In today's music industry knowing how to make beats can be a very lucrative skill to have. In particular knowing how to make rap beats is probably the most lucrative. There are beat makers out there making anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 a beat. These numbers are pretty amazing considering some of these beats are made in only a few hours. So yes, it is possible to make a good living making tracks. The thing is knowing how to. This article will give you the basics on how to make rap beats.

Ready to achieve optimum, punchy, in-your-face, hip hop compression settings for a kick? a snare? bass? percussion? Learn what compressor settings platinum hip hop producers use below...

Ratio & Threshold settings dictate amount: Heavy weight producers use Ratio settings 4:1 to 7:1 for most hip hop applications. Ratios 8:1 & above are more effective for limiting, not compression. For Threshold settings, the Pro's use anywhere from 10db to 15db of gain reduction on kicks, snares, percussion, bass, or guitar. After you set the ratio and threshold, the real power comes in with your attack and release settings...