A compact, hands-on drum synth turns an external electronic pad into a single voice of percussion with plenty of character. Built around an ESP32 Audio Kit V2.2 and ES8388 codec, it reacts to each strike by generating a monophonic sound that can move from kicks and toms to beeps, bass hits, sweeps, and sharp noise bursts.
Its eight potentiometers give the instrument a wide performance range, with controls for sensitivity, pitch, pitch drop, click, velocity response, waveform shape, decay, and pitch velocity. That means you can dial in everything from tight, punchy hits to longer, more expressive drum voices, while an analog volume control and sensitivity LED help keep the response under control.
The design reads the pad from the line input, converts strikes into velocity, and sends the processed signal to the line output, so the whole system stays focused on immediate, playable drum synthesis. RudeBox is an open-source prototype for builders who want a simple but versatile electronic percussion voice with a distinctly experimental edge.
