808s = Heartbreak

T

Thirst

New member
Hey FP,

i too have fallin in love with 808 drums...especially the subby kicks like the ones drumma boy and many southern producers use...over the course of my beatmaking journey, i have collected tons of 808 drums samples but none of them produce that quality sound...of course drumma boy and shawty redd's 808 kicks will sound better because they have better equipment than i do but i have tried layering, tweaking, etc but still i cant seem to craft that perfect 808 kick! would it be wise to find a bass synth that is similar and play it as the kick pattern? or should i sample one from a song i like? suggestions...
 
Im not very expereinced myself, but from what I have learned, the bass really is about the eqing. First tho you have to have some niice samples, and I mean real nice, like the nicest ones you have, layer them all together and make one drum out of it. Ive seen soo many posts saying this same thing more or less, but really its true, once you get to stacking like 7 or 8 kick drums together and tweaking them right, that **** is ruthless, with the right compression, and eqing and everything.

Sometimes another thing that works niice is this, have a real hard punchy kick (Layered to **** like I mentioned above) then have a hard sub bass playing short notes in the same pattern, (Im talking like a synth sub bass now, not a sample), **** sounds right if you practice it a bit.
 
Native Instruments has a Soundpack for their Kore player (I believe the soundpack is called "Retro Machines") that has an excellent VST reproduction of the 808 drum machine. I don't use it too much (I try to stay away from too many "trendy" sounds), but the 808 kicks they have are ridiculous. Once you have the kick you need, try doing some compression on it and try different EQ'ing techniques to get that punch you are looking for. If you aren't getting the sound you want, make sure your bassline (assuming you have a bassline) is not competing with the 808. I just used one of the kicks last night in a track I was putting together and my god, the decay of one of the kicks sounded so sick in my headphones I swear I could have just burned a loop of that kick to a CD and I would have been happy, LOL!

Anyway, check out Native-Instruments website, download their Kore player (it's FREE!) and pick up the Retro Machines soundpack ($59). Native Instruments is pretty much a standard in most studios, so the quality is top notch. (By the way, I DON'T work for Native Instruments, just a happy customer, LOL! I've already spent close to $1000 on their products...)
 
But 8 808 kicks in the slots on reason's redrum. Put them all on the same block. Shift pitch, tone, panning, then even add subtle reverb, dealy, etc...render it to disk, wallah. New 808 drum!
 
My Opinion

yep.. stsproduction is right. It's mostly about eQing... also a little compression.
But here's the thing though... even if you get that perfect bass or 808, that won't do much to get the effect you want. It will certainly get lost in the mix somewhere... and you'll end up with something totally different from what you started with.

I stopped trying to compete with Pultec eQ, Fairchild Compressors, high-end AD/DA converter, analog summing of a Neve, API or SSL board, and real mastering (not T-Racks, waves L3, or vintage warmer).
 
its not because they have better equipment you can make the same thing in fl studio with concentration..eqing and compression ill be selling drum kits with some custom 808's soon tho
 
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