Re: d'n'b beats? (was Re: (idm) 1991-92)

From Michael Upton
Sent Fri, Jun 26th 1998, 03:57

On Thu, 25 Jun 1998 18:39:29 -0400, you wrote:

| how _would_ one go about programming d'n'b beats?  they always end up
| sounding horribly quantized. . . 

Normally I'm writing tracks around 100, but here's a trick I use which
works at jungle speeds too. 

First of all, you need a sampler (or I guess a software version, if such
things exist) where you can assign velocity to sample start point. That
is, if the sequenced note has a velocity of 127 it will trigger the
sample from the start, and if it's at 1 it will trigger the sample at its 
end point (or close to it).

Having got a sampled break, I make sure it's in time when it's just
looping as a bar. Then instead of triggering for a bar, I program out
something like 6 16th notes, and then 10 16th notes. Make the first
sequenced note play the beat from the start (ie. velocity 127) and then
rejig the velocity of the second note until it sounds like it is just a
sequenced bar.

Basically, that's a complex way of saying that I try and find out which
velocities I can trigger the break at which will keep it in time. Then, I
rearrange the bits until they fit the kind of rhythm I'm after, and fool
around for variation.

I hope that makes _some_ sense.

Michael

"You know what? I'll call him Jet Jaguar..."
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~michael/jj.html

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