A free, plain language guide to the Erica Synths Pērkons HD‑01 drum synthesizer: sound design, the sequencer, audio routing and pedals, modulation, saving kits and patterns, banks, sync and MIDI. Built from the 1.3 manual, Erica Synths support, the Sound On Sound review and owner reports.
What the Pērkons is, a map of the panel, your first beat in five minutes, and the button moves you will use every day.
The Pērkons HD‑01 is a four voice drum synthesizer made by Erica Synths in Latvia. Each voice starts with a digital sound engine and then runs through a real analog filter and overdrive. Every voice has its own row on the step sequencer, so you can program all four at the same time instead of one track after another.
Each with 3 sound engines, 3 modes per engine, a filter with HP, BP and LP, and analog drive.
16 steps each, with ratchets, odds, probability, step locks, swing, groove and their own speed.
A BBD style delay with its own LFO, and a master compressor that glues the kit together.
64 banks on the SD card, each with 64 kits and 64 patterns.
The manual splits the panel into five areas. Once you know what lives where, every instruction in this guide is easy to follow.
A simplified map, not drawn to scale. The tap keys are the four larger square buttons at the right end of the sequencer rows, one per voice. The manual also calls them cherry keys or voice trigger keys.
| To do this | Press this |
|---|---|
| Hear one voice | Its tap key |
| Mute or unmute a voice | Hold SHIFT and press its tap key |
| Clear a voice's row | Hold CLEAR and press its tap key |
| Clear only recorded knob moves | Hold SHIFT and CLEAR, then press the tap key |
| Change one step only (step lock) | Hold the step and turn a knob or flip a switch |
| Record knob moves | Press REC to latch it, or hold REC while you turn |
| Play a beat in live | Hold REC and play the tap keys |
| Move one knob on all four voices | Hold SHIFT and turn it |
| Show the tempo | Hold SHIFT and turn TEMPO |
| Quick save the current pattern | Hold PATTERN and press REC |
| Switch pattern right away | In the PATTERN menu, hold SHIFT and press the pattern |
| Play what the knobs say | Hold CLEAR and press KIT (manual override) |
| Open the bank menu | Hold PATTERN and press KIT |
| Open the settings menu | Hold SHIFT and press MOD |
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Every voice control and all twelve sound engines, with starting points for kicks, snares, hats and drones.
Programming beats, ratchets, odds, probability, step locks, swing, fills, tempo and chaining.
Every jack, recording into a DAW, separate outputs and using effects pedals.
The LFO and the MOD menu, with a clickable practice grid.
Saving so sounds come back right, banks, kit packs and editing.
The settings menu map, clock sync, MIDI notes and CCs, your own samples and firmware updates.
What every voice control does, the twelve sound engines, and starting points for classic drum sounds.
Every voice has the same eight knobs and three switches. What changes from voice to voice is the set of sound engines behind them. All eleven are stored in a kit, and all of them can be controlled over MIDI.
Picks one of the voice's three sound engines.
Picks one of three variations inside that engine.
The analog filter type: HP (high pass), BP (band pass) or LP (low pass).
The pitch of the voice.
How long each hit lasts. All the way up, the voice turns into a drone and keeps sounding even with the sequencer stopped.
Two controls whose job depends on the engine. The tables below list them.
Filter frequency. In LP the filter is fully open with the knob all the way up; in HP it is fully open all the way down. Each filter type responds a little differently.
A blend into the analog overdrive. Fully down it is bypassed; fully up the whole signal goes through it at maximum drive.
FX SEND feeds the delay, or a pedal on that voice's SEND jack. LEVEL is the voice's volume in the master mix. The LED above each voice shows its output.
Choose the engine with ALGO and the variation with MODE. PARAM 1 and PARAM 2 then do what the table says. Firmware 1.3 is shown.
