Latin Percussion

Name: Latin Percussion
Price: 19 USD
Author: AudioThing

by AudioThing · Drum Instrument · 80s analog percussion machine

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Latin Percussion is a sample-based emulation of the Sound Master Latin Percussion, a rare 1980s analog drum machine with bass, two congas, bongo, claves and maracas.

It has overdrive, reverb and a sequencer with MIDI drag-to-DAW, and is on sale for $19 (regular $39).

Best for: Drums. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Lo-Fi, Hip-Hop & Trap.

Keywords: 80s, sequencer, drum machine, lo-fi, randomize, sample-based, bright, gritty, hardware emulation, retro.

What it does

Latin Percussion is AudioThing's recreation of the Sound Master Latin Percussion, which the developer calls a "rare analog drum machine from the 80s." It gives you that box's six synthetic hand-percussion voices with a pattern sequencer and a couple of effects, in a small one-page instrument.

Six sounds: Bass, Low Conga, High Conga, Bongo, Claves and Maracas, taken from the original machine.
Per-sound controls: each voice has its own pitch, pan and volume, so you can retune the congas or spread the kit across the stereo field.
Effects: a built-in Overdrive for grit and a Reverb for space, applied to the whole machine.
Sequencer: program patterns inside the plugin, then drag them into the DAW as MIDI to edit or rearrange.
Presets and patterns: 20 factory presets and 9 factory patterns to start from.
Workflow tools: a preset randomizer, parameter lock to keep chosen settings during randomizing, and copy/paste of presets via the clipboard.
Display: brightness and contrast controls for the interface and a new preset browser, both added in the latest update.

Version 1.7 (August 5, 2026). It is currently on sale. The free demo inserts 3 seconds of silence every 45 seconds and disables saving.

Source: AudioThing product page

When to use it

Latin Percussion is a single vintage box with six voices and nothing else, where Battery 4, XO and Nerve are full drum instruments that load whole kits and big sample libraries. It is not trying to sound like real congas and bongos: the sounds are synthetic and lo-fi, in the way 80s drum machines were. That makes it a cheap layer for adding movement on top of a main kit rather than a replacement for one. It also suits producers who like to sequence inside the plugin and then pull the pattern out as MIDI. For realistic acoustic hand percussion, a sampled library in Kontakt 8 or the percussion in Superior Drummer 3 is a better fit.

Best for: retro electronic percussion layers, drum-machine congas and claves, and quick lo-fi grooves.
Genres: electronic, synth-pop, lo-fi and hip-hop.
Look elsewhere if: you need realistic acoustic percussion (a sampled library in Kontakt 8) or a whole kit in one plugin (XO or Battery 4).

Where to buy

AudioThing: $19 (regular $39)
Best Service: $36.69
AudioDeluxe: $39
Plugin Boutique: $39

Tutorials and reviews

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