Confused about 808's.
I see/hear them get used in 2 ways/methods.
1. Treated as a bass instrument. = Has a 'defined/evolving' pattern and 'moves' up and down in pitch (e.g. glide/slide 808's in trap music) with the other instruments in the song.
2. Treated as a kick drum. = Has no 'defined/evolving' pattern and does 'not move' up or down in pitch. Therefore, is treated like any other percussion type instrument and has only 1/single pitch thru out the entire song (e.g. Dance/Techno music).
My confusion/questions...
A. How do I know which method to use...?
Is it obviously genre dependent and therefore depending on which type of music I am wanting to create, will obviously dictate which method I should use/try. Obviously...I should just use my ears and see which method sounds best for whatever song I am creating at the moment...correct...?
B. If I am already using an 808 as a kick drum...Do I still need a bass instrument...?
Some 808's have pretty big amplitude (loud) and drawn out where they fill up most of the low end in the song already. Therefore...it would seem like putting another bass instrument in the song, would ultimately just make the song too 'bassy' and could make the low end 'muddy'...correct...?
C. Are there any other methods to use 808's besides kick drum and bass...?
Most of my confusion comes from listening to songs where I am trying to follow the 808 in my head and trying to distinguish if the producer is using the 808 as a kick drum or as a bass instrument. There are times where I can't tell and it makes it really hard for me to try and break down the songs structure.
I see/hear them get used in 2 ways/methods.
1. Treated as a bass instrument. = Has a 'defined/evolving' pattern and 'moves' up and down in pitch (e.g. glide/slide 808's in trap music) with the other instruments in the song.
2. Treated as a kick drum. = Has no 'defined/evolving' pattern and does 'not move' up or down in pitch. Therefore, is treated like any other percussion type instrument and has only 1/single pitch thru out the entire song (e.g. Dance/Techno music).
My confusion/questions...
A. How do I know which method to use...?
Is it obviously genre dependent and therefore depending on which type of music I am wanting to create, will obviously dictate which method I should use/try. Obviously...I should just use my ears and see which method sounds best for whatever song I am creating at the moment...correct...?
B. If I am already using an 808 as a kick drum...Do I still need a bass instrument...?
Some 808's have pretty big amplitude (loud) and drawn out where they fill up most of the low end in the song already. Therefore...it would seem like putting another bass instrument in the song, would ultimately just make the song too 'bassy' and could make the low end 'muddy'...correct...?
C. Are there any other methods to use 808's besides kick drum and bass...?
Most of my confusion comes from listening to songs where I am trying to follow the 808 in my head and trying to distinguish if the producer is using the 808 as a kick drum or as a bass instrument. There are times where I can't tell and it makes it really hard for me to try and break down the songs structure.