Roughly 27 Tips for Drum and Percussion Patches on the Digitone

My love for the Digitone is, by this point, fairly well documented. It encapsulates, for me, almost every aspect of an electronic instrument that makes me happy, but I think the thing that constantly has me coming back and being delighted is the synthesis engine itself. There are layers of depth to the engine that invite you to explore and be playful - to find ways to twist it into new shapes in order to find new sounds.

This was never more apparent to me than when I was putting together the patch pack I recently released which focused on drum and percussion sounds. There were so many sound design techniques that crystallised in my mind and lots of little tips and tricks that I learned that made the whole process so rewarding.

In this video I'd like to share a bunch of that learning with you. A load of tips, tricks and techniques that I'll always have in mind when building drum or percussion patches on the Digitone.

Timings:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:11 - Attack via Amp
00:03:01 - Balancing Decay and Release in the Amp Envelope
00:05:00 - Meta-tip: LFOs as Envelopes
00:09:21 - Attack via Pitch Envelope
00:11:37 - Attack via FM
00:15:01 - Attack via Filter Envelope
00:16:36 - Layering Attack Characteristics
00:18:03 - Softening Attack Characteristics for Fun and Profit
00:20:18 - Creating Noise via FM
00:22:05 - Cleaning up FM Noise
00:23:46 - Noise via LFO
00:27:13 - Giving Noise Character via Resonance
00:29:41 - Creating Metallic Sounds via Detuned Clusters
00:32:53 - Creating Metallic Sounds via FM
00:36:53 - Wood is Just Metal, but Chill
00:38:10 - Balancing Two Percussive Elements
00:41:27 - Mix Envelope Example (Snare)
00:47:07 - Mix Envelope Example (Kick)
00:48:53 - Giving Kick Character - Noise
00:50:34 - Giving Kick Character - Massive Low End with High-Pass Filters
00:52:28 - Voice Management for Long Kicks
00:56:08 - Refining the High-Pass Trick for Long Kicks
00:58:10 - Preparing Your Patch for Velocity Mod
01:00:01 - Velocity Mod for Attack
01:06:01 - Velocity Mod for Harmonic Content
01:10:27 - Randomize and Humanize
01:13:38 - Making a Clap Patch (Multi-Attack Envelopes)
01:21:05 - Outro

[OscillatorSink]

Do you have your own favourite tip, trick or technique that I didn't mention? Let everyone know about it by replying to this comment!

[chitlun]

As I’m probably going to buy a Digitone due to the 2nd hand price coming down, this has been invaluable! Thanks for creating this man.

[johnpaulpatton]

This is THE definitive drum sound design resource for the Digitone. Thank you for taking the time to create it and know that I will refer back to it often!

[metamyther]

watching this for the 2nd time thru, such a key bible

[iamjamessmith]

Thank you Professor Sink. This will get many re-watches from me.

[hexwavemusic]

I know this is ancient but I'm reacquiring the DN and this video is an absolute goldmine, what a great guide! Very clear, very insightful, thanks for making it!

[geusensdriesmusic]

So much interesting tips and ideas in this one! Great stuff.

[blushingfrieza]

Thank you for taking the time to make this. Love you sink ❤❤❤

[K-Chain]

This is the best Digitone video that l have viewed!

Thank you!

[mechatomb]

Those Sub freqs kill me at 17:00 daaaamn.

[nervechannel_soundsystem]

Attack tips on fire!

Excellent tutorial.

[fruchticaramelos]

this is by far the best instructional video I've seen and the one for free. big thanks for that

[metamyther]

Incredible video, thanks for making this!

[musliman]

Nice teaching there! The one about snares are very useful to me.
To extend one of your tip (except i missed it): One of my favs is utilizing the random LFO to modulate both the volume and the amp's envelope decay on a noise-like sound to create living shakers/hats.

[Voorneman]

The concept you presented here will really change the way I hear and think about percussion. Thank you so much for the time and effort you've put into this.

[dreamsaremaps]

This is not only one of my favorite subjects (drum synthesis generally) along with my most requested tut I can never get enough of (digitone drum design specifically) but also it is incredibly well executed and concepts/reasoning taught rather than just demonstrated. You joke at the conclusion about making it to the end, but...I watched it twice in row. You are a fucking saint...thank you.

[InkyDaCaT]

Saved for geeky hours with digitone and a free few days thankyou you star! You know you the teachers of teaches😉😉😉💗🙌

[christdolphin]

love these digitone deep dives. the most incredible sounding, inspiring synth ever

[chadweiske]

1:00:06 is so key. I'm glad you mentioned the decoupling of Velocity to Volume, it almost gives you a way of coordinating the Velocity as a Macro.

[saoirsepup]

This is... incredible. Just got a Digitone Keys specifically for FM Drums and as a groovebox. This video is what I was looking for! Thank you so much! 🥰