Everyone loves a good beat. It adds endless life to music of any kind. The Drum's Not Dead module gives you the ability to create your own drum beat to drive your music from beginning to end. This module is excellent for generating a wide range of percussion sounds. From bass and tom tom, to woodblocks and a myriad of other other sounds just waiting to be explored and brought to life.

Drum's Not Dead is based on a classic circuit from the legendary Thomas Henry. On top of this foundation I've added a number of improvements to give the module an even wider range of percussive ability.

In addition to the Gate input there's also an input for a CV signal. Have a melody you want to inject into the beat? Just connect it into the CV input and mold it all into the music and sound you desire.

To facilitate that, above the 3 input and output jacks is an array of 9 controls that give you limitless creative control over the percussive sounds you create:

Pitch Range Sweep Impact Level Impact Tone Decay Shell Gate Sensitivity Master Volume

*Note: there is a diagram included with the pictures above which labels each control on the module.

Check out the video below for an overview of the Synax and MagPower system.

https://youtu.be/YuKxYeDuLmM

The idea for Synax and MagPower evolved over the past several years, while dealing with the aftermath of losing my job of 15 years due to Covid. This project kept me going, day in and day out, because I believed in the idea and fell in love with the process of research and design that goes into every Synax module. It gave me something to focus on when my mind was filled to the brim with worries about the future. I worked all the time developing the MagPower system and creating Synax modules, but wasn't getting any money from it. I'm hoping that others will find as much interest in the system as I have throughout the development process. The current Synax modules available are only the beginning. I have numerous modules in development and several modules close to the finish. I try to do as much homework and testing as possible to be sure that you're getting a quality product in the end.

MagPower is based around a magnetic connection between three pogo pins on the power panel and 3 copper tracks on the back of each Synax module. Power into the panel comes from a standard 10-pin Eurorack connector. From there it gets filtered and sent through a twin-IC hot-swap circuit. This allows Synax modules to be swapped in and out on-the-fly during a performance while protecting both the MagPower panel and the rest of your system from being affected due to over/under voltage or current.

The Synax module itself is comprised of 2 boards secured to each other with 6mm standoffs. One side of the main board provides the user controls, and the reverse contains all of the circuitry to make it work. To this is connected another board of the same size that provides power to the module from the magnetic connection on the Eurorack power panel. The module power board is attached to the main board with 4 standoffs and several pogo pins to provide power without being permanently wired to the module. This allows you to quickly and easily swap out the main or power board if required, or access the programming pins on modules using a microcontroller. A screwdriver is the only tool needed to take everything apart.

*Note: Synax modules require the MagPower Eurorack power panel to use, which is sold separately.