When Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber joined forces on "Monster," they created a masterclass in modern pop-rock production that blends raw emotion with radio-ready polish. Our Monster Instrumental Cover template gives producers the blueprint to understand and recreate this powerful sound, offering a complete project file that dissects every element of this chart-topping collaboration.
Whether you're an aspiring pop producer looking to understand major-label production techniques or a seasoned beatmaker wanting to expand into the pop-rock space, this template provides invaluable insights into contemporary hit-making.
What Makes This Template Special
The Monster template stands out because it captures a specific moment in pop music evolution—where traditional rock instrumentation meets modern pop production values. Set at 145 BPM in D minor, this isn't your typical four-on-the-floor pop track. The tempo sits in that sweet spot between ballad and uptempo, creating urgency without sacrificing emotional weight.
This template is perfect for producers who want to:
- Understand how major pop productions balance live and programmed instruments
- Learn contemporary vocal production techniques used on Billboard charting tracks
- Study arrangement strategies that build emotional intensity throughout a song
- Reverse-engineer the layering techniques behind polished pop-rock mixes
At $20, you're essentially getting a masterclass in modern pop production. The template works with any DAW, making it accessible whether you're producing in Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro, or any other platform. This cross-compatibility ensures that the production techniques you learn can be immediately applied to your existing workflow.
Understanding Modern Pop-Rock Production
Pop-rock as a genre has undergone massive transformation over the past decade. Gone are the days when pop-rock meant simply adding guitars to pop songs. Today's pop-rock productions blend electronic and organic elements seamlessly, creating soundscapes that feel both intimate and massive.
The current pop-rock scene, dominated by artists like Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber, and The Kid LAROI, emphasizes emotional authenticity wrapped in pristine production. These tracks typically feature:
- Carefully layered acoustic and electric guitars that create depth without muddiness
- Powerful, compressed drums that hit hard while leaving room for vocals
- Synth pads and atmospheric elements that fill space without overwhelming organic instruments
- Vocal production that balances natural performance with modern polish
What makes "Monster" particularly interesting from a production standpoint is how it maintains rock energy while incorporating pop sensibilities. The arrangement builds strategically, using dynamics and instrumentation to create movement and maintain listener engagement throughout the entire track.
Inside the Template: What You'll Find
When you open this template, you'll discover a professionally organized project that mirrors the structure of the original production. While the exact channel count varies based on your DAW, you can expect to find:
Drum channels featuring layered kick, snare, hi-hats, and percussion elements. Notice how the drums are processed to punch through the mix while maintaining organic feel. The compression and saturation techniques applied here are essential learning for any pop producer.
Bass elements that provide foundation without overshadowing the guitars. Modern pop-rock bass sits in a specific frequency range, allowing guitars to shine while maintaining low-end power. Study how the bass interacts with the kick drum—this relationship is crucial for clean, powerful mixes.
Guitar layers including acoustic rhythm, electric lead, and textural elements. Pay attention to how different guitar parts occupy distinct frequency ranges and stereo positions. This strategic placement is what allows multiple guitar parts to coexist without creating frequency clashes.
Synth and pad elements that add atmosphere and modernity to the rock foundation. These subtle electronic elements are what separate contemporary pop-rock from traditional rock production. Notice how they're used sparingly but effectively to enhance emotional moments.
Vocal processing chains (on instrumental stems) showing how modern pop vocals are treated. Even without the lead vocal present, you can study the effects chains, bus processing, and automation that would typically be applied to achieve that radio-ready vocal sound.
Production Tips for Pop-Rock Templates
Working with this template offers opportunities to develop crucial production skills. Here are key techniques to focus on:
Arrangement and Dynamics
Pop-rock lives and dies by arrangement. Study how the template builds from verse to chorus, noting which elements are introduced and when. Modern pop-rock productions often use strategic subtraction in verses to make choruses feel bigger. Pay attention to automation—volume, filter, and effects automation create movement that keeps listeners engaged.
Frequency Management
With guitars, synths, bass, and drums all competing for space, frequency management becomes critical. Use your DAW's spectrum analyzer to see how different elements occupy different frequency ranges. Notice how high-pass filters on non-bass instruments create clarity, and how mid-range guitars are carved to make room for vocals.
Parallel Processing
Modern pop-rock productions heavily utilize parallel compression and saturation. Set up parallel channels for drums and bass, experimenting with heavy compression on the parallel channel while keeping the original dynamic. This technique adds power without sacrificing dynamics—essential for emotional pop-rock productions.
Reverb and Space
The Monster template likely demonstrates sophisticated use of reverb and delay. Rather than slapping reverb on individual tracks, study how buses are used to create cohesive spaces. Short rooms for drums, longer halls for guitars, and carefully automated reverb sends on vocals create depth without washing out the mix.
Adapting the Template to Your DAW
Since this template works with any DAW, you'll need to ensure proper translation. Most elements should import smoothly, but pay attention to:
- Plugin compatibility—substitute any unavailable plugins with similar processors from your arsenal
- Routing and bus structure—recreate any complex routing that doesn't translate automatically
- Automation data—verify that volume, pan, and effects automation transferred correctly
- Tempo and time signature markers—ensure arrangement sections align properly
The beauty of working with a professional template is discovering workflow optimizations. Notice how tracks are organized, colored, and grouped. These organizational strategies, often overlooked, significantly impact production efficiency.
Learning Beyond the Template
The real value of this Monster template extends beyond this single track. The production techniques you'll discover are applicable to countless other productions. The guitar layering strategies work for any pop-rock track. The drum processing translates to pop, indie, and alternative productions. The arrangement principles apply across genres.
Consider using this template as a starting point for your own productions. Change the key, adjust the tempo, swap out melodic elements while maintaining the structure and processing chains. This approach—starting from a professional template and morphing it into something original—is how many successful producers develop their skills.
For producers looking to expand their template collection, explore our pop templates category for more chart-ready production blueprints. You'll find templates covering various pop subgenres, each offering unique production insights.
Ready to Elevate Your Pop-Rock Productions?
The Shawn Mendes & Justin Bieber Monster Instrumental Cover template provides an unprecedented look inside a modern pop-rock production. At 145 BPM in D minor, this professionally crafted template gives you the foundation to understand how today's biggest pop hits are constructed.
For $20, you're not just buying a template—you're investing in your production education. Every channel, every effect choice, every arrangement decision has been carefully crafted to recreate the sound of a major-label release. Whether you're producing pop, rock, or anything in between, the techniques you'll learn from this template will level up your entire production game.
Browse our complete collection of production templates and find the perfect starting point for your next hit. From pop-rock to electronic to hip-hop, we've got the professional blueprints you need to make your productions stand out.
