Four Tet Clave Triangle
Genre: Downtempo, House · Tempo: 118 BPM · Time signature: 4/4 · Length: 16 steps · Style: Four Tet's son-clave-feel snare/triangle interplay and beats-2-and-4 hi-hat shuffle, documented in an Ableton Forum deconstruction of his production
Open this pattern in the interactive Patchpad (with playback)
The pattern
| Instrument | Steps (1 = start of the bar) | Velocity | Timing and chance |
|---|
| kick | 1, 9 | 60-92 | step 9: early by about 4% of a step, plays 55% of the time |
| sub | 1, 9 | 55-90 | step 9: early by about 4% of a step, plays 55% of the time |
| perc1 | 1, 4, 8, 11, 13 | 48-58 | step 4: late by about 12% of a step, plays 85% of the time; step 8: late by about 12% of a step, plays 80% of the time; step 11: late by about 8% of a step, plays 90% of the time; step 13: plays 85% of the time |
| hat-closed | 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 15 | 40-50 | step 2: plays 85% of the time; step 3: plays 80% of the time; step 6: plays 80% of the time; step 7: late by about 25% of a step, plays 85% of the time; step 10: plays 75% of the time; step 12: plays 75% of the time; step 14: plays 80% of the time; step 15: late by about 25% of a step, plays 85% of the time |
| snare | 5, 13 | 80-85 | step 13: plays 95% of the time |
| hat-open | 16 | 65 | step 16: plays 85% of the time |
Digitakt II
Tracks
- T1: kick
- T2: snare
- T3: hat-closed
- T4: hat-open
- T5: perc1 (triangle)
- T6: sub
Settings
- Kick (T1): AMP page ATK 0, DEC 45, MODE AHD for a short, soft thud that sits back rather than dominating; SRC page TUNE around -12 to keep it low without much attack click
- Step 9 (kick and sub, secondary hit): TRIG page 1 VEL locked to 60/55 with PROB set to 55% so this soft second kick only sometimes plays, avoiding a mechanically repeating half-time pulse
- Snare (T2): FX page REV send raised to around 40 with FLTR page 1 machine EQ FREQ set to cut a touch around 3kHz, for the dark, reverb-smeared character the source material describes rather than a bright crack
- Hat-closed (T3): steps 7 and 15 (the '&' of beats 2 and 4) have micro-timing nudged to +6 (TRIG-hold + RIGHT in Grid Recording) for a shuffle specifically anchored around beats 2 and 4; every other hat-closed step and the hat-open step stay at micro-timing 0, left shuffle-free
- Perc1/triangle (T5): SRC page STRT/LEN set to isolate one short slice with PLAY set to FORWARD so each step plays a single chopped hit rather than a loop; steps 4 and 8 get micro-timing +3 for a loosely-played, not-quite-mechanical feel
Digitone II
Tracks
- T1: kick (ALGO 4, low RATIO C carrier)
- T2: snare (moderate-FDBK FM noise)
- T3: hat-closed (high-FDBK FM noise)
- T4: hat-open (high-FDBK FM noise, long ring)
- T5: perc1/triangle (ALGO 8, bell-like modulator)
- T6: sub (ALGO 1, very low RATIO C)
Settings
- Kick (T1): SYN page 1 ALGO 4, RATIO C 0.50 for a soft, round low end; AMP page ATK 0, DEC 45, MODE AHD so it decays quickly and stays understated
- Step 9 (kick, secondary hit): TRIG page 1 VEL locked to 60 with PROB 55% so the soft second kick only sometimes fires
- Snare (T2): SYN page 1 FDBK 70, FLTR page 1 TYPE toward LP (~60) to keep some low body for the 'dark sounding' character; FX page REV send 40 for the stereo-smeared reverb
- Hat-closed (T3): base sound SYN page 1 FDBK 85, AMP page DEC 15; steps 7 and 15 (the '&' of beats 2 and 4) micro-timing p-locked to +6, every other hat-closed step and hat-open left at 0
- Perc1/triangle (T5): SYN page 1 ALGO 8, RATIO A 4.00 (inharmonic, bell-like), FDBK 20, AMP page DEC 25 for a short, bright struck tone; steps 4 and 8 micro-timing p-locked to +3
- Sub (T6): SYN page 1 ALGO 1, RATIO C 0.25; AMP page ATK 0, DEC 100, SUS 90, REL 60, MODE ADSR for a long, sustained low tone sitting an octave under the kick
Syntakt
Tracks
- T9: kick (BD CLASSIC)
- T10: snare (SD NATURAL)
- T11: perc1/triangle (SY DUAL VCO)
- T12: hat-closed / hat-open (CH CLASSIC / OH CLASSIC, shared voice)
- T1: sub (SY RAW, sine-like low tone)
Settings
- Kick (T9, BD CLASSIC): DEC kept low (~35) and TUNE low for a soft, round thud; TRAN kept low since this kick is meant to sit back, not punch forward
- Step 9 (kick, secondary hit): TRIG page 1 VEL locked to 60 with PROB 55% for the occasional soft second kick
- Snare (T10, SD NATURAL): TONE and SNAP kept moderate rather than bright, plus FX page REV send raised to ~40 for the reverb-smeared 'dark' character described in the source material
- Hat-closed (T12, CH CLASSIC): steps 7 and 15 (the '&' of beats 2 and 4) micro-timing p-locked to +6; every other hat-closed step and the hat-open step (T12, OH CLASSIC) stay at 0, left shuffle-free. Closed and open hat share Syntakt's single Analog Cymbal voice, so they can't ring simultaneously - fine here since they never overlap in this pattern
- Perc1/triangle (T11, SY DUAL VCO): tuned to a bright, bell-like interval with a short DEC for a struck rather than sustained character; steps 4 and 8 micro-timing p-locked to +3
Notes
Built around the son-clave-feel snare/triangle interplay and the beats-2-and-4 hi-hat shuffle documented in an Ableton Forum deconstruction of Four Tet's production, with a soft, understated kick and sub layer sitting back rather than driving the groove. An original pattern in the spirit of Four Tet's production, not a transcription of any specific track.
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