Knobula 'Drum Farm': A Performance-Focused Eurorack Module Combining Drum Synthesis, Sampling, and Effects
London-based modular synthesizer developer Knobula has announced 'Drum Farm', an innovative Eurorack module that combines drum synthesis, sampling, and real-time effects processing into a single performance-oriented instrument. Designed around the company's no-screen, no-preset philosophy, Drum Farm enables fast, intuitive sound design while encouraging hands-on experimentation and creative exploration.
Occupying 24HP of rack space, Drum Farm is organized into three core sections: a Drum Synth featuring 16 virtual analog and physically modeled drum algorithms, an Effects engine offering 16 real-time processing options, and a digital Sampler capable of playing up to three voices simultaneously. Together, these elements allow users to create, process, sample, and re-sample a wide variety of percussion sounds, ranging from punchy kick drums and layered snares to tuned percussion, cymbals, and physically modeled drum membranes.
The name "Drum Farm" was inspired by Knobula Technical Director Jason Mayo's background in computer animation, where large-scale "render farms" generate thousands of images with minimal human intervention. Similarly, Drum Farm provides an integrated environment for generating and evolving complex drum sounds with remarkable speed and flexibility.
A key feature of the module is its onboard sampler, which can operate continuously in the background, recording into one of 16 sequential audio buffers. Users can capture synthesized drum sounds, effects-processed signals, or hybrid combinations of both, then re-sample them to create layered percussion textures and evolving rhythmic structures. An external audio input further expands creative possibilities, allowing field recordings or signals from other Eurorack modules to be incorporated directly into the workflow.
Designed for immediacy, Drum Farm encourages an iterative creative process: select a drum model, shape it, process it with effects, sample the result, combine it with additional sounds, and repeat. This approach enables users to quickly develop complex and evolving sonic material without interrupting their creative flow.
In keeping with Knobula's emphasis on tactile interaction, Drum Farm eliminates screens and submenus entirely. Every function is accessible through direct hands-on control, making the module particularly well suited for live performance and spontaneous experimentation. Five CV/Gate inputs provide extensive modulation and control options, allowing users to automate parameters, switch drum algorithms, trigger samples, or change effects in real time.
The module also supports fully hands-free generative patches, self-building sample libraries, and round-robin multisample playback. Complete sessions—including samples, audio buffers, knob positions, and settings—can be saved to a microSD card, with up to 32 sessions stored per card for instant recall in both studio and live environments.
With Drum Farm, Knobula delivers a versatile and highly interactive platform for percussion sound design in Eurorack systems. The module was first teased at the London Synth & Pedal Expo 2026, where its farm-themed concept—and the memorable "alien cow abduction" promotional campaign—offered an early glimpse of what has become one of the company’s most ambitious performance-focused instruments to date.
Knobula is the brainchild of Jason Mayo, a renowned record producer, remix engineer, and synthesiser enthusiast. Embarking upon a journey into the wonderful world of synthesisers at the tender age of 13 when he built a polyphonic Powertran Transcendent DPX kit — designed by Tim Orr of EMS (Electronic Music Studios) fame, this passion led to producing and remixing in London, where he founded FAB, whose 1990-released ‘Thunderbirds Are Go!’ single peaked at number five in the UK Singles Chart, as well as collaborations with tech house and breakbeat luminaries like Mr C (The Shamen), Layo & Bushwacka, Adam Freeland, and Neneh Cherry. Fast forward to juggling family life with nursing an ageing collection of classic synths, the portable form factor of the ever-expanding Eurorack modular system format and associated free-form knob-twiddling technique was deemed as being by far the most engaging way of making electronic music by the talented individual in question. Quickly realising that this lacked polyphony, he set about designing his own polyphonic synthesiser for Eurorack. Excitingly, the resulting Poly Cinematic module soon became something of a Eurorack staple, subsequently accompanied by an assortment of Knobula products that continue to push the boundaries of modular synthesis, each embodying a no-screen, no-preset philosophy, promoting experimentation and a tactile interaction reminiscent only of IRL (In Real Life) instruments.
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