Hex Drum

Name: Hex Drum
Price: 49 USD
Author: Oblivion Sound Lab

by Oblivion Sound Lab · Drum Instrument · Simmons-style synth drum machine

Not rated yet

Hex Drum is a synth drum instrument inspired by the hexagonal-pad Simmons SDS drum machines of the 1980s.

It has seven voices with oscillator, noise, click and LFO modules, choke groups and 40 kits, for $49.

Best for: Drums, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Pop, Rock & Indie.

Keywords: 80s, drum machine, hardware emulation, classic, simple, acoustic drums, inspired by, modern, sound design, vintage.

What it does

Hex Drum is a seven-voice drum synthesizer modelled on the Simmons SDS electronic drums of the 1980s, named after their hexagonal pads. The developer calls it "a classic drum machine sound, reimagined," with modern editing on top of the old architecture.

Seven voices: each drum voice is synthesised, not sampled, and can be given its own label; reviewers note the voices are colour-coded.
Oscillators: three analogue-inspired oscillator shapes per voice as the starting tone.
Sound modules: Tone, Noise, Click, LFO and Output sections shape the body, the noise content, the attack transient, modulation and the final level.
Choke groups: voices can cut each other off, for open and closed hats or layered hits that don't overlap.
Editing workflow: copy and paste a whole voice to another slot, then tweak it into a variation.
MIDI and automation: MIDI learn for hardware controllers, plus full DAW automation of the parameters.
Outputs: stereo, or multi-channel so each drum can go to its own mixer track.
Presets: 40 drum kits included, with a library of user-made presets also available.

The current version is 1.0.2 (November 2020). The demo is fully usable but outputs silence every 45 seconds. A user manual is included.

Source: Oblivion Sound Lab product page

When to use it

Hex Drum is the pick when you want the synthetic 80s Simmons sound and the freedom to reshape it, not a sample of it. Unlike Battery 4 and XO, which are built around samples you load and arrange, it builds every hit from oscillators, noise and click, so toms can be retuned and re-swept without artefacts. Compared with Nerve, it has no sequencer or sample import; it is a focused sound source that you play from your DAW's piano roll. It is also far cheaper than those three, but it covers one sound family where they cover many.

Best for: Simmons-style toms and tom fills, electronic snares, synthetic percussion and 80s kits.
Genres: synth pop, new wave, industrial, synthwave, electronic and 80s-styled rock.
Look elsewhere if: you need sampled acoustic drums or a built-in pattern sequencer; Battery 4 or XO cover sample-based kits and beat building.

What producers say

The few user reviews are all very positive, with praise for the toms, the SDS character and the simple interface.

KVR users rate it 5 out of 5 from 3 reviews. One called it a "sick implementation of the SDS sound" and liked the extra hi-hat and cowbell options.
Workflow: another KVR reviewer praised the colour-coded voices, easy copy and paste and preset handling, calling it "a simple idea" done well.
Sound: a Mac user singled out the toms and found it well suited to a Nine Inch Nails style.

KVR user reviews

Where to buy

Oblivion Sound Lab: $49

Tutorials and reviews

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