Psychic Modulation has announced an update to its PulseCode, the PCM Drum Machine that pays tribute to the gritty, lo-fi sounds from the late 1980s.

The update includes several new features, including big improvements to Fracture, various sound improvements, new Elements, Template presets and Sub-presets.

PulseCode takes a different approach to “sample-based drum synthesis”, using strategic layering concepts that are based on the various techniques used by producers of that era to get massive drums sounds. All of the sounds supplied with PulseCode have been resampled using vintage 12 and 13-bit samplers to stay true to the era.

Gated reverb is effortless with PulseCode, as each sound includes it’s own sampled reverb layer recorded from a vintage unit from the same time period. These techniques can usually be tedious and time consuming to recreate, but with PulseCode they are second nature.

Changes in PulseCode v1.3

  • Fracture Revamp.
  • Pitch Fracture has new Mode allowing Random, or Linear modulation.
  • Step Fracture expanded with new Number, Pattern and Offset controls, which greatly improve the Fracture functionality overall.
  • Sub-Presets added to Flow and Fracture for each sequence lane.
  • New Sequence Shift controls for nudging steps left or right.
  • Mute/Solo Cancel switches for controlling multiple buttons at once.
  • Choke Targets for each drum.
  • Boost switches on mixer for volume increases.
  • VU meter readouts.
  • Master Tune (Pitch) for controlling entire kit.
  • Fill Arp: New Loop function for Pitch Envelope.
  • Fill Arp: Added Length control to Velocity Sequencer.
  • Bank and Preset buttons for quick access.
  • Preset sub folders now supported.
  • Fixed a file sorting issue on Mac (High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina).
  • Fixed an issue with Ableton Live adding all sequencer parameters to automation list when using copy/paste/repeat.
  • Sound improvements for Kick, Snare and Tom Elements
  • Includes: Several new Template Presets for various genres with recommended tempo.
  • Includes: New Sub-Presets for Drums, Patterns and more.
  • Includes: New Elements (Snares, Percs,Toms and HiHats).
  • Includes Custom MIDI Map (reference in manual).

PulseCode is available in VST and AU plugin formats, priced $89 USD ex. VAT in EU.

More information: Psychic Modulation