Four Tet Vinyl Chop Groove
Genre: Downtempo, House · Tempo: 116 BPM · Time signature: 4/4 · Length: 16 steps · Style: Four Tet's short, low-end-less drum samples layered with vinyl crackle, humanised by nudging hits and varying hat decay rather than quantizing
Open this pattern in the interactive Patchpad (with playback)
The pattern
| Instrument | Steps (1 = start of the bar) | Velocity | Timing and chance |
|---|
| kick | 1, 15 | 55-88 | step 15: early by about 8% of a step, plays 45% of the time |
| fx | 1, 9 | 25-30 | on the grid, always plays |
| hat-closed | 3, 7, 14 | 40-52 | step 3: late by about 8% of a step, plays 75% of the time; step 7: late by about 12% of a step, plays 80% of the time; step 14: late by about 8% of a step, plays 70% of the time |
| snare | 5, 13 | 74-78 | step 5: early by about 8% of a step; step 13: early by about 12% of a step, plays 90% of the time |
| hat-open | 9, 16 | 40-58 | step 9: plays 85% of the time; step 16: plays 55% of the time |
| perc1 | 11 | 44 | step 11: late by about 17% of a step, plays 65% of the time |
Digitakt II
Tracks
- T1: kick
- T2: snare
- T3: hat-closed
- T4: hat-open
- T5: perc1
- T6: fx (vinyl crackle texture)
Settings
- Kick, snare, hat-closed, hat-open (T1-T4): SRC page LEV kept moderate (around 90) rather than maxed, and FLTR page 1 machine LEGACY TYPE set toward HP with FREQ around 25 to trim sub weight, matching the sourced 'short kicks, snares, claps and hats without much low-end weight' character
- No two hat-closed steps share the same AMP page DEC value: step 3 DEC 20, step 7 DEC 32, step 14 DEC 26, so the decay audibly varies hit to hit rather than repeating identically, per the sourced mid-bar hi-hat decay variation technique
- Snare hits (T2, steps 5 and 13): TRIG-hold micro-timing set to -2 and -3 respectively (nudged early/dragging back slightly, not on a fixed grid), and kick hits (T1, steps 1 and 15) similarly nudged 0 and -2, per the sourced 'nudging sounds forward or back' humanisation technique rather than a uniform swing amount
- FX/crackle (T6, steps 1 and 9): SRC page PLAY set to FORWARD LOOP on a short noisy sample, FLTR page 1 machine EQ FREQ set high (~100) and GAIN cut so it reads as a textural bed rather than a rhythmic hit, layered under the beat per the sourced vinyl-crackle technique
- Perc1 (T5, step 11): SAMP p-locked to a different one-shot than the main kit sounds, PROB left at 65% so it only sometimes plays, keeping the extra layer occasional rather than a fixed fifth voice
Digitone II
Tracks
- T1: kick (ALGO 4, low RATIO C)
- T2: snare (moderate-FDBK FM noise)
- T3: hat-closed (high-FDBK FM noise)
- T4: hat-open (high-FDBK FM noise, long ring)
- T5: perc1 (ALGO 5 bell)
- T6: fx/crackle (high-FDBK noise, slow AMP)
Settings
- Kick/snare/hats (T1-T4): FLTR page 1 TYPE set toward HP (~70-80) on all four to trim low-end weight, keeping every hit short and light rather than full-bodied, per the sourced 'without much low-end weight' description
- Hat-closed (T3): AMP page DEC varied per step rather than fixed - step 3 DEC 20, step 7 DEC 32, step 14 DEC 26 - for audible decay variation hit to hit
- Snare (T2, steps 5 and 13) and kick (T1, steps 1 and 15): TRIG page 1 micro-timing p-locked to -2/-3 and 0/-2 respectively for the nudged-not-quantized humanisation described in the source material
- FX/crackle (T6, steps 1 and 9): SYN page 1 FDBK maxed (~120) for dense noise content, AMP page ATK 0, DEC 110, SUS 20, REL 80, MODE ADSR for a slow, textural wash rather than a percussive hit; FLTR page 1 TYPE HP (~90) to keep it as a high, airy bed
- Perc1 (T5, step 11): SYN page 1 ALGO 5, RATIO A 5.00 for a bell-like tone distinct from the kit's noise-based sounds; PROB left at 65% so it plays only occasionally
Syntakt
Tracks
- T9: kick (BD SILKY)
- T10: snare (SD NATURAL)
- T11: perc1 (SY DUAL VCO)
- T12: hat-closed / hat-open (CH CLASSIC / OH CLASSIC, shared voice)
- T1: fx/crackle (SY CHIP, noisy digital texture)
Settings
- Kick (T9, BD SILKY): a naturally light, low-weight bass drum machine chosen specifically for the 'without much low-end weight' brief rather than a fuller BD HARD/BD CLASSIC voice
- Snare (T10, SD NATURAL): TONE kept low, SNAP kept moderate for a light, unweighted crack rather than a full-bodied hit
- Hat-closed (T12, CH CLASSIC): DEC varied per step - step 3 DEC 20, step 7 DEC 32, step 14 DEC 26 - so no two hat hits decay identically
- Snare (T10, steps 5/13) and kick (T9, steps 1/15): TRIG-hold micro-timing p-locked to -2/-3 and 0/-2 respectively, nudged rather than on a fixed swing grid
- FX/crackle (T1, SY CHIP): a noisy digital wavetable position with FLTR page TYPE set toward HP and AMP page DEC long (~100) for a textural, looping-feeling bed under the beat at steps 1 and 9
Notes
Built around short, deliberately low-end-less kit sounds and a layered vinyl-crackle texture, with kicks and snares nudged forward or back rather than quantized and hi-hat decay varied hit to hit, per the sourced humanisation techniques Four Tet has described in interviews. An original pattern in the spirit of Four Tet's production, not a transcription of any specific track.
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