10 Easy Steps to Serious Fun with P5 Groove Matrix

A little suggestion from Cakewalk's Brandon Ryan for instant fun with the P5 Groove Matrix.

Original Source: Brandon Ryan (Cakewalk) on the P5 Forum

Hi all, just wanted to drop by and post a little suggestion for instant fun with the new P5. Here's some stuff I've found that is really really fun:

1. Create some vertical lanes of loops in the Groove Matrix.
2. Give each one a different feel (i.e "Intro, groovy, heavy, heavier, breakdown, etc). IMPORTANT: Use some of the lanes to create some fills (drum fills, crazy sounds, noises...whatever).
3. Map the lanes in the Groove Matrix to buttons or keys that you can access quickly on your midi controller.
4. Bring up a synth or two using a preset or custom device chain.
5. Pick a killer arp sound.
6. MIDI Map knobs to the filters.
7. Turn on the arpeggiator and map the "Gate" control to a knob.
8. Set the arp to "Random".
9. Set the Groove Matrix to 1/4 note (or even 1/8 note). Also, set the Groove Matrix to "re-trigger mode".
10. Now trigger your grooves, play some notes and start twistin' the knobs. You can retrigger your grooves, beat juggle and generally create sick-ass fills and breaks, while playing crazy arpeggiations, etc.

I was doing this with Z3ta ("WildTB303" patch) with knobs controlling both filters. It was insanely fun and sounded really cool IMO. I also had Dimension up with a custom device chain that included the P5 Phaser (synced), UAD1 Nigel, and a tempo syncing delay for leads. You can switch between both very fluidly without any gaps or stutters.

-Brandon