CIRCLE DRONE OF DOOM BY IMPACT SOUNDWORKS
& LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER
KK-ACCESS REVIEW
This brand new synth from Impact Soundworks is a collaboration between Impact Soundworks and Look Mum No Computer, promising users a no fuss and easy sound design route for those looking for dark dystopian growling synthwaves, it’s all wrapped into a tiny data footprint, and is ideal for any project that demand lashings of true grit and grime.
LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER
for the uninitiated ‘Look Mum No Computer’ was the UK entry for the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, with the curiously entitled song ‘Eins, Zwei’, Drei’.
Written and performed by Sam Battle, the real name behind that stage and project persona. For those interested, the song itself, as is typical for the UK, came last on the night, so probably the less said on that topic the better!
Impact Soundworks have worked with Sam to bring us their new kontakt based synth, Circle Drone of Doom, which is a rather aggressive sounding 6 oscillator dirty & gnarly kind of synth, that actually sounds fantastic, if like me, you have a real penchant for those darker type of synth tones.
For the purpose of this review, we will not really be mentioning the ‘celebrity tie-in’, to be honest, they seldom mean an awful lot, although to be fair, this is actually a virtual realization of the hardware synth that was originally built by Sam himself and featured on his Youtube channel, and of course being a software release is somewhat of an oxymoron as here the use of a computer is rather critical!!!
POWER BY DESIGN
most noteworthy, is that Circle Drone of Doom is very easy to use, and by deliberate design there are really no complex parameters, filters, Envelopes, modulation, waveforms or other such overly in depth synthesizer mysteries to get your head around or wrestle with before you can begin to have fun using it.
Naturally as it is asynthesizer, there still has to be some of those basic building block concepts in place to play around with , but any fears are removed, as all of the real hardwork is taken care of under the hood, so ‘play’, is what Circle Drone of Doom entices you to do, making it instantly gratifying to experiment with along the way!
TECH SPECS
Circle Drone of Doom will run in Kontakt version 7.10.7 or higher, either the full or free Kontakt player edition.
It is compatible with all versions of Komplete Kontrol that host the above Kontakt editions.
Despite the website stating a need for 15GB of disk space, The library only actually requires a tiny 347MB for installation. However don’t let this baby footprint fool you for a second, this synth has both a giant kick, and also the punch to go with it!
There is one master Kontakt NKI preset, with a further 133 Kontakt NKSN snapshots derived from the master.
These are presented across 7 separate bank categories for ease of browser filtering.
DOWNLOAD & INSTALLATION
Circle Drone of Doom is downloaded using the fully accessible Pulse down loader, for which you will need to create an account.
Impact Soundworks do offer the option to create an account for you upon purchase and checkout, if you do not already have one.
As the library is so small, download takes no time at all, and once completed, simply move it to your preferred location on your system where you keep your licensed third party sample libraries.
You will then need to use the same serial number within Native Access to register it for Kontakt & Komplete Kontrol, and once done just locate and verify the location before exiting Native Access.
Loading up an instance of Komplete Kontrol will then auto scan the library into your factory browser all ready to use.
FULL KOMPLETE KONTROL NKS PARAMETER MAPPINGS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE END OF THE REVIEW AFTER THE MEDIA SECTION
ACCESSIBILITY
Impact Soundworks have I think made a very respectable effort when it comes to the access of the parameters.
There does not appear to be any crucial missing controls from the NKS template that prevents good and creative use of the instrument, although I did note that the manual mentions an oscillator randomise button which is not mapped, or alternatively available through a DAW host automation list.
Of course, the other common option to Midi learn a control by right clicking a button from the user interface is never really a viable option when you cannot see the button on the screen in the first instance.
The user manual does make mention of an ‘Accessibility Mode’, however for those of us without any useful vision, this is not accessible or really a relevant option for screen reader users. It may however still be very helpful to those with partial sight or other sight impairments, as it changes the colour scheme and adjusts the user interface labels into something more visually digestible.
JOURNEY INTO DOOM!
At the heart of Circle Drone of Doom’s engine are the six analog modelled oscillators, these can each be tuned up or down by 3 octaves, which immediately opens the door to give you powerful scope for easily dialling in your own tuned single finger chords.
You can of course stick with musical convention, or alternatively go for some much wilder and extravagant experimentations of your own,.
All of the oscillators are permanently switched on, and there is no individual mixing of the volumes, or separate oscillator waveforms.
Instead a single global shape control allows you to blend between Square wave on the extreme left, and sawtooth on the extreme right positions, this does seem to work quite effectively offering a balance between the softer and more aggressive timbres associated with those wave shapes.
The Unity control adjusts the tonal synchronisation of all six oscillators, fully on brings them all together into a single tone which will ignore any alternate tunings you may have set.
while in contrast at the lowest level each oscillator will ring out ‘loud & proud’ using the possible 72 available note tunings you have set them to, or to put it another way, that’s plus or minus 3 octaves, a generous range when you consider that just pressing a single key will cause all six of the oscillators to play simultaneously each with their own tuning setting, but it gets even better than that when we also introduce the Thickness control as we will shortly see.
