AHB's Inpulse One

Incredibly rare drum machine featuring 8 velocity sensitive pads, playable with hands or sticks, plus an insanely easy to use drum sequencer, crude MIDI, SMPTE and Timebase implementation to die for, and 256K of sample RAM. Sadly only 140 or less were made before production ended, and finding parts, extra sounds or information is next to impossible. I am making a page dedicated to the Inpulse One, but you can read the original brochure here - though their serial numbers are incorrect - they actually started at 1000-1089 with a further batch of "around 20" made following MIDI improvements, which were retrofitted to many of the older units. Since acquiring this some time ago, I've had contact with perhaps 3, maybe 4, owners and the designer - not one of the other owners I have spoken to has a working machine, though recently I've had contact with one of the original team responsible for it who has one, and has some sample tapes for it. A retrozone article written by yours truly appeared in the August 2004 Sound On Sound.

This page is dedicated to tracking down Inpulse One users, creating a repository for sample tapes and other information. The article is incorrect in that the Simon at Livingston Studios may have been Simon Bohanon, not Simon Jones (which could be a subconscious attempt by HHGTTG to break out of my head in print).

AHB Inpulse One user registry
Serial Number Condition Last Seen
1073 Functional, may need adjustments. Owned by Gary ?, possibly for sale.
1045-M Mint, 256K RAM, ROM "5", Copied Manual In my studio
1042 Functional, may have original manual, ROM "5" Owned by Alan Rideout, possibly for sale.
1058 Apparently Functional Owned by Robert Henrit, possibly for sale - real bit of history!
1024 Battery failure Audiofanzine.com - France
1015 Apparently Functional eBay, sold for £140, April 2004
Owned by Alan Robinson
As this registry grows I will include more information on the systems, famous owners and so forth. I know that the designers appear to still have examples of the machines, but I don't know the serial number, specification and other status. I think, for example, that when booted the Inpulse One gives the ROM version, mine displays "5" when starting.

Inside the AHB Inpulse One

Allen & Heath make mixers that are designed for serious, long-term service. The Inpulse One did not attempt to break away from that format. Remove the screws holding the two control panels, and you will be faced with this:

To the best of my knowledge, there are no custom chips in the system. Replacement ROMs could be available through AHB; if they are, or they give me permission to dump the ROMs in my own system, I will provide images and details here of how to blow your own to avoid bit-rot. That white battery almost directly in the centre is apparently the cause of death for many Inpulse Ones, btw - I intend to have mine replaced ASAP as a preventative measure but like most users, the idea of having my baby soldered scares the crap out of me!

Simplicity Itself. The step-time pattern arranger on the Inpulse One offers a degree of user-friendliness I have yet to encounter in any other bit of 80s equipment.

If you know of an Inpulse One, own one yourself, or have tapes, advertising material, reviews or other material relating to it, drop me an email - inpulseone (at) dmc12.demon.co.uk.