OVERVIEW
There are four basic KikAxxe elements. The top features a 16-step sequencer (although you can have fewer steps, down to one if you want), with the user interface switchable between synth mode for driving the sound generators, or a separate drum machine mode (more on this later). Both sequencers can be active simultaneously, even though you can access only one interface at a time.
Below the sequencer is a master control strip with master volume, synth volume, drum volume, a synth/drums crossfader, separate sends for the synth and drums to the onboard delay, and a return for the delay. Below these controls is the synth section itself. This mimics the real ARP Axxe’s front panel, with its colorful slider caps and block diagram (unlike the original ARP synths, though, the slider caps don’t fall off). Tool tips are handled well: They appear as soon as the mouse rolls on top of a control, and update the control’s value as you change it. For those not familiar with the original, the Axxe was a single-oscillator synth with sawtooth and square waveforms, so insert a chorus effect afterwards if you want a “fatter” sound.
Note that KikAxxe can also serve as a processor, as it allows external audio input and upon installation, installs two plug-ins — one for the synth, one for the effects. I particularly appreciated the inclusion of an envelope follower, with its own level and smoothing controls. Finally, the bottom strip has a virtual keyboard and controls for the “tape delay” effect.
KikAxxe lets you create new banks of patches, and it’s easy to cut, copy, and paste patches among various banks if you want to create, say, a “favorites” bank (of course, you can also import and export patches). You can save banks of drum beats and synth sequences, but note that these are reversed in the Preferences menu: When you want the drum manager, call up synth manager, and vice-versa. Furthermore, Session Banks contain collections of synth and drum sequences.
IN USE
KikAxxe lets you authorize via an iLok dongle if you have one, or to your hard drive if you don’t. Either option works on- or offline, and requires a serial number that’s supposedly on the back of the QuickStart guide. In my copy, which was from distributor M-Audio’s first shipping run, it was on a cardboard insert that I found only after tearing off the back of the box — so if at first you don’t see a serial number, keep trying. M-Audio corrected this in subsequent shipments.
Once I found that KikAxxe worked just fine within host programs, I thought it would be fun to set KikAxxe up as a live performance, DJ-type tool where I could have drum patterns going along with techno-style bass lines. It wasn’t hard: Everything is pretty obvious to set up, and if not, the documentation gets you where you need to go.
The more I played, the more I thought that it really begs for hardware control, especially for functions like the drum machine filter type, drum mix, drum LFO depth, echo sustain (feedback), and the like. Shift-click on almost any control, and you’re greeted with some serious MIDI control options. There are defaults for velocity, aftertouch, and the mod wheel, for which you can adjust the control range, sensitivity (actually, this is more like a response curve control), and invert the controller range. An additional MIDI map section lets you specify a MIDI controller, with the same parameters as the defaults. There’s a MIDI Learn function, but it didn’t work with VST hosts on my PC. Way Out Ware is working on a free update that’ll fix it. As is, if I manually set the controller (CC) numbers to match my hardware, everything worked fine.
I almost ignored the Easy interface option but found that it’s great for live performance. For one thing, you can cue up a new drum pattern while another is playing, which you can’t do with the Advanced interface. You can also change drum kits on the fly without missing a beat. Although you can’t modify the drum sounds much (there’s no pitch control and no panning), you can make realtime changes to the mix. Tweaking the synth macros let me change sounds easily, without having to “wade through faders.” If you want to go deeper, the Advanced interface is just a click away.
On a real tape delay, the highs roll off and distortion increases with each repetition; the “tape delay” in KikAxxe sounds much cleaner. However, changing the delay time while KikAxxe is playing produces authentic results, with none of the digital zipper noise that plagued even good software delays only two or three years ago. It inserts in an aux bus, so you can determine whether it affects the drum machine, synth, or both. One bummer: You can’t sync the delay time to tempo.
With KikAxxe, it’s real easy to just tweak and play and get lost for hours. That’s why this “In Use” section is pretty short: Once I’d set up my hardware controller and called up a few patterns, I just played the thing and had a good time. That says something right there.
CONCLUSIONS
At this price, I wasn’t sure what to expect . . . I would say KikAxxe resembles Propellerhead ReBirth with a much beefier synth section (as opposed to being just a Roland TB-303 emulation). Not surprisingly, some corners are cut — like the inability to sync echo time to tempo and the fact that you can’t play individual drum sounds via MIDI. I also don’t know why I couldn’t get MIDI learn to work. But it seems kind of mean to have any complaints about the drum machine, as it’s clearly a bonus to the spot-on ARP Axxe emulation; and getting the Axxe part by itself at this price would be a good deal anyway.
The ARP Axxe was not a particularly rich-sounding synth, and the same is true of the software version. However, that was also part of its charm: The Axxe delivered a simple, stark, cutting sound that could stand out in a mix. That alone would probably be enough for many people to add this instrument to their arsenal of sounds, especially given the low price. Throw in the drum machine and ability to function as a rhythm section, and you have a cool little instrument that’s extremely cost-effective.
DRUM FUN
The drum machine is an unexpected bonus that integrates well with KikAxxe because you can step notes and drum patterns at the same time; conceptually, it recalls Roland’s TR-808 and TB-303 beatboxes. Tie in some hardware controllers, and you have a fun live performance tool for acid-style dance music — especially thanks to features like the filter low/high switch, which serves almost like a DJ’s kill switch for taking out the low or high sounds, and an LFO for the filter (separate for each drum sound) that can go high enough to give some ring-mod type effects. You can even do drum rolls.
The main limitation is that there are only two “velocity” levels: the main drum sound and an accented version. This was all that a lot of classic drum machines offered in the way of dynamics, so it’s perfectly consistent with Way Out Ware’s stated goal of vintage vibe (see “Claim Check” below). However, it means that while you can trigger the drums via MIDI, KikAxxe won’t do the trick Reason’s ReDrum does — although ReDrum has only three possible velocities when programmed onscreen, it responds to the full velocity range of a MIDI keyboard, drum pads, or host sequencer. It’d also be nice to have more than four slots for patterns, although the ability to cue up a pattern and have it trigger when the current pattern finishes is helpful. Note that you can’t initiate start/stop independently for the drum machine and sequencer, but if you want to play synth against a drum pattern, a simple workaround is just to turn off the sequencer steps for the synthesizer.
CLAIM CHECK
Way Out Ware founder Jim Heintz says, “KikAxxe was designed to provide a simple-to-use reincarnation of a classic ’70s or ’80s electronic studio with an analog synth, a step sequencer, a drum machine, and a delay. This collection of gear was the basis for many hit songs from that era. We decided to base the product on the ARP Axxe synthesizer in order to make it easy to program for entry-level users, as well as to keep the price low. The step sequencer was based loosely on the ARP 1601, but modified to make it easier to use. The drum machine was added because early testing of the initial product just screamed for it. As for the delay, I loved my Echoplex EP-2. After talking to many pros from that era, they all said it was a required piece of gear in this kind of rig.”