Hexadecimal is base 16. A drum loop has 16 steps. Match them up and a hex digit becomes a beat.
A 16-step drum loop stores its hi-hat pattern as the hex value 'C0'. C = 12 = 1100 in binary, 0 = 0000. Which beats get a hit?
Reading a hex pattern
- Each hex digit covers 4 beats of the 16-step bar.
- Convert the digit to 4 binary bits: 1 = hit, 0 = silence.
- 'F' (1111) = four hits in a row; '5' (0101) = beat-skip-beat-skip.
- Two hex digits = 8 beats; two pairs = the full 16-step bar.
You want a hit on every 4th beat of a 16-step bar (beats 1, 5, 9, 13). Each group of 4 beats needs 1000 — what hex digit is that, and what's the 4-digit code?
Many real drum machines store patterns as hex (or its cousin, the step bitmask) internally — you're peeking under the hood, not pretending.
How it maps
Each beat slot is one of 16 positions: 0,1,2,…,9,A,B,C,D,E,F. A two-digit hex value 'F0' means hits on the first 4 beats, silence on the rest. '55' alternates every other beat.
Most digital drum machines actually store patterns this way internally. You're not pretending — you're peeking under the hood.