How to Make a Pluggnb Beat in FL Studio: Chords, Drums and 808s

Pluggnb is the soft side of trap: bouncy 808s, dreamy jazz chords and a hazy, almost nostalgic feel. It sounds complex, but under the hood it is a pretty simple recipe. In this guide you build a pluggnb beat in FL Studio, from an empty project to a loop someone can sing or rap on, with nothing but stock tools and a few good sounds.

Quick answer

• Tempo: plugg beats usually sit between 130 and 150 BPM with a half-time feel, according to Reason Studios.
• Chords: soft, jazzy seventh and ninth chords on an electric piano, bell or pad.
• Drums: sparse. A clap or snare on beat 3, steady hi-hats and only a few rolls.
• 808: follows the chords, with a little bounce and the odd glide.
• Melody: a sweet bell or synth lead on top, with plenty of space around it.

What is pluggnb?

Plugg grew out of Atlanta's underground rap scene in the mid 2010s and spread through SoundCloud. Reason Studios explains that the name comes from the "PLUGG!" producer tag of the BeatPluggz collective. Pluggnb is the version that pulls in R&B: richer chords, more melodic leads and often sung vocals.

Native Instruments describes pluggnb as trap mixed with synthetic, jazzy elements, and names producers like XanGang, Goyxrd and StoopidXool as early developers of that smoothed out sound. Typical traits: hazy, atmospheric chords, bouncy 808s and vocals that often lean melancholic.

The short version: if trap is hard and dark, pluggnb is soft and bittersweet. Same drum DNA, very different mood.

Step 1: set the tempo and pick a key

Set your project tempo somewhere between 130 and 150 BPM. The Native Instruments tutorial uses 130 BPM, which is a nice, relaxed place to start. Because the drums play in half-time, a 140 BPM beat can feel like 70.

Building on a sample or a reference track? Drop it into the free Beat Lab first. You get the BPM and key in seconds, so your chords and 808 land in the right place from the start.

Step 2: write jazzy chords

The chords are the heart of pluggnb. Plain triads sound like pop. What you want are extended chords: major sevenths, minor sevenths and ninths. They sound warm, a bit dreamy and slightly sad at the same time.

A loop to start with (in C major, mostly white keys):

• Fmaj9: F, A, C, E, G
• Em9: E, G, B, D, F#
• Dm9: D, F, A, C, E
• Cmaj9: C, E, G, B, D

Note: the F# in Em9 is outside C major. If that sounds too bright for your taste, swap Em9 for Em7 (E, G, B, D). Two to four chords are plenty. Pluggnb loops rarely need more.

Tips to make the chords sound right:

• Pick a soft sound. An electric piano, a mellow bell or a warm pad. A hard grand piano makes the same chords sound like a ballad.
• Keep the voicings close. Move each note as little as possible from chord to chord. Notes that sit right next to each other create that bittersweet rub you hear in a lot of pluggnb.
• Play softly. Lower the velocity in the Piano roll so the chords sit back instead of jumping out.
• Add some delay. A delay on the chord channel gives depth without making it muddy.

Don't want to click in every note? The free chord progression generator has an R&B mood that uses seventh chords. Pick major or minor, set your key and tempo, and download the MIDI. You get a chords track plus a bass line on the root notes, free to use in your own releases. For more ideas, read R&B chord progressions.

Step 3: try the reversed chord trick

A classic plugg move, described by Reason Studios: bounce your chords to audio, cut the audio at the start of every chord, reverse each slice and add small fades. The chords now swell into each other instead of hitting, which gives that washed out, dreamy feel.

In FL Studio:

1. Solo your chord channel and export it as a WAV. Use Pattern mode if the chords live in one pattern.
2. Cut the WAV at the start of each chord, so you have one file per chord.
3. Load each slice in its own Sampler channel. In the channel settings, open the Tools tab and click Reverse. According to Image-Line, this reverses the sample.
4. Trigger the slices in the order of your progression.
5. Hear clicks? Short fades fix that. Edison has Fade in and Fade out functions for exactly this.

You don't have to use it for the whole beat. Reversed chords in the intro, then the normal chords when the drums come in, is already a nice contrast.

Step 4: build sparse drums

This is where pluggnb is very different from hard trap. The drums leave space. In the Reason Studios guide, the space between parts is treated as part of the sound.

