Every instrumental has the potential to be anything from melancholic to high-energy. It takes time to understand and "decipher" what a beat is calling for. Speaking for myself, I’m constantly learning with every beat I make and every sample I chop; there’s always something new to learn—the knowledge is infinite.
I usually start my beats by selecting samples before even opening my DAW, I use LANDR to hunt for them and set aside specific time just for that. While drums are certainly important in a beat, what we tend to remember most of the time is a catchy hook!
Once I’ve chosen a sample, I usually edit it heavily to add a personal producer's touch and aim for something more authentic; after chopping and altering the sample, the drums might be added simply to establish the ideal groove—following the sample's peaks or playing on the off-beat—depending on the intended direction and the desired final result.
Fruity Limiter on the master!
Ultimately, I tend not to do anything overly elaborate during the mixing or mastering stages. Below is my master channel setup for a boom-bap beat; while I believe mixing and mastering are necessary when releasing music on streaming platforms, the hook remains more important than technical perfection regarding volume and balance when it comes to selling the beat.
The soft clipper comes next to shave off any unwanted peaks and get the beat hitting exactly the way I want.
