Kick, snare, hat, tom, and sequencer – the makers of Max remind us that patching your own drum machine gives you something unique. And they invited four artists to join in with some creative ideas. Grab the patches and see what you can learn.

Drum voices are always a great way to learn patching and synthesis – sometimes even in ways that start as a kick and wind up as something completely different. So it’s a perfect project. The artists here are all folks we admire in the world of DIY creation – glia, Tom Hall, Ned Rush, Leslie García, and Too_Hands.

You can check out their ideas, and if you’re a Max user, try out the patch. (You’ll need a copy of Max to give this a go, though the demo will work – and you could open it in Max for Live and adapt it as a Live device, too.)

glia – Sequencer: Based on probability and density rather than fixed steps – big fan of glia’s music, and the way they conceive sequencers is a big part of it, so this is already a highlight

Tom Hall – Kick: An elegant patch (just eight objects) capable of synthesizing a variety of sounds

Ned Rush – Snare: Classic synth with some big twists – FM and random frequencies, plus filter

Leslie García – Too_Hands: Noise plus envelope curve, but then clever resonant filter options and ping-pong delay, from long-time CDM favorite Microhm

Too_Hands – Tom: I’m waiting for people to start trying to call Too_Hands “Tom” but – their name isn’t Tom, it’s Too_Hands. Tom is the drum, here that drives from simple to “over-caffeinated” with randomness and dirt. (Also, hey Too_Hands, you’re also from Louisville, Kentucky?)

Read more and download the patch:

Collaborative Drum Kit in Max [Cycling ’74]

Leslie also shared a bunch of additional details, so hats off to her — ow — no, please stop throwing those at me! Fine, fine “thanks, Leslie.”

CDM is a home for people who make and play music and motion.

Get news and special deals from us in your inbox weekly:

Opt in to receive news and updates.

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Made by Create Digital Media, GmbH in Berlin