Features:

  • 6 analog voices, up to 12 PCM voices
  • Save up to 100 Kit and 100 pattern presets
  • 12 multi-touch, double-velocity pads
  • 64-Step sequencer, 8 parameters per step
  • Usb and 2.5mm MIDI, audio in and out
Volca Beats Killer!

This drum machine is everything I wished my Volca Beats was. It has all the features I missed with the Beats that kept me from using it in my productions like, MIDI out, patch storage, extra pattern storage, accent levels for the individual sounds, swing, not to mention extras like totally useable built in compression and drive. All while still being portable and powered by batteries! I think IK hit the balance just right with this one. Useable for recording and gigs while still being portable and battery powered. I know some people don't care about battery power, but part of what I like about my electronic instruments vs my "real" acoustic and electric instruments is playing them in bed or on a trip. However, I don't want these to be "toys" because if I come up with something I like I want to be able to take that inspirtation and make something with it. I hope other companies take note and I hope IK keep making battery powered hardware. UNO synth was good, and UNO drum is great, so how about a QUATTRO synth? (hint hint)

Workflow improvements, sound variety, and feature depth make an excellent budget drum machine!

In 2018, IK Multimedia shifted from its traditional focus on music software to release the UNO Synth – a battery powered, feature-laden mono synth with an impressive price point of $199.99. I thought that UNO Synth was pretty good device, but it had some maddening shortcomings (especially prior to some firmware updates) that kept me from using it more often. So, when IK announced the UNO Drum this year, I was interested, but also somewhat skeptical. At $249.99, the price point was as close to some full-sized drum machines (such as the Arturia DrumBrute Impact, or Behringer’s 808 clone) as it was to something like the Korg Volca Beats/Sample/Drum. Fortunately, the UNO Drum seems to have a series of subtle improvements in workflow and functionality over its synthesizer predecessor, and just might have found the sweet spot between portability, sound quality, and ease of use. I can’t cover everything, but here’s a few highlights of my early experiences with the UNO Drum: SOUND VARIETY: The UNO Drum offers BOTH analog and digital/PCM instruments. This is actually pretty common, as my understanding is that some of the classic drum machines of the 80’s we consider “analog” also featured some digitally-sampled instruments. There are 12 instruments, and up to 11 of those can be sounded simultaneously (impressive compared the Volca offerings). Several of the instruments (the kicks and snare, for sure) offer an analog version and 5 digital variants. I find them to be well-varied and while you cannot load your own samples, there’s a lot more types of sounds available to you in the UNO Drum compared to a purely analog unit like the Arturia. By that same token, the UNO Drum doesn’t offer great depth in terms of sound design or synthesis. You’ll want to look at something like the Volca Drum (or a more expensive unit) if that’s your thing. You can control “snap”, change the decay from percussive to long, swelling bass notes, tune each instrument, and that’s about it. The Kick has an FM modifier, and the Snare has a low pass filter, but the other instruments do not have any additional parameters. Still, I thought everything sounded great, and I actually appreciate the simplicity in getting to sounds I wanted, and then storing all of the parameters as one of 100 “Kits”. HARDWARE QUALITY: The slim design and capacitive touch of the UNO Drum is very similar to the layout of the UNO Synth, but it just makes a lot more sense for a drum machine. You get 12 pads for triggering live notes, and then a 16-step sequencer familiar descended from Roland x0x machines. The pads respond reasonably well, but sometimes they fail to trigger. Each pad actually has a normal and accent “zone”, and I suspect there is just a bit of dead zone in between. But you can usually get close enough playing live for the quantizing to kick in, and you can always program each instrument as a step sequencer. I notice at least two hardware differences from the UNO Synth. First, they improved the power switch so it clicks into place instead of sliding aimlessly. Second, several of the encoder knobs that require fine tuning have a lot more firmness when you turn them, so you have better control and are less likely to bump them out of position. These are appreciated changes, even if it’s still basically the same form factor. SIGNIFICANT WORKFLOW IMPROVEMENTS: However, where the UNO Drum really pulls away from the UNO Synth (and from some of its similarly priced drum machine competitors, for that matter) is in the vastly improved U.I. and feature set. The UNO Drum has 100 patterns and 100 kits, and they are independent of each other. You can actually keep a pattern playing and audition different “kits’. There’s even a cool cancel feature that removes all of your manual sound changes and reverts to the saved kit – great for live playing or experimentation. UNO Synth only supported single bars of up to 16 steps (and no great way to switch between patterns), but UNO Drum expands this to up to 64 steps (4 bars)! UNO Drum also has a Song Mode supporting up to 64 patterns, so you can easily chain patterns together into entire songs. Another great feature of the UNO series is parameter recording and per-step editing. Say you have a kick drum that sounds like a pitched bass note. I can long press the step for each note and adjust the pitch for just that note. So you actually can make pitched sequences without fumbling with the controls during a live pass on each note. Features like this really make this an interesting alternative to something like the DrumBrute Impact – I owned one briefly and it sounded great, but being fully-analog, it would only do what the physical knobs were telling it to do. The UNO Drum, in my opinion, is capable of far more creative and varied patterns due to its ability to record changes to all of the sound parameters. ADDITIONAL EFFECTS & PERFORMANCE TOOLS: As an added benefit, there are “Roll” and “Stutter” buttons that allow you trigger individual notes, or make the entire pattern slow down and lunge according to one of 10 selected behaviors. I found the stutter a little unpredictable but also a lot of fun. The roll feature is great for simulating fills. The “Random” button is a feature often seen in software drum machines, but is a great addition here. It basically generates a random pattern for the selected instrument, and you can keep cycling through until you find one interesting. I did wish that it could be set to randomize more than just note trigger, however, such as tuning and decay, but it’s still very useful. Finally, the UNO Drum has universal compression and drive effects, and these further emphasize the aggressive, lo-fi nature of the UNO’s sound. I believe that the effects may also be applied to the input signal from the 3.5mm jack on top of the unit, but have yet to try that. FINAL THOUGHTS: I will update my review later if any problems arise. There does seem to be some weird behavior with the FM modifier on the kick drum (a sustained artificial pitch after the note dies out), but that could also just be my own ignorance as to what that is doing. I should note that the UNO Drum is still a pretty fragile device and it’s not the type of thing you can just throw in a bag, given the protruding knobs. Battery life should be around 3-4 hours, which isn’t overly impressive, but good enough. The UNO Drum, like many affordable pieces of audio hardware, has a high noise floor that sounds like a “hiss” when you turn it up. But I’ve just been blown away at how easy the UNO is to use and how fun and varied the sounds are. I’ve owned and sold a lot of entry-level music gear because after the initial coolness wore off, I was left with the thought of “Okay, but how do I USE this?!?” I already have a pretty good idea how I might use the UNO Drum. The expansion to 64 steps and addition of Song Mode are a big factor in that, and I’m rediscovering interest in my UNO Synth by connecting it as a MIDI “slave” to the UNO Drum. IK Multimedia seemed to have married the portability of the Volca Series, the fun factor and live tweakability of the Pocket Operator gadgets, and the sounds of many classic drum machines into a single unit. You won’t confuse it for a high-end piece of audio equipment, but it’s a well-designed drum machine that is fun and “just serious enough” to be a real tool for music creation.

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