Promising to bring drum synthesis into a new era, Baby Audio’s latest offering combines the best of both analogue and digital instruments, and claims to deliver the hardest-hitting drums that have ever been packed into a plug-in.
The plug-in has been developed in collaboration with Jatin Chowdhury, one of the leading engineers in analogue circuit modelling, and has been designed to provide users with a modern spiritual successor to the legendary drum machines of the 20th century.
Tekno includes a total of 18 synthesised drum engines — there are no samples to be found here — that can be used to craft a wide range of powerful kicks, snares, claps, hats, percussion hits and more. The plug-in has been developed in collaboration with Jatin Chowdhury, one of the leading engineers in analogue circuit modelling, and has been designed to provide users with a modern spiritual successor to the legendary drum machines of the 20th century. Despite the influence, it sets out to be more than just an emulation of vintage gear, and relies on a combination of modelling and cutting-edge DSP to deliver the goods.
Each of Tekno’s 18 engines are kitted out with an array of tonal-shaping controls, and as everything is generated via a non-linear virtual-analogue circuit, hits will never be exactly the same — much like the analogue devices from which the plug-in draws its inspiration. Baby Audio say that these subtleties help users’ track feel more ‘alive’ than they would with sample-based instruments, and those wishing to push things a little further from the default behaviour can do so using the plug-in’s Humanize parameters.
As well as a comprehensive onboard mixer, Tekno is also kitted out with a wealth of built-in effects. Created using the same analogue-modelling process as the synth engines, the included processors deliver a selection of tape saturation, excitation and compression, along with a punchy-sounding limiter and clipper module designed for adding the finishing touches to a drum track.
The plug-in comes loaded with 73 global presets and 1314 individual voice presets, all crafted by expert sound designers including Richard Devine, Mr. Bill, Virtual Riot and Yoad Nevo.
Compatibility
Tekno is supported on PCs running Windows 10 and above, and Macs running macOS 10.11 and higher. VST, VST3, AU, AAX and CLAP plug-in versions are available.
Pricing & Availability
Tekno is available now, and is currently (3 September 2025) being offered at an introductory price of $79, reduced from its full cost of $129.
