The Behringer Mini Pops 7 is bringing the little analog rhythm box back into fashion. Tempting — except it is a preset-pattern machine, not a step sequencer you draw yourself. If you love the idea but want to write your own beats, here are seven analog and hybrid drum machines, from a $149 clone to a boutique German box, and what each one actually does.
The Mini Pops 7 is getting plenty of attention, and it is easy to see why: the charm of a small analog box spitting out a dry groove — the very one behind Jean-Michel Jarre’s Oxygene. The catch is that the Mini Pops — Korg then, Behringer soon — is a preset machine: you hit bossa, rock or beguine, not a sequencer step you laid down yourself (our Mini Pops 7 write-up). If the analog vocabulary appeals but you want to program your own patterns, the 2026 market is packed with boxes that fit in a bag and play under your fingers. Here are seven, sorted into honest families — because they do not all do exactly the same job.
The analog clones of the classics
The sweet spot for anyone who wants the Mini Pops gesture in a programmable form: analog-generated voices with a real sequencer behind them. Behringer built its name here, at prices that reset the game.
Behringer RD-8 MKII
It is the 808 without the 808. The RD-8 MKII lifts the structure of the Roland TR-808 — round kick, snappy claps, metallic cymbals — with fully analog voices and a V662 OTA chip tasked with nailing the original’s grain. Where the Mini Pops sticks to fixed patterns, the RD-8 gives you a programmable 64-step sequencer, a switchable analog filter and Wave Designer to shape the attack.
Eleven individual outputs make it as happy in the studio, one voice per track, as on stage. At this price, it is the most direct route to the analog 808 sound.
In brief: Behringer · around $249 · analog drum machine, 16 sounds, 64-step sequencer, 11 outputs.
See the Behringer RD-8 MKII (product page).
Behringer RD-9
Same logic, another legend: the RD-9 targets the Roland TR-909, the machine of house and techno. The percussion is analog-generated, while the cymbals and hi-hats rely on samples — exactly as on the original 909. Two modes sit side by side: Authentic, which tracks the 909’s behaviour as closely as possible, and Enhanced, which unlocks a few extra controls.
The 64-step sequencer handles poly-meter, step repeat and per-track muting. If your thing is a punchy kick and a sizzling hat, this is the one.
In brief: Behringer · official $349, often discounted · analog voices plus sampled cymbals, 64-step sequencer, 10 outputs.
See the Behringer RD-9 (maker page).
Arturia DrumBrute Impact
Arturia clones no one: the DrumBrute Impact brings its own set of ten analog voices, including an “FM drum” voice for more metallic timbres. The real difference is the output distortion circuit, which grits up the whole mix with one knob, and the Color control, which reshapes the character of each instrument.
A 64-step sequencer with 64 patterns, song mode, polyrhythm and four individual outputs: for a modest budget, it is the most versatile analog box to play by hand.
In brief: Arturia · around $266–300 depending on deals · 10 analog voices, output distortion, 64-step sequencer, 4 outputs.
See the Arturia DrumBrute Impact (maker page).
The bridge between vintage and modern
Here we leave pure analog for modelling. You lose the “physical” circuitry, you gain versatility, portability and the number of classics you get from a single box.
Roland TR-6S
The TR-6S is digital, but Roland pours its ACB modelling into it, rebuilding the behaviour of the original circuits: TR-808, TR-909, TR-606, TR-707, plus the CR-78, that late-1970s preset box the Mini Pops is a distant cousin of in spirit. Add FM voices and a large sample library on top.
Six tracks, pocket format, battery power: this is the box to grab when you want every Roland classic in one hand. It is not analog, but the fidelity of the modelling is the real selling point.
In brief: Roland · around $399 · 6 tracks, ACB modelling (808/909/606/707), FM voices and samples, battery-powered.
See the Roland TR-6S (maker page).
The clever budget pick
Under $150, a handful of controls, battery power: the cheapest way in here is not trying to imitate a classic, but to open up a playground.
Korg Volca Drum
The Volca Drum is not out to imitate an 808. It is a digital percussion synthesizer with six parts, oscillators, pitch modulation and, above all, a waveguide resonator that yields metallic, broken, sometimes downright strange timbres. It is more cousin than clone — but at $149.99 it opens sonic territory the analog boxes never touch.
A 16-step sequencer, battery power, Volca format: it is the cheapest entry point here, and the most adventurous when it comes to sound.
In brief: Korg · $149.99 · 6-part digital synthesis, waveguide resonator, 16-step sequencer.
See the Korg Volca Drum (maker page).
The boutique boxes with character
Two machines that push back against the clones: no race to the bottom on price or to 808 fidelity, but a sonic signature and a playing philosophy all their own.
Vermona drumDING
Vermona does not ship a machine a month, and the drumDING is worth the wait. Its principle runs against orthodoxy: instead of wiring one voice per instrument, the Saxon workshop offers a single analog percussion-synthesis voice, inherited from the DRM-1, able to cover a whole kit. You shape it, you sample it at the push of a button, and the sample lands on one of six digital tracks, with effects — reverse, drive, bit crusher.
It is the most expensive and the most singular box here. Neither a clone nor a preset machine: a percussive sound design approach, for anyone looking beyond the 808/909 well-trodden path.
In brief: Vermona · €1,499 / £1,299 (pre-order) · single mouldable analog voice plus internal sampling, 6 tracks, digital effects.
See the Vermona drumDING (maker page).
oZoe Drum Box
At the other end of the price scale but in the same auteur spirit, the oZoe Drum Box is designed and built in France by Jean-Luc Lartigue. Its creed: one parameter, one control, no menus. Seven tracks (six instruments plus an accent), a WAV sample-playback engine fed from a microSD card, and well-judged performance functions — Fill, Ratchet, Break, Human, Chain.
It is not an analog machine: it plays back your samples. But the all-hands-on approach, with no screen to dig through, brings it close to the immediacy that made the old boxes so appealing. Price and availability are still to be confirmed, and a DIY kit version would be no surprise given the brand’s habits.
In brief: oZoe · price not yet announced · 7 tracks, WAV sample playback (microSD), all physical controls.
See the oZoe Drum Box (maker site).
The recap
| Product | Maker | Indicative price | The job in a word |
|---|---|---|---|
| RD-8 MKII | Behringer | ~$249 | analog 808 |
| RD-9 | Behringer | ~$349 | analog 909 |
| DrumBrute Impact | Arturia | ~$266–300 | versatile analog |
| TR-6S | Roland | ~$399 | modelled Roland classics |
| Volca Drum | Korg | $149.99 | percussion synthesis |
| drumDING | Vermona | €1,499 | boutique analog-sampler |
| Drum Box | oZoe | TBA | hands-on sample player |
Which one should you pick?
If you are here for the Mini Pops sound (our article) — a dry, immediate analog groove — but you want to program your steps, the RD-8 MKII (808) and RD-9 (909) are the shortest, cheapest routes to those two rhythmic vocabularies. The DrumBrute Impact wins if you prefer a voice set that belongs to Arturia alone and an output distortion stage that adds grit without a plugin.
Need to take it all with you? The TR-6S puts the Roland classics in your pocket, at the cost of “physical” analog. Small budget or in the mood to explore? The Volca Drum, at $149.99, produces timbres no 808 will ever make. And if you want a machine with a real signature — even at a price, or to support a small shop — Vermona’s drumDING and oZoe’s Drum Box aim for the musical gesture before the ticked box. To each their own box: what matters is what comes out of the speakers, not the logo on the front.
