The old tutorial on MPC Groove Templates is still pretty popular, and usually ranks at the top of the stats. I figured it was about time that I updated the old tutorial with something new that explains how to use the ReGroove Mixer in Reason 4.0.

One question that frequently comes up is the matter of applying ReGroove templates to ReDrum Patterns. It would make a lot of sense if this were a feature like the shuffle button, but ReGroove templates can only be applied to events in the sequencer. The example below describes the process of programming a ReDrum pattern, converting it to a sequence clip, and applying a groove quantization template.

Before you get started with this example, you will need to download the MPC3000 ReGroove templates - Available here:

Peff 032 - MPC3000 ReGroove Templates ReFill

Place the Refill somewhere convenient, so that you can easily access the ReGroove patches - preferably in your ReFills Folder, designated in your Sound Locations prefs.

Applying ReGroove to ReDrum Patterns

1. Set the Tempo to 95BPM. Set the Loop Locators to 1.1.1.0 and 3.1.1.0, and then enable Looping.

2. Create a ReDrum Drum Computer, and Click on the patch browser button. Load the Redrum Patch called “Abstract Kit 06″ from the Reason Factory Soundbank/Redrum Drum Kits/Abstract Hip Hop Kits Directory

3. Program the following pattern in the ReDrum:

4. Right Click on the Redrum Icon in the Sequencer track list to open the Redrum Contextual Menu, and select “Convert Pattern to Track Notes”. A new Sequencer Lane is created and the ReDrum Pattern is converted to a clip the length of the song.

Optionally, you can also right click on the Redrum to open the contextual menu and select the “Copy Pattern to Track” item.

5. Trim the Redrum Sequence Clip down to 2 bars. Select the Clip and in the Sequencer Tool Bar, enter the value “2″ in the clip length field. Pressing enter, or selecting a different area in Reason executes the change.

6. On the Transport Bar, locate and click on the Regroove Mixer Button to open the console frame.

7. Select Channel A1 and open the Browser window and Navigate to the “Peff 032- MPC3000 ReGroove Templates” refill. In the REX Groove Templates folder, select the patch “MPC3K-63%”.

8. On the ReDrum Sequencer Lane 2, locate the drop menu and select ReGroove Channel A1. This will apply the MPC groove quantization to the ReDrum Sequence.

> Play the sequence to hear the MPC Groove applied to ReDrum Sequence.

This is the basic method of applying ReGroove templates to ReDrum patterns, however you are only tapping 10% of the features. In fact, if you only want to apply an MPC style swing to a pattern, you can enable the shuffle parameter on the ReDrum and adjust the Global Shuffle parameter on the ReGroove Mixer. The Global Shuffle settings are now based on the MPC metric and have a range of 50% to 75%. Having gone through the effort of converting patterns to track events, you might as well go a step further to take full advantage of the ReGroove Mixer.

ReGroove with Multiple Lanes

Exploding Drum Events to multiple tracks is an advanced technique that provides even more control over the groove of the drum sequence. Having the kick, snares, and hi-hats split to separate lanes makes it possible to apply different grooves to each part to provide more depth to the rhythm. The following steps begin where we left off above.

9. Select the ReDrum 1 Sequencer Track, and create 4 new lanes by clicking on the (+) Lanes button four times.

10. Drag Duplicate the clip in Lane 2 to each of the new Lanes by holding down the (alt/option) key and dragging the clip to each of the new lanes. Alternatively, you can use the copy and paste controls to duplicate 3 additional clips and move them. You should have four clips in four lanes that all begin at position 1.1.1.0.

11. On ReDrum 1 - Lane 5, double click on the clip to enter the sequencer edit mode. Select all events except the Kicks (BD2_SupaFunky.wav), and delete them by pressing the [Delete] Key. Double click on the name (Lane 5) and change it to “Kicks”

12. Click on ReDrum 1 - Lane 4, then double click on the clip. Delete all events except the Channel 2 Snare Drums (SD_SupaFunky.wav). Rename the lane to “Snares”.

13. On ReDrum 1 - Lane 3, Delete all events except the Channel 3 Rim Shots (Rim_SupaFunky.wav). Rename this lane to “Rim Shots”

14. On ReDrum 1 - Lane 2, Delete all events except Channels 8 and 9 (Hh_SupaFunky.wav & Sd2_SupaFunky.wav). Rename the lane to “Hi-Hats”

15. On the ReGroove Mixer, Load the “MPC3K-63%” template (also from the “Peff 032- MPC3000 ReGroove Templates Refill”) into Channels A2, A3, and A4.

16. Assign the ReDrum 1 - Kicks Lane to ReGroove Channel A1, Snares to A2, Rim Shots to A3, and Hi-Hats to A4. Now each of the elements in the drum patterns are assigned to their own ReGroove Channel.

17. On the ReGroove Mixer Channel A2, set the slide parameter to 12 Ticks. On Channel A3, set the slide parameter to 6 Ticks, and on Channel A4 set the slide parameter to 19 Ticks. The slide parameter adjusts the start time of the events in each track so that the sequence now has a more layed-back feel.

18. On the ReDrum, adjust the Channel 3 level to 100. The Rim Shot sample is quiet in comparison to the snare sample, this adjustment makes it more noticable.

> Run the sequence to hear the new groove.

For most practical applications, this sequence is complete. Experiment with different groove templates and slide settings to get a better idea of the power of the ReGroove Mixer. Adjusting the slide parameter to negative tick values will rush events, while higher positive tick values push them even further back.

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