← KO IIhow to make hip-hop on the KO II
Sample a drum break and a melodic loop, chop them across the pads, and keep the groove loose. The four groups keep drums, bass, melody, and chops separate.
85-95 BPM · Swung 16ths, slightly behind the beat. Don't quantize everything hard.
1. Set a hip-hop tempo.
Hold TEMPO and set it around 88 BPM.
2. Get a drum break or kit in.
Press SAMPLE and record from line-in or the internal mic. Use minus/plus to pick the input source.
3. Chop the break into hits.
Use CHOP (SHIFT + SAMPLE) to slice the sample across the 12 pads, then play them back in different orders to find a groove.
4. Put drums on their own voice.
Assign the chops to Group A so drums stay separate from bass and melody.
5. Lay the main beat by feel.
Press RECORD then PLAY and finger-drum the pattern live.
6. Add a sampled chord or melody loop.
Sample a melodic loop to Group C. Use resample-a-chord to stack notes into one playable sample.
7. Glue it and add space.
Add a touch of reverb and delay, and use the compressor for a cohesive feel.
tips
- Hold the knob assigned to swing and nudge it up slightly for a head-nod feel.
- Leave the kick and snare a hair off the grid instead of hard-quantized.
Device steps reference the official KO II manual. Musical guidance is general production advice.
