Hypnotic Arp Pluck

Sounds like: A relentless, plucky three-note loop that pulls you into a trance.

Sound type: arp · Genre: House, EDM, Afro House · Style: rolling, hypnotic plucked arpeggio loop

A rolling, hypnotic three-note plucked arpeggio at a driving, insistent pace: short decays and a filtered percussive tone make the arpeggiator itself the groove element, the same relentless loop logic as Rolling Arp Bass but up in plucked register.

Open this patch in the interactive Patchpad

Digitone II

Exact match: Arpeggiated three-note pluck

SYN page 1

• ALGO: 1
• RATIO C: 1.00
• MIX: -64

SYN page 2 · Operators A & B

• LEV (A): 0
• LEV (B): 0

FLTR page 1 · Multi-mode

• FREQ: 70
• RESO: 35
• TYPE: 0 (LP)
• ENV: 30
• ATK: 0
• DEC: 15
• SUS: 0

AMP page

• ATK: 0
• DEC: 20
• SUS: 0
• REL: 10
• MODE: ADSR

ARPEGGIATOR menu

• MODE: UP
• SPEED: 1/16
• RANGE: 1
• LEN: 3
• N.LEN: 20

Hold a three-note chord (root/fifth/octave). LEN 3 locks the cycle to exactly those notes, and short FLTR/AMP decays with zero sustain keep every hit a tight, percussive pluck rather than a ringing note; the driving, mechanical repetition is the aim. ALGO 1 routes operator A (and B) into carrier C, so LEV (A) and LEV (B) are set to 0 on SYN page 2 and MIX is -64 (the X output, C only): that leaves C a plain, unmodulated carrier.

Syntakt

Approximation: No arpeggiator: SY CHIP note-cycling stands in

SYN — SY CHIP

• WAVE: Square (a plain static waveform)
• TUNE: 0
• SPD: 1/16
• DEC: 15
• OF2: 7
• OF3: 12
• OF4: 0
• OVER: 10

FLTR PAGE 1

• FREQ: 70
• RESO: 35
• TYPE: Lowpass

AMP PAGE 1

• ATK: 0
• DEC: 20
• SUS: 0
• REL: 10

OF2/OF3 set to fifth/octave against TUNE's root, OF4 left at 0 to keep the cycle to exactly three notes: same SY CHIP mechanism as a rolling bass, transposed up and given a shorter DEC for a plucky rather than sustained character. SY CHIP is an Analog Drum machine, so it runs on track 9, 10 or 11.

Tonverk

Exact match: Square pluck with a three-step arpeggio

SRC machine (Func + Src)

• Machine: WAVEFINDER

SRC page 1 · Oscillator 1

• TUNE: 0
• LEV: 100
• POS: 0
• SLOT: HS Square (Factory Library › 6-Wavetables)

SRC page 2 · Oscillator 2

• LEV: 0

FLTR page 1 · Multimode

• ATK: 0
• DEC: 15
• SUS: 0
• FREQ: 70
• RESO: 35
• TYPE: 0 (low-pass)
• ENV: +30

AMP setup (Func + Amp)

• ENVELOPE MODE: ADSR

AMP page

• ATK: 0
• DEC: 20
• SUS: 0
• REL: 10

ARPEGGIATOR menu (Arp)

• Arpeggiator: ON (Func + Arp)
• MODE: UP
• SPEED: 1/16
• RANGE: 1
• ARP LENGTH: 3
• N.LEN: 20

A square pluck with ARP LENGTH 3 against a 16-step bar, so the three-note loop lands somewhere new each beat. Hold a three-note chord. The arpeggiator plays while a note is held: on the sequencer, give a trig a long LEN, or put several notes on it with Step Edit for a chord.

Novation Summit

Exact match: Arpeggiated three-note pluck

OSCILLATOR 1

• WAVE: Square/Pulse
• RANGE: 8'

FILTER

• SHAPE: LP
• FREQUENCY: 70
• RESONANCE: 35

AMP ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 20
• SUSTAIN: 0
• RELEASE: 10

ARPEGGIATOR

• Type: Up
• Rhythm: 1
• Octaves: 1
• Gate: 40
• SyncRate: 16th

MODULATION MATRIX

• Slot 1 sA: ModWheel
• Slot 1 Destin: Filt Res
• Slot 1 Depth: +25

Hold a root/fifth/octave triad, Octaves 1 keeps it to just those three notes; Gate 40 keeps every hit short and punchy. Live control: turn the panel Arp Rhythm knob for groove variation; the Mod Wheel raises resonance through Mod Matrix slot 1.

Arturia MiniFreak

Exact match: Arpeggiated three-note pluck

OSCILLATOR · Osc 1

• TYPE: BasicWaves
• WAVE (Morph): 50 (pure sawtooth)
• TIMBRE (Sym): 0
• SHAPE (Sub): 0
• VOLUME: 100

ANALOG FILTER

• TYPE: Low Pass
• CUTOFF: 70
• RESONANCE: 35

ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 20
• SUSTAIN: 0
• RELEASE: 10

ARPEGGIATOR

• Mode: Up
• Octave Range: 1
• Gate: 40%
• Time Division: 1/16

Osc 1 is BasicWaves with Morph at 50 (pure sawtooth): the Morph knob runs from a square (0) through a sawtooth (50) to a double sawtooth an octave up (100), Sym only changes the pulse width below 50, and Sub adds a sine an octave down (0 here). Values are on MiniFreak's native 0-100 scale.

Dreadbox Typhon

Approximation: No arpeggiator: hand-programmed step sequencer

FRONT PANEL

• WAVE: 12 o'clock (VCO1 square only)
• CUTOFF: ~4 o'clock (~70%)
• RESON: ~4 o'clock (~35%)

FILTER ADSR

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 20
• SUSTAIN: 0
• RELEASE: 10

AMP ADSR

• ATTACK: 0
• DECAY: 20
• SUSTAIN: 0
• RELEASE: 10

NOTE SEQUENCER (SQNCR button)

• LENG (shift page): 3
• DVS (shift page): 16 (the manual example uses 8; match your tempo by ear)
• PROB (shift page): 100
• SWI (shift page): 50 (no swing)
• STEP / OCV / NOTE / GATE / VEL: Steps 1-3: C, G, C (OCV +1): a three-note cycle with a short GATE
• GATE: 40 (0 = rest, maximum = tie)

Typhon has no arpeggiator, but it has a note sequencer (SQNCR button: 1 to 32 steps over a 6-octave range, with per-step octave, note, gate, velocity, plus probability, division and swing). Program the pattern's notes directly instead of holding a chord. Steps 1-3: C, G, C (OCV +1): a three-note cycle with a short GATE. The Filter and Amp ADSR and the front-panel settings shape each note.

ASM Hydrasynth Desktop

Exact match: Arpeggiated three-note pluck

OSCILLATOR 1

• MODE: Single
• WAVE: Square

FILTER 1

• TYPE: LP Ldr12
• CUTOFF: 70.0
• RESONANCE: 35.0

ENVELOPE 2

• ATTACK: 0 ms
• DECAY: 180 ms
• SUSTAIN: 0.0
• RELEASE: 100 ms

ARPEGGIATOR

• Mode: Up
• Octave: 1
• Gate: 40%
• Division: 1/16

About this patch

Synths with an arpeggiator use it; the others use a substitute. Compared with a minimal two-note rolling bass, this is played higher, uses a three-note chord rather than a dyad and has a plucky rather than sustained envelope; the mechanism is otherwise the same.

Patchpad is a free reference of drum patterns, synth patches and reminders, written for a selection of real hardware.