| Voice 1 | ALGO 1 | ALGO 2 | ALGO 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | Fold drum 1 | Wavetable drum | Simple drum |
| MODE 1 to 3 | No transient, noise transient, pulse transient | Wavetables 1, 2, 3 | Waveforms 1, 2, 3 |
| PARAM 1 | Fold amount | Surf (moves through the wavetable) | Pitch envelope decay |
| PARAM 2 | Pitch envelope amount | Pitch envelope amount | Pitch envelope amount |
| Voice 2 | ALGO 1 | ALGO 2 | ALGO 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | Fold drum 2 | Wavetable drum | Complex drum |
| MODE 1 to 3 | No transient, noise transient, pulse transient | Wavetables 1, 2, 3 | Waveforms 1, 2, 3 |
| PARAM 1 | Fold amount | Surf | Modulating oscillator frequency |
| PARAM 2 | Pitch envelope amount | Pitch envelope amount | Pitch envelope amount |
| Voice 3 | ALGO 1 | ALGO 2 | ALGO 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | Resonant drums | Slap | Karplus and chord |
| MODE 1 to 3 | Resonant snare, resonant bass drum, noise and tone drum | Modes 1, 2, 3 | Karplus 1, Karplus 2, chord mode |
| PARAM 1 | Noise tone | Reverb | Edge (Karplus) or waveform morph (chord) |
| PARAM 2 | Noise decay | Crunch | Twang (Karplus) or chord type (chord) |
| Voice 4 | ALGO 1 | ALGO 2 | ALGO 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | Noise hat | Noise and tone | Acoustic hats (samples) |
| MODE 1 to 3 | White noise, metallic noise, pulse stack noise | Digital noise, mode 2, mode 3 | Closed hat, open hat, ride |
| PARAM 1 | Envelope amount | Envelope amount (timbre in digital noise) | Sample rate |
| PARAM 2 | Attack | Noise and tone mix (attack in digital noise) | Attack, or sample start when that setting is on |
Voice 4, ALGO 3 is the only place your own samples can go. See the Sync and MIDI tab for the file format.
Every kit is different, so treat these as places to begin and then trust your ears.
Voice 1, ALGO 3 (simple drum), VCF on LP with CUTOFF high. Raise PARAM 2 for the pitch drop that gives the thump, set DECAY to taste, and add a little DRIVE for weight.
Voice 3, ALGO 1, MODE 1 (resonant snare). PARAM 1 shapes the tone of the noise and PARAM 2 how long it rings. Try BP on the filter to thin it out.
Voice 4, ALGO 3: MODE 1 is closed, MODE 2 open. For both on one row, keep it closed and step lock a longer DECAY on the steps that should open.
Voice 2, ALGO 3 (complex drum). Raise PARAM 1 for clangy, bell like tones and use BP on the filter.
Voice 3, ALGO 3, MODE 3 (chord mode). PARAM 2 picks the chord. Turn DECAY all the way up and it becomes a drone that plays until you bring DECAY down.
DRIVE works on every voice. Combine it with HP on the filter for thin, crunchy hats, or with LP for fat, warm toms.
Hold SHIFT and turn a knob, such as CUTOFF, to move it on all four voices at once. Let go of SHIFT and every voice snaps back to its own setting.
Point the LFO at a knob for sounds that change over time. The Modulation tab shows how.
Programming beats, per step tricks, track timing, live performance moves, tempo and chaining patterns into longer songs.
Each of the four rows is one voice. Press a step to add a hit, press it again to remove it. All four rows are live at once.
Turn ACCENT on in the settings menu (row 2, step 3). Then press a step once for a normal hit and again for an accented one. Accented steps light brighter.
While it plays, hold REC and play the tap keys. Your hits snap to the nearest sixteenth step.
Plug pads into the TRIGGER IN jacks and play. Set the sensitivity first in the settings menu (row 1, step 14). Recording is quantized to the 16 step grid, so fast rolls will not record exactly as played.
Press REC to latch recording, or hold it while you turn. Moves follow the 16 step grid. Settings row 2, step 4 chooses smooth glides or stepped changes.
Hold a step and press REC to copy it. Hold the target step and press SHIFT to paste its step locks. This works inside one voice's row only.
These four live on the second job of the PATTERN, KIT, SYNC and MOD buttons, printed below them as RATCHET, ODDS1, ODDS2 and PROB.
| Button | Tap key 1 | Tap key 2 | Tap key 3 | Tap key 4 | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RATCHET | ×2 | ×3 | ×4 | ×5 | Repeats the hit inside the step, for rolls and stutters |
| ODDS1 | 1/2 | 1/3 | 1/4 | 1/8 | Plays on a fixed cycle: 1/4 plays once every four passes |
| ODDS2 | 2/3 | 3/4 | 4/5 | 7/8 | Plays most passes: 3/4 plays three passes out of four |
| PROB | 10% | 25% | 50% | 90% | A random chance each time the step comes around |
Odds repeat the same way every time, perfect for a variation at the end of every fourth bar. Probability is a dice roll, so the groove never repeats exactly.
A step can have one odds or probability setting at a time, not both.
Hold a step and press RATCHET, ODDS1, ODDS2 or PROB to see what is set on it.
With INVERT ODDS on (settings row 2, step 9), ODDS1 plays on the last pass of its cycle instead of the first. A 1/4 step then lands on bar four, right before the loop starts again.
