The MetalFnkLead syncopated funk line

lead · bright · 108 BPM (100–116) · D dorian · 2 bars · 32 steps

MetalFnkLeadLeadSyncopated funk lead, single keys, dorian sixth

Every patch on the KORG minilogue xd

The technique

Two bars. Two short roots on the head, a leap to the third on the last sixteenth of beat one, the fourth and fifth pushing through beat two, then the seventh on the "and" of three and a run back down to the root.

The second bar is the first with one change: the sixth on the "and" of three where the seventh was. It is the only sixth in the phrase and the phrase exists to get to it.

One key at a time. The sound stacks the voices on each key, and a second key is a second stack.

Short notes on the beat and longer ones off it. The pushes are the ones that hold, and that is what makes the line lean forward.

Never flatten the sixth. One flat sixth turns dorian into a minor key and the funk into a ballad.

The bar head is the loud one. The rest of the bar plays under it, and the run down at the end of each bar is the quietest thing in the phrase.

The chords

1 chord over 2 bars, in D dorian.

DegreeChordNotesBarsUnder the figure
i7Dm7D · F · A · C1–2●

The figure is played over these chords; supply them separately if your rig allows.

The rules

  • Never the lowered 6th, on any chord — over i7, the flat sixth turns dorian into a minor key and the funk into a ballad.

The notes

2 bars in D dorian. Each note is in force across the steps shown.

  • step 1·over i7 Dm7·D4·degree 1·MIDI 62
  • step 2·over i7 Dm7·D4·degree 1·MIDI 62
  • steps 4–5·over i7 Dm7·F4·degree 3·MIDI 65
  • step 7·over i7 Dm7·G4·degree 4·MIDI 67
  • steps 8–9·over i7 Dm7·A4·degree 5·MIDI 69
  • step 11·over i7 Dm7·C5·degree 7·MIDI 72
  • step 12·over i7 Dm7·A4·degree 5·MIDI 69
  • step 14·over i7 Dm7·G4·degree 4·MIDI 67
  • step 15·over i7 Dm7·F4·degree 3·MIDI 65
  • step 16·over i7 Dm7·D4·degree 1·MIDI 62
  • step 17·over i7 Dm7·D4·degree 1·MIDI 62
  • step 18·over i7 Dm7·D4·degree 1·MIDI 62
  • steps 20–21·over i7 Dm7·F4·degree 3·MIDI 65
  • step 23·over i7 Dm7·G4·degree 4·MIDI 67
  • steps 24–25·over i7 Dm7·A4·degree 5·MIDI 69
  • step 27·over i7 Dm7·B4·degree 6·MIDI 71
  • step 28·over i7 Dm7·A4·degree 5·MIDI 69
  • step 30·over i7 Dm7·C5·degree 7·MIDI 72
  • steps 31–32·over i7 Dm7·D5·degree 1·MIDI 74

The grid

Every step below strikes the note in force at that point. The grid is where the figure is played.

  • —1, 17 (all vel 118)
  • —2, 4, 8, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 30 (all vel 70)
  • —7, 11, 15, 23, 27, 31
  • —12, 28

On the KORG minilogue xd

minilogue xd · Voice

Settings for this voice

Settings for a lead · bright voice on this box, written here. They are not the preset’s own values: load the preset to hear it as it ships.

Settings

MASTER

  • PORTAMENTO30(0…127)
  • SWING0%(-75…75 %)

    0 is straight; the arpeggiator uses the same value

    EDIT MODE, PROGRAM EDIT, button 7

VOICE MODE

  • VOICE MODE TYPEPOLY
  • VOICE MODE DEPTH760(0…1023)

    Right of 0 is DUO: two voices stacked and detuned per key, so this patch plays two notes at a time

VCO 1 / VCO 2 / MULTI ENGINE

  • VCO 1 · WAVESAW
  • VCO 1 · OCTAVE8'
  • VCO 1 · PITCH0c(-1200…1200 c)
  • VCO 1 · SHAPE520(0…1023)

    Shape, complexity, or duty cycle of the selected wave

  • VCO 2 · WAVESAW
  • VCO 2 · OCTAVE8'
  • VCO 2 · PITCH300c(-1200…1200 c)
  • VCO 2 · SHAPE600(0…1023)
  • VCO 2 · SYNCON

    Locks oscillator 2 to the phase of oscillator 1

  • VCO 2 · RINGOFF

    Oscillator 1 ring-modulates oscillator 2

  • CROSS MOD DEPTH0(0…1023)

    Oscillator 1 modulating the pitch of oscillator 2

  • MULTI ENGINE · NOISE/VPM/USRNOISE
  • MULTI ENGINE · TYPEHigh
  • MULTI ENGINE · SHAPE14000Hz(10…21000 Hz)

    CUTOFF — the high-pass filter on the noise

MIXER

  • VCO 1700(0…1023)
  • VCO 2640(0…1023)
  • MULTI80(0…1023)

FILTER

  • CUTOFF780(0…1023)

    Set too low and the patch may be barely audible

  • RESONANCE340(0…1023)
  • DRIVE0%

    The filter drive circuit, in three stages

  • KEYTRACK100%

    100% moves the cutoff with the key, centred on C4

AMP EG / EG / LFO

  • AMP EG · ATTACK60(0…1023)
  • AMP EG · DECAY480(0…1023)
  • AMP EG · SUSTAIN760(0…1023)
  • AMP EG · RELEASE380(0…1023)
  • EG · ATTACK40(0…1023)
  • EG · DECAY420(0…1023)
  • EG · INT34%(-100…100 %)

    Negative applies the envelope downwards

  • EG · TARGETCUTOFF
  • LFO · WAVETRI
  • LFO · MODENORMAL
  • LFO · RATE210(0…1023)
  • LFO · INT60(0…511)

    Hold SHIFT, turn INT to invert

  • LFO · TARGETPITCH

EFFECTS

  • DEL/REV/MODDEL

    Selects which effect the two knobs below are setting; the other two keep their stored values

  • OFF/ON/SELECTON

    Hold SHIFT, flip to SELECT

  • DEPTH36%(0…100 %)

This block draws on the minilogue xd Owner's Manual E 9, pp.17-41; its values are starting points.