Baby Audio Tekno - Drum Synth

[Igro]

Its funky, but has the same problem that most synthesized drum machines (Microtonic, Drum Computer etc) have: it sounds a bit too metallic and plinky plonky. Great for industrial, experimental, special fx et al, but not quite the drum sampler replacement it's being marketed as. At least not for more commercial styles. I think Punchbox got it almost right.

The sampler is a sample player. It doesn't sound by itself. You are probably referring to processesed samples that loaded into the sampler.

[concealed identity]

ridiculous interface design does not make you want to use the plugin:
-completely unnecessary and non-functional visualization from the right takes up a third of the plugin screen, while to get to the really important calibration settings you need to mouse click and scroll(!) what the heck? make the knobs smaller don't steal my time on scrolling, you want me clicking and scrolling for all 18 drums, (it would be faster to open Microtonic or freeware Geonkick do everything in one page interface)
...

On the subject of UI, I do not get that hex drum visual pad layout at all. It doesn't match either a keyboard or any standard pad controller arrangement. All it does is confuse me when I'm trying to play.

And yeah, that logo filling the right third is a bit silly too.

I have great respect for Baby Audio, own and like several of their plugins, and understand that sound should be more important than UI. Moreover, I've seen comments from people on other forums who like the hex layout imagery, and I recognize there's no pleasing everyone. I wash Baby Audio every success with this plugin. But personally, I just can't get past the interface issues, and in a croweded plugin market (where I already have plenty of drum plugins, and am always looking for any excuse not to add even more suplusage to my collection), it's enough to get me to pass.

I've only watched the promo videos for it, but I was also confused why they went with that hex layout for the different drums. I figured once I demoed it I would see some advantages, but at first glance I don't really see how it's useful.

[kraster]

I think Tekno's strength is as an emulation of analog drum machines not as an analogue inspired parametric digital drum machine like Microtonic.

I don't think it sounds particularly metallic (unless you're intentionally leaning into metallic sounds like cymbals etc).

Softube's heartbeat is similar but I've never gelled with that at all.

The DSP in Tekno is fantastic, imho. (Which is not surprising given that Jatin Chowdhury is involved.)

All the distortion, saturation and filters sound great and really sell the sound. For instance the drive control in the limiter adds some really lovely crunchiness. The master filter is great for tightening up the bottom end and giving the top end a more vintage character. The humanise timing controls also add a lovely sense of the timing looseness of analog sequencers

The UI is definitely a bit convoluted (for instance the Q for the master filter is in the other section of the master calibration.)

Another cool thing is the swing control. At 50% with 8th note resolution it goes into 6/8!

It pairs very well with Playbeat 4 once you set up the midi outputs in PB4.

[toitoi]

I've only watched the promo videos for it, but I was also confused why they went with that hex layout for the different drums.

this is a rather unfortunate reference to Simmons SDS V drum-synthesizer

[slackhead]

[whassup]

Interesting plugin.
At first I thought it sounds not special.
And I still mostly think so as it doesn't stick out a lot but rather impresses with a certain pre-mixed, pre-polished sound.
Everything already sounds nice and just right.
Nothing bothers, no rough edges or quirks, soundwise. For good and for bad.
So I think it sounds really good, not spectacular or something. Just solid. Really solid.
And the rest is just:
No sequencer, duh.
The GUI, well thanks for those flashing hexagons. Not my cup of whatever.
Yeah, no sequencer. Not even a poor one.
My temp conclusion: For this price an easy pass for me.
I recommend it if you have a goood (step-)sequencer solution that you combine it with and you like that good pre-mixed sound.
Then it can be a no brainer.
I am used to mixing myself and injecting various analog flavours into other drumcomputers so that the really good pre-mixed sound is not an advantage for me.

[JoeCat]

I like any synthesized drum option (with or without the sequencer) and LOVE the ability to route only certain pads out.
But - what's missing for me is the ability to load any generator in any pad. Not an issue for most people I'm sure, but for those of us not using traditionalize setups, I might want more than a few of a particular synth, but here I'm locked into two kicks, one tonal generator, etc. per kit.
Unless I'm missing something? Generator flexibility and copy/paste would have me there for the intro price.

