Minimal Microhouse
Genre: Minimal House · Tempo: 122 BPM · Time signature: 4/4 · Length: 16 steps · Style: restrained, click-and-pop minimal/microhouse 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, 5, 9, 13 | 90 | on the grid, always plays |
| rim | 4 | 35 | step 4: plays 40% of the time |
| hat-closed | 7, 15 | 40 | step 7: plays 70% of the time; step 15: plays 70% of the time |
| perc1 | 10, 14 | 28-30 | step 10: late by about 4% of a step, plays 50% of the time; step 14: late by about 8% of a step, plays 45% of the time |
Digitakt II
Tracks
- T1: kick
- T2: rim
- T3: hat-closed
- T4: perc1
Settings
- Kick (T1): AMP page VOL locked to 100 (of 0.00-127.00). Rim (T2), hat-closed (T3), and perc1 (T4) kept quieter via each track's AMP page VOL, roughly 40-50 — restraint is the entire character, resist raising these.
- SRC page on perc1 (T4): PLAY set to FORWARD, BR (bit reduction) locked to 45 (of 0-127) for a dry, slightly gritty click/pop texture rather than a clean tonal hit.
- Steps 10 and 14 (perc1, T4): TRIG page VEL locked to 30 and 28 with the pattern's own +1/+2 µtime offsets — deliberately quiet and slightly inconsistent so the accent reads as incidental, not a repeating subdivision.
Digitone II
Tracks
- T1: kick (ALGO 4, plain low carrier, restrained)
- T2: rim (ALGO 1, tuned click carrier)
- T3: hat-closed (high-FDBK FM noise, thinned)
- T4: perc1 (high-FDBK FM noise, FX BR grit)
Settings
- Kick (T1): SYN page 1 ALGO 4, RATIO C 0.50 for a plain, low, envelope-affected carrier with no click transient. AMP page ATK 0, DEC 45, SUS 0, REL 20, VOL 70 (of 0.00-127.00) — the quietest, driest kick treatment in this device's parameterLocks, restraint over punch; minimal house kicks are felt more than heard.
- Rim (T2, step 4): SYN page 1 ALGO 1, RATIO C 4.00 for a bright, plain carrier tone. AMP page ATK 0, DEC 12, SUS 0, REL 8, VOL 45 — a short, dry click/pop rather than a ringing tone, matching the pattern's vinyl-click character.
- Hat-closed (T3, steps 7, 15): SYN page 1 FDBK 85 for the FM-noise mechanism; FLTR page 1 TYPE set toward HP (~90) to thin the low end. AMP page DEC 18, VOL 45 — kept quiet and dry.
- Perc1 (T4, steps 10, 14): SYN page 1 FDBK 90. FX page BR (bit reduction) locked to 45 (of 16 bits down to 1) for the same dry, gritty click/pop texture Digitakt gets from its SRC page BR. TRIG PARAMETERS page VEL locked to 30 and 28 on steps 10/14 with the pattern's own +1/+2 µtime offsets — deliberately quiet and slightly inconsistent so the accent reads as incidental.
Syntakt
Tracks
- T1: kick (BD Modern)
- T9: rim (RS Classic)
- T10: perc1 (UT Impulse)
- T12: hat-closed (CH Classic)
Settings
- Kick (T1, BD Modern): AMP page VOL locked to 100 (of 0.00-127.00). Rim (T9, RS Classic) and perc1 (T10, UT Impulse) kept quieter via each track's TRIG PARAMETERS page VEL, 35-50 — restraint is the entire character, resist raising these.
- TRIG PARAMETERS page LEN on perc1 (T10, UT Impulse) locked short, around 20-30 (of 0-127), for a dry transient click rather than a ringing tone.
- Steps 10 and 14 (perc1, T10): TRIG PARAMETERS page VEL locked to 30 and 28 with the pattern's own +1/+2 µtime offsets, matching the Digitakt treatment.
Notes
A deliberately sparse pattern: just a dry kick on every beat and two or three quiet click/pop accents per bar. The space between hits is the main feature — resist the temptation to fill it in. An original pattern in the microhouse idiom.
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.