Arturia

FM VERDICT
9.0
Not the most versatile on
the market, but it combines
quality drum synth sounds
with a killer sequencer, at a
very tempting price
SEQUENCER: The step sequencer is
largely unchanged from the original,
but is still intuitive and fun
METRONOME: This outputs to the
headphones only, for a convenient
click track when performing
COLOR: The Color options add extra
depth to each sound, as well as a way
to liven up sequences
DISTORTION: The output distortion
isn’t particularly extreme, but adds a
nice touch of saturation to the mix
making them good for techno-style
bass. Despite its name, the high tom
is more of a mid-range instrument,
although this isn’t a problem since
high-frequency percussion is easily
covered by the FM Drum (see the
opposite page).
The cymbal and cowbell are
probably the weakest of the Impact’s
sounds. The cowbell is a decent 808
clone, but has no tone or pitch
controls so it’s a bit of a one trick
pony. The cymbal, meanwhile, has a
decay control and can have its pitch
shifted by the Color option. It’s a
decent enough sound but in terms of
its character it’s pretty similar to the
open hat – a more pronounced ride or
crash feel may have been preferable.
As with the original DrumBrute,
the hats have quite a metallic quality,
which I really like, but others might
not. There are front panel rotaries to
control the tone of the hats and the
open hat decay. The Color switches
below the two hat channels can
extend the length of the closed hat
and change the overall harmonics of
both sounds; this latter option gives a
nice alternative fl avour that broadens
the sonic scope.
The other signifi cant change from
the original DrumBrute is the master
effects. The Impact loses the
Steiner-Parker fi lter of the original,
but gains an output distortion with
level control and on/off switch. While
this isn’t the most extreme analogue
distortion in the world it adds a nice
bit of saturation and compression-like
gel to the overall sound.
Taken together, I really like the
sounds of the Impact. It’s perhaps not
the most sonically fl exible drum
machine on the market, but
producers of certain electronic genres
will fi nd a lot to like. To my ear, these
sounds lend themselves most to
rugged analogue house and techno,
but there’s also enough punch and
bass for hip-hop production too.
Individual sounds can sound a little
dry straight out of the box but I don’t
fi nd that too problematic. The Impact
has individual mini-jack outputs for
the kick, snares, hats and FM drum,
so it’s easy enough to add a touch of
processing to each sound (a little
outboard reverb really brings the
snares to life).
Beyond this, the rest of the
Impact’s workfl ow is pretty much
identical to the original DrumBrute.
As before, the sequencer is very
intuitive but has some great creative
tools. The polyrhythmic Last Step
function is a highlight, along with
per-track swing and randomisation.
Again, the sequencer Roller and Beat
Repeat tools are a couple of handy
options for spicing up fi lls and
turnarounds. The ample crop of 64
pattern slots means there are plenty
of space to save and recall grooves
(although only pattern and tempo info
is saved, not sound parameters) and
the Song mode means these can
easily be stitched together into full
arrangements. The Impact also
retains the fl exible sync I/O of its
predecessor, with MIDI in and out,
USB and analogue-friendly clock in
and out ports on its rear.
The original DrumBrute was a very
solid all-round drum synth paired with
an excellent sequencer, at a price that
made it very tempting. The Impact
doubles down on all of this. While it
lacks a little sonic fl exibility and isn’t
all-round perfect, it is an inspiring
and enticing drum machine at a very
good price. Whether these new
sounds will win over naysayers
remains to be seen, but I’d
recommend they take a fresh look.
SEQUENCER:
The step sequencer is
largely unchanged from the original,
but is still intuitive and fun
METRONOME:
This outputs to the
headphones only, for a convenient
click track when performing
COLOR:
The Color options add extra
depth to each sound, as well as a way
to liven up sequences
DISTORTION:
The output distortion
isn’t particularly extreme, but adds a
nice touch of saturation to the mix
shifted by the Color option. It’s a
decent enough sound but in terms of
its character it’s pretty similar to the
open hat – a more pronounced ride or
crash feel may have been preferable.
As with the original DrumBrute,
the hats have quite a metallic quality,
which I really like, but others might
not. There are front panel rotaries to
control the tone of the hats and the
open hat decay. The Color switches
below the two hat channels can
extend the length of the closed hat
and change the overall harmonics of
both sounds; this latter option gives a
nice alternative fl avour that broadens
the sonic scope.
The other signifi cant change from
the original DrumBrute is the master
effects. The Impact loses the
Steiner-Parker fi lter of the original,
but gains an output distortion with
level control and on/off switch. While
this isn’t the most extreme analogue
distortion in the world it adds a nice
bit of saturation and compression-like
gel to the overall sound.
Taken together, I really like the
sounds of the Impact. It’s perhaps not
the most sonically fl exible drum
machine on the market, but
producers of certain electronic genres
will fi nd a lot to like. To my ear, these
sounds lend themselves most to
rugged analogue house and techno,
SEQUENCER:
The step sequencer is
METRONOME:
This outputs to the
COLOR:
The Color options add extra
DISTORTION:
The output distortion
bass. Despite its name, the high tom
is more of a mid-range instrument,
although this isn’t a problem since
high-frequency percussion is easily
covered by the FM Drum (see the
The cymbal and cowbell are
probably the weakest of the Impact’s
sounds. The cowbell is a decent 808
clone, but has no tone or pitch
controls so it’s a bit of a one trick
pony. The cymbal, meanwhile, has a
decay control and can have its pitch
shifted by the Color option. It’s a
decent enough sound but in terms of
its character it’s pretty similar to the
open hat – a more pronounced ride or
crash feel may have been preferable.
As with the original DrumBrute,
the hats have quite a metallic quality,
which I really like, but others might
not. There are front panel rotaries to
control the tone of the hats and the
open hat decay. The Color switches
below the two hat channels can
extend the length of the closed hat
and change the overall harmonics of
both sounds; this latter option gives a
nice alternative fl avour that broadens
Arturia DrumBrute Impact | Reviews
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FMU335.rev_arturia.indd 83 08/08/2018 15:39