Hold a step and turn any knob or flip any switch of that voice. When you let go, that setting is stored for that one step. A classic use is a hat row where a few steps get a longer DECAY so they sound open.
Step locks work on the voice controls only, not the master section. Since firmware 1.3 a TUNE lock holds for the whole note, until the next hit, so a long note keeps its locked pitch. Hold SHIFT and CLEAR and press a tap key to remove a voice's locks and recorded moves while keeping its steps.
With SHIFT held, the sixteen steps of each row become settings for that voice. Every voice can run at its own speed and in its own direction, which is where polyrhythms come from.
Slows that voice down against the master tempo, for example half speed, or 4/3 for a triplet feel. The ratios are printed on the panel above the steps.
Speeds that voice up, for example ×2 or ×4, for fast hats over a slower kick.
Four patterns of small volume changes (A, B, C or random) that make a row feel played by a person.
Forward (the default), backward, ping pong or random order.
Hold SHUFFLE. Each row shows its swing amount, from step 1 (none) to step 16 (maximum). Press a step to set it per voice.
Restarts every row from step 1. Press it after changing speeds so the rows line up again.
Hold SHIFT and SHUFFLE. Each row shows its fill speed (×1 by default, change it per row). Keep holding and press tap keys to play fills; let go to stop.
Hold SHIFT and press a tap key. Turn on TRIG MUTE (settings row 2, step 6) to mute with one hand, no SHIFT needed.
Normally a mute only stops new hits, so long sounds and drones ring out. MUTE SOUND (settings row 2, step 11) silences the voice completely.
Hold SHIFT and turn any voice knob to move it on all four voices at once. Release SHIFT and they snap back.
With TRACK ROTATE on (settings row 2, step 12), hold SHIFT and RESET and press a tap key to shift that voice's whole row one step forward, locks and all.
Hold CLEAR and press KIT to drop the kit and play exactly what the panel knobs say.
Hold SHIFT and turn the TEMPO knob, and the top three sequencer rows show the BPM: each light on row 1 is 100, on row 2 is 10, on row 3 is 1. The example reads 128 BPM.
Keep holding SHIFT and press steps to add or remove hundreds, tens and ones. A typed in tempo overrides the knob, and can go beyond its range of 20 to 420 BPM.
Hold SHIFT and RESET. Tap key 1 restarts the clock, tap key 2 is tap tempo (tap it a few times in time), tap keys 3 and 4 nudge the tempo forward and back like a turntable.
A newly chosen pattern starts when the current one reaches its end. Hold SHIFT while you press it to switch at once.
How sound flows through the jacks, and every way to wire the Pērkons into your DAW.
Erica Synths support confirms that a cable in a voice OUTPUT jack pulls that voice out of the master section completely. It no longer reaches the BBD delay, the compressor, the master OUTPUT or the PHONES, and that voice's LEVEL and FX SEND knobs stop doing anything. The individual outs are meant for a mixer or interface, where you set level and effects yourself.
So if all four voice outs go to your DAW, you get four clean drum tracks and have to rebuild the delay and compression in the DAW. Option G below shows several ways to get both.
One voice is drawn in detail; all four are wired the same way. Red circles are the jacks on the back panel. A dashed wire is a normalled connection: it is live only while nothing is plugged into the jack. Plugging in breaks it and sends the signal out the jack instead.
The order of the master stages follows the manual and the Sound On Sound review. Exactly where the MASTER SEND knob sits, and whether the voice FX SEND taps before or after LEVEL, is not published. Those parts are drawn as best understood.
Plugging in removes the voice from the master mix, BBD, compressor, OUTPUT and PHONES. LEVEL and FX SEND knobs go dead for that voice. You still hear the filter and drive.
Normalled to the BBD. With nothing plugged in, each FX SEND knob feeds the built in delay. Patch a pedal in and it replaces the BBD for that voice only.
A loop around the BBD. Patching it replaces the BBD for the whole machine. Whatever comes back through RETURN still goes through the compressor.
Both carry the full compressed master mix. PHONES follows the master VOLUME knob. The compressor is only heard here.
All jacks are quarter inch TS, line level, mono. Stereo width and panning have to happen in your DAW or mixer.
The four TRIGGER IN jacks take trigger pulses from pads or sequencers to fire the voices. They do not accept audio.
Owners disagree on whether a cable in a voice SEND (with nothing in RETURN) also removes the dry voice from the mix. Run test 2 below to find out on your unit.
Because LEVEL is skipped, level locks and LFO moves aimed at LVL or FX will not reach a voice on its own output. This follows from the support answer.
