Classic Drum Machines (808s/707s etc)

[RKM]

still hear these samples in a lot of music these days, is it strange that this hasn't become a cliche to just wack in an 808 when that drum machine came out decades ago and electronic music is quite technology focused

some of those samples like the cowbell and kick are wicked but some sound crap to me, people used them back in the day cos they were cheap and now it feels like using them artificially links your own music to more credible stuff like early hip hop and house music

it seems important to use them in juke and trap, why not just use any other drum samples and you'd get your own sound

so yeah thoughts? any kinda classic drum machine sounds btw not just roland models

[rorz9992]

They'll always be room for these classic drum machine sounds in electronic music, but I agree there is such thing as overkill.

[_ronzlo_]

It is kind of weird that those boxes have become the go-to sound for so many long after the heyday of hardware has passed. There's also the effect of cultural familiarity - those old hip hop and rave tunes showcased those sounds and most people are recreating sounds they like from others to a degree. However, with juke what was interesting was the fact that new stylistic approaches evolved (the tempo, use of lots of toms, the off-downbeat accents.)

From a practical perspective though, those sounds are also already kind of optimized/stylized for use in recording - and you'll even find a lot of presets for eqs, compressors, whatever that are premade for an 808 kick or 909 hat.

I'm ok with using some of those kits as a departure point, but this is why drum synthesis is useful - You can mix up the sounds more. And layering, of course. And samples.kb6.de...

[swerver]

Yeah same for the 909 and house music, at least with the 808 kick in trap people generally try and create their own version or whatever, but the 909 hats in house is almost like an unwritten rule that you have to use that hat. My dislike of house is probably partly due to over exposure to the 909 hat.

[LGBT]

people used them back in the day cos they were cheap

I don't think they were cheap - well not 808s and 909s - i couldn't afford them

[RKM]

ah isit

i meant like way back when hip hop started using them like mid late 80s, i heard it was an unpopular machine so was cheap and that's why it got used then

[LGBT]

Big up RKM, I'm going way back but remember fiending for a 909 in a shop when I was a kid, seemed like silly money for a drum machine...

Sort of on topic I worked with a crusty in the 90's who hated "those fuckin Roland sounds" - he used a Korg machine with lots of distortion and effects - he would flip out if he heard a song on the radio with a 909 kick or hi hat,

[soronery]

ah isit

i meant like way back when hip hop started using them like mid late 80s, i heard it was an unpopular machine so was cheap and that's why it got used then

The 808 was cheap ($1,195) compared to the Linn LM-1 ($5,000) meaning that getting one wasn't limited to high end producers and artists. Accessibility was what led to it's widespread use.

BSort of on topic I worked with a crusty in the 90's who hated "those fuckin Roland sounds" - he used a Korg machine with lots of distortion and effects - he would flip out if he heard a song on the radio with a 909 kick or hi hat,

It's all about how you use it, too many generic house/techno guys at the time just used it as is and cranked out boring pots & pans imitations of the successful tracks.

The 808 and 909 did their best work when you didn't even realise they were there, for example;

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[jrkhnds]

I'll become a future disco producer in my next life and rock the shit out of the LM-1. So punchy!

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[swerver]

fwiw the TB303 was a total failure when it came out in the 80s, the shops on Charing Cross road couldn't sell them at retail when they first came out (150 quid) so they were selling them at a loss for 50 quid just to get rid of them....few years later, post acid house, they were selling for a grand lol