Welcome to Production Hacks, a series to inspire producers to break free from old habits and embrace inspiration. Electronic music production is a vast world full of grooves, gadgets, and gear. Still, whether a beginning or an advanced producer, it’s easy to get stuck in familiar patterns. With so many tools at our disposal, sometimes the act of making music can become overwhelming. One of the goals of Production Hacks is to offer tips and tricks. In addition, the series will help you shift your process, expand your toolkit, and streamline your workflow. The result? Become the producer you’ve always wanted to be.
GUIDE
What are 808s?
These days, the term 808 has become a staple in the modern music production lexicon. The TR-808 Rhythm Composer became one of the most dominant sounds in popular music following its early-’80s release. Its popularity was mainly due to two factors: accessibility and sound. Early electronic instruments sought to replicate acoustic sounds in an electronic format.
It’s no understatement to say that the TR-808 is one of popular music’s most influential and widely-imitated instruments. Almost all modern music production software has digital versions of the TR-808 sounds and sequencers. Here are three examples of how to best utilize the 808 to create basslines that will make your tracks stand out.
808 Bassline Types
808 Doubling or Replacing Kick Pattern
Long Decay
The 808 bass drum’s long decay sound is what helps to give it a tonal quality. In many ways, the 808 combines the timbre of a bass drum with timpani. Western classical music uses timpani to create powerful basslines evoking majesty and excitement. The 808 serves this function in modern music, making it a fit for rhythmically-complex styles like hip-hop and various dance genres. A widespread use of a timpani is to create rhythmic drones by playing a note or two repeatedly. These notes mirror or accent other rhythmic structures in the music. In hip-hop, we do this by taking an 808 sound and tuning it to a low note. Then program a pattern that matches the kick drum pattern of your beat.
Dropping In and Out
A famous example of this technique is in the third section of Travis Scott’s magnum opus “Sicko Mode.” The Tay Keith-produced track features a sparse trap beat around the three-minute mark. The track oscillates between the drum pattern by itself and then accented with an 808. At certain moments the 808 will drop out, the 808 and kick play the same pattern, or the 808 will replace the kick pattern but play the same rhythm.
Pattern One
This approach is one of the most effective ways to use the 808 sub-bass. The 808 retains its original function as a bass drum, but its tonal quality adds dimension to the track by creating a contrast in intensity. The interplay between kick and 808 gives the feeling of a drumline on your track. Instead of one drummer playing on a kit, programmed drums and 808 patterns make percussive elements feel like an ensemble. Below is an example of a simple drum pattern in Zenbeats.
Notice the difference in intensity between the drum pattern with and without the 808. By arranging your track with the 808 coming in and out, you create a drone bassline. Here’s an example of a track using this drum pattern and switching between 808 and no 808.
808 Doubling or Replacing Kick Pattern
Tuning 808s
Like the timpani, you can tune the 808 bass drum to different pitches. Creating tonal variation in your 808 patterns brings a sound closer to a traditional bass line while retaining the power of a drum. In many cases, producers will not use a kick drum sample. Instead, they program drum patterns with a tuned 808 as the kick drum. The 808 can change its tone based on the harmony of the track. You can also create a modal ostinato where the 808 plays a range of intervals like octaves, perfect 5ths, and perfect 4ths.
Strong Intervals
Some sub-frequencies are almost inaudible to human ears. As a result, using strong intervals to program 808 patterns helps make the tonal shifts more distinguishable to the ear. If you program a highly chromatic pattern between a series of low notes, you may only hear the tonal shifts if you reduce the decay. Making this change will take away some of the power of sound. Examples of popular sounds that use 808s in place of a kick drum are “Silent Hill” by Kendrick Lamar and “Neck & Wrist” by Pusha T.
Pattern Two
In the example below, the drum pattern has no kick programmed. Instead, there is an 808 elongated bass drum sound for the kick. To achieve this, you go into the parameters and change the pitch of individual notes in the 808 patterns to create a bassline.
This example features the bank, Chilled Trap 10. You can automate the parameters of drum instruments in Zenbeats by clicking on that instrument on the side menu. Then open the automation menu, which looks like a series of columns. You can adjust pitch, velocity, subdivisions, and many other parameters.
Listen to the 808 isolated, with the drum pattern, and finally, in a full track context. Notice how the 808 bass helps shape the song’s tonal quality once other instruments enter.
808 Sub-Bass
Unique Timbre
A modern technique for creating 808 bass lines is to use the 808 as a sub-bass oscillator. You can then write patterns that sound more like bass lines played on a synth and less like kick patterns. The unique timbre of the 808 bass drum comes from combining a sine wave oscillator, low pass filter, and VCA. This bass drum can sound more like a futuristic synth than a drum when manipulated.
Because of this, some producers use a tuned 808 as a bass instrument and then program drum patterns around it. A great example of this is “Essence” by Wizkid. This song features a mix of drums, synth bass, and 808 bass, all holding down a slick Afrobeat groove. Every time the 808 bass line comes in, it reinforces the drums while amplifying the original bass ostinato.
Pattern Three
Here’s an example of a drum pattern with a tuned 808. There are various ways to write basslines using 808 samples. However, when using the ZR1 Drum Instrument, write your bass line as an 808 drum pattern. Then change the pitch in the automation window.
Now that you have the bassline, you can add harmony. By randomly tuning the 808s, you create a line that sounds melodic. Here, the harmony complements the melody of the bass. 808 bass has a unique detuned quality that allows it to float between pitches. This style can be a liberating way to approach creating bass lines. Rather than thinking of the bass as playing the chord roots, create melodies with the profound impact of an 808. Then find the harmony that works well with the melodic line.
Harmony
In this example, there is a simple progression of Ab minor to a Gb minor chord using the JUNO-106 VST. (There are also a few notes that reference an F7#9 chord). Are the bass notes the exact roots of these chords? Perhaps. But more importantly, the harmony helps to center the bass line and the vibe of the bass. The 808’s unique timbre can inform and inspire the rest of the track. This loop features an audio track of an original sample.
DOWNLOAD
Production Hacks: 808 Basslines Zenbeats Session
This Zenbeats session is based on the exercises in this article and can help inspire your production process.
