Ohmforce Bohm System

The humble kick drum has come a long way and perhaps we’ve reached the peak with the Ohmforce Bohm “frontier of kick synthesis” system, for this is not one but three modules dedicated to generating that single doompf. The main Bohm module generates and articulates the kick drum, the Groove module adds rhythmic ghost kicks and rumble in the wake, and the Performer offers DJ‑style effects and side‑chain ducking. All of it together uses 18 knobs, two sliders, one encoder and a good chunk of your rack.

It looks impressive and the layout feels very playable, with room around the knobs and a solid feel to those faders. Plug in a trigger, spin the encoder to scan between different kick engines, and fiddle with the knobs for some instant kick‑crafting satisfaction. I found that the initial feelings of intimidation quickly melted away.

The main Bohm module is a kick‑drum generator with nine different sound variations drawn from a wavetable and transient synthesizer. There’s the FM‑2X 2‑operator FM kick, the HZ‑1 wavetable, the OLP4 4‑operator experimental FM thump, the PM‑K1 physical model of a bass drum, the PX3 weird wavetable and sample combo, the SP‑6 that leans into digital sounds, the VX‑T that adds a transient synthesizer, the WT‑4 that takes wavetables into a more analogue direction, and the XT‑88 where you can pull in your own samples and wavetables. They each take a moment to load, so you know it won’t be capable of moving from sound to sound on every trigger. None of them wanders very far away from each other, and of the nine the ‘real’ PM‑K1 bass drum feels the least convincing.

Each model takes on the nine parameter knobs in a broadly similar way, with length, sustain and attack tackling the duration, pitch modulation, transient tone and sub‑bass oscillator colour. Exploring the knobs gives you plenty of variation and everything has a corresponding patch socket for modulation. The FX knob gives you control over a post‑kick effect. If you tap the encoder, you can dig into the settings on screen and choose between distortion, soft/hard clipping, and wavefolding. On some models, you get some bit‑crushing.

Then we have the Bohm Groove. This is a secondary kick drum voice designed to produce what are known as techno rumbles; a concept I’ve not seen tackled quite so directly in modular before. It essentially builds a reactive space around the wake of a kick drum that gives it a sort of pursuing throb or breath using reverb, noise, grit and a sub frequency to pulse in up to three taps. It can go from ghost kicks to heavily sculpted walls of noise.

Rounding off the trio we have the Bohm Performer. This combines a side‑chain ducking effect with a very lively DJ effects section. If you plug the rest of your mix into the audio inputs, then the duck control will pull the level down on every trigger to let the kick drum punch through. It generates that classic throbbing EDM sound and is very gratifying. The FX section has a few options, including a DJ filter and the terrific Beat and Slip rolls that throw in exciting beat‑synchronised rolling and repeating effects.

Once you’ve found your kick, added some rumble, plugged in your mix and switched on your slip slicing, it is an absolute riot to play with. Your focus is pulled into fitting everything else around your crafted kick engine as it bangs, throbs and slices its way through your performance. But we’re not done yet. There’s a whole underground level of premeditation available to those prepared to dip into the menu system.

Bohm has a sort of song engine where you can line up snapshots of kick drums and step through them in manual or automated modes. So, if you want different kicks for the verse and chorus, you can step through those. There’s a lot of scope for overriding controls to keep certain things in flux while the snapshot changes. Ohmforce have managed to retain a free‑flowing, improvised vibe while offering the assurance of precisely programmed kick‑drum changes.

...when you add in the rumble, ducking and DJ effects, you get a fabulously workable groove machine.

From what first appears to be an overly complicated way to produce a kick, Ohmforce have pulled together a coherent console of performance tools for kick‑driven music makers. The sounds themselves are lively and penetrating, but when you add in the rumble, ducking and DJ effects, you get a fabulously workable groove machine. The ‘techno rumble’ feels like it’s filling a very specific role that is perhaps limited in scope but is undoubtedly useful to those trying to produce the effect through other means. The Performer, on the other hand, could easily be a standalone module and is much more genre‑agnostic. Bohm is not all kicks for all people, but it’s comprehensive, focused, and enthralling in live performance.