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Hey guys, I am looking to create some super clean and solid 808's.

Sort of like this song: https://soundcloud.com/djsliinkbbc/3-test-me-z-remix
And also this one: https://soundcloud.com/simplify/kairo-k ... down-jesse

I tried some Massive tutorials, but they always come out sounding pretty "muddy" if you will.

I recently started using GoldBaby's 808 samples, in Ableton's stock sampler. Then I EQ them, and throw a compressor on them. Additionally I usually find a shorter, punchier kick and sidechain that to the 808 samples. Is this the right way to go about this? I am never sure if I am doing it right or not, and everyone elses always sounds a lot more powerful and cleaner in their mix.

soundforge, synthesize a hi-res pure sine at 40-45 hz that's around 10 seconds long.

bring it into the sampler of your choice, add the envelope you want.

toss a mid on there, maybe something for higher frequencies too.

or be like me and get a bunch of stomp sounds (record yourself slapping big pieces of cardboard) load them into a sampler and smash the keyboard around the root note - make sure things are quantized, and then go in to the piano roll/tracker/notation (you ARE using Finale to make dubstep, right? it's the new FM8!) and nudge the midi events from the 'thwomp' samples forward and backward slightly to create a sense of movement. add convolution reverb (gets you that Queen - We will Rock You, stomp sound)

record that sample, hipass, layer over a kick, transient shape and a *tiny* amount of distortion to the sine, and boom, better than an 808.

I think it's more fun to make 'em than fuck with samples that are too short/long/distorted/whatever.

misk wrote:soundforge, synthesize a hi-res pure sine at 40-45 hz that's around 10 seconds long.

bring it into the sampler of your choice, add the envelope you want.

toss a mid on there, maybe something for higher frequencies too.

or be like me and get a bunch of stomp sounds (record yourself slapping big pieces of cardboard) load them into a sampler and smash the keyboard around the root note - make sure things are quantized, and then go in to the piano roll/tracker/notation (you ARE using Finale to make dubstep, right? it's the new FM8!) and nudge the midi events from the 'thwomp' samples forward and backward slightly to create a sense of movement. add convolution reverb (gets you that Queen - We will Rock You, stomp sound)

record that sample, hipass, layer over a kick, transient shape and a *tiny* amount of distortion to the sine, and boom, better than an 808.

I think it's more fun to make 'em than fuck with samples that are too short/long/distorted/whatever.

Thank you so much for the long reply! I don't have sound forge. Could I use operator or something along those lines? Or is sound forge relitively easy to get ahold of?

you can make the pure sine in anything. I like soundforge because, from what little I understand, It's a really clean sine. you could do it in operator, or whatever you want really.

Also, I've made decent ones in massive as well (which I then layer those 'thwomp' sounds i was talking about making) - utilizing one of the envelopes to modulate the pitch of the oscillator (which should be a sine, obviously ), with no attack and a super short decay will make a pitch drop that adds punch and attack to the kick as well. thats kind of an old trick, and if you've got something like Battery, you can do this really easily. The pitch envelope helps, and I recommend it as well.

if you do use operator, just make sure you set the carrier to fixed, and set it at 40 hz, which, by the way, is apparently the resonant frequency of the human pelvic bone.

coincidence? i think not!

I also ultra-compress the "sub" of the decaying sine wave so that it's pretty much either fully loud, or off - which allows for a nice long bass. I'll throw all of these kicks in a Sampler in Live, and then a drum rack - and assign macros to the sample selector, Kick decay (release too), and pitch. This allows for a really flexible "kick maker" rack - shit's really versatile!

I could send you some 808 kicks i've made - like all sample design, a good one takes time, and I've got about 10 i'm really happy with, but I'd be happy to send you a few examples. All the kicks in any of my 'Trap" tunes on my soundcloud (check sig) are kicks I've made from scratch - check those out to see kinda what I'm talking about.

okay I need to get off this forum and get back to a few tunes. I'm stoked to see a sound-design subforum here tho! Sound design is my real passion, so I'll try and check back here regularly and share what little knowledge i've learned from my experiences.

PM me if you want a few example kicks where I use this process. shit I could upload the pure sine for you if you want

good luck, and don't give up!

For an 808, to bring out the really deep part of the sub, where would be the best place to boost the sample. Right now I have it boosted about 10dB at 50hz and low cut at 100hz.

Or should I be boosting / cutting at different frequencies?

itsHAZED wrote:For an 808, to bring out the really deep part of the sub, where would be the best place to boost the sample. Right now I have it boosted about 10dB at 50hz and low cut at 100hz.

Or should I be boosting / cutting at different frequencies?

Don't gain your frequencies. It will ruin the smoothness of the sine.
Instead of bringing up the gain of said frequency, lower the gain of the surrounding frequencies then compress your sine wave back to a stock volume. It'll make it smoother and thicker.

WolfCryOfficial wrote:

itsHAZED wrote:For an 808, to bring out the really deep part of the sub, where would be the best place to boost the sample. Right now I have it boosted about 10dB at 50hz and low cut at 100hz.

Or should I be boosting / cutting at different frequencies?

Don't gain your frequencies. It will ruin the smoothness of the sine.
Instead of bringing up the gain of said frequency, lower the gain of the surrounding frequencies then compress your sine wave back to a stock volume. It'll make it smoother and thicker.

Nah, boosting by a db or 2 should be fine, You might not want to compress your sub.

azuk wrote:

WolfCryOfficial wrote:

itsHAZED wrote:For an 808, to bring out the really deep part of the sub, where would be the best place to boost the sample. Right now I have it boosted about 10dB at 50hz and low cut at 100hz.

Or should I be boosting / cutting at different frequencies?

Don't gain your frequencies. It will ruin the smoothness of the sine.
Instead of bringing up the gain of said frequency, lower the gain of the surrounding frequencies then compress your sine wave back to a stock volume. It'll make it smoother and thicker.

Nah, boosting by a db or 2 should be fine, You might not want to compress your sub.

This guy fucking following me everywhere just to shoot me down.
Your sub will be fine compressed. Don't smash the shit out of it, just tighten it up.
Boosting EQ's is not a good mess to get into unless you have another mess to help you get out of it.

Trust me, Caudle. I taught you all you know...
Reduce the frequencies around your desired point. Put a little compression on it. You'll be a happy boy.