Cabling: two cables. One from the voice 1 OUTPUT jack to interface input 1. One from the master OUTPUT jack (far left of the back panel, beside PHONES) to interface input 2. Leave the OUTPUT jacks of voices 2, 3 and 4 empty. Any voice without a cable in its own OUTPUT stays in the master mix and comes out of the master OUTPUT with the delay and compression. Pull out more voices the same way: each extra cable gives you one more dry track and removes that voice from the master.
G1 · Record in passes. Sync your DAW to the Pērkons with MIDI clock, record the master OUTPUT, mute all but one voice, and repeat for each voice. Every track keeps its own delay and compression. The compressor reacts to one voice at a time, so it will not glue them the way it does live.
G2 · Use the sends as copies. Patch each voice SEND to a DAW input with FX SEND turned up, and record the master OUTPUT as well. If test 2 shows the dry voice stays in the mix, you get four voice tracks plus the compressed master. The BBD gets nothing from those voices.
G3 · Half inserted plugs. Owners report that pushing a plug into a voice OUTPUT only partway picks up the signal without breaking the master feed. It is unofficial, can be noisy, and a cable bump changes it. Fine for a jam, not something to rely on.
G4 · Record the MIDI. MIDI OUT sends the trigger notes. Record them in your DAW and you can play the pattern back into the Pērkons later and record it again any way you like.
A pedal always goes in a loop made of two mono quarter inch cables: out of the Pērkons, through the pedal, back into the Pērkons. There are two places to put that loop. The only difference is which pair of jacks you use.
Cable A: that voice's SEND jack to the pedal INPUT.
Cable B: the pedal OUTPUT to the same voice's RETURN jack.
Turn up that voice's FX SEND knob to feed the pedal. Only that voice is affected. Good for fuzz on the kick, reverb on the snare, chorus or flanger on the hats.
Cable A: MASTER SEND jack to the pedal INPUT.
Cable B: the pedal OUTPUT to the MASTER RETURN jack.
Each voice's FX SEND knob sets how much of it goes in, like the aux sends on a mixer. MASTER SEND sets the total. The Pērkons has no reverb, so a reverb pedal here is the biggest upgrade.
Once both cables are in, the loop is always connected. The footswitch only turns the effect on or off.
On: you hear the effect. Off: the sound passes through the pedal unchanged and comes back clean.
In loop 1, set the pedal fully wet and listen for the plain voice 2. Owners report different results (test 2 below). If the dry sound disappears, use the pedal's mix knob to blend some back in.
The Pērkons has one LFO: a wobble that moves up and down on its own. The MOD menu decides which knobs it moves, on which voices, and by how much.
How fast the wobble moves, slow to fast.
The shape: sine (smooth swell), ramp, triangle, pulse (jumps between two values), double decay saw, saw, random (a new value each time).
Master amount for the whole machine. At 0 nothing moves, whatever the MOD menu says.
Click a knob button (1 to 8) in any row, then an amount (9 to 16). Or load an example.
Pick a knob, then an amount.
Select that knob in the row, then press step 9 (10%) twice. The first press sets 10%, the second turns it off.
Hold CLEAR and tap that voice's tap key, the big square button at the right end of its row.
Modulation is stored in the KIT, not the pattern. Load another kit without saving and it is gone.
Hi hat on voice 4, DECAY 30%, sine wave, slow speed. The hats open and close over several bars like a drummer's hand.
Voice 2, VCF 60% with a slow triangle. Add DRIVE 20% on the same voice for grit that comes and goes.
Random wave, fast speed, P1 or P2 at 20% on a percussion voice. Every hit is slightly different.
Start low (10% to 30%) and raise MOD LVL slowly; 80% on TUNE is extreme. A voice on its own OUTPUT ignores LEVEL and FX SEND, so LVL and FX modulation will not be heard there. TUNE, DECAY, P1, P2, VCF and DRIVE still work.
Saving your sounds, switching banks, and loading and editing kits so they sound right every time.
A kit is the sound. A pattern is the rhythm. With KIT LINK on, a pattern also remembers which kit slot to load with it. It points to a slot number; it does not copy your knob settings into the pattern.
Every voice knob and switch on all four voices (TUNE, DECAY, PARAM 1 and 2, CUTOFF, DRIVE, FX SEND, LEVEL, ALGO, MODE, VCF), the MOD menu settings, and the BBD time and feedback when KIT FX is on. Step locks are called kit parameter locks in the manual, so they appear to travel with the kit.
Steps, last step, divide and multiply, ratchets, probabilities, play direction, shuffle and groove. With KIT LINK on, it also stores the number of the kit that was active when you saved it.
