Applying different MPC 3000 swing amounts per element (8ths on the kit, harder 16ths on hats) creates boom bap's head-nod

This tutorial reaches boom bap’s feel with the Akai MPC 3000 groove-quantize presets built into Ableton’s Groove Pool: ‘Swing MPC 3000 8ths 57’ on the kick and snare, and ‘Swing MPC 3000 16th 74’ on the hi-hats. The percentage describes how far the second of each pair of notes is pushed toward the next: 50% is perfectly straight, ~66.7% is a full triplet-feel shuffle, and 57% sits between for a subtle push. Running the hats at a harder 74% than the kit’s 57% gives the hats more swing than the underlying kick/snare, and the contrast is characteristic of the style. Because each element carries its own groove rather than one global setting, the result feels programmed and human rather than metronomic.

Examples

In Ableton’s Groove Pool, drag ‘Swing MPC 3000 8ths 57’ onto the kick/snare clips and ‘Swing MPC 3000 16th 74’ onto the hi-hat clip. Play the loop and notice the hats swing harder than the kit.

Assessment

What swing preset does this tutorial use for the kick/snare, and what for the hats? Why apply different swing values per element rather than one global swing?