Isla S2400 · Hands-On Tutorial

Nudging
Notes

A practical walkthrough of nudge, shift, swing, and quant. shift on the Isla S2400. Work through each exercise on your machine and check the box when you've confirmed it on hardware.

1
Basic Nudge Workflow
GoalNudge a single event by a few ticks and hear the difference.
  1. Record or program a simple 1-bar pattern with at least a kick and snare.
  2. Press Step Program (far-right key, top row).
  3. Press Back+0 to set a manual undo point.
  4. Press Rec/Edit to make sure editing is off.
  5. Use Arrows / Encoder to move the cursor to a snare hit.
  6. Press Enter to open Edit Step Parameters.
  7. Tab to the nudge icon (◀▶) using Enter / Encoder Press.
  8. Once the nudge icon is highlighted, use Arrows / Encoder to start dialing a value — this opens the nudge screen.
  9. Set a nudge of +2 or +3 ticks.
  10. Press Back to exit the nudge screen, then Back again to return to the grid.
Gotcha Pressing Enter/Encoder on the nudge icon does NOT open the nudge screen — it just tabs to the next field. You have to start changing the value to open it.
2
Understand Tick Resolution
GoalInternalize what ticks mean musically.
  1. Go back to the nudge screen on any event.
  2. Note the format: bars + sixteenths + ticks.
  3. Nudge by +24 ticks and observe — it should read as +1 sixteenth note (0+01+00).
  4. Nudge by +12 ticks — that's half a sixteenth, i.e. a 32nd note offset.
  5. Reset to 0. Try small values: +1, +2, +3 ticks. Listen to the pattern playing and hear how subtle vs. noticeable each increment is.
Reference 24 ticks = 1 sixteenth note. 12 ticks = 32nd note. 6 ticks = 64th note. For feel adjustments, 1–4 ticks is subtle, 6–12 is noticeable.
3
Nudging While Playing
GoalAudition nudge changes in real time while the pattern loops.
  1. Start the pattern with Run/Stop.
  2. Navigate to an event and enter the nudge screen (same workflow as Exercise 1).
  3. While the pattern plays, adjust the nudge amount up and down.
  4. Listen for the timing change on each loop — it takes effect immediately.
  5. When it feels right, press Back to exit.
Tip The play position is shown on the horizontal bar in Edit Step Parameters so you can see when the event plays relative to the grid.
4
Multiple Events on One Step
GoalTarget a specific track's event when multiple events share the same step.
  1. Make sure you have at least two tracks with events on the same step (e.g., kick and hi-hat on beat 1).
  2. Navigate to that step and press Enter.
  3. Look at the event number field — it should show 1/2 (or higher).
  4. Highlight the event number field, then use Arrows / Encoder to scroll to 2/2. Confirm the track name changes.
  5. Shortcut: Press the Pad for the track you want — it jumps directly to that track's event.
  6. Now navigate to the nudge icon and nudge only that one event. Confirm the other event on the same step didn't move.
5
Chain-Nudge with F4 / F6
GoalNudge multiple events on the same track without leaving the nudge screen.
  1. Program a hi-hat pattern with hits on every sixteenth note (or at least 4–8 hits).
  2. Navigate to the first hi-hat event and enter the nudge screen.
  3. Nudge it by +2 ticks.
  4. Press F6 — you should jump to the next hi-hat event, still on the nudge screen.
  5. Nudge this one by +3 ticks.
  6. Press F6 again, nudge the next one by +1. Keep going.
  7. Press F4 to go back to the previous event and verify your nudge values.
  8. Press Back when done.
Tip This is the fastest workflow for adding humanized feel across a track — nudge each hit by slightly different amounts.
6
Undoing a Nudge
GoalConfirm that the only way to undo a nudge is to zero it out.
  1. Nudge any event by +5 ticks.
  2. Exit the nudge screen with Back.
  3. Try Back+<<< — observe whether it undoes the nudge or not. (It undoes parameter changes in Edit Step Parameters, not nudges.)
  4. Go back into the nudge screen for that event.
  5. Set the nudge amount back to 0+00+00.
  6. Confirm the event is back on the grid.
Important Nudges save immediately. There's no confirm and no undo shortcut — zeroing it out is the only way back.
7
Off-Grid Events in the Grid View
GoalSee what a nudged event looks like in the grid and confirm it's still editable.
  1. Nudge an event by a few ticks so it's off the quantize grid.
  2. Press Back to return to the Step Program grid view.
  3. Find the event — it should appear as a single dot rather than the normal block.
  4. Try to land the cursor directly on it — you can't, because it's between grid lines.
  5. Move the cursor to the nearest grid step (within one step of the event).
  6. Press Enter — it should still open Edit Step Parameters for that off-grid event.
Note Easy to miss — if you don't know about the dot behavior, it can look like the event vanished.
8
Nudge vs. Shift (F4)
GoalUnderstand the difference between nudge (micro-timing) and shift (grid-based move).
  1. In Step Program grid view, place the cursor on a step with an event.
  2. Press F4 — the cursor and event(s) should blink.
  3. Press Arrows / Encoder to move the event by grid steps. Note: this moves by the current quantize/zoom resolution, not ticks.
  4. Press F4 or Enter to confirm, or Back to cancel.
  5. Try F4+Pad — this shifts only that one track's events under the cursor.
  6. Now try a selection: Shift+Arrows to select a region, then from the Selection Actions menu choose Shift to move chosen tracks' events.