Master VOLUME, MASTER SEND, compressor THRSHLD and AMT, and the BBD's LFO RATE, MOD DEPTH and two switches. The BBD's TIME and FEEDBACK save only when KIT FX is on. There is no setting that saves the rest; note it on the Song sheet tab.
Your new sound is safe in kit slot 20, but the pattern points to the old kit. The fix is to load kit 20 before you save the pattern, so it becomes the active kit.
After a kit loads, the knobs on the panel do not move to match it. With POT CATCH off, touching any knob jumps that setting to wherever the knob physically sits, so the sound changes. Turn POT CATCH on (config menu, track 2, step 2): a knob then has no effect until you sweep it past the saved value.
Holding CLEAR and pressing KIT drops the kit and plays exactly what the panel knobs say. Load the kit again to get your saved sound back.
Slots are per bank, so slot 20 in bank 2 is a different kit. And the master volume, compressor and send are never saved, so they may simply be set differently.
Save kit 20 with pattern 20, kit 21 with pattern 21. You will always know which kit belongs to which pattern.
Load pattern 20 (it brings kit 20), tweak, then save kit to 20 and pattern to 20 again, in that order. Overwriting the same slots keeps the link intact. Hold PATTERN and press REC for a quick save of the current pattern.
KIT LINK on (track 2, step 1), POT CATCH on (track 2, step 2), KIT FX on (track 2, step 8) so your delay time and feedback are saved too. These are in the settings menu: hold SHIFT and press MOD.
KIT LINK does not save anything for you. It only tells a pattern which kit slot to load with it. So what you save depends on what you changed.
Yes, if you only changed the rhythm: steps, ratchets, probabilities, shuffle, groove, play direction. The pattern already points to its kit. If you also changed the sound, saving only the pattern keeps the link but the kit slot still holds the old sound.
Yes, if you only changed the sound and you save into the same kit slot the pattern already uses. Pattern 20 linked to kit 20, tweak, save kit 20: next time pattern 20 loads, it brings the new sound.
| What you changed | Save the kit? | Save the pattern? |
|---|---|---|
| Only the sound (voice knobs, switches, MOD menu) | Yes to the same slot | No |
| Only the rhythm | No | Yes |
| Both | Yes first | Yes second |
| A new song in new slots | Yes then load that kit | Yes last |
When in doubt, save both: kit first, then pattern, into the same slot numbers. It takes seconds and always works.
The manual says "an active kit is saved together with the pattern." This guide reads that as a link to the kit slot, but it could also mean the pattern save writes the current sound into the kit too. Two minutes settles it:
The manual is brief on this. The workflow above follows its description of KIT LINK ("an active kit is saved together with the pattern") and POT CATCH. If step 3 is not needed on your unit, it does no harm.
A bank is like a folder. Each bank holds its own 64 kits and 64 patterns, and there are 64 banks. The KIT and PATTERN menus only ever show the slots of the bank you are in, so to see another 64 kits and patterns you switch bank first.
The same grid works for banks in the bank menu and for slots in the KIT and PATTERN menus. Row 1 holds 1 to 16, row 2 holds 17 to 32, row 3 holds 33 to 48, row 4 holds 49 to 64. Type a number to find its step.
Switching bank while the sequencer runs causes a short pause while it loads. For a gig, keep the whole set in one bank and switch patterns and kits instead.
At power on, the Pērkons loads the last bank and the last kit and pattern you used in it. Each bank also remembers its own last kit and pattern.
With KIT LINK on, pattern 20 in bank 2 loads kit 20 of bank 2. Saving always goes into the bank you are in, so check the bank menu before saving.
One bank per album, client or live set. Leave bank 1 for factory kits and experiments.
Each bank is a numbered folder inside the BANKS folder. Kit packs are installed by copying a numbered folder there, and since firmware 1.3 a bank can have its own SAMPLES folder.
A kit pack is simply a bank folder. Installing one means copying that folder into the BANKS folder on the SD card, under a number you are not already using.
This layout is used as the example in the rest of this section. Yours may use other folder numbers; the bank is always the folder number plus one.
| Bank | Step in the bank menu | What is in it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (folder 00) | Row 1, step 1 | Factory bank and your own saves |
| 2 (folder 01) | Row 1, step 2 | Kit Pack 1 by HRTL: 32 kits in rows 1 and 2, no patterns |
| 3 (folder 02) | Row 1, step 3 | Kit Pack 2 by HRTL, with samples: 32 kits in rows 3 and 4, no patterns |
| 4 (folder 03) | Row 1, step 4 | Kit Pack 3 by Pijus Džiugas Meižis: 59 kits and 59 patterns; the first 8 patterns are drone chords |
| 5 (folder 04) | Row 1, step 5 | Kit Pack 4 by Fat Frumos (Thunder Cats EP): 46 kits and 46 patterns, with samples |
Packs 2 and 4 keep their samples inside their own bank folder (allowed since firmware 1.3), so they do not change the sounds in bank 1.
