Most software drum machines lean on sample libraries, but Tapechild's new UDS-16 goes a different route.
Most software drum machines lean on sample libraries, but Tapechild's new UDS-16 goes a different route.
Released this month for macOS and Windows, the 16-voice plugin builds its sounds from scratch using four synthesis engines, two modeled on the Soviet-made Lel UDS, one drawing from the Formanta Rockton, and one original design from Tapechild itself. Both machines are obscure even among collectors of vintage drum synthesis, which makes the UDS-16 as much a piece of preservation as it is a working instrument.
Each voice splits into separate tone and noise layers with independent attack and decay, and the plugin adds tape saturation, gated reverb, and a resonant click for extra character, all responsive to MIDI velocity. It ships as VST3, AU, and a standalone app, runs on Apple Silicon or Intel Macs as well as 64-bit Windows machines, and allows up to three computer activations under either online or offline licensing.
At $49 as a one-time purchase, with no subscription attached, it's a low-risk way to get hands-on with circuit designs that most producers will never encounter in hardware form. Early listeners have been won over by how far the engines can be pushed while still sounding musical.
Source: Synthtopia
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