Novation Peak on Drums — How to Turn a Peak (or Summit) into a Drum Machine (with free soundbank)

video upload by TheGuacamoleXplosion

"This no-talking video explores 7 different methods of using the Novation Peak as a drum synthesizer, a drum machine or even a groovebox.

A soundbank for the Novation Peak (should also be mostly compatible with the Novation Summit) with all stuff from this video and some more, as well as the individual Peak patches, can be downloaded here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folder...

00:00 - Intro
01:06 - Peak Drum Jam #1: Fake Trance for Drake Fans
03:13 - Kraftwerk — Autobahn throwback
03:36 - How to turn your Peak into a drum machine? The Autobahn beats
05:10 - Peak as a Groovebox: The Streets — Blinded By The Lights
06:22 - 'What if?' break: AFX mode for the Peak now!
07:02 - Simulating AFX mode by sending MIDI PCs to the Peak
08:32 - Surrogate Multitimbrality: Marvin Gaye — Sexual Healing
09:15 - 6 Methods for Peak beatmaking — Drummer from yet another Mother
09:55 - JMJ — Oxygène IV throwback
10:38 - 'Played' drums
11:28 - Arpeggiator 'played' mode — how it works
11:59 - Pink Floyd — On The Run throwback
12:08 - Feeding 'played' mode from an external sequencer
12:18 - Testing the limits of 'played' mode: Elbow — Grace Under Pressure
13:05 - Patch from scratch: Four-to-the-floor beat with rumble
19:24 - Changing the master tempo (impact on LFOs vs. Envelopes)
20:12 - Peak Drum Jam #2 (with the patch just made from Scratch)
22:39 - Making a drum template patch (with random Peak Spa Meditation background music)
26:02 - LFOs vs. Envelopes: Creating an early 80s beat from our drum template patch
36:14 - Final Peak Drum Jam #3 (1983/84 throwback)

All Peak Patches in this video were created from scratch. All Peak tracks were recorded through RME audio interfaces (Babyface Pro and Fireface UC) directly into Cubase stereo tracks. There are absolutely no effects on the individual Peak stereo tracks, not even panning, and levels are set to unity gain, to give an as-clear-as-possible impression of the Peak’s sonic potential and limits. On most parts (except intro), there is brickwall limiting on the stereo master, and on most multitrack parts also additional compression and EQ on the stereo master. Guitar parts recorded D.I. into the Fireface UC with a 1973 Stratocaster, several track and send FX on those.

Disclaimer:
I bought the Peak at regular price in 2020. Nobody paid me to make this video or compensated me in any other way, and it’s not monetized. No generative AI was used in the making of this video.
All songs © by their original writers and publishing companies; covered here in the framework of fair use for educational purposes.

Autobahn — written by Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider and Emil Schult
Blinded by the Lights — written by Mike Skinner
Sexual Healing — written by Marvin Gaye, Odell Brown and possibly David Ritz
Oxygène (Part IV) — written by Jean-Michel Jarre
On The Run — written by David Gilmour and Roger Waters
Grace Under Pressure — written by Guy Garvey, Craig Potter, Mark Potter, Pete Turner and Richard Jupp

Everything else © 2026 TheGuacamoleXplosion"