Press PLAY/STOP so the pattern is not playing. Changing bank while it plays causes a short gap while the new bank loads. Changing patterns or kits inside one bank while playing is fine.
Example, Kit Pack 4: stop the music, hold PATTERN and press KIT, press row 1 step 5, press PATTERN, press row 1 step 1, press PLAY/STOP. To get back to bank 1, do the same and press row 1 step 1 in the bank menu.
Hold SHIFT and press MOD to open settings, change these, then press SHIFT and MOD again to leave.
Row 2, step 1. Packs 3 and 4 need it so each pattern loads the kit it was made with.
Row 4, step 1. Packs 2 and 4 need it so PARAM 2 on voice 4, algorithm 3 moves the sample start (slicing).
Stop the music before changing bank. Banks 2 and 3 have kits only, no patterns, so their PATTERN menu shows just one empty slot. Banks 4 and 5 have dozens of patterns.
Bank menu row 1 step 5, then PATTERN, pick a step, PLAY. Each group of eight steps is one track from the Thunder Cats EP, and each step in a group is a section of that track.
Row 1 steps 1 to 8 are drones by design. Start with row 4 steps 9 to 14 ("play these"). Row 1 steps 9 to 16 and row 2 steps 1 to 8 are sequences meant to be chained.
Kits only, and only in rows 3 and 4; rows 1 and 2 are empty slots. Left to right they go from punchy percussion to modulated drones.
Kits only, in rows 1 and 2. The DRUM group is the clearest drum sound.
| Bank 5 patterns | Steps 1 to 8 | Steps 9 to 16 |
|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | HCORE | CNT STOP |
| Row 2 | GNBMY | BORSH.V |
| Row 3 | BONUS | OMGSH |
| Bank 2 kits | Steps 1 to 8 | Steps 9 to 16 |
|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | DRUM | BONK |
| Row 2 | POLY | SFX |
For the kits only banks, program a quick beat first (for example voice 1 on steps 1, 5, 9 and 13), then switch kits while it plays. Without a pattern you only hear the voices that drone.
A voice's DECAY is at maximum, which on the Pērkons means it keeps sounding even when stopped. Turn that voice's DECAY or LEVEL down (with POT CATCH on, sweep the knob until it catches), or load another kit. The delay FEEDBACK is high, so the repeats never die away. Set it around 2 or 3; it is not saved in kits, so it stays where you left it.
If voice 4 in a sample pack plays the wrong sound, the Pērkons is not finding samples inside the bank folder. The fallback is a SAMPLES folder at the top of the card, but that changes the samples for every bank without its own.
The voice knobs are read by the Pērkons's computer, so a kit can store and restore them. The master section knobs appear to act on the sound directly, so where they point is the setting. That is why a kit can bring back your voices but not your master section.
That is POT CATCH working as designed. After a kit loads, each knob's saved value rarely matches where the physical knob points. With POT CATCH on, a knob is ignored until it passes the saved value, then it takes over smoothly with no jump. If the saved value is at the other end, that can take nearly a full turn.
Turn a little one way. If nothing changes, go back the other way. Once it passes the saved value you hear it take over.
A dark voice means CUTOFF is probably low, so start low and turn up. A short sound means DECAY is low.
Knobs you do not touch keep their saved values.
| Situation | POT CATCH | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Building a kit from scratch | Off | A knob takes over the instant you touch it, so the panel matches the sound |
| Editing a saved kit or playing live | On | No sudden jumps; grab a knob when you need it |
Hold CLEAR and press KIT. The Pērkons now plays exactly what the panel knobs say, so every knob is live. This replaces the loaded kit's sound with the panel's, so use it only when you are starting the sound over, then save to a kit.
One bank per project or live set. Matching numbers: kit 20 with pattern 20.
Save kit, load that kit, save pattern. Do it whenever something sounds good, not only at the end.
Keep a neutral kit in slot 1 to build new sounds from.
Write down or photograph the master knobs for each song, since the kit cannot hold them. Many set the compressor once as glue and leave it.
So the delay's time and feedback come back with every kit.
Hold a step and turn a knob for a change on that step only, like an open hat on step 5. A locked step ignores the knob on that step.
It holds all your banks of kits and patterns. Copy it to your computer now and then.
A map of the settings menu, syncing with a DAW or other gear, MIDI notes and CCs, loading your own samples, and updating the firmware.