• Clap or snare on beat 3. That gives you the half-time feel. In the Native Instruments example, the clap sits on beat 3 of every bar.
• Hi-hats on eighth notes. A steady pulse is enough. Add a 16th or 32nd note roll here and there, but keep rolls rare. Reason Studios links busy rolls to mainstream trap rather than plugg.
• A light kick. A few kicks that move with the bass. The 808 already carries a lot of the low end.
• Some percussion. A shaker or a small perc fills the gaps without crowding the beat.

Rolls in FL Studio: set the Snap in the Piano roll to 1/2 step for 32nd notes, or 1/3 beat for triplets. More in how to make hi-hat rolls in FL Studio. And vary the velocity, so the hats feel played instead of programmed.

Step 5: add a bouncy 808

Load an 808 in FL Studio's Sampler and let it follow the chords. Two easy ways to add bounce:

• Don't always play the root. In the Native Instruments tutorial, the bass plays the root under two chords and the third under the other two. That small change makes the bass line sing.
• Use the octave. Jump up an octave on the first chord and come back down. Simple, but it moves.

Make sure the 808 is in tune, or your lovely jazz chords will clash with it. Here's how: how to tune an 808 in FL Studio. Want a glide into the next chord? Read how to make 808 glides in FL Studio. Keep glides for a few chosen moments, it's a soft genre.

Step 6: put a melody on top

Pluggnb melodies are usually sweet and simple: a bell, a soft synth lead or a plucky guitar-like sound. Native Instruments uses a counter melody with a short glide for a smooth, sine-like tone.

• Use the notes of your chords, or the scale of your key. Then it always fits.
• Keep it short and repetitive. A two bar idea that loops is easier to remember than a long line.
• Leave gaps. The vocal needs somewhere to go.
• Put a high-pass filter on your melodic tracks. Reason Studios recommends this so the chords and leads don't compete with the 808. In FL Studio, Fruity Parametric EQ 2 does the job.

Stuck on ideas? Read how to make a melody for your beat.

Step 7: from loop to beat

A loop is not a beat yet. Native Instruments builds its pluggnb track by adding or removing an element every 8 bars. That's a good rule: intro with only the chords (or the reversed chords), drums and 808 in for the hook, take the melody out in the verse, and bring it back for the next hook.

For the full structure, read from loop to beat. When you're done, read how to export a beat in FL Studio.

Plugg vs pluggnb: what's the difference?

Both share the same base: half-time drums, sparse patterns and melodic 808s. Plugg is often simpler, with a few slow, soft chords and sparkly bells. Pluggnb adds more R&B: richer chords, more layered synth leads and more singing. If your chords are basic minor chords, you are closer to plugg. Once you reach for sevenths and ninths, you are in pluggnb territory.

Common mistakes

• Too many drums. Constant rolls and busy kicks turn it into regular trap.
• Hard sounds. A bright piano or an aggressive lead kills the dreamy feel.
• 808 out of tune. Extended chords make tuning problems extra obvious.
• Muddy low end. Chords and pads with lots of bass under a long 808. Use that high-pass filter.
• No room for the vocal. Pluggnb is made for melodic vocals. Leave the middle open.

Need drums and 808s?

Good sounds make sparse drums work, because every hit is exposed. NAME The Trap Oneshot Pack Vol. 1 has 26 808s, 22 closed hats, 14 open hats, 12 claps, percussion and FX, all royalty-free. Drop a clap on beat 3, an 808 under your chords, and you've got the backbone of your first pluggnb loop.

FAQ

What BPM is pluggnb?

Plugg beats typically sit between 130 and 150 BPM according to Reason Studios, played with a half-time feel. That's why they feel much slower than the number suggests.

What chords are used in pluggnb?

Mostly extended chords: major sevenths, minor sevenths and ninths, played on soft electric pianos, bells or pads. Close voicings with notes next to each other give the typical bittersweet sound.

Can you make pluggnb with FL Studio stock plugins?

Yes. The Sampler, the Piano roll, a delay and an EQ cover the basics. The main thing is choosing soft sounds and leaving space.

What's the difference between pluggnb and trap?

They share half-time drums and 808s. Trap tends to be darker and busier, with lots of hi-hat rolls. Pluggnb uses jazzy, R&B-style chords, fewer rolls and a softer, dreamier mood.

Want more free help for your beats, like a BPM and key finder, a master checker and an audio converter? Check out all our free music tools.

Sources: Reason Studios (How to make plugg beats), Native Instruments blog (pluggnb tutorial) and Image-Line's FL Studio manual.