How-to
How to Make Breakcore: Breaks, Chops, Rolls and Distortion, Step by Step
Updated 2 min read
Breakcore is chopped funk breaks taken to the extreme: jungle's sliced drums at 160 to 200 BPM, edited so hard they turn into rolls, stutters and glitches, usually over distorted bass and something unexpectedly melodic. Here's how to build a track, step by step.
1. Set the tempo
Start at 170 to 180 BPM. That keeps the break readable while you learn the edits; push faster once the drums work. Many breakcore tracks also drop to half time for contrast.
2. Pick a busy break
Breakcore needs breaks with lots of ghost notes and a syncopated kick, like the classic jungle breaks. Breaks has eight original ones: Deacon and Tumble are the busiest. Because they're synthesised, there's no sample to clear.
3. Chop it
- Resequence: replay slices in a new order, so bar one borrows bar two's kicks.
- Rolls: 1/32 and 1/64 snare rolls with a crescendo, the signature breakcore sound.
- Reverse: a reversed snare swelling into the backbeat.
- Pitch: tape-stop ramps and slices dropped an octave.
- Chop: cut hits short for tight, glitchy edits.
4. Add distortion and grit
Breakcore drums are rarely clean. Push the break through saturation or a clipper (Heat) and add sampler grit (Breaks' Grit knob) so the edits sound like a crunchy 90s sampler. Parallel-compress the drum bus for density.
5. Bass and melody
Underneath, use either a slow, heavy sub following the root notes at half time, or a distorted reese or talking bass (Hydra does both). On top, the contrast is the point: a soft piano, a sad chord loop or a vocal chop against the chaos. Our sad chord progressions and emotional chord progressions work well.
6. Arrange with density
Structure a breakcore track around edit density rather than new parts: a calm intro with the straight break, a build where the edits get busier, a full-chaos section, a sudden drop to an ambient break, and another climb. Automating one Edit knob over 8 or 16 bars does most of this; in Breaks, Vary sets how often the edits repeat. For section lengths, see song structure.
FAQ
What BPM is breakcore?
Most breakcore sits between 160 and 200 BPM, and some goes well past 200. A good starting point is 170 to 180 BPM, the same range as jungle and drum and bass, with the breaks edited much harder.
What's the difference between breakcore and jungle?
Both are built on chopped funk breaks. Jungle keeps the groove rolling under heavy bass and reggae-influenced elements. Breakcore edits the breaks far more aggressively, with constant rolls, stutters, pitch and reverse edits, distortion and sudden genre changes.
What do I need to make breakcore?
A DAW, a source of breaks, a way to slice and rearrange them, distortion and something melodic. Breaks covers the first part: it plays royalty-free breaks and chops them live, with 1/64 rolls and pitch drops built in.
How do you make breakcore drums?
Start from a busy funk break with ghost notes, slice it into 16ths, then rearrange slices, add 1/32 and 1/64 snare rolls, reverse a snare into each backbeat, pitch some slices down and push the whole loop through saturation. Automate the density so the edits build towards each section change.