The 808 kick
Whether used as a kick or bass, get perfect 808s every time with our essential guide…
Often used as either a kick, a bass, or a combined kick-and-bass in many genres, the TR-808 bass drum is undoubtedly the most recognisable electronic kick sound of all time. During an era where kick drums were designed to emulate the midrange punch of acoustic sounds, the 808 kick’s sheer subsonic power shook sound systems in previously unheard ways – and still does to this day.
But exactly how does the TR-808 synthesise its famous bass drum? “The 808 kick is effectively a resonating circuit,” explains Roland. “This circuit’s time constant determines its frequency and decay time. If accent is present, the oscillation frequency is doubled for the duration of half a waveform cycle of an ‘un-accented’ kick’s frequency – making accented kicks ‘punchier’.” While the TR-808 bass drum can’t be transposed directly on the hardware, producers discovered a new way to fill the low
