Writing 808 lines: notes, glide and rhythm

Definition

An 808 line is a bass part played with a long, tuned kick sample or synthesis (derived from the Roland TR-808, 1980), used as a melodic bass in trap, drill, modern hip hop, reggaeton and pop. This card covers writing (notes, rhythm, glide, relationship with the kick); sound construction is in the card “Designing 808s and basses.”

Principle

The 808 is at once kick (transient), bass (fundamental between 30 and 80 Hz) and melody (note changes and glides). This is why an 808 line should be written with few, long notes, and with great attention to where they fall relative to the kick and the snare.

Choosing notes

Dominant tonic: 60–80% of the notes on a single pitch (the tonic of the loop). On a loop in A minor, A1 (55 Hz) is the typical choice.
Following the chord roots: over Am–F–C–G the 808 plays A1, F1, C2 (or C1 if the sample holds up), G1.
Upper octave as an accent: A2 for a short note gives movement without changing harmony.
Fifth and b7: E1/E2 and G1 as passing tones; very common in drill.
Register: keep the main notes between about 30 Hz (B0) and 70 Hz (C#2). Below 30 Hz the fundamental becomes inaudible on small systems; above 90–100 Hz the 808 stops sounding like a sub and clashes with low male voices.

Rhythm (sixteenth-note grid, one bar)

Classic trap (130–150 BPM felt at half): 808 on beat 1, then on 2-a or 3-e, leaving the snare spot empty (beat 3 in half-time). Example: x.........x..x...
UK/NY drill (140–145): very mobile 808s, frequent glides, syncopated rhythm that “slides” between the kick hits: x..x..x...x.x....
Reggaeton: 808 or sub bass following the dembow, often on beat 1 and on 3-e.
Pop/R&B: longer notes, often one per chord.

Glide (portamento) and slide

Glide is the sliding of pitch between two overlapping notes. In FL Studio you get it with the slide notes of the piano roll or by enabling portamento (the Porta button in the channel settings, or the glide of the synth used). Rules:

short glides (30–80 ms) for accents, long ones (150–300 ms) for expressive gestures;
upward glide of an octave before a section change;
downward glide of a fourth or fifth at the end of a phrase;
don't use glide on every note: it loses its force.

Relationship with the kick

If there is a separate kick, the 808 usually plays together with the kick on beat 1 (the impact is the kick, the tail is the 808) and then alone at the other points.
Kick and 808 should be tuned together: an 808 in A and a kick with a fundamental around 50–60 Hz coexist better if the kick is tuned near A (55 Hz) or to the fifth.
If they overlap, sidechain the 808 from the kick with 3–6 dB of reduction and a 50–100 ms release, or shorten the kick's tail.

Note length

808 tails can last 1–2 seconds. Notes that are too long make the following notes “muddy” (two overlapping fundamentals beat against each other). Solutions: set the channel to mono (monophonic) with “cut itself,” shorten the notes in the piano roll, a 50–200 ms release envelope.

Interaction with the voice

During rap verses the 808 leaves space at the points where the rapper accents; in the chorus it can be more continuous. Many producers empty out 1–2 bars of 808 before the hook so it comes back in with more impact.

Use in real songs

Kanye West — 808s & Heartbreak (2008): long, melodic 808s as a harmonic part.
Pop Smoke — Dior (2019, produced by 808Melo): a typical example of NY drill with sliding 808s.
Travis Scott — SICKO MODE (2018): multiple sections, each with a different 808 logic.

Common mistakes

808 in a different key from the song (untuned sample: check with an analyzer or a tuner).
Too many different notes: the 808 becomes a synth bass and loses weight.
Notes above C2 in the chorus with many voices: mud between 100 and 250 Hz.

Practical exercise

4-bar loop in A minor (Am–F–C–G) at 140 BPM, half-time. Write an 808 that uses only A1, F1, C2, G1 and A2, with at most 3 notes per bar and 2 glides in the whole loop. Then write a drill variant of the same line with glides and shorter notes.

Designing 808s and basses, Bass lines in pop, rock, funk and disco, Writing drum parts, Meter, subdivision, half-time and double-time.