How do I make a reggae beat?

Reggae beats have a distinctive "one drop" feel, where the kick and snare land on beat 3, and the guitar or keys play a sharp "skank" on the offbeats. Here is how to build that feel on the EP-40.

Set your tempo

Press tempo and dial in 75-90 BPM using knob x. Reggae sits in this slower, grooving range.

Load your sounds

Press sound and select Group A for drums. Load a kick (samples 1-99), a snare (100-199), and a rim shot or hi-hat (200-299). Switch to Group B for bass (samples 400-499) and Group C for a melodic stab or organ sound (500-599).

Program the one drop drum pattern

Use the step sequencer. Hold shift and press minus to go to step 1. Set your note interval to 1/16 by pressing timing and turning knob x.

Place your kick and snare together on beat 3 (step 9 of a 16-step bar). Leave beats 1, 2, and 4 mostly empty. Add a hi-hat on the offbeats (steps 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 15) for that skipping feel.

Add the skank

Switch to Group C and use keys mode to play a short, stabby chord hit on the offbeats, matching the hi-hat pattern.

Add a bassline

Switch to Group B and use keys mode to record a slow, melodic bassline that follows the root notes of your chords.

Commit your pattern

Press shift and main to commit and build your arrangement from there.