Trap · drill · rap
Guides.
Straight, in numbers.
Guides for trap, drill and rap producers. Hertz, decibels and milliseconds instead of vague advice — plus the common mistakes that ruin beats.
- 808 & bassHow to make an 808 you can hear on a phonePhone speakers stop around 200 Hz. Tuning, punch, saturation and harmonics make an 808 cut through without a subwoofer.2 min ·
- VocalsTrap vocal chain, step by stepPlug-in order for rap and trap vocals: tuning, EQ, two compressors, de-esser, air and sends — with settings in Hz, dB and ms.2 min ·
- Mastering-14 LUFS for Spotify without killing dynamicsSpotify turns your master down to −14 LUFS anyway. How to set up the mix, clipper and limiter so the track still hits after normalisation.2 min ·
- EffectsReverse reverb and delay throws on vocalsTwo effects you hear on every big trap record — how to build them, what times to use and how to automate them without drowning the vocal.2 min ·
- TheoryHow to match the key of a sample and a melodyChecking a sample's key, when not to trust the detector, how far you can transpose and how to keep the 808 and the melody in key.2 min ·
- MixingMixing a trap beat from scratchFrom gain staging to the master bus: kick and 808, snare, hi-hats, melody and space in a trap beat — with frequencies, levels and common mistakes.2 min ·
Plug-ins for the job
What each type of plug-in does, how to set it up and which DarkPlugins fit.