As commented in Impact Soundworks own walkthrough, the Unity control is an instant way to recreate that classic THX effect of multi oscillators audibly syncing into a single tone.
FURTHER CONTROLS
For the amplitude envelope, There are global controls for the Attack and release of all six oscillators all at once, again simplifying the more usual ADSR with the intentional removal of the Decay and Sustain elements.
The filter has three settings, and can be switched between lowpass, bandpass, or high pass, and has cut-off and resonance available.
The LFO has been thoughtfully scripted to enable multiple options across a single NKS knob. Ranging from free running hertz values to DAW project synchronisation beat values. This gives users the ability to create everything from slow and long resonant sweeps through to tight rhythmic pulses, or chord stabs.
Now for that Thickness control that I hinted at a few paragraphs back. The Thickness setting coupled with the adjacent More control, can actually increase the number of oscillator voices up to a maximum of eight per single oscillator, which as the name suggests will certainly dramatically thicken up the sound. The More control then further intensifies the output, with a potential of 48 oscillators in total, which is impressive by any standard!
There is a further useful Distortion control with three selectable modes, Dark, Balance, & Bright, this also has both Amount and Tone controls separately assigned, so it’s possible to go between muted subtleness or all out screeching havoc!
The reverb although on the surface appearing quite simplistic, just being a one knob affair, does incorporate all of the usual finite elements such as pre-delay, Size, Time, Damping, Diffusion, etc, and possesses a particularly nice stereo image. It is apparently based upon an earlier version of Native Instruments own Raun reverb, which was called Galois. You can of course also opt to turn the reverb off entirely if you wish in favour of your own preferred choice.
PRESETS
There are a healthy selection of included presets to demonstrate the full range of Circle Drone of Doom’s capabilities. Categories such as Bass, Drones, FX, Leads, Pads, Plucks, and also a vanilla initialised patch should cover most scenarios, and also make excellent jumping off points for your own user inspired sound designs which can easily be saved out as NKSN snapshots for future recall from your user content folder.
As always do take a look at the Impact Soundworks walkthrough where Andrew Aversa thoroughly explains things in more detail, with the added benefit of being able to hear it in action.
CONCLUSION
I was actually very taken with Circle Drone Of Doom, partly because of its ease of use, but also because it is a fresh take on a synthesis engine which still has the core components under the hood, yet excels in a distinctive sound style rather than attempting to be everything for everyone all at once.
The Komplete Kontrol NKS implementation covers as far as I can discern 99% of the functionality making accessibility not a concern.
Overarchingly, if you want a synth with real darkness and grit, then Circle Drone of Doom is terrific fun and immensely enjoyable to get your hands dirty and be creative with!
Circle Drone of Doom is available from Impact Soundworks for $49.00
Circle Drone of Doom – Product Page:
Circle Drone of Doom – Walkthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_L0ZokeLWw
Circle Drone of Doom – User Manual:
https://impactsoundworks.com/manuals/Circle%20Drone%20of%20Doom%20Manual.pdf
Impact Soundworks are members of the Able Artist Foundation:
https://www.ableartist.org/
KOMPLETE KONTROL NKS PARAMETER MAPPINGS
derived from the classic NKS view on a Kontrol mK3
Page One
Knob 1 – Unity
Knob 2 – Oscillator Shape
Knob 3 – Osc 1 Tuning
Knob 4 – Osc 2 Tuning
Knob 5 – Osc 3 Tuning
Knob 6 – Osc 4 Tuning
Knob 7 – Osc 5 Tuning
Knob 8 – Osc 6 Tuning
Page Two
Knob 1 – Filter Type: Low, Band, High
Knob 2 – Filter Cut-Off
Knob 3 – Filter Resonance
Knob 4 – Unassigned
Knob 5 – Unison: 1 to 8 x
Knob 6 – Unison Thickness
Knob 7 – Envelope Attack
Knob 8 – Envelope Release
Page Three
Knob 1 – Filter Envelope Shape
Knob 2 – Filter Envelope Amount
Knob 3 – LFO Modulation Select
Knob 4 – LFO Amount Off or Percentage up to 100%
Knob 5 – Distortion: Dark, Balanced, Bright
Knob 6 – Distortion Amount
Knob 7 – Distortion Tone
Knob 8 – Reverb
(c) Chris Ankin
KK-Access.com
25th September 2026
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Disclaimer
The author can not accept any responsibility for subsequent purchase decisions made as a result of this review,or Any inaccuracies found therein. All opinions and product functions stated are based solely on information perceived as a blind user whilst using the product and/or gathered from official factual sources such as the developer, web or supplied product manual.
About the Author
Based in Buckinghamshire, England, Chris Ankin has worked as a freelance review writer and contributor with articles published in Sound On Sound, Home & Studio Recording and ST Format Magazines.
He has also successfully worked extensively in and around the music, recording, film Soundtrack scoring, Game & media composition, the creative arts, Charitable trusts,publishing, music streaming and property investments since 1982 whilst continuously and deliberately managing to evade any mainstream recognition under his own name by the use of various pseudonyms.
E&OE
