Those of you who were around in the 1970s, when the first analog synthesizers became widely available, will probably remember “Sample and Hold.” The huge modular synths, like the ARP 2500, had individual modules dedicated to sample and hold, while the Minimoog required a separate hardware module to produce the effect.
It just so happens that Native Instruments’ Kontakt 2 has a special Random LFO available that can be used to recreate that distinctive sample and hold effect. The most common use of the Random LFO is to modulate the cutoff frequency of a filter, which creates a rhythmic feel to an individual sustained note or chord. A similar effect can be created using Kontakt 2’s Step Modulator, except that here you can actually specify the step pattern and intervals manually, thus creating melodic patterns that repeat over and over again. The Step Modulator can be set for a range of 3 – 32 steps.