Reggaeton Dembow
Genre: Reggaeton · Tempo: 95 BPM · Time signature: 4/4 · Length: 16 steps · Style: the classic dembow riddim rhythm underlying reggaeton
Open this pattern in the interactive Patchpad (with playback)
The pattern
| Instrument | Steps (1 = start of the bar) | Velocity | Timing and chance |
|---|
| kick | 1, 4, 7, 11 | 95-108 | step 4: plays 85% of the time; step 7: plays 90% of the time; step 11: plays 85% of the time |
| perc1 | 2, 6, 10, 14 | 35 | step 2: plays 70% of the time; step 6: plays 70% of the time; step 10: plays 70% of the time; step 14: plays 70% of the time |
| rim | 5, 9, 13 | 90-95 | on the grid, always plays |
| hat-closed | 15 | 45 | step 15: plays 60% of the time |
Digitakt II
Tracks
- T1: kick
- T2: rim
- T3: perc1
- T4: hat-closed
Settings
- Steps 1 and 4 (kick, T1): TRIG page VEL locked to 108 and 95 — the accent difference between the downbeat kick and the 'a' kick is what carries the boom-ch-boom-chick skeleton, keep this VEL gap intact.
- AMP page VOL on perc1 (T3) locked low and steady around 35-40 (of 0.00-127.00) across steps 2, 6, 10, 14 — a quiet, consistent shaker bed underneath the kick/rim interplay, not a featured element.
- SRC page TUNE on rim (T2) locked bright, around +12 to +20, for the crisp, forward 'chk' character typical of reggaeton rim/snare hits.
Digitone II
Tracks
- T1: kick (ALGO 8, FM click-into-boom, punchy)
- T2: rim (ALGO 1, bright plain carrier)
- T3: perc1 (high-FDBK FM noise, shaker)
- T4: hat-closed (high-FDBK FM noise, thinned)
Settings
- Steps 1 and 4 (kick, T1): AMP page VOL locked to 108 and 95 (matching the step data's own VEL) — the accent gap between the downbeat kick and the 'a' kick carries the boom-ch-boom-chick skeleton. SYN page 1 ALGO 8, RATIO C 0.60 (higher than a deep house kick, for the punchier, higher-pitched reggaeton kick); SYN page 2 Operator A ATK 0, DEC 18, LEV 100. AMP page ATK 0, DEC 45, SUS 0, REL 20 — short and punchy rather than a long boom.
- Rim (T2, steps 5, 9, 13): SYN page 1 ALGO 1, RATIO C 3.50 for a bright, plain carrier tone. AMP page ATK 0, DEC 15, SUS 0, REL 10 — the crisp, forward 'chk' character typical of reggaeton rim/snare hits.
- Perc1 (T3, steps 2, 6, 10, 14): SYN page 1 FDBK 75; AMP page VOL locked low and steady at 38 (of 0.00-127.00) — a quiet, consistent shaker bed underneath the kick/rim interplay, not a featured element.
- Hat-closed (T4, step 15): SYN page 1 FDBK 80; FLTR page 1 TYPE toward HP (~90). AMP page VOL 45, DEC 20 — a light accent only.
- Rim (T2) is a real melodic/tonal FM voice here, not the noisy-FDBK mechanism used for hat-closed/perc1 — reggaeton rim/snare hits are a crisp tuned click, closer to the perc/tom plain-carrier technique than the snare/clap noise technique.
Syntakt
Tracks
- T9: kick (BD Sharp)
- T10: rim (RS Hard)
- T11: perc1 (UT Noise Gen)
- T12: hat-closed (CH Classic)
Settings
- Steps 1 and 4 (kick, T9, BD Sharp): TRIG PARAMETERS page VEL locked to 108 and 95 — same accent gap as Digitakt defining the boom-ch-boom-chick skeleton.
- SYN page DEC on kick (T9, BD Sharp) locked short-to-mid, around 40-55 (of 0-127), with TUNE set higher than a house/techno kick, for the punchy, higher-pitched, shorter kick character reggaeton favors.
- TRIG PARAMETERS page LEN on rim (T10, RS Hard) locked short, around 20-25 (of 0-127), for the crisp, forward 'chk' character.
- TRIG PARAMETERS page VEL on perc1 (T11, UT Noise Gen) locked low and steady around 35-40 across steps 2, 6, 10, 14 — a quiet, consistent shaker bed.
- Rim (T10) only exists as an Analog Drum machine (tracks 9-11) on real Syntakt hardware, not a Digital track — reassigned here from a Digital slot for hardware accuracy.
Notes
The classic dembow riddim skeleton underlying reggaeton: kick-kick-rim-rim-rim (the 'boom-ch-boom-chick' pattern), carried by a steady shaker. This is a generic rhythmic foundation used across countless reggaeton productions, not a transcription of any specific song.
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.