Patterning 3 introduces a novel way to program swing in drum machines. 

In Patterning 3, we've introduced a new concept of musical swing that allows for everything from subtle grooves to drunken beats to wild bouncing ball effects.  

Traditional Swing & Parametric Swing

Traditionally, in a drum machine, “swing” is achieved by taking every- other 16th note and moving it later in time, closer to the following 16th note.  The result is a musical rhythm where two 16th notes are of different lengths.  

You can think of this traditional swing as having an "outer bounds" of an 8th note, where you move the inner 16th note around inside that bounds.   

In Patterning 3, we allow you to change that outer bounds to different timespans, so that the “swing” is now moving around all of the notes within that period of time.  This opens up a vast new landscape of rhythm to explore. 

The Swing Amount controls the timing of the center point of the swing.  50% is the middle of the bounds - which means no swing.  Moving the number up to 66% would turn the swing into a “triplet” feeling, moving the center point ⅔ of the way towards the end of the bounds. 

The Swing Curve setting creates a non-linear curve between the inner points of the swing. 

Swing in Patterning can be applied to either an entire pattern or to an individual loop.  Use the Swing Scope control to choose. 

Learn more about Parametric Swing