In the settings menu every step button is a setting. A lit LED means on. Press SHIFT and MOD again to leave. Settings are global: they stay the same whichever kit, pattern or bank you load.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | Clock internal | Clock MIDI | Clock analog | In PPQN 1 | In PPQN 2 | In PPQN 4 | In PPQN 24 | Out PPQN 1 | Out PPQN 2 | Out PPQN 4 | Out PPQN 24 | Trigger sensitivity | Multi channel MIDI setup | Single channel MIDI setup | ||
| Row 2 | KIT LINK | POT CATCH | Accent | Smooth knob rec | Vintage BBD | Trig mute | Filter switch slew | KIT FX | Invert odds | BBD sync | Mute sound | Track rotate | Voice quantizer | |||
| Row 3 | MIDI single channel | MIDI multi channel | MIDI clock out | Clock out when stopped | MIDI thru | Sequencer out | CC out | Velocity | CC filter | |||||||
| Row 4 | Sample start | 15 and 16 together: factory reset | ||||||||||||||
Red outlines mark the three settings this guide recommends turning on for reliable saving. Row 3, step 9 (CC filter) and row 2, step 13 (voice quantizer) arrived with firmware 1.3.
Steps 1 to 3 pick the clock source. 5 to 8 set pulses per quarter note for the analog CLOCK IN (MIDI clock is always 24). 9 to 12 set the CLOCK OUT rate. 14 to 16 open sub menus for drum pad sensitivity and the MIDI channels.
KIT LINK stores which kit goes with each pattern. POT CATCH makes a knob wait until it passes the saved value. KIT FX saves the delay TIME and FEEDBACK in each kit.
Accent allows accented steps. Smooth knob rec glides between recorded moves instead of stepping. Trig mute mutes with the tap keys alone. Mute sound silences long sounds too. Track rotate changes SHIFT and RESET into row rotation. Invert odds moves ODDS1 hits to the end of their cycle.
Vintage BBD makes the delay noisier and more like old analog units. BBD sync turns the TIME knob into tempo divisions. Filter switch slew changes how much click you hear when flipping the VCF switch. Voice quantizer keeps voice pitches on a chromatic scale.
Single or multi channel mode, MIDI clock out (and whether it keeps running when stopped), MIDI thru, sending the sequencer's notes, sending knob moves as CCs, recording velocity, and ignoring incoming CCs.
Sample start makes PARAM 2 on voice 4, ALGO 3 move the sample start point instead of the attack, which works like slicing. Steps 15 and 16 together run a factory reset, so back up the SD card first.
Turn on MIDI clock out (row 3, step 3) for MIDI gear, and set the CLOCK OUT rate (row 1, steps 9 to 12) to match what your analog gear expects.
Press play in the DAW and the Pērkons follows its tempo. Recording the MIDI from the Pērkons at the same time lets you play the pattern back into it later.
Playing along with a band or a record: hold SHIFT and RESET, use tap key 2 for tap tempo, tap keys 3 and 4 to nudge, and tap key 1 to restart the clock on the downbeat.
One MIDI channel plays the whole machine. Notes C, C sharp, D and D sharp trigger voices 1 to 4. Set the channel in row 1, step 16.
Each voice gets its own channel (set in row 1, step 15). Notes then play the voice at different pitches, and you can record them into the sequencer: hold a step and send a note, or play live while recording.
Trigger notes and clock. With sequencer out on (row 3, step 6) it sends everything the internal sequencer plays; with CC out on (row 3, step 7) it sends your knob moves too.
| Control | Voice 1 | Voice 2 | Voice 3 | Voice 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TUNE | 70 | 81 | 92 | 103 |
| DECAY | 71 | 82 | 93 | 104 |
| PARAM 1 | 72 | 83 | 94 | 105 |
| PARAM 2 | 73 | 84 | 95 | 106 |
| CUTOFF | 74 | 85 | 96 | 107 |
| DRIVE | 75 | 86 | 97 | 108 |
| FX SEND | 76 | 87 | 98 | 109 |
| LEVEL | 77 | 88 | 99 | 110 |
| ALGO switch | 78 | 89 | 100 | 111 |
| MODE switch | 79 | 90 | 101 | 112 |
| VCF switch | 80 | 91 | 102 | 113 |
In multi channel mode every voice uses the voice 1 numbers on its own channel. To change the numbers, edit SYSTEM/single-midi-cc.json on the SD card in a text editor, save it, and put the card back.
1.wav, 2.wav and 3.wav.BANKS/05/SAMPLES) it applies to that bank only, since firmware 1.3.To go back to the factory samples, delete the SAMPLES folders you made and power on again. Any audio editor that exports WAV can convert a file; with the free SoX tool: sox in.wav -c 1 -r 48000 -b 16 1.wav.
