Captain Pikant

Elektron Model:Cycles Cheat Sheet 1.0 (Firmware 1.13)

This one's been long in the making, but we wanted to make sure that it is well tested and ready for the newest firmware :)

There are also some popular workarounds included in the troubleshooting section for attack and portamento as well as a better accent workflow.

We hope this will be useful to you. If anything should be unclear, if you find an error or you feel like something is missing just drop us a line - either here in the comments or via PM. 2021-10-09 06:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Harold Faltermeyer - Axel F (Drum Pattern No. 38)

This LinnDrum LM-2 drum pattern is featured in Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F" - which is also known as the theme from Beverly Hills Cop. It contains a very interesting and lively four bar Hi-Hat part that makes use of three velocity levels.

Difficulty rating: 🐇🐇

Listen to the original 🎧

Audio Laboratory

Hello everyone! We have some great news!

Some time ago we were asked by Thomann if we could make some videos for their brand new channel - they really liked our content and our style! We feel like this is an amazing opportunity for us because:

• We get to make interesting videos about one of our favourite subjects (apart from drum machines of course ;)
• You get to enjoy some bonus Captain Pikant content in addition to our regular videos
• Making us known to a wi...
  2021-09-29 11:48:53 +0000 UTC View Post

Every Eurodance Song Ever Extended Version (Pattern No. 37)

Accompanying our newest episode of "Drum Patterns Explained" here's an extended version of the transcription 😊

Difficulty rating: 🐇

Drum Patterns Explained: Every Eurodance Song Ever

We listened to / suffered through dozens of Eurodance songs to bring you the common beat denominators that make up the genre. It's a great episode for beginners - there are some basic takeaways and Hi-Hat variations in there that can also be applied to other genres. We had a blast making the episode (especially the chiptune renditions of the songs) and we hope you enjoy the trip back to the 90s 👾

If everything goes as planned, our next episode of "Drum Patterns Explained" will featur...

1 year anniversary, 10.000 subscribers, what's next

One year ago today, we were working on our very first video - Drum Machine 101 Episode 1 - and getting to grips with our first ever stop motion animation sequence when our preorder of the RD-6 arrived at the doorstep...

It's been a year of really hard work since then! We learned a lot and refined our production skills - and yet making the videos is still a shockingly time-consuming task for just two people 😅 But that is time we're very happy to invest!

Your feedback from the re...

We want your feedback!

In the coming months our day jobs will become a bit more demanding, so we want to make the best use of the time we have!

What would you like to see more of? You can check multiple answers, but for a meaningful result please only choose what's most important to you. Hint: There is one wrong answer. And don't hesitate to comment below!

Empty drum pattern templates for your own transcriptions

Update 2024/04/29: Added Digitakt II template
Update 2023/03/20: Added DRM-1 MKIV template
Update 2023/02/26: Added DrumBrute Impact template
Update 2023/02/22: Added Analog Rytm template
Update 2023/02/22: Added Machinedrum template
Update 2023/01/17: Added Syntakt template
Update 2022/12/30: Added RD-9 template
Update 2021/08/28: Added TR-6S template
Update 2021/08/29: Added TR-8S template, added global accent track to TR-6S template

Hello everyone! Ou...

How to read the drum pattern transcriptions

Update 2024/06/03: Fixed software-related layout problems
Update 2024/05/24: Added abbreviation for High Conga Mute
Update 2022/05/31: Added abbreviation for Maraca
Update 2022/05/26: Mutes, extra oomph, reversed sounds, minor rewrites
Update 2021/11/06: Added abbreviation for Cabasa
Update 2021/08/23: Minor rewrite, added abbreviations (Agogo, Quijada, Metronome, Sync Click)

Here's a short tutorial on how to read the drum patterns you can find here on our Patreo...

Childish Gambino - Sweatpants (Drum Pattern No. 36)

Update 2023/08/25: Minor corrections, third Hi-Hat sound instead of accents, optimized layout

This is my drum pattern transcription in the style of "Childish Gambino - Sweatpants". The Closed Hat contains multiple instances of a step being divided into 5 substeps. This is a rather unusual feature for drum machines, so you're out of luck if you want to program this directly on the RD-8 for example - you'd have to use a capable external sequencer. Or you could settle for 4 subste...

Drum Patterns Explained: Jeff Mills - Exhibitionist Mix 3

Hello everyone! To make the most of the time we had with the RD-9, we produced a second video which we hope you will like. In this new format called "Drum Patterns Explained" we analyze the first minute of Jeff Mills' "Exhibitionist Mix 3", showing you a few of "The Wizard"'s tricks step by step. These are not only applicable to Techno, but actually very useful in general. Let us know what you think of the new format and what patterns you'd like to have dissected in future episodes.

Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing (Drum Pattern No. 35)

Update 2023/08/20: One Tom was missing ;) New transcription and new sound sample recorded on the 8raw8.

This is my drum pattern transcription in the style of "Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing". Thanks to our Patron Maciej Piechoczek for pointing us to this 808 classic! It's just two bars long, but it's interesting enough to carry on through the whole song. Pay attention to the use of the combined Closed Hat and Open Hat sound which makes the Hi-Hats so much more expressive.

...

Behringer RD-9 Review

Hello everyone! It's finally done! We hope you like the End Jam 😊 While putting all those cards down we realized how many of you are supporting us... and we just wanted to say thank you - it feels great that you have our backs ❤

Behringer RD-9 Cheat Sheet 1.0 (Firmware 1.0.5)

Guess what finally arrived at our doorstep :) In preparation for our review we tested absolutely every function of the RD-9 and finalized the Cheat Sheet for you. Today was the first day of shooting and we're working hard to make the release happen next week!

