Snare Warfare: tafony Goes Deep with the Shakmat Lancer’s Lash

Finally, a small module with a screen that isn’t an afterthought. tafony is borderline emotional about this—no more guessing modes by LED colour, no more shift functions buried in a toaster’s worth of menus. The screen tells you exactly where you are, and that’s a breath of fresh air in Eurorack land.

Navigation is dead simple. You get direct access to all the models, a pair of macro knobs (timbre and colour) that change meaning per model, and a pitch knob for extra depth. Presets get a mention, but tafony—true to form—prefers tweaking live over loading up old saves. There’s even onboard VCA and velocity tricks, but the real headline is: no shift-fu required. This UI is about staying in the zone, not squinting at blinking lights.

The randomisation button is tafony’s low-key hero here. Instead of wiring up a rats’ nest of CV, you just dial up randomness for pitch, decay, model, effects, and more. Want a little variance for that human touch? Set it low. Want IDM snare chaos? Crank it and let the module have a meltdown. No clock, no patch cables, just instant weirdness.

Honestly, this is the kind of feature that makes a street weapon out of what could’ve been another polite snare box. If you need every hit to be the same, look elsewhere. If you want your snare to sound like it’s dodging traffic in a rave bunker, lean in.

tafony blitzes through every model, and they’re all absolute characters. Analog does classic drum machine, slap crosses into clap territory and punches like a caffeinated drummer, modal brings acoustic harmonics, and physical gets all resonant and weird. FM is metallic and wild, grains does granular chaos, and blend channels that sampled boom bap.

The macro controls let you morph each engine in real time. Whether you want piccolo zaps, punchy claps, or thick layered snares, there’s a model for it. If you want every possible twist and turn, watch the video—in text, you’ll never get the full sonic slap these models deliver. But trust me: there’s nothing bland about this module’s palette.