021, at the NAMM trade expo, Korg offered a brief sneak preview of a powerful new analog/digital drum machine, and then all went quiet. Now the "three-fold hybrid" Drumlogue has finally gone up for pre-order.
At its heart beats newly-developed analog circuitry developed by the synth engineer responsible for the ARP 2600 M, ARP Odyssey and MS-20 mini, Junichi Ikeuchi, that allows users to lay the bass, snare and tom drum foundations for tracks. And there are dedicated knobs on the front panel allowing for direct tweaking of the main drum parts without having to scroll through menus.
The analog sounds can be partnered with a digital section made up of six sample-based parts that can tap into any of the PCM sounds or user tones loaded into the onboard memory over USB, plus one synth-based part that leans on an extended version of the company's digital Multi-Engine from the Prologue and Minilogue XD. Delay, reverb and master effects can be used on their own or simultaneously.
The open-source Multi-Engine now features variable phase modulation and noise generator engines, as well as a user slot that can play full-fledged synth voices with built-in filters, oscillators, MIDI-controlled polyphony and more. The sonic palette can be further expanded by calling on the available SDK.
Korg has partnered with Sinevibes to include a new Nano plugin as a factory preset, which puts a virtual analog synthesizer at the user's disposal, with dual oscillators, filters, modulation and customizable parameters.
There's an internal 11-part 64-step sequencer for building complex rhythms, with users able to follow and edit sequences via the Drumlogue's OLED display. A Chain mode allows for the creation of longer patterns, while a Loop feature caters for switching between several variations. Live performances can be further enhanced by tapping into motion and accent recording functions and randomization is on hand for sonic experimentation.
The array of inputs and outputs shapes up as a USB Type-A port for cabling to class-compliant MIDI hardware, regular MIDI in and out, four independent audio outs, a headphone jack and left/right outs – and any drum/synth part can be assigned to any output for routing flexibility.
The Drumlogue is up for pre-order now for US$599.99. The video below has more.
Product page: Drumlogue
