GUIDE · BEATS · ANY DAW
How to mix trap drums.
Trap drums need a kick that knocks, a snare that cracks, hats that bounce, and an 808 that doesn't fight any of them. Here's the chain, from single sounds to the drum bus.
By Jordon Lumley, producer and maker of SCRAMBLE. · Nov 2026
Step by step.
With your DAW's stock plugins. The numbers are starting points: trust your ears.
- Gain stage. Get every drum peaking around -10 to -6 dB before any plugins.
- Kick + 808. Decide who owns the low end. Shorten the kick or sidechain the 808 to it.
- Snare / clap. High-pass at 100-150 Hz, a little boost at 200 Hz for body and 5 kHz for crack. Layer a clap 10-20 ms late for width.
- Hats. High-pass at 300-500 Hz, vary velocity, keep them quieter than you think.
- Drum bus. Route all drums (not the 808) to a bus. Compress gently (2:1 to 4:1, 2-3 dB), add saturation, then a clipper to shave the peaks.
- Check against the beat. Mute the melody, then bring it back. The drums should still feel loud.
Or do it with one free plugin.
Put SCRAMBLE on the drum bus and pick DRUMS mode: brighter, thicker, clipped, distorted, wider or morphed drums, a new chain on every twist. The DRUM BUS SMASH (Nov 30) and KICK KNOCK (Nov 16) preset packs are free packs of the week.
Free preset packs every week: see this week's free packs →
SCRAMBLE is free.
SCRAMBLE is a free FX plugin you play like a Rubik's cube: 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 positions, each a different FX chain. It works on drum buses, 808s and bass, hats, loops, vocals and the master bus, not just loops. 237 presets + 10 vocal chains free, Mac + Windows.
Questions
Should I put the 808 on the drum bus?
Usually no. Keep the 808 on its own channel so the bus compressor and clipper don't pump it.