Vermona DRM1 MKIII Video & Review

[Oliver Chesler]

Watch the video of the Vermona DRM1 MKIII (all the sounds are pure uneffected Vermona DRM1):
Vermona DRM1 MKIII - Drum Machine on Vimeo

About two weeks ago I purchased a brand new Vermona DRM1 MKIII from Schnieders Buero in Berlin. I’ve had some time to play with it and am ready to report to you. These things are in demand and back ordered. It took almost three weeks for Vermona to deliver my DRM1 to Herr Schnieder. There is a good reason why: these sound smashing!



There is nothing like the Vermona DRM1. It is a fully analog drum machine done right. The super fast attack time on the kick and snare make them snap and crack in a way that will make you say “YES THIS IS IT!”. The hi hats are so smooth, bright and shimmer without any EQ needed. The DRM1 has a real spring reverb built into it and when turned up on the clap and snare channels the clock turns back to 1980. There’s are also multiple extra drum channels for lazer zaps or toms which can be manipulated to the extreme with FM. If I had to describe it’s overall tone in one word I would say: chrome!



It uses standard midi but you can not record knob changes into your DAW. You will need to put your hands on the controls, start recording it as audio and capture your movements in real time. You can’t save presets. Thank god for that. The main point of all those knobs is to focus in on each song your doing and tune each sound, the hi hat decay level, the snap of the kick. There is a pan control for each sound and individual outputs for each channel.



The unit is metal and feels very well built. Vermona is from East Germany. The reason you buy something like this is the sound.

[fondone]

looks awesome I cant wait to order mine.....

however it seems like analogue haven isn't selling the chrome knobbed mk111 anymore?


does vermona have a dealer in CANADA?

[Oliver Chesler]

You will love it. I'm not sure who the Vermona dealer in Canada is. Here's a few places in North America other than Analogue Haven you can try:
Big City Music
Robotspeak
Nova Musik.

[clusterchord]

im having wet dreams of jomox888 running in tandem with chrome drm1 mk3 via extra midi seq tracks.. i love the vermona sound, and hihats are AMAZING. in general, analogue hihats are esp nice to process afterwards...


thanks for the effort



PS i use my digital camera for most things that havent got patch memory, like analog fx.. compelx routing on patch bay etc.. the clean front panel with knob-per-function of Vermona seems like really simple to take a snapshot of.

[Oliver Chesler]

I also just added a video for The Voice of Saturn Synthesizer & Sequencer:
The Voice of Saturn - Synth & Sequencer on Vimeo

[GYang]

What a horror

[Altitude909]

Originally Posted by GYang

What a horror

Seriously, thanks for the demos. Two pieces of kit I am DEFINITELY not considering buying any more.

[Jazzpunk]

Originally Posted by GYang

What a horror

I think that's sort of the appeal. One man's horror is another man's sonic orgasm!

[GYang]

Originally Posted by Jazzpunk

I think that's sort of the appeal. One man's horror is another man's sonic orgasm!

No doubt, deep in dark basement someone might find it stimulating enough for mind orgies.

[lauschepper]

speaking of orgasms...

that drm definitely looks hot. i dont believe that it goes for 570€ in germany!

i still got a couple of questions,

1. are the kick drums really THAT good? harmony central reviews were alltogether positive. i consider swapping it for my mbase 01 and an airbase, but only if the kicks are as punchy and versatile as the mbases one.

2. since i didnt hear anything bad about vermonas customer support (if there is any at all) and i live in germany, can the trigger inputs or the chrome knobs be attached by them later on, like the wooden side frames?

hope someone can give me further impressions

[rachel]

I love my DRM-I Mk-III. Coupled with the Octopus it is the ultimate x0x.


rachel

[lauschepper]

so it actually can replace an mbase 01 and an airbase?

by the way, i never really created "presets" anyway, so the "no memory function" suits me quite well.

[Oliver Chesler]

The kick drum can go from a sharp tight click all the way to a long bass heavy decay. The kick sounds very analog and yet different than an 808 or 909. I own an MBase01 and for some songs use the Vermona and others the MBase01.

My Vermona broke shortly after I bought it. One of the pan knobs had no effect. I called and sent it to Vermona and they fixed ii free and mailed it back to me within the same week.

[living sounds]

I had both a DRM1 (MK1) and an Mbase01 once. Boy am I happy to be rid of them. Most useless pieces of gear I ever had, they didn't get used in even a single song.

The kickdrum of the Airbase is actually useable, though the Roland boxes really play in their own category.

[noizek@t]

Originally Posted by GYang

What a horror

are you joking, 'cause he's The Horrorist, or are you serious?

sarcasm doesn't translate well through text, so I genuinely don't know.

I used to have a DRM1 mkII, but I thought it was lacking in the kick department... I have an m-base 11 now, though, so even if I bought a mkIII, I guess it wouldn't really matter if the kick was lacking or not, 'cause the m-base is a little monster!

