How to Make Drum and Bass in Ableton: Beginner's Guide

By Omar Meho, 4 November 2026

Set the tempo

Drum and bass usually sits between 170 and 175 BPM, with 174 being a very common choice. Set that before you program anything, because your drums, bass and delays all depend on it.

Program the two step beat

The basic drum and bass beat is called the two step. In a one bar loop:

• Kick on beat 1, plus a second kick just after beat 2 (on the "and" of 2 or slightly later).
• Snare on beats 2 and 4. This is the backbone, so make it loud and punchy.
• Hats or shakers filling the 8ths or 16ths, with lots of velocity variation.

Move the second kick around and you will hear how much the feel changes. Small shifts give drum and bass its rolling, unpredictable bounce.

Chop a break in Simpler

Breakbeats are at the heart of the genre. Drag a break sample onto a MIDI track, then in Simpler switch to Slice mode. Ableton cuts the break into pieces and maps each one to a pad. Now you can replay the break in a new order, which is how so many classic tracks were made.

Layer the chopped break quietly underneath your main kick and snare. Use EQ Eight to cut the low end of the break so it doesn't clash with your kick, and let it add the groove and texture on top.

Build the bass

Most drum and bass basslines have two parts:

• Sub bass: a clean sine wave holding the very low frequencies. Keep it mono and simple.
• Mid bass: the character layer. The classic reese bass is two detuned saw waves, often run through a filter and distortion so it moves and growls.

Put both on separate tracks and group them. High pass the mid bass so the sub can do its job, then sidechain the group to the kick and snare so the drums cut through.

Pick your style

Drum and bass has lots of sub styles, and each needs a different approach:

• Liquid: lush chords, soulful vocals and smoother basslines.
• Jump up: playful, bouncy, wobbling basslines and big energy.
• Neurofunk: dark, technical, heavily processed basses.
• Rollers: minimal, hypnotic, built on a rolling bass and tight groove.

Listen to a few tracks in the style you love and copy the structure into your project as a reference.

Arrange it the drum and bass way

Because the tempo is so fast, sections are often counted in bigger blocks. A typical layout:

1. Intro (16 to 32 bars): atmospheric, often with filtered drums, so DJs can mix in.
2. Build: tension, risers, maybe a vocal or a sample.
3. First drop (32 bars or more): full drums and bass.
4. Breakdown: strip it back to chords or pads.
5. Second drop: switch something up, like a new bass sound or a different drum pattern.
6. Outro: drums and bass thinning out for the mix.

A second drop that changes something is a big part of the genre. Fans and DJs love it when the second drop surprises them.

Mixing tips for drum and bass

• Keep the snare loud. It carries the track at this tempo.
• Check your sub on headphones and with an analyser, because small speakers won't show it.
• Use short reverbs on the drums so the groove stays tight.
• Reference a pro track constantly. Drum and bass is a genre where loudness and low end really matter on a club system.

Stuck with an 8 bar loop that won't turn into a track? My guide on how to finish a track in Ableton Live will help. When it is done, read how to send a demo to a record label and get it out there.