808 Analog Bass Drum

Introducing the BD808, part of our new series of drum modules that brings analog percussion into the modular synth world, instantly turning your system into a self-contained music machine. Its small size, minimalist design and modern production methods have allowed us to bring the world’s most famous bass drum sound generator back at a very low cost. The real thing is here again.

The BD808 is the Roland TR-808’s Bass Drum circuit adapted for use in Eurorack format and tuned to sound like a machine that come fresh off the original 80’s assembly line. The adaption to modular format has allowed us to add some special features like independent Accent level, a high-powered gain stage, dual input pulse-shaper and extended decay; all without compromising the signature sound of the TR-808.

A widely used technique with TR-808 machines is to run the drum sounds through outboard amplifiers to add gain and then pass the sound through just about anything to generate additional harmonics caused by clipping a distortion. In the BD808, we have already included this high-powered output gain stage capable of producing signals up to 20Vpp, extending from the original palette of sounds and allowing you to get an assorted array of harmonized bass drums ranging from sharp attacks to crushed tones using this simple yet effective technique. On the inputs, we have also designed a dual pulse-shaper circuit so you can trigger your BD808 with trigger/gate signals from step sequencers, clock dividers or any other pulse/clock sources. This saves you the need to shape the pulses sent to the module and ensuring the same stable sound at its peak power, regardless of differences in your pulse source.

All these little, but unique, features make integrating this legendary sound generator into your modular easy, unleashing the power of real analog drums and making those speaker cone shake.