@ the OP: see you @ Vendetta Festival! We (Revolution State) are playing in the 25th, and I believe you're playing the 26th? ^_^

[Reptil]

voice of saturn is a nice sequencer DIY project.
some fat noises from that synth (PWM I like) though nothing I couldn't pull out of a doepfer a-110, that example is pretty 'horror' yes

the vermona isn't "my sound" but it's a very good drumsynth. I've played an MK1 a couple of times. It's snappy and the envelopes are accurate.
The construction is solid, and support in europe too.
I'd guess if you buy from a dealer in the USA or Canada, they'll take care of the support.

[Lemonsqueezer]

Originally Posted by living sounds

I had both a DRM1 (MK1) and an Mbase01 once. Boy am I happy to be rid of them. Most useless pieces of gear I ever had, they didn't get used in even a single song.

The kickdrum of the Airbase is actually useable, though the Roland boxes really play in their own category.

So what ARE you using then?

[living sounds]

Originally Posted by Lemonsqueezer

So what ARE you using then?

A 909, a 727, an 808 Kickdrum module I build myself and lot's of synths and samplers.
And I'd rather use just samples through decent outboard than the Mbase or DRM.

[Lemonsqueezer]

Originally Posted by living sounds

A 909, a 727, an 808 Kickdrum module I build myself and lot's of synths and samplers.
And I'd rather use just samples through decent outboard than the Mbase or DRM.

any examples for us to hear?

[Jarkko]

Originally Posted by living sounds

A 909, a 727, an 808 Kickdrum module I build myself and lot's of synths and samplers.
And I'd rather use just samples through decent outboard than the Mbase or DRM.

Maybe there was something wrong with your DRM? My DRM is like 808 with steroids.

[Lemonsqueezer]

Originally Posted by Jarkko

Maybe there was something wrong with your DRM? My DRM is like 808 with steroids.

maybe it was user error

[Jarkko]

Originally Posted by Lemonsqueezer

maybe it was user error

Well you said that. What I mean is that sometimes these units are not okay and they might sound like crap, without being too obvious. For example, I had MFB box that didn't sound too good and it turned out there was some trouble with the low end. Returned it, got my money back.

[living sounds]

Originally Posted by Jarkko

Maybe there was something wrong with your DRM? My DRM is like 808 with steroids.

I don't know. It was an earlier model, MK1. I've heard some examples from the MK3 and thought it sounded somewhat better. But an 808 it is not. I expected it to be kind of like a CR78 on steroids, but the Roland box sounds far more vibey and refined in comparison.

And the Jomox box just couldn't do punchy, even with the best outboard processing.

Even a freeware plugin like Drumatic3 (through an outboard compressor and board EQ) delivers more punch (kickdrum, rest are samples):
www.scherer.de/Download/Sunbeam(master2).mp3

User error my a**.

[lowkey]

I just finished a mix of a track. All of the percussion is from the DRMmkII. Processed through a MH2882, then a bit of work itb. I think it works well for deep sounding tracks.

lowkey+nude - Piano Dub [303mix] - SoundCloud

[Veck]

Hey Low Key!

Nice off beat Hihat you have in your track I think it's much better and organized now, cool track thumbsup

Best,
theo

[Bio]

And the Jomox box just couldn't do punchy, even with the best outboard processing.

I have Cwejman DADSR Enveloppe with attack time under 0.5 ms, I can assure you the 888 can be very punchy!

Sure, the snare is not, but with outboard, it's easy to make it snap, use a sample from another track for extra punch.

[living sounds]

Originally Posted by Bio

I have Cwejman DADSR Enveloppe with attack time under 0.5 ms, I can assure you the 888 can be very punchy!

Sure, the snare is not, but with outboard, it's easy to make it snap, use a sample from another track for extra punch.

I wasn't talking about the 888. That one makes the best kickdrum Jomox has to offer (besides the Sunsyn maybe). I was talking abou the Mbase01.

[PTB]

Originally Posted by lowkey

I just finished a mix of a track. All of the percussion is from the DRMmkII. Processed through a MH2882, then a bit of work itb. I think it works well for deep sounding tracks.

lowkey+nude - Piano Dub [303mix] - SoundCloud

Cool deep house with a touch of acid. I definitely hear the vermona at work. What are you using to trigger/sequence the vermona? I like the swing/groove you have going...it's light but it works. I feel like my hats are too rigid when drawing them in Live...any suggestions?

The delay on the clap is the ITB processing you mention?

[lowkey]

^im triggering the Vermona fron the d16 drumazon 909 vsti. So I can dial in a bit of shuffle. Then the closed hat is running through a Roland Space Echo to give it a nice bit of extra shuffle/movement. I'd have to have a look at the cubase file to see what the clap went through but I think it may have been a delay in reaktor. Then everything except the kick has a bit of Stillwell cmx I think it's called.
I'm definitely getting into the DRM1. I think it's really easy to get it sounding right, especially for deep sounding stuff.

[PeteJames]

I've been thinking about getting one of these for a couple of years now. I can't decide whether it's too metallic and cold sounding. Seems like it'd only be good for cold dark german minimal stuff but I may be wrong. I love the idea of a hands on drum synth but I'd need a new soundcard or a mixer and a 999 / 909 / machnedrum to sequence it with, obviously I'd imagine half the fun of out of the box drum machines is in the sequencer.