Should kicks and 808s be in different octaves?

StanleySteamer

New member
Hey guys, as the title says. As far as composing and after you have found the key of your drums and sample and tuned the drums to the appropriate keys, I was wondering if my bass is supposed to be in a lower or higher octave than my kick? I want my kick and bass to follow and hit key for key as the progression of the sample changes. If the progression is like F#-C# and I want them to both correlate and follow, do they have to be in the same octave hitting key for key or can my kick be in octave 2 and my bass be in octave 3?
 
your kick will most likely not be tuned to an exact pitch and should be left alone

your 808 kick/sub should be pitched to match your bass and should probably be in the bottom two octaves i.e. C[sub]0[/sub]-C[sub]2[/sub]

Note on Octave numbers
Middle C = MIDI note number 60 = C[sub]3[/sub] in most daws = C[sub]5[/sub] in FL and BiaB
 
Ok so if I am using like the abbey roads drum kit or something I shouldn't tune my kicks at all?

But if I am using 808 kick/sub both should be pitched and matched to the same key right? I'm using the sub as my bass with an 808 kick on top of it. Basically normal hip hop style for people using 808s to make hip hop. Also I am having trouble using spectrum analyzers. It keeps reading different frequencies in between maschine and when I drag it into pro tools and I don't know what key its on exactly. And then sometimes its like the same drums will completely change on the frequency chart. It keeps saying my kick/808 bass are in the G# key. I tune it to G# and it doesn't really sound right tbh. But when I tune it back to normal, now it says the original key of my kick and is like F# and sometimes wobbles up to G. Its very confusing any advice on reading spectrum and pitch analyzers better? thanks again!
 
808's pitched to the same note but maybe an octave part - hard to be more accurate without concrete examples

as for your pitch/spectrum analysers skip them and use a good old fashioned guitar tuner or your ears (probably the latter as they will be more accurate eventually)
 
Appreciate the response band coach as always! Ok so I just should basically tune my 808 bass drum and leave my 808 kick drum at whatever the drum kit comes with?

Edit: My 808 Bass Drum is following the progression of my sample so I am wondering also if it needs to follow the same progression as my bass drum or can it stay on the standard c3 which is also going to be left at whatever it was tuned at when it came with the drum kit?
 
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Bass drum and kick drum are the exact same thing, terminology wise...although I do understand what you mean (ie. using the 808 kick as a bassline). No rules here though - you can tune all your drums if you want to or if it needs to be done in regards to how the track sounds.
 
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