Sequencing with Beat Delay in Maschine

This tutorial covers sequencing with Maschine’s Beat Delay effect.

This tutorial covers sequencing with Maschine’s Beat Delay effect. Using the beat delay effect on a sound within a comparatively sparse, simple pattern with a few basic gestures, it is possible to easily sequence and manipulate the groove, even in a live performance situation, with very low risk.

A lot of Maschine users aren’t comfortable with performing on the note level, finger drumming in the style of Jeremy Ellis or Araabmuzik, or even live sequencing using Maschine’s step sequencing and patterns, which can become unwieldy with very dense or fast patterns. Using this beat delay method very similarly to Maschine’s Note Repeat function, we can perform in a dynamic but not jarring way, and with very low risk.

When using Beat Delay for these psuedo-sequencing purposes, it’s important to consider how it interacts with the movements of the larger groove. For this reason, the hat sound with the Beat Delay effect sounds best on the “and” (directly between the downbeats) of each beat, and leaves a dramatic accent when it is taken out for just a beat’s time.

The other hat sound in this example (the one without the Beat Delay effect) uses a very natural, repeating, MPC-style velocity pattern which accents the downbeats. The “and” (directly between the downbeats) in turn has a higher velocity than the notes on “a” (between the “and” and the downbeat), which itself is just a bit stronger than the notes on the “e” (between the downbeat and the “and”).

This ensures that the pattern is easy to follow, which in this example is important given the relaxed tempo and that there are about a dozen different reverb effects going on