Use only the 12 volt, 1 amp, center positive adapter supplied with the unit; another adapter can damage it permanently. Keep it away from liquids and damp rooms, and after cold transport let it reach room temperature for an hour before switching on.
A fill in sheet for every song's settings, so a track you made weeks ago comes back exactly as you left it.
An interactive table that works right here in your browser. Each row is one song: the bank, kit and pattern it uses, the tempo, and where every master section knob was set.
On the Pērkons, kits and patterns are just numbered steps on the panel, and the master section (volume, master send, compressor and delay settings) is never saved at all. The sheet puts the whole song in one place, so you can see at a glance how it is built and set the knobs back before you press play.
Press Add a song and type into the boxes. Knob positions use the 0 to 10 scale printed on the panel. Press × at the end of a row to remove it.
Everything you type is kept in this browser on this device only, so it stays on the computer or tablet you use beside the Pērkons.
| Song | Bank | Kit | Pattern | Tempo | Volume | Master send | Comp thrshld | Comp amt | BBD time | BBD fdbk | BBD LFO rate | BBD mod depth | Notes |
|---|
People, videos, the community, kits to study, and gear that pairs well.
Electronic artist in Utrecht, Netherlands, and maker of the most thorough Pērkons video: patterns, kits, manual mode, drones, building a groove, a known bug and live tips. His site lists coaching and lessons (online, mind the time difference).
Pērkons deep dive video · Coaching and lessons · Audio Deep Dive newsletter
Long running Montreal techno artist who performs live with the Pērkons. No lessons are listed publicly, but the live videos are worth studying.
Designed the official Erica Synths kit packs, so knows the sound engine deeply. Load the kits and take them apart to learn. No public contact found.
Their support answers routing questions directly, and can point you toward teachers. The overview video is presented by Leo, one of their in house artists.
Over 1,400 posts from owners. A good place to ask questions and to find owners who offer lessons.
Expert made kits are a fast way to learn how sounds are built.
Linear Phase (64 kits, 64 patterns, €60) · Another Machines (16 kits, €18)
A short list of Erica Synths gear that works naturally alongside the Pērkons.
The four voice drum synthesizer this guide is about, in black.
A stereo delay unit. Patch it into the MASTER SEND and RETURN jacks for a second delay on the whole kit, using one input and one output since the Pērkons jacks are mono. The Audio routing tab shows the cabling.
A desktop bassline synthesizer with its own sequencer. Sync it to the Pērkons over MIDI clock for drums and bass that lock together.
A small semi modular analog synthesizer designed for learning synthesis. A hands on companion voice for melodies, leads and sound effects.
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Who wrote it, how to get in touch, and the fine print.
This is a free, independent guide to the Erica Synths Pērkons HD‑01, written to make the machine easier to learn. It is published by Sonic Discovery Studio, a mixing and mastering studio in Sarasota, Florida. It is built from the official 1.3 manual, answers from Erica Synths support, published reviews and the experience of owners, and is written in plain language with diagrams.
Found a mistake, or something that works differently on your unit? Corrections are always welcome.
For repairs, warranty and firmware, contact the manufacturer through the Erica Synths support section.
This guide is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is an independent resource and is not an official Erica Synths publication. Sonic Discovery LLC is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Erica Synths.
The information is offered in good faith and as is, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including accuracy, completeness or fitness for a particular purpose. Firmware updates can change how the instrument behaves, and some details here come from owner reports rather than the manufacturer. Always check the official manual and Erica Synths support before relying on anything here.
You use this information at your own risk. Sonic Discovery LLC does not assume any liability for loss or damage of any kind arising from the use of this guide, including damage to equipment, lost kits, patterns or other data on the SD card, hearing damage from high volume, or any other direct or indirect loss. Back up your SD card before changing files, keep volume at a safe level, and use only the power adapter supplied with the instrument.
Links to other websites are provided for convenience. Sonic Discovery LLC does not control and is not responsible for their content, products or privacy practices.
Erica Synths and Pērkons are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to identify the product discussed. All other product and company names are the property of their owners.
This page has no accounts, sign ups or forms, and it does not ask for any personal information.
Saved on your device only. The tab you last viewed and anything you type into the Song sheet are stored in your own browser (local storage). They are never sent to Sonic Discovery. Clearing your browser's site data removes them.
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This guide is meant for a general audience and is not directed at children under 13. Questions about privacy can be sent to contact@sonicdiscoverystudio.com.
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Last updated 5 November 2026.