Adding Groove and Randomization to Your Drum Sequences with the Groove Machine Preset

Tutorial | Tue Sep 21 2021 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

I created a new preset called "Groove Machine" which adds a groove to note clips. The main feature of this preset is the step sequencer, which allows you to dial in delays of up to 90 milliseconds to push and pull notes. Additionally, you can dial in randomization and different step patterns to create unique grooves. I showed how to use it on a drum loop and a bass line to demonstrate how it works. You can download this preset and experiment with it to create your own unique grooves.

You can watch the Video on Youtube - support me on Patreon

Questions & Answers #

Maybe you dont watch the video, here are some important takeaways:

What is Groove Machine? #

Groove Machine is a preset that adds groove to note clips. It is done via some delays, note delays, and you can steer these note delays with a step sequencer. You can pull and push notes to create a wonky groove and also bring in randomization.

How does the amount knob work? #

The amount knob controls how much the notes are pushed or pulled. When the amount is set to 100%, the notes are delayed by 90 milliseconds. When the amount is set to 0%, it bypasses the plugin.

How can I use Groove Machine? #

You can use Groove Machine to create interesting groove patterns with your note clips. You can adjust the steps and the amount knob, and also turn on randomization to create unique grooves. You can also save the presets you create.

What are some of the presets included with Groove Machine? #

Some of the presets included with Groove Machine are "Pull the Snare", "Pop Your Head", and "Groove Machine". Each preset has a different sound and can be used to create unique grooves.

Transcription #

This is what im talking about in this video. The text is transcribed by AI, so it might not be perfect. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.
You can also click on the timestamps to jump to the right part of the video, which should be helpful.

[00:00.000] So, this is groove machine. It's a new preset. You can download on my Patreon.
[00:05.000] It looks like this here. And on this track here, I'm an instrument called XO.
[00:11.000] You all know it. It's a sampler. And I build some kind of straight drum groove here,
[00:19.000] which sounds like this.
[00:21.000] So, pretty straight. And you want to add some groove to it, so you can use this groove machine here and just dial it in.
[00:52.000] So, that's the main feature, the main function of this preset.
[00:59.000] It adds groove to your note clips. And this is done via some delays, note delays.
[01:10.000] And you can steer these note delays here with this step sequencer.
[01:15.000] And you can see here I'm pulling the note and here I'm pushing a note.
[01:19.000] And when you have the amount here at 100%, I think it's pushing by 90 milliseconds, if I'm not wrong, 90 milliseconds.
[01:29.000] So, I'm delaying the note at this position and time by 90 milliseconds. And here I'm pulling 90 milliseconds, so the note is a bit earlier.
[01:39.000] So, now you can see I'm switching through all of these push and pulls here. So, this results then in this wonky groove.
[01:49.000] If you play back here, step sequence a bit slower with 8 notes here, then you can see it also switches a bit the groove because you push and pull multiple notes at once.
[02:20.000] You can also bring in here some randomization. And randomization is applied here to the amount knob.
[02:27.000] So, when the amount is changing is basically decided by randomization.
[02:33.000] So, you can pull this down. So, you have always the same amount of push and pull in overall on the drum groove.
[02:42.000] But you can also randomize it a bit. Then we have here the steps knob, which just changes here the amount of steps you have.
[02:56.000] And this can be helpful for instance when you just want to have two parameters here.
[03:03.000] Having this at zero, which means there's no push and no pull. So, the note is basically at the same position as before. And here I'm having a push or I can get a pull here.
[03:15.000] So, you can bring in some interesting patterns, but you can also dial in your maybe uneven steps or three steps.
[03:36.000] So, now you have a groove, but the groove doesn't repeat with the drum groove itself.
[03:56.000] This can be interesting maybe sometimes if you want to really have a really wonky drum groove or bass groove. It doesn't need to be drums, right?
[04:07.000] So, yeah, this is something you can do. You can also use the 16 steps, which is the recommended amount of steps for this, because I'm having eight in 16th note speed playback.
[04:19.000] So, you can also click here on randomization. So, you have a random groove or create multiple random grooves or you can clear this and just dial in certain amounts.
[04:31.000] So, maybe just pull the snare. So, now we're just pulling each snare just out of time.
[05:01.000] So, here maybe. So, now we have a different groove. You can save this as a preset and maybe also use it here on bass lines, for instance.
[05:26.000] So, let's go here with the pully synth, dial in a straight groove like this.
[05:45.000] Something like this. So, let's take the groove machine and put it on with the bass.
[06:04.000] So, you can apply the groove to certain tracks. You don't need to use the global groove or shuffle here. So, you can apply it or you can even also apply different grooves to different tracks if you want to.
[06:21.000] The only downside is this only works with note clips. That's the only thing that's not like in life, I would say. Then there's groove machine here, which is the initial preset you can use, where everything is at zero or there's no customization here for the groove.
[06:45.000] There's also here some presets I made for you. You can try out this one here.
[06:53.000] Or this one, just pull the snare. Or pop your head. And also important, if you pull this down this amount to zero here, there's no change at all to the delay.
[07:18.000] So, this is basically just bypassing the plugin. So, amount at zero is bypassing.
[07:31.000] So, this is how you can disable basically plugin. You don't need to bypass it or disable the whole plugin.
[07:40.000] So, yeah, this is this preset. You can download this, play around with this, maybe make your own presets for it. It's actually super simple. You can analyze it. And, yeah, I tried it out on different drums.
[07:52.000] Drum sequences here, and it works pretty okay-ish, I would say so. Give me some feedback, have fun, and I'll see you in the next video. Thanks for watching.