Cre8audio partnered with Pittsburgh Modular to create an analog drum machine that strips away menu diving and puts pure percussion synthesis directly under your fingers, with five distinct voices that can sound like anything from classic 808s to experimental noise textures.
The Boom Chick houses a kick drum with sine wave oscillator and overdrive, a snare that blends tone and noise sources, two multi-functional drum voices inspired by the Pollard Syndrum with variable waveshape and FM modulation, and a hats section built around a custom oscillator noise matrix. The 64-step sequencer offers both step mode for precise programming and live mode for real-time performance, with timing tools like humanize, swing, quantize, and a Euclidean pattern generator built in. You get individual trigger inputs and outputs for each drum voice, MIDI in and out, analog clock sync, and separate line and headphone outputs, making it equally at home as a standalone desktop unit or as a 40HP Eurorack module. The whole thing weighs under two pounds and measures about eight inches wide.
The design philosophy here is refreshingly hands-on. Every control does one thing, and there are no hidden menus to navigate. You can store 64 sequences and organize them into 16 songs, so you're not limited to single patterns. Since its release, the Boom Chick has found favor with both bedroom producers and live performers who appreciate its immediacy and the fact that it sounds genuinely warm and characterful without requiring a computer or software to get results.
