Making a Beat in Studio One 7: Exploring New Features in the Style of Jon Bellion’s “Kid Again” 🎶

Today, we’re diving into Studio One Pro 7 to create a beat inspired by Jon Bellion’s new track, “Kid Again.” using some of the latest new features. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, there’s something here for everyone—so let’s get into it! 👊🎧

Step 1: Detecting Tempo with Ease ⏱️

First things first, I loaded the song into Studio One and needed to detect the tempo. Using the new Detect Tempo feature in Studio One Pro 7 makes this super easy. All you have to do is:

 1. Go to the Audio Bend section.

 2. Click Detect Tempo.

As soon as you do this you’ll see the BPM pop up in the Inspector window at the bottom of the screen. For this track, it came out to 100 BPM, which is what we’re going to work with today. 

Step 2: Finding the Right Sounds with Splice 🎵

To capture the “Kid Again” vibe, I needed a guitar loop with a hip-hop acoustic feel. Studio One’s integrated Splice tab is a game-changer here. I dragged the song into the Sound Search area to find similar sounds and refined the search to Guitar under Pop and Hip-Hop genres.

After auditioning a few samples, I landed on one that felt perfect. It was originally 145 BPM, but Studio One’s Time Stretch feature helped me slow it down to fit our 100 BPM tempo. By switching to Elastic Pro - Formant Mode, I was able to stretch the sample without distorting the sound.

Step 3: Chopping and Reworking the Sample ✂️

I rarely leave samples untouched, and in this case, I wanted to chop up the guitar loop to give it more of my own flavor. Using the Productivity Toolbar, I used the Chop Sample macro to slice the sample into manageable sections.

From there, I assigned the chops to a Choke Group within Impact XT, ensuring no overlaps when playing the different slices. I then selected my favorite chops, coloring them to keep track of the best ones.

Step 4: Creating the Drum Groove 🥁

No beat is complete without the right drum groove, especially in a Jon Bellion-inspired track. I found a hi-hat loop on Splice that had the perfect pocket. To spice it up, I layered it with another hi-hat pattern using Studio One’s Note Editor and some alternating velocities via a macro from my Beat Maker's Toolbar.

For the kick and snare, I grabbed some boom-bap sounds from Splice once again and dragged them into Studio One’s Impact XT. The cool thing is you can just drop samples directly into the pads for quick access. Then, using Quantize, I made sure everything was tight but still had a bit of swing for that human feel.

To make my drums sound more cohesive, I sent all the elements to a Reverb Effects Bus. This helps mimic the natural environment of an acoustic drum set, where room and overhead mics would pick up a natural reverb. By sending the drums to a shared room reverb, the drums sound like they exist in the same space, making the beat feel more glued together.

Step 6: Bass Magic 🎸

Now it was time for some bass! I needed to figure out what key the track was in, and thanks to Studio One’s Detect Chords feature, I confirmed the song was in C minor. While this feature is handy, it’s not always 100% accurate—so use it as a starting point.

I’m not the best bass player, so I made use of Studio One’s Takes to Layers feature. It let me record multiple takes, looping over the same section until I was happy with the performance. This workflow made it super easy to go back and select the best takes to create a solid bassline.

To fatten up the bass, I threw on a Guitar Rig plugin for some grit and warmth. Then, I side-chained the bass to the kick using Trackspacer, making sure the kick punched through the mix while still keeping the bass thumping underneath. 💥

Step 7: Layering the Sample for Depth 🌊

Here’s a little production tip for you: Even if your sample sounds good, it can often benefit from extra layers to add depth and texture. I filtered out some frequencies in the chopped guitar sample to thin it out a bit, leaving room for other sounds in the mix. Don’t worry—it sounds weak on its own, but the goal is to make space for what’s coming next. 

Next up, I needed some chords to fill out the harmonic space. I used the new Scale Features in Studio One 7 to lock my performance to C minor and started playing a simple chord progression. This feature makes it nearly impossible to hit a wrong note, so it’s perfect if you’re not feeling super confident on the keys. 

Once I had the chords down, I quantized them to around 70% to keep them feeling natural but still tight. I also experimented with octave shifts and inversions to add variety.

Step 9: Sculpting the Sounds with Effects 🔧

With my melodic layers in place, I started adding effects to sculpt the sound. For the chord progression, I used some EQ to roll off the lows and highs, then added delay and reverb to create space. At this point, it was all about finding that balance where the melody complements the beat without overpowering it.

I also experimented with a plugin called Sky Keys—an impulse buy, but hey, it actually sounds amazing! Sometimes, taking a risk on a random plugin pays off big time!

Step 10: Final Touches and Polishing ✨

Now that the beat was mostly done, I added a few final touches. I chopped up a guitar riff and used it as a rhythmic accent throughout the track. With some EQ, delay, and the Archetype Cory Wong plugin, I got it to sit just right in the mix.

Finally, I added some harmonic saturation to the bass using Sausage Fattener (a classic!) and beefed up the drums with Voice of God from UAD. The end result? A beat with rich textures and depth that stays true to the Jon Bellion “Kid Again” vibe but with my own personal twist.

Conclusion: Studio One 7—Your New Best Friend

Creating a beat in Studio One 7 is smoother than ever thanks to its powerful new features like Tempo Detection, Splice Integration, and Scale Locking. Whether you’re chopping samples, adding melodic layers, or tightening up your drum groove, Studio One 7 makes the process fast and intuitive. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re seriously missing out.

Until next time, happy beat-making! 🎶🔥