What You'll Learn
Week 3 bridges the gap between step-programming and live performance. You'll master the Deluge's sample kit workflow, and unlock live recording — one of the most expressive ways to use the device.
Working with Kits & Samples
A Kit is a collection of samples mapped to the pad rows. Learning to build your own kit from samples is the fastest way to personalise your Deluge's sound.
🎯 Learning Objectives
- Load samples into a kit and assign at least four sounds to usable drum pads.
- Adjust sample volume, pitch, and start/end point to shape a playable drum or melodic part.
🥁 Building a Custom Kit — Step by Step
✂️ Sample Start & End Point Editing
Why It Matters
Raw samples often have silent space at the beginning or unwanted content at the end. Editing start/end points removes this and gives samples a tighter, punchier feel.
How to Do It
With a kit row selected, hold Shift and press the Sample button to enter Waveform View. The horizontal axis is the sample timeline. Use Gold Knobs to move start (left marker) and end (right marker) points.
Pitch Adjustment
Turn the Gold Pitch knob with the row selected to transpose the sample in semitones. Hold Shift and turn for fine-pitch adjustment in cents. Essential for tuning samples to your key.
Playback Modes
Samples can play Once (plays until end), Loop (loops while note is held), or Cut (stops when another note on the same row plays). 'Cut' is ideal for hi-hats — the open hat gets cut by the closed hat.
💡 Kit Tips
- Copy a pad row to another row: hold the source row's button + press the destination row's button.
- Mute a single row: hold the row button and press Mute.
- Save your kit as a preset so you can reuse it in other songs.
Recording & Live Input Basics
Step sequencing is deliberate and precise. Live recording captures the feel of a real performance. Both approaches are valid — knowing both makes you twice as powerful.
🎯 Learning Objectives
- Record notes into a clip in real time using pads or an attached MIDI controller.
- Quantize or manually edit a recorded phrase so timing errors are reduced and playback is consistent.
🎙️ The Live Recording Workflow
⏱️ Quantization & Timing Correction
Auto-Quantize
By default, the Deluge quantizes recorded notes to the nearest 32nd note. This snaps slightly-off notes to the grid. You can change the quantize resolution in Settings → Defaults.
Manual Correction
After recording, enter Clip View and you'll see your notes on the grid. Hold a pad to select the note, then turn the Select encoder to nudge it left or right to correct timing manually.
Velocity Editing
Live-recorded notes capture the velocity (pressure) of each pad press. After recording, hold any note pad and use the Gold Knob to adjust its individual velocity for more natural dynamics.
The Metronome
If your timing is wandering, enable the metronome: hold Shift + press Tap Tempo. A click track will play through the headphone output. Turn it off with the same shortcut.
📚 Curated Resources for Week 3
Sub-topic 3.1 — Kits & Samples
Sub-topic 3.2 — Live Recording
The Custom Kit + Live Melody
Build a complete musical loop using only custom samples and live recording. No step-sequencing allowed for the melody part:
- Create a new Kit track and load at least 4 custom samples (not preset kits). Edit the start/end point on at least one sample.
- Step-sequence a drum pattern using your custom kit.
- Add a Synth track. Arm record mode and live-record a simple 2-bar melody using the Deluge pads in keyboard view (or a connected MIDI controller).
- After recording, view the notes on the grid and fix any timing issues by nudging at least two notes manually.
- Adjust velocity on at least three notes to add dynamics.
- Save the project.
✅ Week 3 Completion Checklist
Tick each item when you can do it confidently. Progress is saved in your browser.
Week 4 — Arrangement & Performance
Build a complete song in Arranger View and perform it live. The sprint finale.