The Bleep Drum Synth is a classic style drum machine that focuses on ease of control with 40 total knobs, linear keyboard keys to play the sounds, easy to use 16 step sequencer, and screen used to display helpful info.
I’m sending this email to retailers to gauge interest and see if selling a $550 drum machine in summer 2025 makes any sense.
Here are the primary features:
- Eight sounds digitally synthesized at 96kHz (16b currently but hopefully 24b in the final)
- Delay and reverb effects
- CV input can be easily mapped to any control. Accepts 0-12V CV and trig.
- Trigger in and out can be for sounds or to control a sequence. For example a trig in could bring the sequence to a set step with a certain probability
- Line in to pass through built in effects
- Tempo sync i/o jacks
- One function per button with OLED displaying helpful information
- Automation for every control
- Sequence can be 128 steps long with simple and quick controls to edit each page
- Easily set sub-steps with a 12 per 16th note
- USB and DIN MIDI with included 1/8″ dongle
It’s just a little bigger than piece of paper. with the enclosure it’ll e around 9″x12″, 225x300mm
Final design will change but It’s pretty close already. There will probably just be starker lines between controls and narrower sequence buttons with a few more for settings.
Powered by USB C PD or 9-12V DC power supply.
This video demo shows off the basic functions. Planned additions are:
- Multiple synthesis models per sound that can easily be selected
- Probity for each step
- Sequence import and export from a computer with an easy web interface
- Swing and groove
- LEDs on each control to show automation
- Wooden enclosure
- Buttons for each CV and trig jack to easily control their function with the screen and edit knob
- Improved sequence buttons and LEDs.
One reason for making this device was to make a new classic drum machine that could be used to teach sequencing and synthesis (I made four of them to use in a recent educational series) as well as just be a fun all around device. To aid this goal I’ll be making a mac and pc app that will show all the sequences at once, display envelopes, provide more info on what each control is doing (think the info window in ableton) and allow deep editing of each model.
There will also be guides and videos on how to program the device to make your own sounds.
I’m aiming for a $525-575 retail price. Parts and labor are around $250.
Is this something you’d be interested in stocking?
Does the price matches the features? Of course I’d love to make a $200 drum machine but that’s not going to happen at my scale.
I’m not asking for preorders or anything right now. I just want to see how much interest there is while I fiddle with it for months.
Feel free to share any of this info and media, just don’t post it quite yet please.
Thanks for your time and support!
John-Mike
drbleep@bleeplabs.com