How to Make an Axaero Type Beat (+ Free Loops)

What BPM and key is an axaero type beat?

Most loops run 112 to 140 BPM, with the bulk sitting around 125 BPM. That is slower than the usual 140 rage grid, which is where the warmer, more melodic feel comes from. If a loop feels too fast, treat it as half-time: the drums land on a 60 to 70 BPM feel while the melody still moves, and that split is a big part of the laid-back bounce.

The key is mostly minor, but the mood reads happy and nostalgic rather than dark. Take the key straight off your loop and put the 808 and the melody on the same root. If you are not sure of the key, drop a tuner or a scale plugin on the loop, find the root note, then set every melodic and bass part to that scale so nothing fights.

Lock the project tempo to the loop before you touch anything else. Warm, hand-played loops breathe a little, so quantize your drums to the grid but leave the loop itself free, and the small human drift against a tight grid is what keeps it from sounding stiff.

How to make an axaero type beat in 6 steps

The loops in step 1 stream right here and the mp3 is free. Then work through the six steps.

1. 1Pick a sample▾

   Take a choir and guitar loop in minor, 112 to 140 BPM. Grab one from the list below that already has a warm, song-like movement before any drums. A loop that works on its own with no drums is the one to pick, because the whole beat leans on it.

   • ▶
     Barely
     120 BPM · Fmin
     AmbientSynthVirtual
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Burst the Bubble
     140 BPM · F#min
     ChoirHappyVirtual
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Patagonia
     120 BPM · Amin
     AmbientHappyVirtual
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Circuits
     130 BPM · Fmin
     ChoirHyperVirtual
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Torch
     140 BPM · C#min
     AmbientChoirHappy
     @ndacompany
     ↓
2. 2Lay the 808▾

   It is the foundation. On the root of the loop key, eight bars kept plain. Set it to cut itself so the notes cannot overlap and give it some saturation, then it pushes without killing the warmth. Tune it to the loop key with a scale MIDI or an Auto-Key plugin so it never drifts out. Keep the glide and the note lengths simple at this tempo, slides between two or three notes read better than busy runs.
3. 3Hi-hats on top▾

   Start with a two-step pattern and take single hats back out again. The open hat goes into that gap, that is where the bounce comes from. At this slower tempo keep the rolls light, and randomize the hat velocity and panning so the pattern never repeats the same hit. A triplet roll into the top of a bar is a clean way to turn a section.
4. 4Clap and kick▾

   A hard clap or snare on two and four, plus a second quieter layer panned to one side for width. The kick stays quiet under the 808 and shares the low end with it. Nudge the kick a hair off the grid if it masks the 808 attack, so you hear both.
5. 5Keep the vintage colour▾

   Leave a little of the loop's faded, lo-fi character in, a touch of noise or tape wobble, instead of cleaning it up. A free plugin like dblue Tape Stop gives you that wobble and a tape-stop transition. A slow vinyl crackle layer low in the mix, or a gentle bit of pitch wobble, adds the same nostalgia. That warmth is the point.
6. 6Arrange▾

   Keep it simple, less is more. 16 bars as the hook, then a verse with one layer gone, then a bridge with a different sound. A Fruity Love Filter sweep to open a section and a reverse kick into the hook keep it moving. Drop everything but the loop for two bars before the hook returns, that breath makes the beat hit harder when the 808 comes back. The hook comes early, that keeps the beat catchy and easier to place.

The axaero blend

The character comes from mixing organic and digital. A guitar and a choir give it a warm, almost vintage body, while the 808 and hats keep it modern and bouncy. Neither side wins, that balance is the sound.

Because it leans happy and nostalgic, lean into the loop's imperfections instead of scrubbing them. A hint of tape hiss, a slightly detuned note or a soft filter on the top end keeps it from sounding sterile, and a light pass of Camel Crusher or a soft clipper adds warm grit without clearing the vintage colour.

The slower tempo is a gift: it leaves space between the notes, so a few warm chords and a simple guitar line carry the whole beat. Do not crowd it, let the loop breathe. If you want more depth without more notes, double the melody an octave up very quietly, or add a soft pad under the chords, so the body grows but the arrangement stays clear.

Reverb sets the room. A medium plate on the choir and a short room on the guitar glue them together, while the 808 and kick stay bone dry up front. Keeping the low end dry and the mids wet is most of what makes the organic and digital sides sit in the same mix.

Which sounds do you actually need?

For the melody choir, guitar and piano are enough. Keep the loop dry and let it breathe instead of burying it in effects.

The 808 carries the low end on its own. Set it to cut itself and give it some saturation, then it pushes without a long effect chain.

Clap and hi-hats hold the grid. A hard clap on two and four, hats as a two-step with gaps for the open hat. A quiet shaker or a soft percussion loop under the hats fills the slower tempo without clutter.

A guitar is the warm core here, so keep it dry and forward. Reverb belongs on the choir and pads, not on the thing that carries the tune.

Pitch the sample up and down

The position of the loop is not fixed. One or two semitones change the whole mood, and it is the fastest way to make a loop feel like your own.

Up the melody gets brighter and thinner, leaning happy. Down it gets heavier and warmer. The key moves with it, so pull the 808 to the new root afterwards.

Pitch and time are tied together in most samplers, so if you want a new key but the same tempo, use a repitch mode for colour or a stretch mode to keep the speed. Larger moves start to smear the top end, so for anything past a few semitones a formant control keeps the choir from sounding thin or chipmunked.

Common mistakes

Cleaning the warmth out. The vintage colour and the small imperfections are the charm, so do not polish them away.

Leaving the lows in every track. Cut the low frequencies off each melody track with a high-pass so the bass stands alone at the bottom.

Crowding the slower tempo. The space between notes is part of the feel, a few clear sounds beat a packed arrangement.

An untuned or overcooked 808. If the bass is not in the loop key or it is clipped so hard it loses pitch, the whole low end turns to mud, so tune it first and add saturation in small steps.

A hook that arrives late. These beats get placed because the catchy part lands early, so put the strongest eight bars up front instead of building for a minute.

Using the loops from NDA Company

Every loop here is played by hand, no AI, and free as an mp3. Pick one of the warm choir and guitar loops below to start the beat, drop it in at 112 to 140 BPM, and build the 808 and drums around it with the steps above.