Jürgen Michaelis presents his new Alpha Base at Superbooth17. The drum machine features a hybrid design with eleven instruments, sampling capabilities and sequencer.

Kick and snare circuits of the Alpha Base are fully analog. The latter is a complete MBrane voice, meaning it can also be used to create percussion hits, cow bells, claves, toms and so forth. Six other instrument channels produce sound with the help of sample players plus metallic noise generators. Results are fed into analog filters and VCAs for processing. Two of these drum voices feature VCFs especially designed for sculpting hi hats. The other instances come equipped with multimode filters. (Low pass, band pass and high pass modes / -12 dB per octave).

Additionally, there are two completely digital instrument channels. Again, samples are used to generate sound. – It is even possible to record short audio snippets of up to four seconds directly into these channels (WAV / AIFF format, 16 Bit / 48 kHz). Results can be allocated to other sample based drum voices. For storing data, a SD card slot was implemented.

Last but not least, the Alpha Base features a FM Synth with four operators. Thanks to its six note polyphony, users can not only create wicked percussion sounds, but chords and melodies as well. All instrument channels possess a comprehensive set of editing options and modulators. For refining sounds, delay and reverb effects were implemented.

The Alpha’s sequencer offers eleven tracks, pattern can have a length of up to 64 steps. Besides notes, it is also possible to record parameter changes. The last step of a pattern is definable per track. (Great for polyrhythmic beats.) Shuffle and micro step options, roll and flam functions plus parameter locks give beats a nice, groovy touch. A chaining mode allows users to link patterns.

For external control and synchronization, the Alpha Base was equipped with MIDI-DIN, USB and DIN-Sync connectors.

More information on the Alpha Base can be found at the Jomox website.