Nudge

Per-event. Sub-grid (ticks). For feel and micro-timing. Done in Edit Step Parameters.

Shift (F4)

Per-cursor or per-selection. Grid-resolution steps. For relocating notes. Done in grid view.

9
Nudge vs. Quant. Shift vs. Swing
GoalUnderstand how the three timing tools interact (and don't).
  1. Swing test: Set pattern swing to 58%, swing notes to 8ths. Play the pattern and hear the shuffle.
  2. Now nudge one of the swung events by +2 ticks. Note that nudging moves it off the exact eighth-note grid position.
  3. Play the pattern — that nudged event should no longer be affected by swing because swing only applies to events that land exactly on eighth/sixteenth notes.
  4. Zero out the nudge. The event snaps back to the grid and swing applies again.
  5. Quant. Shift test: Go to Track Settings for one track. Set Quant. Shift to +3 ticks.
  6. Record some new events on that track. They'll land 3 ticks after the quantize grid position — every event, uniformly.
  7. Compare: Quant. Shift applies the same offset to every new note on the track at record time. Nudge is per-event after recording.

Nudge

Post-recording. Per-event. Manual. Moves event off the swing grid.

Quant. Shift

Record-time. Per-track (uniform). Also moves events off the swing grid.

Swing

Playback-time. Per-track or per-pattern. Only affects on-grid events. Either/or with nudge and quant. shift.

Shift (F4)

Grid-resolution relocate. Not a timing/feel tool — it's a structural move.

10
Safety: Back+0 Manual Undo Point
GoalBuild the habit of setting undo points before destructive work.
  1. In Pattern mode or Step Program, press Back+0.
  2. Make several changes — nudge events, add notes, change parameters.
  3. Press Back+<<< to undo — everything since the undo point should revert.
  4. Press Back+>>> to redo — changes come back.
  5. Toggle back and forth to audition the before/after.
Warning There's only ONE level of undo. If you start recording or editing after undoing, the redo state is gone — a new undo point is created from the current state. Always set your undo point before you start making changes.
11
Full Workflow Dry Run
GoalRun through a complete nudge workflow start to finish without stopping.
  1. Start with a 1-bar pattern: kick on 1 and 9, snare on 5 and 13, hi-hats on every sixteenth.
  2. Press Back+0 for an undo point.
  3. Enter Step Program mode.
  4. Turn Rec/Edit off.
  5. Start the pattern playing.
  6. Navigate to the snare on beat 5, press Enter.
  7. Tab to nudge icon, dial in +3 ticks. Hear the laid-back snare.
  8. Press F6 to jump to the next snare (beat 13), nudge +3.
  9. Press Back to exit nudge, Back to return to grid.
  10. Navigate to beat 1 where kick and hi-hat share a step.
  11. Press Enter, use event number or pad to select the hi-hat.
  12. Nudge the hi-hat by -1 tick (slightly ahead of the kick).
  13. Exit back to grid. Listen to the full pattern.
  14. Look at the grid view and note the off-grid dots where you nudged.
  15. Try an F4 shift on a different event and feel how it differs from nudge.
Reference

Cheat Sheet

Quick
Reference

Action Keys
Enter Step Program Step Program (top row, far right)
Toggle editing on/off Rec/Edit
Edit step parameters Cursor to step → Enter
Tab between fields Enter / Encoder Press
Open nudge screen Tab to nudge icon → Arrows / Encoder
Next/prev event (same track, in nudge screen) F4 / F6
Jump to specific track's event Pad (in Edit Step Parameters)
Undo nudge Set amount to 0, re-nudge
Exit nudge screen Back
Shift events (grid-based move) F4 in grid view
Shift single track F4+Pad
Set manual undo point Back+0
Undo Back+<<<
Redo Back+>>>