When you hear 808s in modern music, you're usually not hearing the 808.
Roland's TR-808 drum machine is a vintage gem from the analog era. The company makes modern equivalents like the TR-08 and TR-8S, while digital versions of the original's sounds can be found throughout Roland's current lineup of grooveboxes, synths, and workstations.
However, the 808 kicks that rattle trunks or get transformed into massive hip-hop basslines are, by and large, from sample packs. Producers drag, drop, and stack 808-style .wav files into DAWs to create beats: using one attack-heavy knock on top of a more sustained kick, or side-chaining an 808 bassline to a melodic bassline, or any other number of pro moves.
But you can make great beats by loading these same 808 samples into a hardware sampler. And to producers used to working in-the-box, a hardware sampler can give you a fresh perspective on your process.
In our video above, Fess Grandiose shows us how he likes to use 808 samples in his Elektron Analog Rytm MKII. He's using Samples From Mars' 808s From Mars pack—an incredibly rich collection of 808 sounds recorded from an actual TR-808 and processed with a ton of high-quality recording equipment.
For the next few weeks, anyone the lists any music gear for sale on Reverb can get a free download of 808s From Mars, and have a chance to win other great prizes, including a Roland TR-08. Visit Reverb's List & Win giveaway page for full details.