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Key Features
Product Ref: 94871
Tiptop Audio have managed to faithfully recreate the circuitry from the classic '80s drum machine to bring you an uncompromised percussion sound in a unique and functional modular format. Designed to work alongside their other drum modules in the series, the BD909 delivers that mid-to-low focused bass drum tone in heaps, with plenty of additional features added in for creating that personal touch and sculpting the ideal sound for your project. The modular format enables incredible customisation within your rig, and the BD909 will fit perfectly in existing and new setups thanks to its versatile circuitry and compact design.
Tiptop Audio have also added an in-house designed dual pulse-shaper circuit, enabling you to trigger the BD909 using Trigger or Gate signals from a variety of other equipment such as clock dividers, step sequencers, or other clock/pulse sources. This design means you get the same stable sound at its peak power regardless of differences in your pulse source without the need to shape the pulses sent to the module.
Accent is what makes a beat sound natural and full of life. The BD909 features an accent input, which is a gate/trigger signal. When this accent input is not in use, the incoming gate input is routed to both the accent input and the gate input, serving two purposes. It allows you to reach the hottest drum sound possible, even when no accent input signal is connected, whilst simultaneously utilising the Accent control knob to act as a fine control for the output gain level. However, when connecting to the accent input, the gate input routing will be broken, allowing for independent control over your desired accent regardless of the incoming gate signal. Setting the knob higher will result in large gain level differences between accented and un-accented notes, where as lower will have the opposite effect. Compared to the original drum machine which featured a global accent control which affected all of the sounds on the machine at the same time, the BD909 gives you complete independent control over the accent of your sounds without compromising your other modules, giving you extensive dynamic options.
Equipped with three tuning control knobs, the BD909 also features a VC tune with an attenuator knob for scaling the control signal. This gives the BD909 an incredibly wide range of tuning, enhancing the original circuit and converting it into a full-blown bass drum laboratory. By using the OSC Tune knob, you are able to offset the start and end frequency of your bass drum sound, while the Tune Decay replicates the original tune knob that can be found on the classic '80s drum machine, just with a slightly extended range. However, the BD909 also features a new and unique control, known as Tune Attack. This not only adds variation to your sound, it also works with and affects the Tune Decay knob directly. This interaction opens up a significantly wider array of "sweet spots" compared to the original machine, giving you an enormous and flexible range of sonic possibilities. These three knobs work as the foundation of the BD909's synthesis capabilities.
The BD909 is based on a triangle voltage controlled oscillator and a sine wave shaper. This shaper takes the triangle wave, filters out the harmonics associated with a triangle wave, and creates a sound much more reminiscent of a sine wave. This waveshaper features an Overload knob and a CV input in its circuit, which allows you to have full control over the Overload within the waveshaper's circuit. This enables you to add a variety of odd harmonics to the wave shape, resulting in more punch at lower settings, up to complete brutal distortion at higher doses.
The BD909 truly shines when played alongside a big bass line. With the majority of its energy focusing on the mid range of the frequency spectrum, the BD909 allows plenty of room for those big, booming sub-bass sounds without getting in the way and fighting for space in the mix or becoming muddy. This makes it the perfect choice for creating music and maintaining a solid sounding mix with very little effort, it really is a dream to work with.
Each analog drum module made by Tiptop audio uses a well-tuned patch that utilises a T-Network of sine generators, noise sources, VCAs, envelopes, and filter circuits designed specifically for creating incredible percussive sounds. Patching each of these modular components together, Tiptop has created a tremendous way of generating specific sounds. Only the highest quality discrete parts are used, and in a minimal fashion. Combining multiple Tiptop Audio modules gives you the option to create a truly personalised sound-set with a huge range of flexibility. Whether its just for playing a groove alongside other bass-lines and other melodies, or complex switching of trigger signals on the fly whilst having drum sounds travel through additional sound processors to create unpredictable and intricate results, Tiptop Audio's premium modular design opens the doors to a whole new world of sound.