Some time ago the good people at Tubbutec made a module based on the Roland TR‑606, called the 6m0d6. It packed the voices of the 606 into 24HP and added all the controls you always wanted on the front panel of the original — and also a few you probably hadn’t thought of for good measure. The 6m0d6 is a wonderful thing indeed, a sort of alternate reality version of what the 606 could have been and a very compelling option if you want TR sounds in your Eurorack system. But how to sequence it?
Well Tubbutec have the answer to that as well, in the form of their x0x‑style 6equencer, available as a 6HP 3U module or a 24HP 1U module. The 6equencer has eight outputs but it can also be connected directly to the 6m0d6 with a supplied ribbon cable.
So far so good, but if the 6equencer has a drawback it’s that the small size means small buttons — fiddly at best and certainly not conducive to freeform drum improvisations. Jeff Mills, one feels, might struggle a bit with this one.
Possibly it was Mr Mills that Tubbutec had in mind when they decided they needed a bigger sequencer... Either way, the Drummertime is essentially an enlarged 6equencer that rejoices in a row of chunky mechanical keys and is just begging to be mounted in a 1U strip at the front of your case and jammed with heartily. It’s available in two versions: an all‑in‑one 74HP 1U module and a 60HP 1U module with an accompanying 4HP 3U module to accommodate the I/O and the Func button. You can also choose between two different key types as well, described by Tubbutec as ‘Clicky’ and ‘Tactile’. Actually, that makes four versions... It’s the Clicky one that’s on test here, and I would have to agree with clicky as a description, as opposed to clacky. It’s a smooth reassuring click rather than the clack of a 909 or an old computer keyboard. I like a bit of clack, but I have no complaints about the click here. It’s reassuring and there’s no doubt that a key has been pressed.
Enlarged 6equencer
Functionally, the Drummertime is very similar to the 6equencer with its 16‑step buttons and a Func key. This latter is used to choose which output you’re programming and also to engage secondary functions like Tap mode, Mute mode, pattern clear and last step (which only affects the whole pattern, so no polymeters here). Secondary functions are also available, accessed by a long press on the appropriate key while holding the Func button, and these include copy and paste, a musically useful random mode, probability, ping‑pong playback, flams, Save and Config. This being Tubbutec, the Config menu goes pretty deep, so suffice it to say that pulse length, LED brightness, clock divisions, swing amount, MIDI I/O channels and a whole lot more can be configured. MIDI I/O channels? Yes, the Drummertime can operate as a MIDI interface. All of this and much more is explained in the very thorough user manual, a paper copy of which is supplied with the module.
So far so comprehensive, but what’s the Drummertime like to use? The mixture of red, blue and purple LEDs is initially a bit confusing, even after reading in the manual that typically red LEDs mean active steps, blue ones engaged functions and purple mean both on the same key. You soon get used to this, though, and begin to enjoy the immediacy of programming drums with sensibly sized pads. These really do make a difference, especially if you’ve got any kind of x0x muscle memory. Mutes, Tap mode and immediate pattern switching all lend themselves to live performance, and that’s very much what the Drummertime is about — improvisation and performance that just wouldn’t be possible with a smaller module.
So what are the down sides? Well, you might be a bit disappointed that there isn’t any CV control available. Wouldn’t it be nice, for example, if you could switch between patterns on the fly using CV like the Patching Panda Patterns? The other shortcoming is that you’re limited to 16 steps and 16 patterns. You can link up to four Drummertimes together to get longer patterns, but you’re still stuck at 16 per module. Perhaps Tubbutec thought CV control and more pattern memory would distract from the immediacy that’s so clearly the priority here?
The Drummertime gives you hands‑on drum programming in a way that nothing else in Eurorack quite does.
Niggles aside, the Drummertime gives you hands‑on drum programming in a way that nothing else in Eurorack quite does. The only real alternative with mechanical keys is the venerable Erica Synths Drum Sequencer, and while that offers more in terms of functionality and pattern memory it’s more than twice the price of the Drummertime and its keys are in a 4x4 grid. The 1U format really seems to work here, putting the keys between you and what they’re sequencing and harking back to that tried and tested x0x layout. And if you’re using it to sequence the 6m0d6 then you’re in for a very good time indeed.