Synthwave / Outrun
Genre: Synthwave · Tempo: 100 BPM · Time signature: 4/4 · Length: 16 steps · Style: 80s-inspired synthwave/outrun drum programming with gated-reverb snare
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 | 95-100 | step 9: plays 90% of the time |
| hat-closed | 3, 7, 11, 15 | 42 | step 3: plays 85% of the time; step 7: plays 85% of the time; step 11: plays 85% of the time; step 15: plays 85% of the time |
| perc1 | 8 | 52 | step 8: plays 55% of the time |
| snare | 13 | 108 | on the grid, always plays |
Digitakt II
Tracks
- T1: kick
- T2: hat-closed
- T3: perc1
- T4: snare
Settings
- Step 13 (snare, T4): FX page REV send locked high, around 110 (of OFF/0.01-127.00), and AMP page REL locked short, around 15-20 (of 0-126,INF) — the abrupt cutoff into a hard-gated reverb tail is the entire 80s character; a second snare hit on beat 2 would clutter it, which is why there isn't one.
- TRIG page VEL on kick (T1) locked to 100 on step 1 and 95 on step 9 — sparser than a four-on-floor kick, for the genre's half-time-leaning pulse under a busier synth-bass part.
- SRC page TUNE on perc1 (T3, step 8) locked bright, around +15 to +24, for a period-appropriate 80s clav/bell-style stab rather than a low, dull hit.
Digitone II
Tracks
- T1: kick (ALGO 4, warm round low carrier)
- T2: hat-closed (high-FDBK FM noise, thinned)
- T3: perc1 (ALGO 1, bright plain carrier stab)
- T4: snare (high-FDBK FM noise, gated)
Settings
- Step 13 (snare, T4): FX page REV send locked high, to 110 (of 0-127), and AMP page REL locked short, to 18 (of 0-127) — the abrupt cutoff into a hard-gated reverb tail is the entire 80s character. SYN page 1 FDBK 105 for a bright, noisy FM crack. A second snare hit on beat 2 would clutter it, which is why there isn't one.
- Kick (T1, steps 1, 9): SYN page 1 ALGO 4, RATIO C 0.30 for a warm, rounded low end (envelope-affects the output, unlike ALGO 1's dotted/unaffected version); AMP page ATK 0, DEC 65, SUS 10, REL 30 — sparser and rounder than a four-on-floor kick, for the genre's half-time-leaning pulse.
- Perc1 (T3, step 8): SYN page 1 ALGO 1, RATIO C 6.00 for a bright, plain carrier; AMP page ATK 0, DEC 20, SUS 0, REL 15, VOL 60 — a period-appropriate 80s clav/bell-style stab rather than a low, dull hit.
- Hat-closed (T2, steps 3, 7, 11, 15): SYN page 1 FDBK 85, FLTR page 1 TYPE toward HP (~95). AMP page VOL 42, DEC short at 18 — a timekeeping element, not a feature in this genre.
Syntakt
Tracks
- T1: perc1 (PC Carbon)
- T9: kick (BD Plastic)
- T10: snare (SD FM)
- T12: hat-closed (CH Metallic)
Settings
- Step 13 (snare, T10, SD FM): TRIG PARAMETERS page VEL locked to 108, LEN locked short (around 20-30 of 0-127) for a tight transient — the actual hard-gate + reverb-send chain that makes it 'gated reverb' lives on Syntakt's per-track mixer/effects routing for analog drum tracks, which is outside this project's confirmed Syntakt parameter research so far (only tracks 1-8's AMP/FLTR/LFO pages are confirmed) — set the gate/reverb send directly on the hardware.
- SYN page TUNE on kick (T9, BD Plastic) locked low, DEC set to 100-110 (of 0-127), for a rounded, warm 80s low end appropriate to the half-time pulse (steps 1, 9).
- FLTR page FREQ on perc1 (T1, PC Carbon) locked bright, around 100-110 (of 0.00-127.00), TYPE set to Lowpass, for a period-appropriate bright clav/bell-style stab on step 8.
- Hat-closed (T12, CH Metallic) kept low and steady via TRIG PARAMETERS page VEL around 42 — a timekeeping element, not a feature in this genre.
Notes
A half-time-leaning 80s synthwave/outrun pattern built around a single huge snare per bar meant for a hard gate and long reverb tail, plus a sparse kick and steady hats. The gated-reverb effect itself lives on the snare voice/mix chain, outside this pattern's step data. An original pattern, not a transcription.
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