Is an 808 a kick drum?

The difference between an 808 and a kick drum is that an 808 refers to just the low-end bass sounds that emanate from the kick, but not the attack of the kick drum. In other words, an 808 is the bass – the sound and frequency – whereas the kick refers to the actual kick drum or VST.

Does an 808 need a kick?

Sometimes the 808 is all you need for the right sound… sometimes it doesn’t have the right punch in the attack and you need to layer it with some other kind of kick. It depends on the song but both methods work well in the right situation.

What note is 808 kick?

For example, if you are working on a beat consisting of the chords G minor, F minor, and C minor, you know that you will need an 808 kick in the tones of G, F, and C. 2. Then you take the 808 kick drum sample that you want to use, copy it three times and tune one to G, one to F, and one to C.

How loud should 808s be?

Instead of dressing up an 808 with half-a-dozen signal processors, just try making it louder than the other instruments. Start with all your faders down. Bring up the 808 so it’s at a reasonable level in your DAW (probably somewhere around -18 dBFS).

Should kicks be louder than 808s?

Just make it loud in the context of the mix. Especially in hip hop, kick drums like the 808 tend to be the loudest instrument in a mix. Instead of dressing up an 808 with half-a-dozen signal processors, just try making it louder than the other instruments. Start with all your faders down.

Why are 808s so popular?

Over the course of the 1980s, the 808 attracted a cult following among underground musicians for its affordability on the used market, ease of use and idiosyncratic sounds, particularly its deep, booming bass drum.

What should the 808’s kick drum tune to?

In theory, according to the factory service manual, the 808’s kick drum should be tuned to 56Hz with the Decay and Tone controls set to 12 o’clock. That’s effectively an out-of-tune A note (A being 55Hz). To complicate matters, the pitch isn’t completely consistent, and the tuning is also affected slightly by changes to the Decay and Tone settings.

How is the TR-808’s kick drum sound made?

“The TR-808’s kick drum sound is made using a resonating trigger pulse, similar in behaviour to the way that a drum head vibrates when hit. When a drum head is hit multiple times in succession, even using the same force, the way the sound resonates will change depending on the state of vibration from the drum head.

How to make a kick/808 hybrid?

STEP 1 一 Use the first oscillator to create a kick. Synthesized just like the 808, just with a short decay, zero sustain, a different shape, and Envelope, and the pitch modulation varies in depth. STEP 2 一 Create the 808 with your second oscillator. STEP 3 一 Apply the kick/808 hybrid technique (above) to combine and shape the 2 together.

Why was the 808 drum machine discontinued?

When the 808 drum machine was first introduced in 1980, it actually failed commercially and was considered a toy that just made ‘robotic’ sounds. After building 10,000+ units, the 808 was discontinued because its semiconductors became absolutely impossible to restock.