The Redrum Pattern Sequencer

The Redrum pattern sequencer (Figure 7.1) is built around 16 note trigger buttons that work on one drum channel at a time. Think of these as a series of notes moving left to right, like a track display for the selected drum sound (Figure 7.2). Just click the note buttons to toggle them on and off.

Figure 7.1. The Redrum pattern sequencer

Figure 7.2. The note buttons represent a 16-note series moving left to right. By default these notes are off (gray). Click the note buttons to activate them.

To write a one-bar pattern using the Redrum sequencer

1.	Create a Redrum, hook it up to a Mixer, and load it with sounds. If you don't remember how to do this, review Chapter 4.
2.	Click Enable Pattern Section and then the Run button to start the Redrum sequencer (Figure 7.3). Figure 7.3. The Enable Pattern Section button must be active to use the Redrum sequencer, and the Run button must be active to begin playing. This won't produce sounds until you activate the note buttons.
3.	Click the Select button in a drum channel to begin writing a pattern for it.
4.	Set the Dynamic switch to either Hard, Medium, or Soft (Figure 7.4), and input the notes you want your drum channel to play (Figure 7.5). Figure 7.4. Use the Dynamic switch to set how hard or soft you want a note to play, before clicking the note button. Figure 7.5. A one-bar part with the kick drum (Channel 1) selected. (Attack strengths are indicated on the buttons by H=hard, M=medium, and S=soft.)

5. Switch to another drum channel and repeat steps 3 and 4 (Figure 7.6).

Figure 7.6. A one-bar open hi-hat pattern for Channel 9.

To write a longer pattern using the Redrum sequencer

1.	Adjust the Steps counter to the number of notes you want in your pattern (Figure 7.7). Figure 7.7. The Steps counter sets the length of your pattern. The maximum step range is 64, or four measures.
2.	Program notes one channel at a time as before. Then use the Edit Steps switch to advance forward another 16 notes (Figure 7.8). Figure 7.8. For longer patterns (1764 notes), use the Edit Steps switch to advance the note button display to the next section of the pattern.
3.	Use the Resolution knob to change the note value of the note buttons. By moving the knob to the right (1/16T1/128), you can "zoom" in on faster note values, and by moving the Resolution knob to the left (1/8T1/2), you can "zoom" out.

Tip

• Avoid confusion in longer patterns! Write the entire pattern length for each drum sound before selecting the next channel.