We hope this will be useful to you. If anything should be unclear, if you find an error or you feel like something is missing just drop us a line - either here in the comments or via PM. 2021-07-12 20:34:44 +0000 UTC View Post

Justice - On'n'On (Drum Pattern)

This is an adaptation for drum machines with only a global accent (like the 606 or 808).

We're toying around with the idea of doing this as an end jam in one of our upcoming videos :) The audio sample is just bare bones, we'll probably have a lot of fun with effects like phasers, distortion and maybe even bitcrushing.

Difficulty rating: 🐇
Listen to the original 🎧

Eminem - Fall (Drum Pattern)

Our Patron DigitalRuler suggested this pattern, and as so often there's more to it than first meets the ear.

The sounds are 808-ish, but there's a twist to the Hi-Hats: The Closed Hi-Hat sound is used twice - once pitched down and panned to the right and once pitched up and panned to the left. That allows for an additional rhythmic component and gives depth to the sound.

Parts 1-3 are the main patterns, but pay attention to how the variations leave out entire sections to accentuat...

Status Update

Hello everyone!

Sometimes things don't go according to plan...

The flood of 909 patterns in the last months was a not-so-subtle clue that we were preparing for the RD-9 review. The only way for us to actually get an RD-9 is the old fashioned way - by ordering it and paying for it ourselves. We were promised an RD-9 off the very first batch, which was supposed to arrive last week. You can imagine our surprise and disappointment when that did not happen... According to our retailer,...

Floating Points - Silhouettes (Drum Pattern)

Thanks to our Patron James Lavin for suggesting this band! I'd recommend you check out their music, it reminds me a bit of Tortoise and Jaga Jazzist. There's also a fantastic live performance on KEXP.

The drums contain a lot of variation. I selected a few bars that interested me the most and used 909 samples for the sound file. This is a perfect beat for some jazzy synthesizers playing on top 🥰

Difficulty rati...

Jeff Mills - The Bells (Drum Pattern)

A fine example of 909 minimalism by one of the most important Detroit Techno artists. The beat relies heavily on the stacking and unstacking of sounds. I'd be interested to learn how this record was mixed and mastered. I'd guess the limiter was set to "illegally loud / murder".

Difficulty rating: 🐇
Listen to the original 🎧

Every Eurodance Song Ever (Drum Pattern)

While we are still on the topic of the Roland TR-909: Here's a vintage handpicked selection of common Eurodance patterns that you can use as building blocks for making any kind of Eurodance-inspired song. They sure liked their snare buildups back in the 90s... I had a lot of fun writing the notes in the transcription 😄

Difficulty rating: 🐇

Die Fantastischen Vier - Die Da!?! (Drum Pattern)

Back in the early 90s when German Hip Hop was in its infancy "Die Fantastischen Vier" ("The Fantastic Four") brought this new genre into the charts. They used a Roland TR-909 for the beat with some additional acoustic percussion elements.

Difficulty rating: 🐇
Listen to the original 🎧

Jeff Mills - Exhibitionist Mix 3 (Drum Pattern)

First off: Watch the original video. Jeff Mills alone in a room with a Roland TR-909. This is required viewing for all of us 😉 I transcribed the first minute of this live performance. The pattern isn't complicated at all, it's the performance, variation and improvisation that make it interesting.

I added some performance notes and also those little dots that show you where the differences from the previous pattern are - that should make it easy to build it up from scratch.

Diff...

Phil Collins - Take Me Home (Drum Pattern No. 27)

Update 2024/04/29: Reworked transcription, additional Shaker, new layout :)

This is my drum pattern transcription in the style of "Phil Collins - Take Me Home".

Difficulty rating: 🐇
Listen to the original 🎧

Drum Machine 101 Episode 3: Pattern Length 🥳

Hello everyone! We didn't quite make it for a Monday release (how perfect would that have been), but now Episode 3 is finally out! Thank you for supporting us and enjoy the video 😄

In our first draft of the episode the end jam was "Radio GaGa" by Queen, but it didn't quite sound like we had envisioned it. But that might have been a blessing in disguise, because we are really happy with the new ending and we also learned a lot in the process.

Moving 256 small steps across the fr...

Drum Machine 101 Episode 3 Progress

Without a doubt the most nerve-wracking part of creating Episode 2 was animating the scene in which Beatbunny paints the 16 candies yellow. Every piece of candy had to enter the frame at a specific time, follow a path and move at a constant speed so Beatbunny could hit it precisely on the beat.

We apparently learned absolutely nothing from this experience because for Episode 3, we animated 256 tiny little steps t...

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks (Drum Pattern No. 26)

Update 2023/07/03: Corrected part 16 not being in triplets, adjusted difficulty rating

This is my drum pattern transcription in the style of "Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks".

Aphex Twin, Massive Attack, The Chemical Brothers, Beastie Boys, Eminem, Mike Oldfield, Dr. Dre, Björk, The Simple Minds, Garbage, Anthrax, Billy Idol, Vanilla Ice, Public Enemy, Yoko Kanno - just to name few.

Apparently this is the second most "borrowed" drum loop after the "Amen Break"...

Roland TR-6S Cheat Sheet 1.7

Update 2024/03/20: This Cheat Sheet is still valid for the newest firmware update 2.00 :)

Update 2022/09/16 (Version 1.7 for firmware 1.50): Quick kit color changes via faders, randomize instruments, reload instrument / all instruments, quickly switch to flam, holding rolls, alternate sounds on FM instruments, replaced INSTRUMENT with BD-OH to avoid confusion with the INST button, quicker editing of parameter values, FX performance controls active after activating MASTER FX...