Genre guide

Drum separation for breakbeat and jungle

Breakbeat and jungle are built entirely on drum breaks — the Amen, Think, Funky Drummer, Apache and dozens more. DrumSplit does what break choppers have dreamed of for decades: separate each kit piece from the break individually.

What makes this genre distinct

Breakbeat and jungle centre the drum break as the primary musical element. Breaks are chopped, time-stretched, layered and recombined at high tempos (160-180+ BPM). The specific character of individual hits — the Amen's snare, the Think's kick — defines the producer's sound.

How well DrumSplit handles it

Challenging but rewarding. Classic breaks are mono, noisy and heavily compressed — DrumSplit's model handles the limitations of the source material. Natural mode is the right choice since all classic breaks are acoustic drums. The separated kit pieces may retain some bleed from the original recording's room ambience, but they are vastly cleaner than the original mixed break.

What to expect from the output

Kick drums from classic breaks come out with their specific room character. Snares retain the signature sound of each break (the Amen snare is unmistakable). Hi-hats and ride cymbals capture the ghost patterns between the main hits. The results are not pristine, but they are a massive improvement over the original mixed break.

What people use the stems for

• Separating the Amen Break into individual kick, snare and hi-hat hits
• Creative re-sequencing of classic breaks with individual kit pieces
• Layering specific hits from different breaks for hybrid patterns
• Isolating the specific snare or kick character from an obscure break
• Time-stretching individual hits differently for creative jungle production