Richie Hawtin and Erica Synths’ long-awaited Bullfrog Drums machine is finally here

Superbooth 2026: Back in 2024, producer Richie Hawtin and Erica Synths teased a drum machine not just for making beats, but for teaching people how to program and sample them too.

Two years later, Bullfrog Drums has finally materialised.

• READ MORE: Superbooth 2026: The coolest new synths and music tech gear – and everything else you need to know

Built in collaboration with the Latvian synth company, Bullfrog Drums is a seven-voice drum machine that blends classic 909-style sequencing with modern sampling features, all wrapped in a bright, beginner-friendly shell.

Like the earlier Bullfrog Synth – Hawtin and Erica Synths’ educational semi-modular synth aimed at teaching subtractive synthesis – Bullfrog Drums is designed as both an instrument and a learning tool. Erica says the machine is “optimised for a learning path” in drum programming, sampling techniques, working with samples and integrating into various performance setups.

The unit ships with seven banks of factory sounds alongside room for 16 additional user sample banks. Samples can be loaded via USB, through the rear audio input, or directly using the built-in microphone for quick-and-dirty field captures.

Once loaded, each sound can be pushed around with controls for pitch, decay, pan, cutoff, resonance, drive and loop points. Users can also program parameter locks and automations per track.

The sequencer itself offers up to 64 steps with ratchets, probabilities and micro-timing controls for more human (or gloriously broken) rhythms. There’s also a built-in speaker for portable jams, plus CV/Gate outputs around the back for controlling modular rigs and analogue gear.

Physically, the unit sticks to Erica Synths’ familiar industrial aesthetic, housed in an aluminium enclosure measuring 40.5 x 18.5 x 6 cm and weighing 2.7 kg.

Bullfrog Drums is available now for €600 excluding VAT.

Check out the drum machine in action below.

Learn more at Erica Synths.

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