Knobula Drum Farm — Synthesis, Sampling and FX in One Eurorack Drum Module

Knobula Drum Farm — a 24HP performance-focused Eurorack module built for iterative drum sound design without screens or sub-menus.

One Module, the Whole Percussion Chain

Drum design in Eurorack has always involved compromise — a synthesis voice here, an effects module there, an external recorder to capture happy accidents before they vanish. Knobula's Drum Farm collapses that chain into 24HP. The module is built around three interlocking sections: a drum synth with 16 virtual analogue and physically modelled algorithms, an effects engine with 16 real-time processors (up to three running simultaneously), and a digital sampler with up to three playback voices. Every section feeds directly into the next, and the sampler runs continuously in the background, recording into 16 sequential audio buffers.

That background recording is the detail that makes Drum Farm genuinely useful for DnB producers. The moment you dial in a kick transient that cuts through a mix, or find a hi-hat decay that sits perfectly in a 170bpm groove, the module has already captured it. There is no scramble to re-trigger and record — the buffer already holds up to 16 iterations of what you just played. From there, those captures become playback voices, layerable with fresh synthesis and effects, ready to resample into richer, more complex percussion structures.

Synthesis Models Built for Drum Machines, Not Pads

The 16 drum algorithms span virtual analogue, physical modelling and spectral techniques. Knobula confirms the palette covers kicks, snares, claps, cymbals, clicks and electronic percussion — including sounds informed by TR-808 and TR-909 circuitry, alongside physically modelled drum membranes and spectral cymbals that sit well in the high-frequency density that dubstep and DnB arrangements demand. Each model exposes decay, pitch and two model-specific X/Y parameters, keeping sound design hands-on without requiring any menu navigation.

Knobula's no-screen, no-preset philosophy carries through every detail of the design. There are no sub-menus and no displays — just knobs, triggers and five CV/gate inputs that make every parameter assignable from a sequencer or modulation source. For producers running Eurorack alongside Ableton Live or a hardware sequencer, that means kick transient shape, effect type, sample selection and algorithm switching can all respond to CV in real time. Generative percussion patches, round-robin multi-samples and self-building drum kits are all within reach without additional modules.

Session Recall and Live Use

The module stores full sessions to microSD — buffers, knob positions, samples and settings, all saved together, with up to 32 sessions per card. That level of recall is unusual in a module of this size and price point, and it means Drum Farm functions as a studio tool as much as a performance instrument.

Pre-order is open now at £375 plus VAT through the Knobula shop, with the retail price rising to £449 GBP on release. Shipping is scheduled for June 2026, and the module can be seen in action at Superbooth 2026 in Berlin from 7–9 May.