Knobula Kickain
909-style kick drum with spectral sidechain compression
12 HP Eurorack module
Kickain is an integrated kick drum synthesizer and sidechain compressor in 12HP. The kick engine uses a 909-inspired virtual analog signal path with wave shaping, filtered clicks, pitch bend envelopes, and a 24-bit stereo reverb linked to the decay envelope. The sidechain section offers three compression modes: traditional ducking plus two spectral modes that intelligently EQ the mix around the kick frequency rather than attenuating the entire signal. An FX send/return loop (via rear DIP switch) allows external processing of the kick sound. Zero latency operation ensures tight timing for live techno and performance use.
Features
- 909-inspired virtual analog kick drum engine
- Integrated stereo sidechain compressor
- Three sidechain modes: Normal ducking, Spectral I, Spectral II
- Spectral compression targets only kick-frequency content
- Zero latency operation for tight timing
- 24-bit stereo reverb linked to decay envelope
- Pitch bend with both Punch (fast) and Bend (decay-linked) envelopes
- Filtered click transient generator
- Bass Cut high-pass filter (Off/40Hz/60Hz)
- V/Oct input for melodic kick tuning
- Accent input for dynamic emphasis
- Decay CV input for external modulation
Controls & Jacks (22)
- Drive
- Level
- Trigger
- Depth
- Click
- Punch
- Bend
- Reverb
- Clip LED
- Bass Cut
- Input L
- Accent
- Decay CV In
- Output L
- Input R
- Trigger In
- V/Oct
- Output R
- Tune
- Decay— Controls both the decay of the kick and the release of the compressor.
- Sidechain Attack
- Normal / Spectral I / II— Controls how the input signal is modified inorder to make way for the kick drum. Normal - Traditional side chain behaviour, the input signa
How-To Guides
- Classic Techno Kick + Duck
- Transparent Spectral Kick
- Melodic Kick Bass Line
- External Reverb via FX Loop
Explore the interactive Kickain panel on BleepDex — tap any control to learn what it does.