The story so far…
Ever since creating HammerHead Rhythm Station in the mid-90s — one of the first ever software drum machines in the world — I have wanted to create an actual piece of music hardware. In August 2014 I doodled the first concepts of my Ruismaker drum computer on a piece of paper.
With the acceptance of crowdfunding models like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, I figured this was the time to do it. It seemed the stars were aligned for new hardware instruments too: after 15 years of being dominated by software synths, the music scene is suddenly rediscovering the fun of physical instruments; the twiddling of tactile knobs and the inspiring absence of distracting laptop screens.
Having spent plenty of time with today’s generation of percussion hardware (like the TR-8, the Volca Beats, the Machinedrum, the Rhythm Wolf, etc.) I figured I could put my knowledge of drum synthesis and my experience with creating music software to good use by adding something new to the landscape. My Ruismaker (Dutch for ‘noise generator’) was going to be the first open-source hardware instrument: a drum machine with its own characteristic sound engine out of the box, but which is also open to developers and musicians who like to roll their own. You want to turn it into a sampler? You got it. You want to create a faithful emulation of a Visco Space Drum? Eat your heart out. Ruismaker will do the heavy lifting for you.
The stock drum engine is fully synthesized; meaning no sampled sounds are used. All drum sounds are generated on the fly using tweakable mathematical models. I settled on a synthesis architecture you could describe as the ‘lovechild of a Machinedrum and a TR8’: dedicated synthesis algorithms for each instrument type instead of one monstrous synth model to cover every thinkable sound. In the Ruismaker concept you’ll have multiple optimized algorithms; one dedicated to synthesizing cowbells, one dedicated to generating 808-style kicks, another one for FM snares, etc. There are around 40 models to choose from; a comprehensive mix of analog modelling and FM synthesized percussion. It’s very tweakable, but still aimed at making music rather than getting lost in a bazillion parameters.
The hardware architecture design is very straightforward: based on a Raspberry Pi hidden inside what is essentially a USB MIDI drum controller and a high-quality USB DAC. Midi controllers with drum pads are not particularly new, but this one would be special because I’d put the computer inside. For the DAC I settled on using the TI PCM2704c chip, because of its excellent reputation and the fact it has all the PnP USB logic already built-in, making my architecture simple to produce.
The first prototype was running nicely on a Raspberry Pi B+, using a completely stripped version of Arch Linux. The OS doesn’t have to do any network or video handling so the modest processing power of the RPi was enough for realtime (near-zero-latency) drum synthesis. And when the RPi 2 came out I could use some of the extra processing oomph to add snazzy effects to my synthesizer, like a vintage plate reverb emulation, a more natural delay, a bitcrusher and a dynamics compressor.
From proof-of-concept to production
Having finished my proof-of-concept — a smoothly running prototype looking like a duct-taped-frankensynth — I started the next phase: looking for a manufacturer who could produce my machine.
I contacted several manufacturers (from the Far East and from the US) who have experience producing midi controllers and met with a few of them. Their job, I reckoned, would be relatively straightforward: just basically make whatever they were already making, except with the USB-cable on the inside, rather than on the outside. This is where it went pear-shaped. Although admitting they could easily do it most seemed very reluctant to make me a full quote. I didn’t get further than receiving a quote for the production of the plastic parts.
My biggest learning thus far is that crowdfunding may be a fully accepted model for consumers; the manufacturing world hasn’t quite embraced it yet. It should be a risk-free operation for them (provided their quote is realistic): no production will happen until the project is successfully funded and all the investments are sitting on the table in all their cash glory. But no dice: so far I haven’t received a usable quote, meaning I can’t initiate a meaningful Kickstarter campaign.
Breaking the deadlock
So how to move forward? I have a fully functional kick-ass drum machine prototype sitting on my desk, picking its raspberry-flavored nose. I’m not someone who gives up that easily, so my ambition is to bring Ruismaker to fruition. But perhaps I need to rethink my approach; there may be other production strategies on the horizon, beyond the traditional ‘let a manufacturer make it for me’-approach.
And in the meantime I’m not letting a powerful synth engine go to waste. I’m building an iOS Audio Unit plugin around it. This will let you use Ruismaker as a plugin in AU hosts, such as Cubasis, Modstep, AUM and Garageband. It’ll be one of the first — if not the first — drum synth plugins for mobile DAWs.
I’m really stoked about this plugin concept because it lets you have multiple instances running at the same time (each instance offering 8 simultaneous drum synths). So the number of Ruismaker sounds in your productions is only limited by the processing power of your iOS devices. And these DAWs offer full MIDI and controller integration in the (mobile) music studio, meaning you can easily fit the Ruismaker plugin in your existing workflow.
What you won’t get for now (compared to the original hardware concept) is a hackable, knobby, tactile interface and the jam-friendly sequencer concept I’ve made.
- Audio Units are supported on various devices running iOS9 and up (iPhone 5S or higher, iPad Air or higher and iPad Mini 4).
- A compatible Audio Unit host is needed. Ruismaker plugin was tested to work with Cubasis, Garageband, Modstep and AUM.
- Price: tbd (cheap)
- Keep an eye on ruismaker.com
