The Ultimate Analog Drum Machine
If you're going to design an analog drum synth, who better to turn to than the inventor of several of the most influential drum machines ever made, Roger Linn? That's exactly who Dave Smith connected with when he set out to design the Tempest. To call the The Dave Smith Instruments Tempest a "drum machine" is nothing short of a colossal understatement. Rather, the Tempest is an all-in-one beat creation machine, capable of synthesizing, sequencing, and performing complete beat-based music. Don't let its old-school look fool you. There's absolutely nothing outdated about this fantastic instrument.
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Whether you want to tweak sounds in the studio, or perform live with 16 velocity-sensitive pads and 90 real-time controls, this is the drum machine for you. The back-lit drum pads are arranged in a convenient 8 x 2 matrix, so you can use them for live sound triggering or for step programming. In fact, the Tempest is so powerful, that every beat can have an entirely different set of parameters and completely different sounds.
Each of the Tempest's six analog voices has two analog oscillators plus two digital oscillators. It also comes with a massive bank of included samples, so you start off with plenty of sounds to manipulate and play with. Speaking of manipulations, the Tempest includes a VCA with feedback, five envelopes, two LFOs, and incredibly flexible modulation routings. You also get complete access to analog effects and processors, including compression and tube-style saturation/distortion. A large graphic display surrounded by dynamic function controls are makes routing and sound editing easy.
What's more, the Tempest also has excellent hands-on controls, including dedicated knobs for every common synthesis parameter, and two position-sensitive slide controllers, which are great for modulating effects parameters. If you've been dreaming of drum machine that gives you the best of analog and digital synthesis, you absolutely need to pick up a Dave Smith Instruments Tempest!
Dave Smith Instruments Tempest Analog Drum Machine Features at a Glance:- 16 pressure- and velocity-sensitive backlit drum trigger pads in an 8 x 2 matrix
- 6 analog voices, each with 2 analog oscillators and 2 digital oscillators, loaded with a large bank of included samples
- Modulation path includes Dave Smith's classic analog lowpass filter with audio-rate modulation, highpass filter, analog VCA with feedback, 5 envelopes, 2 LFOs, and an extraordinary variety of analog modulation routing options
- Doubles as a 6-voice analog synth
- 6 direct voice outputs plus stereo mix outputs, headphones outputs,
- 2 inputs for foot switches or expression pedals
- MIDI in/out
- USB
- 90 panel controls
- Bright 256 x 64 OLED display
- real-time and step recording
- ROLL button permits creating drum rolls or repeated groove patterns by varying pad pressure as
- the beat records
- ROLL button doubles as a momemtary "stutter" effect when the pads are assigned to play beats. Sustain button holds the note of tuned parts (like a keyboard's Sustain pedal) or to choke drum sounds or drumbeats when the pad is released
- 2 pressure- and position-sensitive Note FX slide controllers permit real-time recording of note or beat-wide sound parameter changes into the drumbeat as you play
- A variety of unique effects:
- Stereo analog compressor and distortion circuits affect the stereo output mix
- Beat-synced delay is achieved by generating additional delayed note events within the sequencer
- A beat-synced "stutter" effect is created entirely within the sequencer by looping short portions of the drumbeat on demand
- Adjustable swing timing with real-time control
- Dimensions: 15.4" L x 9" W x 2.5" H
