Superbooth 2023: Three New Shakmat Modules

US A hi-hat generator, kick drum synth and clock generator 12/05/23

Shakmat has introduced three new modules - the Battering Ram kick drum synth, Archer's Rig hi-hat generator, and Clock O Pawn mk2 clock generator. Here's the details in their own words...

Battering Ram
The Battering Ram is a bass drum synthesizer based on an original design by Marc Nostromo. The module offers control upon different parameters (decay, tuning, depth, click amount and drive) which have been carefully mapped to give sweet spots for every potentiometer settings combination.

The Battering Ram incorporates a drive section composed of two different types of wave-shapers going from smooth drive / compression to hard-clipping distortion for core music lovers. For further modular integration, an additional output provides the amplitude envelope or its inverted shape. The module is packed with other handy features such as a store- and recall-potentiometer-settings function, a 3 poles low cut switch and the possibility for the kick module to use gates instead of triggers. Despite its compact size, the Battering Ram provides a wide range of bass drum sounds from long sub bass drums to harsh techno kicks.

Archer's Rig
The Archer's Rig is a percussion sound generator focused on hi-hat and high-pitched percussion synthesis. The module's design is based on a mixed architecture composed of a flexible digital core, providing a versatile audio source, and a snappy envelope, both feeding an analog process chain consisting of a VCF, a VCA and distortions. The digital source generates different types of noises such as detuned pulses, filtered white noise or cross modulated VCOs, and is followed by an effect section spicing up the noise material with different algorithms like ring modulation, phasing, glitching and digital lo-fi processes Moreover, The Archer's Rig provides a direct access to the analog process chain, bypassing the digital sound generation, in order to feed it with any external textures. As the module offers a huge number of combinations of the different blocks, it is possible to save and load 96 presets which can be recalled by CV or select-bus.

The Archer's Rig incorporates a "randomization" function for each parameter, giving a humanized feeling at low amounts. However, pushing the randomization towards abusively high settings leads to instant IDMish results.

Thanks to its extensive list of features and its compact size (8hp), the Archer's Rig is a versatile hi-hat synthesis instrument and fits both studio setups and live racks.

Clock O Pawn mk2
This new version of our clock generation module is based on the same grounds as its predecessor: a transport section combined with a versatile and MIDI-compatible clock source. The intuitive transport section includes the usual play, stop, reset, pause, and tap tempo operations.

The clock source has been spiced up with a groove generator and a "humanize" function. Grooves consist in a set of different clock timing patterns and accent sequences. This feature gives a wide range of results from classic drum machine swings to modern hip-hop inspired grooves and even experimental clock manipulations, ... The "Humanize" function adds a subtle amount of randomness to the clock timing, breaking the monotonous and metronomic timing of modular synthesizers.

The module also provides a set of utilitarian features, making the Clock O'Pawn a suitable clocking tool for almost any modular rig. Last but not least, the different settings can be stored as presets in a non-volatile memory with select-bus recall capability.