HELP WITH 808s!!!

deeda

New member
Hello everyone! :D
I've been trying to improve my music as of late, and for the past year, I've been wondering how to create an 808 like Geekey, $uicideBoy$, Massan, etc.

I've gotten extremely close using Ableton's saturator, overdrive, and compressor all together. Sadly, it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. If anybody can give me some tips, I would appreciate it so much. Nothing has to be DAW-specific because I know my way around most programs and can convert it to Ableton.

Here's some examples of what I'm going for:
(I had to use spaces in the links since I'm not permitted to post them yet)

soundcloud. com/geekeybeats/tell-me
soundcloud. com/g59/thecrescentmoonandtherisingsun
soundcloud. com/massanbeats/massan-marble-eyes

 
When using saturation of distortion on bass sounds, I sometimes make a copy of the audio, add a lot of distortion, then use EQ to remove or emphasize frequencies. From there, I mix the distorted copy with the original.
 
I'll definitely give that a try. Thank you for the reply! :)

That Geekey 808 is not so dense and sharp, it's more light and round. This means you need slow attack soft knee type compression. I would say a distressor in combination with an 1176 is a good start. You can then apply some light overdrive on it using a nice tube amp with a large cabinet to give it size. To lessen the density you need to even out its frequency response so that it is more even across the frequency spectrum, that you can do on the guitar amp's EQ knobs. Finally, to make it spread out in the stereo field you can stereo mic it with two pretty different sounding microphones. Then in the mix you can spread them out a little using the pan knobs. Then on top of that you need to put a hardware side chain to blend it with the bass guitar. The bass guitar you need to harmonize. Finally you just need to balance the two and ensure there is room for these to cut through the mix, that is also what is creating some of its light density because it does not have to fight as hard, hence you don't have to gain it as much which also makes it a bit softer in the mix. So this is a pretty classic hardware driven 808 sound that you want. In terms of perception much of it comes from the warmth of its bass tone which a hot tube amp can provide you. (quite high room temperature is needed and the room should not be too small because that will pressurize the frequency response so that it becomes too dense) The distressor and the 1176 mostly just ensure the transients stay pleasant. But it's the combination that you want. It might be that at first it becomes a bit too soft, that you can correct by tweaking the distressor to tighten it up a little.
 
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