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How come some records’ beats sound so much fatter than others? Well, it’s got a lot to do with the original sounds chosen for the backing tracks, but more crucially, it’s down to how they’re mixed.

Hip-hop producers have perhaps been the biggest pioneers in this area, although some pop producers have now learnt the required skills and are applying them to more mainstream tracks. Let’s find out how it’s done.

Step 1: First things first, grab the Fat beats.zip file (click here to download), which contains all the audio you’ll need for this tutorial (you’ll also be able to listen to audio demos as we progress). Load up the dry kick, snare and hats (Dry Kick.wav, Dry Snare.wav, Dry Hats.wav) onto three tracks in your DAW. We’re going to use the UAD Fairchild compressor first, although any compressor will do, so fire up your favourite one.