Make Your Own Jungle Break from Scratch (No Amen Required)

Almost every jungle tune is built from the same two recycled loops, the Amen and the Think break, so a break nobody else owns is an instant way to stand out. In this eleven-minute walkthrough UK producer and mix engineer Jack from Moonshift Audio builds one completely from scratch. He starts by programming a loose funk groove at 123 BPM in Cubase, full of snare ghost notes and little hi-hat skips, using a soul drum kit in Kontakt. Then he roughs it up: a touch of Valhalla Room for space, heavy parallel compression with Baby Audio’s IHNY, and Soundtoys Radiator for grit. Finally he bounces the loop, pitches it up to jungle tempo and chops it into fresh patterns, with a second example to show the idea works more than once. Why it is worth your time: you end up with an original, royalty-free break that still has that old-school rough feel. Try it with any acoustic drum kit you already own.

Video: “How to Make a Unique, DIY Jungle Break” by Moonshift Audio on YouTube (11:00). All credit to the creator; please like and subscribe to support them.

Get the plugin: Valhalla Room by Valhalla DSP (paid, low cost), or start with the free Valhalla Supermassive for the room sound.

Kit for this

• Akai MPD218 pad controller: finger-drum your funk groove and chopped slices instead of clicking them in.
• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface: low-latency playback so your ghost notes land in the pocket.
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50x: closed-back headphones for hearing every bit of crunch in the break.

Dig for records: signed and limited releases at Townsend Music

Some links are affiliate links; we may earn a small commission at no cost to you.