MusicRadar Verdict
IconDrum presents the perfect environment for creating iconic drum sounds, which have scope to move beyond their original sonic remit. At the very least, it will result in the biggest smiles!
Pros
- +
IconDrum feels and sounds just like an original LinnDrum.
- +
It boasts plenty of easily accessible editing facilities, hosted in a stunning onscreen interface.
- +
Packed with presets and the ability to save edited soundsets.
- +
It’s totally authentic!
Cons
- -
There’s no onboard sequencer, which is a real shame!
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What is it?
OK, so you might not have much of an interest in drum machines (especially the sampled variety), and you may have even lost interest from the moment that we mentioned the return of an ’80s classic! So why should you take note?
IconDrum is an accurate and detailed reincarnation of the machine generically described as the LinnDrum. This machine has adorned more classic music from the last 40 years than just about any other drum-sound source. It’s one of the reasons that the LinnDrum’s designer, Roger Linn, was awarded a Grammy in 2011, in recognition of his substantial technical contribution to music.
If this hasn’t sold the concept to you, you’ll need to line up behind a plethora of artists, from Michael Jackson and Prince, through to The Human League, Daft Punk and The Weeknd. Moreover, these artists didn’t just use the onboard sounds; they made the sounds their own.
Pricing
- Full price: £49.99 (ex. VAT)
GForce Software launched IconDrum in December 2024 with a special introductory offer of £29.99 (ex. VAT), but is now back to full price at £49.99 (ex. VAT).
You can try before you buy by downloading a free trial. The trial is active for seven days but doesn't include any bundled MIDI content.
Performance
IconDrum is a very faithful recreation of the sounds included with the Linn LM-1 and LM-2 models of drum machine. Famously, these original sounds were sampled, resulting in a sonic construction that was particularly realistic for the ’80s, as well as becoming hugely desirable for current production.
Once installed, it doesn’t take more than a quick sojourn through the default sound-set to remind us just how big and impressive these sounds are. GForce has included 100 sounds, distilled through the faders on the left of the interface. While most of these categories are made up of single timbre (such as bass drum, snare or cowbell) some categories include multiple sound sources, such as open and closed hi-hats. In keeping with the original unit, the included sounds are a wonderful cross-section between a conventional drum kit and various forms of percussion.
The Kick is packed with bottom end, but with a nice edgy click which cuts through a mix. The snare is as fat as you always remembered, and the hi-hats can easily handle anything from a gentle acoustic swagger, to a more aggressive accent-laden pattern. All this before we’ve moved on to the percussion classics, such as the cowbell, sidestick (rim click), tambourine and cabasa.
A bank of 15 faders forms the mixer section, which controls individual sample volume. Our previously mentioned hi-hats occupy a single fader, making perfect sense!
While the faders provide overall volume control, GForce has replicated one of the many useful features from the Linn interface, via the sample-trigger buttons, located on the right. Most of the samples come pre-equipped with more than one trigger, with degrees of accent applied across them. This is replicated across the mapping of your MIDI keyboard, meaning that it’s possible to recreate those classic Linn-like crescendos, particularly via the three available dynamic layers relating to the snare. It’s also possible to engage Velocity control, should you prefer to handle dynamics in a pianistic sense.
Sound selection
Immediately above the sample trigger section, are a series of sound selection locations. These are categorised by instrument, and you are invited to select a sample from a drop-down menu, captured from the original LM-1 or LM-2 models of machine.
There are a number of timbral options, in part formed by the inherent signal path, during the sampling process. This includes the use of classic ’80s hardware, modern signal paths utilising digital EQ, and a set of sounds that have been run through a relatively well-used tape machine. The LM-2 samples also include A & B options, which have been drawn from two different machines, where the aging process has clearly infiltrated their sound. The revision A samples are slightly brighter, while the B revision exhibits a greater mid-range content. It endorses the attention to detail, for which GForce is noted.
Pitch techniques
Moving back to the mixer section, there are a substantial number of parameters open to exploitation, which could change the playback of the samples considerably. Immediately above the volume faders, a smaller set of faders allow for L-R panning. A decay pot provides a simple envelope parameter, for controlling the tail of the sample.
Immediately above this, we have the ubiquitous pitch control, which allows the variance of the timing of each sample, which in turn changes the pitch. It was impossible for us to visit this section, without immediately reaching for the pitch control relating to the Sidestick sample. By lowering the pitch, we were immediately able to conjure the spirit of Prince, with one of the many sounds which he made his own. Keeping the pitch parameter in a more sensible location, the subtlety of control proved exceptionally useful throughout, while working in a production setting. The ability to easily adjust the pitch of a hi-hat or cowbell was very useful for keeping tones in check, alongside the tonality of a track.
At the very top of the mix section resides a low-pass/high-pass see-saw filter pot; useful for refining individual sounds, within the construct of a kit. It’s a little like having basic EQ available at the instrument level.
Getting effected
Unlike the original hardware, GForce has included delay and reverb effects, available at the instrument level. Alongside this, there is a global section for adding EQ, distortion and compression. Unsurprisingly, all of these effect elements perform incredibly well, with the delay allowing synchronisation to your DAW.
Verdict
The IconDrum is a pretty sizeable sum of its parts; through the 100 included samples, the ability to sonically alter and align these within the construct of a patch (which may be saved), is everything we would have wanted on the original unit.
One point that we have to conclude as a slight disappointment though, is the lack of inclusion of an onboard sequencer. GForce has addressed this absence by including a host of patterns, in the form of MIDI files. This serves a purpose (while being hugely programmable from within the DAW environment), but half the fun and nostalgia of this product relates to the programming onboard. In our minds, this makes the standalone version slightly redundant, unless of course you have a hardware sequencer to patch into your computer.
However, this small grievance is more than made up for by the astonishing quality of the overall product sound and design. It looks totally iconic and sounds all killer… and an absolute Thriller!
Hands-on demos
GForce Software
Alternatives
Specifications
Key features | 100 onboard samples Multiple iterations of sample 15 mixer faders/pan/pitch controls Scalable interface 3-slot FX chain Beautiful and era defining graphics Included MIDI files Presets browser/patch saving available |
System specs | MacOS and PC Windows; AU, AAX, VST2/3 & Standalone formats |
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