What an 808 is
Originally the kick of the Roland TR-808 drum machine: a sine wave with a brief pitch peak and an adjustable decay. Lengthening the decay turns it into a pitched bass, the foundation of trap, drill, rage and a lot of pop.
Anatomy
- Body: sine (or triangle) wave on the note.
- Pitch envelope: starts 12–24 semitones above and falls in 20–60 ms: it gives the “click” and the attack.
- Decay: from 300 ms to several seconds, depending on the rhythm of the pattern.
- Saturation: adds harmonics (2nd, 3rd…) that make the 808 audible on phones and earbuds, where the fundamental does not reach.
Tuning
The 808 must be tuned to the key. In A minor the typical notes are:
- A1 = 55 Hz (tonic)
- F1 = 43.65 Hz (VI)
- G1 = 49 Hz (VII)
- C2 = 65.41 Hz (III)
- E1 = 41.2 Hz (V)
Below about 40 Hz the fundamental is barely heard even on a good system: consider transposing up an octave.
Glide and rhythm
- Glide (portamento 50–150 ms) in mono legato to slide between notes: a drill signature.
- The 808 pattern follows or contradicts the kick; often kick and 808 land together on the first hit.
Kick and 808 together
- Align the phase: the starts of the two waveforms must add up, not cancel.
- Options: keep only the kick's transient above the 808, or a light sidechain of the 808 from the kick.
- Everything mono below about 120 Hz.
Example in A minor
Loop Am – F – C – G: 808 on A1, F1, C2, G1, decay of one beat, glide on the last sixteenth note from G1 toward A1 to return to the start of the loop.
Real-world example
“808s & Heartbreak” by Kanye West (2008) moved the TR-808 from the role of drums to that of a melodic and emotional instrument, paving the way for the pitched 808 of modern trap.