Richie Hawtin’s new drum machine can sequence pretty much anything
Bullfrog Drums by Erica Synths is fully sample-based, so your "drums" can be chord stabs, drones or abstract noise, with probability & micro-timing built in
Erica Synths and Richie Hawtin first teased Bullfrog Drums at Superbooth 2024, and now it's finally here. It's a seven-voice sample-based drum machine and CV/gate sequencer with X0X-style sequencing (the same button layout you'd recognise from a Roland 909).
Bullfrog Drums sits alongside the existing Bullfrog Synth in Erica's educational line-up, and combining the two creates a self-contained electronic music production and performance setup.
Despite its beginner-friendly branding, the sequencer packs serious features.
Each of the seven tracks supports per-step parameter locks, meaning you can program individual steps to change pitch, decay, loop point, cutoff, resonance, drive, and pan independently. There's also micro-timing, ratchets, rolls, probability, and odd time signatures, spread across 64 patterns in four banks.
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When it comes to sampling, sound gets into the machine three ways: a line input, a built-in microphone, or preloaded samples from its 64MB of memory.
Also, because every voice is sample-based, you're not limited to drums; anything goes, from chord stabs to abstract noise to drones.
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Seven factory sample banks come preloaded, curated by Hawtin and the Erica Synths team, with room for 16 more user banks loaded via USB.
A built-in speaker means you can use it straight out of the box, no cables required. Around the back you'll find USB-C, 5-pin DIN MIDI in/out, clock in/out/reset, CV/gate outputs, and stereo audio in/out.
The Bullfrog Drums is priced at €600 (approximately $699 USD); purchase here.
Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.
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