How to make Drum And Bass Like Hospital Records | Live Electronic Music Tutorial 333

How to Make Drum & Bass Like Hospital Records — A Live 175 BPM Build

In this live session from his ongoing electronic tutorial series, producer Mikas builds a full melodic, liquid-leaning Drum & Bass track from scratch at 175 BPM, the genre’s signature tempo. He even built a custom drum kit for the episode, pulling hits from several kits into one cohesive set. The session is an unscripted, real-time build, so you see the decisions and mixing choices as they happen — and the finished project ships as a template for Logic Pro, Ableton Live, and FL Studio.

What you’ll learn

• How to layer a punchy 175 BPM Drum & Bass beat using stacked snares, claps, and hats
• Building a wobble-driven bassline and dialing in timing, quantize, decay, and delay
• Sidechaining elements to the kick to carve space and add movement
• Writing spooky, atmospheric melodies and a liquid piano riff in the same key
• Using arpeggiators, reverb, and delay to make elements feel fluid and three-dimensional
• Refining the groove and re-mixing every time a new element enters the track

1. Start with a punchy, layered beat

The foundation is a fast, melodic Drum & Bass beat built around the custom kit. Mikas anchors it with a punchy 909-style snare, then layers a second snare slightly off the first as an after-effect to add interest, plus a snare-ish clap on the same timing. Hats mark time in the background, with an open hat and a percussive laser-style hit to push the groove. Two additional percussion elements are panned left and right to create width and forward motion.

2. Lay down the bassline and dial in timing

Next he reaches for a bass patch and plays in a part live, then works on getting the timing right before quantizing it to the grid. From there it’s about treatment: adding a touch of delay to make it fluid, playing with the decay, and introducing a slow wobble via the synth’s modulation so the bass has that signature Drum & Bass movement and character.

3. Sidechain the bass to the kick

To lock the low end together, Mikas routes the bass through a compressor and sidechains it to the kick. He uses a quick attack and quick release so the kick punches through cleanly. With so much energy in the bass, the sidechain barely has time to recover between hits — which is exactly what gives the groove its pumping feel. He confirms it sounds noticeably better with the kick driving the ducking.

4. Add spooky atmospheric melodies

With the rhythm section grounded, he opens prepared channels and writes darker, atmospheric melodies, leaving space between notes rather than filling everything. These are treated with reverb and delay to sit back in the mix and reinforce the moody, German/liquid Drum & Bass vibe. He auditions several ideas, keeping the ones with the right haunting character.

5. Layer in a liquid piano riff

A piano riff brings soul to the track. Mikas keeps it in the same key as the bass and percolates it through the arrangement, taking up about half the available space. He tries a few octaves and lengths until the part lands, then pulls the level back so the piano sits like a ghostly ambience rather than a lead — a hallmark of the liquid Drum & Bass sound.

6. Use arps and effects to make elements special

To let each new element earn its place, Mikas leans on arpeggiators for more melodic choice and added swing, then treats parts heavily so they add something distinctive. He experiments with effects including a step/FX-style modulation and stacked ambiences, layering small arp parts in the background to keep the arrangement alive and evolving.

7. Refine the groove and re-mix as you build

As elements stack up, he repeatedly fine-tunes the bass patterns — softening or hardening them, adjusting velocity, and adding a higher-ratio sidechain on top to inject extra energy and craziness. His guiding principle: every time an element changes, it’s a good reason to re-mix, moving some sounds forward and pushing others back so the balance stays right as the track grows.

8. Final balance and arrangement

To finish, Mikas drops a few elements that have run too long, brings the perc and a pad back in, and re-checks the piano and background arp so everything fits. He spends real time on the final mix so the groove carries the track — the goal being a polished, shareable record rather than a rough sketch.

Get the project file: Mikas built an exclusive drum kit and a full template for this episode, ready to open in Logic Pro, Ableton Live, or FL Studio so you can practice and learn at your own pace. Download the template →