Erica Synths Perkons HD-01 Drum Machine ‘Will Change Your Approach To Electronic Rhythm Synthesis’

At Superbooth 2021, Erica Synths officially introduced Perkons HD-01, a drum machine and synthesizer that they say “will change your approach to electronic rhythm synthesis.”

Perkons is named after the Baltic god of thunder, and Erica Synths says that it is “an instrument which bears the weight of a storm beneath its sturdy casing.

The drum machine features four sonically versatile hybrid voices (digital sound engine + analogue multimode filter with overdrive) and a sequencer with simultaneous control over all four percussion tracks.

Each voice has 3 sound engine modes, a HP/BP/LP filter and 8 controls for nuanced sound design, including an internal analogue BBD FX send. All voice parameter settings can be saved as KITS. To add dynamics to the performance, parameter automation is implemented and a modulation LFO can be assigned to all parameters.

It’s also designed to integrate with external gear. Each voice has a dedicated velocity-sensitive trigger input, individual output and FX send and return with 6.3mm jack sockets, along with extensive MIDI implementation.

All voices are summed and run through a built-in optical compressor and master overdrive.

Features:

  • 4 hybrid voices (digital sound engine and analogue multimode filter with overdrive)
  • 8 controls per voice
  • Velocity sensitive trigger inputs for drum pads
  • Individual voice outputs
  • Individual sends and returns
  • 64 kit and 64 pattern memory + additional memory on the SD card
  • Built-in analogue bucket brigade delay and optical compressor
  • Modulation LFO with morphing waveforms, phase shift and 8 destinations
  • 4 track sequencer, 4 time divisions and 4 time multiplications per track
  • Per-step ratchets and probabilities
  • 4 shuffle algorithms
  • MIDI IN and MIDI OUT

Audio demos are still to come at the Erica Synths site. Here’s an unofficial demo via Hainbach:

Here’s a preview via Gearspace:

Pricing and Availability

Perkons is expected to be available by the end of 2021, with a MAP of $1,999 USD, and  RRP of 1650 EUR (VAT excl.).

26 thoughts on “Erica Synths Perkons HD-01 Drum Machine ‘Will Change Your Approach To Electronic Rhythm Synthesis’

  1. Too many products with too little variation to the average consumer. They really need to cut some stuff and the costs associated with all that. They’d sell more, and people would know they value mature products.

    1. This is a sign that there’s too much competition in a small market. They’re forced to release new products on an accelerated cycle because there are a limited number of customers able to pay $2K for an instrument.

  2. Nice concept but 4 voices only for a drum machine seems quite limiting, especially considering the price. They should maybe have added another 2 fully digital, sample-based channels (using the circuitry of their sample drum eurorack module for instance) to justify the price.

  3. I‘d love know if there are differences in the voices if you would be able to do 4 kick drums or 4 hi hat’s with them…?! Probably not I guess, but one may hope I suppose.

  4. It won’t stand out among the competitors with 4 digital voices. In the large size of its housing, I could cobble together something from their huge selection of Eurorack that blows this Perkons up.

    1. What would the screen be for? There are plenty of LEDs in the switches. That should tell you quite a bit about the state of play. Many great drum machines survived without one. There’s more than one way to get information across

  5. It looks and pretty surely sounds very nice but the price point..for that kind of money I’d rather go for the pulsar and have a plethora of possibilities compared, and use an external sequencer like a cirklon. For live use this might be a top minimised to the max choice though, then again for studio use so so, no individual outs (you could use the sends) and so on.
    I guess they rather aim at the professional performer market nowadays and it makes sense as the cheapo stuff is a bit inflationary anyways and not wanting to be a part of this I can definitely relate to.
    …if I’d had to spend money (and have the money after all) then definitely yes, this and the syntax or a black system, give them to me :()

  6. Too much dosh for what it does. It is cool as sh’t but for 2 grand I could get two machines. But I do love it though.
    Damn them for making it so pricey…..

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