Vermona DRM1 MKIII audio, video, review.
Posted June 5th, 2008 by Oliver CheslerFiled Under: hardware
Vermona DRM1 MKIII - Drum Machine from wiretotheear 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.
Vermona DRM1 MKIII. No effects or other sounds. Pure DRM1 (320kbps mp3):
The unit is metal and feels very well built. Vermona is from East Germany. The reason you buy something like this is the sound.
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June 5th, 2008 at 7:52 am
that thing sounds great, oliver!
how much does one of those cost? they look expensive.
also, how do you trigger it, is it all midi based? or there actual buttons on it?
June 5th, 2008 at 8:15 am
It’s about 550€. It’s MIDI but you can trigger it with a drum kit using trigger inputs which is an extra option you can add. There are buttons on top which you can hit just to trigger the sound while editing if your sequencer isn’t playing a loop.
June 5th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Nice pick Oliver. Really cool sound.
June 5th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Sweet jesus that machine sounds awesome.. those high hats… they sound so sweet! Thanks for posting the unboxing video. It’s almost as good as having one… but only almost.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:30 am
jesus those hi-hats sound like liquid, very nice indeed - i think ill get one of those Mbase 01 things first though - just curious, but can the DRM MKIII do ‘heavier’ 909-style kicks? (or is it just that everytime I hear a 909 its so processed/wet? :p )
June 5th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
It can do heavier kicks but they have an overtone to them. If your looking for massive thump style kicks ala more 909ish 100% get the Jomox Mbase. I’m so pleased I own both (and Drumazon/Nepheton/ADM, etc…). Now its really about the song, no exuses gear wise thats for sure! If I have time I will do a proper Mbase video too.
June 5th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
cool thx - yeh ill get the MBase first anyway I think, although im probably either gonna get a Micron or a Blofeld next maybe…
yeh I have to get Drumazon and Nepheton, I have Phoscyon and Devastor, and the sound quality of them bodes very well for the other two.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Hum… i like the design, but i’m not with the sound. Too “thin” for the price. Sound analogic in a kind of way, but not so fat.
June 7th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Sounds like my old MAM ADX1 but better. Are you sure it’s got a spring reverb in it? I thought they just used filtered noise for the “reverb”.
June 8th, 2008 at 1:07 am
Hi Rockmanrock. “Syncretism” over at Harmony Central pointed out it is a Bucket Brigade Delay. Here’s the thread: link
July 11th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Oliver…thanks for the post about the Vermona drum machine. Also, thanks for the great footage of JoMoX HQ you posted a little while back. I have a beige Mbase and am a huge fan, but am very interested in this piece. You still use the Mbase for your kicks though, correct? I like the idea of an analogue drum machine w/real time editing features w/o an internal sequencer. Cheers!
July 11th, 2008 at 9:06 am
I use the Mbase, Vermona and even software for kicks… lots of variety… all great!
July 12th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
hi .. what sequencer do you use for the vermona? it can be use with anyone drummachine triggering the sound?
July 13th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Hi Nicola. I’m using Ableton Live but I am pretty sure you can use another hardware drum machine to control the DRM-1. You can see some people are doing this in these YouTube videos: link 1 and link 2
July 19th, 2008 at 6:53 am
[...] the shiny inner plastic bags and smell new plastic and silicone. You can almost see drool in my Vermona DRM1 unboxing video. Should I be hard on myself? As an American I was raised to be a consumer. Is it my fault I have [...]
October 18th, 2008 at 3:56 am
[...] pads are Korg Legacy Wavestation. The vocoder is Prosoniq Orange Vocoder. The drums are Vermona DRM-1 MKIII. On my voice: TC Electronic VoiceModeler. Choir is my voice through a Digitech Talker Pedal. Bass [...]
October 25th, 2008 at 6:02 am
Does anyone know if this unit can recreate the sounds of the Simmons Electronic drums from the eighties?
October 25th, 2008 at 6:57 am
You can get in the ballpark. You can get some nice tom sounds pitched high for sure.