What BPM is Drum & bass?
Drum & bass has a median tempo of 174 BPM. Half of all drum & bass sits between 172 and 174 BPM, measured across 18,466 analysed tracks. The genre's editorial range is 170–180 BPM; our catalog measures slightly tighter.
Bass / Breaks · 1990s UK — present
Measured 13 August 2026 from 18,466 drum & bass tracks in our catalog. 4,727 tempo outliers removed by a Tukey IQR fence. 17,802 tracks were detected at half tempo and corrected to their written BPM. 4,405 tracks (23.9%) carry a tempo our detectors flagged for review; they are included in these figures.
Method: how we correct half-time BPM detection — why fast genres get stored at half speed, and the rule we apply before publishing a median.
Median BPM
174
Middle half
172–174
9 in 10
172–176
Mean
174
Tracks measured
18,466
BPM distribution
18,466 tracks · median 174 BPM · most of the catalog sits between 172 and 174 BPM · 4727 outliers removed by IQR filter.
How tightly does drum & bass hold its tempo?
Half of all drum & bass sits inside a 2 BPM window, 172 to 174. Widen to nine tracks in ten and the band runs 172–176 BPM. No bass / breaks genre charted below holds a tighter middle half — Dubstep spreads over 10 BPM.
10th percentile 172 · lower quartile 172 · median 174 · upper quartile 174 · 90th percentile 176 BPM
How drum & bass tempo has shifted
Across 7,810 drum & bass tracks spanning 1998–2026, the median has crept up by 1.0 BPM (from 173 to 174) with the highest median in 2003 (174 BPM) and the lowest in 1998 (173 BPM).
Why this tempo?
Drum & bass settled at 170–180 BPM in the early 1990s UK rave scene because breakbeat samplers—primarily the Akai S950 and E-mu SP-1200—could time-stretch and layer breaks at that speed without losing definition or becoming unwieldy to chop. The tempo sits fast enough to sustain dancefloor energy through long DJ sets while remaining grounded by sub-bass frequencies (typically 40–80 Hz) that anchor the track physically rather than rhythmically. Half-time variants at 85–90 BPM emerged as a production and mixing tool, allowing producers to construct breakbeats at slower tempos then pitch-shift them up, preserving swing and texture. The speed also reflects hardware sequencer limitations and vinyl turntable pitch-range conventions of the era.
Where your track fits
Three reference points along the BPM axis for drum & bass, with what the position implies about the track.
Groovy side
Lower quartile — patient builds, deeper grooves, long blends.
Genre centre
Median — what most tracks in the catalog actually sound like.
Where drum & bass sits on the tempo axis
Median BPM of drum & bass compared to neighbouring genres in the same family. Closer medians mean easier cross-genre transitions.
Popular drum & bass tracks at the median BPM
Catalog tracks within ±2 BPM of 174, sorted by popularity.
Top drum & bass artists in the catalog
Names you’ll meet often when building drum & bass sets.
Producing drum & bass — tempo notes
- ›Chop breakbeats at 170–180 BPM to preserve articulation; anything slower risks losing the snare snap and kick definition that sit above the bass.
- ›Layer sub-bass locked to a sine wave at 50–60 Hz with sidechain compression keyed to the kick, not the entire drum pattern, to maintain groove separation.
- ›Build half-time breaks at 85–90 BPM, then resample and pitch-shift up to 170–180 BPM to retain swing and micro-timing without manual re-chopping.
Mixing drum & bass sets — tempo notes
- ›Use 8-bar blend lengths when mixing two tracks at 170–180 BPM; breakbeats repeat in short cycles, so shorter blends prevent phrase collision.
- ›EQ out 200–400 Hz on incoming tracks during transitions to prevent kick and snare mud; drum & bass kicks sit tight around 60–100 Hz.
- ›Cue breakbeat kicks by ear rather than visual waveform alignment; the swing and ghost notes shift the perceived downbeat away from the grid.
FAQ
What BPM is Drum & bass?⌄
Has drum & bass's BPM changed over time?⌄
At what BPM should I produce a drum & bass track?⌄
What Camelot keys are most common in drum & bass?⌄
Plan a chemistry-scored set