How To Make Pitched Snare Rolls Using MPD32 And Reason | Beat Making Tips

Question from a subscriber:

didnt know u were in DC!! good stuff man im thinking bout copping an MPD32,quick question for the 16 levels,can u change the pitch so u can do those Mannie Fresh snare rolls or do u have to do that within your DAW? I see in the demo vid he changed the velocity over the 16 pads thx for your help!!

Response:

What's up, fam? The 16 levels changes the velocity over the 16 pads automatically. I think I have an idea of how to change the pitch the way your talking about. Let me try out my idea first and get back with you. Off the top of my head, you would lay down the fill - a bunch of snare hits on 16ths. Draw the velocity line in the app (Reason) so it increases from left to right. Then, set one of the faders to control the pitch of the sample. Then record automation where you increase the pitch with the fader during the fill.

Here are some videos showing how to create pitched snare rolls using different techniques and different devices within Propellerheads Reason 4.

In this tutorial the author makes a Pitched Snare Roll in propelleheads reason 4. This type of pitched snare roll is commonly used in Dirty South and Crunk beats.

The author explains about making NN-XT Patches from scratch, which is actually really useful. He does not use automation in this example and it turns out that this technique allows you to make pitched snare rolls quickly.