House 909 Classic
Genre: House · Tempo: 124 BPM · Time signature: 4/4 · Length: 16 steps · Style: TR-909-driven classic house programming
Open this pattern in the interactive Patchpad (with playback)
The pattern
| Instrument | Steps (1 = start of the bar) | Velocity | Timing and chance |
|---|
| kick | 1, 5, 9, 13 | 115 | on the grid, always plays |
| perc1 | 2, 6, 10, 14 | 40 | step 2: plays 60% of the time; step 6: plays 60% of the time; step 10: plays 60% of the time; step 14: plays 60% of the time |
| hat-closed | 3, 7, 11, 15 | 70 | on the grid, always plays |
| hat-open | 4, 8, 12, 16 | 75 | step 4: plays 90% of the time; step 8: plays 90% of the time; step 12: plays 90% of the time; step 16: plays 90% of the time |
| clap | 5, 13 | 100 | on the grid, always plays |
| snare | 5, 13 | 60 | step 5: plays 70% of the time; step 13: plays 70% of the time |
Digitakt II
Tracks
- T1: kick
- T2: clap
- T3: snare
- T4: hat-closed
- T5: hat-open
- T6: perc1
Settings
- Hat-open (T5): AMP page HOLD set to a short fixed value (around 15) with hat-closed (T4) hits placed immediately after each hat-open hit, interrupting the open hat's natural decay — Digitakt has no native choke-group, this p-lock pattern is the workaround for the defining 909 hi-hat choke behavior
- Snare (T3): TRIG PARAMETERS VEL kept low (60) with AMP page VOL locked just under clap (T2)'s level, layered directly under the clap for body without doubling its transient
- Hat-closed (T4): AMP page DEC set to around 40 (short, so it can be audibly cut by the open-hat choke above) with VOL steady around 65 across every 8th-note hit
- Hat-open (T5): AMP page DEC set to around 100 for the classic 909 'lift' on every quarter note (steps 4, 8, 12, 16)
Digitone II
Tracks
- T1: kick (ALGO 8, FM click-into-boom, punchy)
- T2: clap (high-FDBK FM noise + MOD-page multi-hit splash)
- T3: snare (moderate-FDBK FM noise, layered under clap)
- T4: hat-closed (high-FDBK FM noise, short)
- T5: hat-open (high-FDBK FM noise, long ring, choked by hat-closed)
- T6: perc1 (ALGO 1 plain carrier, constant subtle pulse)
Settings
- Hat-open (T5) and hat-closed (T4): Digitone II has no native choke/mute-group either, same as Digitakt — the workaround is sequencing every hat-closed hit to land immediately after each hat-open hit, cutting the open hat's natural decay short via AMP page RSET set to ON on hat-closed so its own envelope retriggers cleanly against the ringing open hat
- Kick (T1) base sound: SYN page 1 ALGO 8, RATIO C 0.30; SYN page 2 Operator A ATK 0, DEC 15, LEV 110. AMP page ATK 0, DEC 60, REL 35
- Snare (T3): SYN page 1 FDBK 70 (moderate, kept softer than the clap) with AMP page VOL p-locked just under clap (T2)'s level, layered directly under the clap for body without doubling its transient
- Hat-closed (T4) base sound: SYN page 1 FDBK 85, AMP page DEC 40 (short, so it reads as audibly cut by the open-hat choke above) with VOL steady around 65 across every 8th-note hit
- Hat-open (T5) base sound: SYN page 1 FDBK 90, AMP page DEC 100, MODE ADSR, REL 85 for the classic 909 'lift' on every quarter note (steps 4, 8, 12, 16)
- Perc1 (T6): SYN page 1 ALGO 1, RATIO C 2.00, AMP page VOL kept subtle (~35) — a constant 16th-note shaker-style pulse, not an accent
Syntakt
Tracks
- T9: kick (BD CLASSIC)
- T10: snare (SD CLASSIC)
- T11: perc1 (UT NOISE GEN)
- T12: hat-closed (CH CLASSIC)
- T1: clap (CP VINTAGE)
- hat-open: NOT ASSIGNABLE — see parameterLocks; Syntakt has only one Analog Cymbal voice (T12) and it's already used by hat-closed
Settings
- Hat-closed and hat-open share Syntakt's single Analog Cymbal voice (T12) — a real, hard limitation for this specific pattern, since its defining trait (open hat choking the closed hat) requires two live cymbal voices Syntakt genuinely doesn't have. Hat-closed (T12, CH CLASSIC) is assigned the track; the hat-open lift on every quarter note (steps 4, 8, 12, 16) can't be voiced on the same unit — run it from a second Syntakt, a sampled layer, or accept the pattern without the open-hat lift
- Snare (T10, SD CLASSIC): AMP page VOL kept just under clap (T1)'s level, layered directly under the clap for body without doubling its transient
- Hat-closed (T12, CH CLASSIC): AMP page DEC set to around 40 (short) with VOL steady around 65 across every 8th-note hit — since the open hat can't share this unit, the closed-hat pulse alone has to carry the pattern's rhythmic drive
- Perc1 (T11, UT NOISE GEN): AMP page VOL kept subtle (around 35) — a constant 16th-note shaker-style pulse, not an accent
Notes
The foundational four-on-floor house skeleton: steady 909 kick, clap/snare backbeat on 2 and 4, closed hat on the offbeat 8ths, and an open hat lifting every quarter note. A generic, genre-defining pattern rather than a transcription of any specific track.
Patchpad is a free reference of drum patterns and synth patches written for real hardware: Digitakt II, Digitone II, Syntakt, Novation Summit, Arturia MiniFreak, Dreadbox Typhon and ASM Hydrasynth Desktop.