Most trap beats fall apart in the same three places: untuned 808s, cluttered kicks, and hats that never breathe. Here's how to spot each problem and fix it fast.

A step-by-step guide to building your first eight-bar beat, from setting the tempo and choosing samples to shaping the loop and mixing it down.

A step-by-step guide to programming UK garage drums: tempo and swing settings, the two-step skeleton, syncopated kicks, ghost notes and humanising patterns so they still hit.