Beat Magazine #183 focuses on trap and hip-hop production, featuring a Moog Taurus emulation, a convolution reverb, a synth expansion, interviews, reviews, and a mastering eBook.
Trap and Hip-Hop Production Focus
This issue of Beat Magazine centers on the creative fusion of hip-hop and electronic music, particularly the trap subgenre. Editorial features include interviews with notable artists and a behind-the-scenes look at their production methods. The magazine provides practical guidance on creating contemporary trap beats and classic sampling-based hip-hop with a 12-bit aesthetic, covering tools and techniques for both styles.
The coverage bridges the gap between traditional turntablism and modern digital production, offering insights into sample chopping, beat construction, and sound design. The content is designed to be instructional, giving readers actionable advice they can apply directly to their own music projects.
Included Software Instruments
The issue comes with a full version of Syntronik Bully from IK Multimedia, a sampled instrument that captures the sound of the legendary Moog Taurus bass pedals across all three historical variants. The instrument provides four layers for sound shaping, plus an arpeggiator and step sequencer for rhythmic patterns, and a suite of high-quality effects for further sonic manipulation.
This inclusion allows producers to access a classic bass sound without needing vintage hardware, making it suitable for genres ranging from ambient to techno and hip-hop.
Additional Creative Tools and Content
Beat Magazine #183 also includes Halls of Fame 3 Studio, a special edition convolution reverb plug-in developed by Beat and Best Service. This effects processor uses over one gigabyte of exclusive impulse responses drawn from iconic reverb units of the past decades, including models from Lexicon, Bricasti, EMT, and TC Electronic, and allows flexible parameter adjustment.
The issue features a new SYNTHIA expansion with 50 patches for Zampler and Akai MPC, bringing the iconic sounds of the EMS Synthi and VCS3 synthesizers to these platforms, and an eBook on mastering that teaches a step-by-step approach to achieving a balanced, powerful sound and competitive loudness while preserving dynamics.
Editorial Content and Reviews
Beyond production tools, the magazine offers an interview with techno pioneer Jeff Mills and keyboardist Jean-Phi Dary about their album ‘Counter Active’, which blends jazz, techno, and classical elements with improvisation as a core philosophy. There is also an interview with Louisahhh, discussing her debut album ‘The Practice of Freedom’ and her crossover between techno, industrial, punk, and rock.
The issue includes hands-on reviews of hardware and software, such as the Modal Cobalt8 synthesizer, Behringer System 100 modules, the Pro Tools Carbon interface, Eventide Blackhole pedal, Rane Seventy Two MKII and Pioneer DJM-S11 mixers, plus the G-Force OB-E Oberheim emulation and Arturia Modulation FX, among others.
warnings
Key features
- Full version of Syntronik Bully Moog Taurus emulation
- Halls of Fame 3 Studio convolution reverb with over 1 GB of impulse responses
- SYNTHIA expansion with 50 patches for Zampler and Akai MPC
- Mastering eBook with step-by-step guidance
- Interviews with Jeff Mills, Louisahhh, and others
- Workshops on trap and hip-hop production
- Reviews of hardware and software
Best for
Producers and electronic musicians looking to expand their toolkit with a classic bass synth and high-quality reverb, while gaining practical knowledge on trap and hip-hop production. Ideal for those who appreciate the editorial context of interviews and workshops alongside included software.