Bradshaw Instruments has introduced Drumkid, an aleatoric drum machine, now available as a Eurorack module.

Drumkid is essentially a standard drum machine, but with the ability to add (or subtract) hits from a rhythm using probability.

Here’s how they explain how it works:

“Imagine starting with a basic drum beat, then flipping a coin on each beat to decide whether to add an extra snare hit. Drumkid does this, but with fine control over, for instance, how often to flip the coin, which channels the coin flip will apply to, how likely the coin flip is to result in “heads”, etc.

In practice, this gives you several knobs (and CV input signals) which can affect the flow of randomness in a way that feels intuitive and musical, producing a sort of hybrid between programmed and live drums.

It’s also possible to push Drumkid outside the realm of human-playable rhythms and into weirder, glitchier beats that operate at high frequencies, creating oscillator-like sounds.”

Features:

• 2 x audio outputs (CD-quality, 44.1kHz, 16-bit)
• 4 x trigger outputs
• 4 x CV inputs
• Clock input/output (adjustable)
• 12 x parameter knobs
• SD card slot for loading samples
• Tap tempo
• Live edit and step edit
• Tuplet modes (triplet, quintuplet, septuplet)
• 4-digit LED display
• Open source design with editable firmware
• 24HP, 55mm deep
• Current draw: 55mA +12V, 20mA -12V

Pricing and Availability:

Drumkid is available now to pre-order, priced at £250.00 GBP.