[cfernn]

Just demoed it. I think it's worth about $30-$40. $129 reg is just strange. Who would pay that?

The source sounds and sound design process is what I care about and this one falls short on both. Snare noise decay being labelled "sizzle" makes me violent. I also CAN'T STAND reverb and effects built into drum machines. I got enough plugins for that. If you can't sell us with the dry sounds then we got a problem.

[oobesan]

There are just way too many of these analog drum synths out there. They all sound extremely similar. And that sound is, in my opinion, very niche. Personally, I can't imagine this being used for modern techno, despite its namesake. Not to mention that you can, very quickly, pull up a drum synth preset in Vital, Serum, Pigments, Phaseplant, Surge XT (hell, even an SEM clone like the free one from Cherry Audio) and get extremely close to whatever sound that is coming out of Tekno, and then just tweak the patch to your liking (just like with Tekno). And no sequencer? For a drum synth that cost $129 reg?? Unfiltered Audio Battalion, which is currently $99, but spent most of the last 12 months on sale for $79 (same price as Tekno currently), offers a whole lot more, if you are in to analog percussion. Maybe I'll see what Tekno 2 has to offer a couple of years from now.

[bermudagold]

I'm always surprised after all the advances in tech, that these things pretty much still haven't seemed to have advanced much in sound...none of them really sound better to me than dks from 20 yrs ago...and it seems whenever I hear a software synth drum that catches my ear its never from a drum machine...go figure...for instance 9b0 just dropped an amazing sounding faux real snare

[Gam456]

Unfiltered Audio Battalion, which is currently $99, but spent most of the last 12 months on sale for $79 (same price as Tekno currently), offers a whole lot more, if you are in to analog percussion. Maybe I'll see what Tekno 2 has to offer a couple of years from now.

Battalion is a beast but quite complex
It's still on sale on Unfiltered web site

[pekbro]

But I already have Battalion...

[kraster]

Battalion is way more into experimental territory than Tekno. Their only real similarity is that they’re parametric/algorithmic drum machines.

Battalion excels at more unconventional percussion synthesis but I find myself relying on its sampler for more conventional drum sounds.

I absolutely love Battalion but it’s one of the last things I’d use for more conventional drum sounds.

Tekno is more tied to classic analog drum synthesis so it’s a lot quicker to get more bread and butter sounds.

What I like about Tekno is that due to its modelling paradigm you can shape sounds based on tweaking a component within the circuit.

For example, most engines in Tekno use an impulse into a resonating filter. In some engines like the kick you can do micro adjustments of the impulse like filtering the impulse or adjusting its size. These are micro adjustments of virtual components but they can have a huge effect downstream.

Adjusting the width of the impulse, for example, sends more energy into the filter which in turn brings out some of the non linearities of the filter.

A lot of the things we know and love about classic drum machines behave like this. ie. The sounds are emergent properties of how the components react.

One example is the classic pitch slide that’s part of a lot of analog kicks was an unintended side effect of the circuit’s behaviour.

It’s definitely worth digging into Tekno with this kind of approach.

[Hettoblaster]

Its funky, but has the same problem that most synthesized drum machines (Microtonic, Drum Computer etc) have: it sounds a bit too metallic and plinky plonky. Great for industrial, experimental, special fx et al, but not quite the drum sampler replacement it's being marketed as. At least not for more commercial styles. I think Punchbox got it almost right.

The sampler is a sample player. It doesn't sound by itself. You are probably referring to processesed samples that loaded into the sampler.

Interestested to demo Tekno, but was already waiting for Punchbox 2, which should be out 'soon'..
Maybe punchbox 2 has more/new tricks up the sleeve, and update should be €29 (or €19) based on the other D16 updates... Hmmm [only used PB for kicks though, nothing else. were you trowing in other sound samples?]

[Sonic Illusions]

Like it, bread butter and fx. Also has the Phil Collins look. That said... CPU usage?