The following is a description of Songs, Patterns and Drum Kits and how they are used in the DR-880:
SONGS - A Song in the DR-880 dictates where and when to play a certain pattern. It contains no performance data itself. (The actual performance data resides in each Pattern). When you create a song in the DR-880, you take individual patterns (Preset and/or User) and place them in a desired order. A Song can also be described as a group or "chain" of patterns linked together, that play automatically from one to the other and so on. There are 100 Song locations in the DR-880.
PATTERNS - Patterns are the "building blocks" of Songs. They are the small (or large) chunks of "music" that actually contain the performance of the instruments. Patterns can be 1-999 measures long. When you want to create your own song in the DR-880, the pattern section is where you want to start. The best approach is to create different patterns that will reflect the different parts of your song. For example; One pattern for the Intro, one for the 1st Verse, another for the Chorus, and so on. Eventually, these patterns you create will be "linked" together in "Song mode." There are 500 Preset and 500 User pattern locations in the DR-880.
KITS - Kits ("Drum Kits") are individual groups that contain Drum and Bass instruments with their individual settings. Kits contain the "sounds" that you hear when you play a pattern. Each kit has its own number and can have its own distinctive personality.
Similar to the idea of having an acoustic Drum set - the type of set it is, the tuning of the drums, the different cymbals it has, etc. - all make up what is referred to as a "Drum Kit." Any of the Kits in the DR-880 can be customized to your liking and then saved into a User Kit location. It's possible to change instrument volume levels, pitch, effects settings, and even more. There are 100 Preset and 100 User Kits in the DR-880.
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Although they work together, Songs, Patterns, and Kits are different from each other. This is the reason they're utilized in three separate sections in the DR-880. Any changes that you make to a Song, Pattern, or Kit must be saved in each of their respective User locations. For example, changing the volume of an instrument in a Drum Kit and then saving it to User Kit 001, will not necessarily effect User Pattern 001, nor would it effect User Song 001.