Dubstep vs
drum and bass.
The short version: dubstep runs at about 140 BPM with the snare landing once per bar, so it feels heavy and slow; drum and bass runs at about 170 BPM on chopped breakbeats, so it feels fast and forward. Both were born in England and both put the bass up front. Almost everything else pulls them apart.
If you have ever been at a party and someone corrected you for calling a dnb track dubstep, this page is for you. If you were the one doing the correcting, it is for you too, because it will help you explain it without being a pain about it.
The ten-second test
Put on any track and count the snare, that dry hit that sounds like a clap.
- If the snare shows up once every four beats and there is room between hits for the bass to do whatever it wants, it is dubstep.
- If the snare hits twice a bar and a rolling run of cymbals and cut-up drums sits on top without a pause, it is drum and bass.
- If the bass is a long buzz that keeps changing shape, almost like a voice, it is probably dubstep. If it is a fat low note dragging along under frantic drums, bet on dnb.
There is a catch: halftime. It is drum and bass played at 170 with the snare cut in half, so it sounds close to dubstep even though it comes from the other family. If that throws you, fair enough. We break it down on the halftime page.
Side by side
| Dubstep | Drum and bass | |
|---|---|---|
| Tempo | About 140 BPM, felt at half speed | Between 165 and 175 BPM, felt at full speed |
| Drums | Snare on the third beat, lots of air | Chopped breakbeats, almost no air |
| Bass | Wobble, growl, sounds that change shape | Reese, long rolling sub |
| Origin | South London, early 2000s | Jungle out of London and Bristol, early 90s |
| On the floor | Headbanging, knees bent | Fast feet, loose shoulders |
Why they sound related
Because they are. Drum and bass grew out of jungle in the early nineties, when English producers sped up old funk breakbeats and put basslines borrowed from reggae underneath. A decade later, part of that same London scene, with the same pirate radio stations and the same obsession with big sound systems, slowed down and started leaving gaps. Dubstep came out of that.
Both owe Jamaican dub the idea that the bass is in charge and that you listen to a track with your chest. What split them is what they did with the drums. Dnb filled them in. Dubstep emptied them out.
Which one is yours
If what you love about going out is moving nonstop and sweating from the first minute, drum and bass will last you longer. If you like a drop that stops you cold and forces your head down, dubstep. Most bassheads we know end up listening to both, each at its own hour.
Our 31 December night at The Park at Ocean Ranch, near Jacó, was built around dubstep and experimental bass. We know almost a third of the list asks for dnb, and we get into that on the drum and bass in Costa Rica page. If you have never sat down with dubstep properly, start with what is dubstep.
Questions people ask us
Is dubstep slower than drum and bass?
On paper, yes: about 140 BPM against about 170. In feel, even more so, because dubstep halves the snare and feels like it is running at 70. That is why a dubstep set can sound massively heavy even though the tempo is not low.
Can you mix them in the same set?
You can, and some DJs do it all the time. The usual route is through halftime, which runs at dnb speed with a dubstep snare, or a hard switch on a drop. Beatmatching them bar for bar is tricky because the tempos do not line up.
Is jungle the same as drum and bass?
Jungle is the direct grandparent. It has more hand-chopped breaks, more reggae and ragga in its blood, and usually sounds rawer. Drum and bass tidied that energy up and pushed it toward cleaner sounds. We have a separate jungle page.
Where does brostep fit?
On the dubstep side. It is the loudest branch, the one that blew up in the United States around 2010, with more aggressive, metallic bass and drops built for giant stages. The tempo and the half-time feel are the same; the attitude is what changes.
31 December, near Jacó
Two stages, camping among the trees, and bass from 12 pm to 3 am. Tickets are on sale now. Choose your night and buy tickets for La Selva del Bajo at The Park at Ocean Ranch.
Buy tickets
What Is Dubstep? Origin, BPM and SoundDubstep is electronic music at about 140 BPM with half-time drums and sub-bass. Where it came from, how it differs from drum and bass, and what to listen for.
Drum and bass in Costa RicaThirty percent of our poll asks for drum and bass while the lineup is dubstep. How the two genres meet at the bass night near Jacó, Costa Rica.
Halftime in Costa RicaHalftime in Costa Rica: 170 on the clock, 85 in your body. The hinge between drum and bass and dubstep, and where it lands near Jacó.