How do I get my 808 to be harmonious?

[knowsis]

I want my 808 to be in tune with the rest of the sounds playing. So say I have my root note in C. How do I get my 808's so that it plays in "C"?

[narcoman]

tune the kick??

[Dayl]

... and the cow bell.. for when you need moar

[knowsis]

Originally Posted by narcoman

tune the kick??

how do you do that?

[knowsis]

Originally Posted by Dayl

... and the cow bell.. for when you need moar

bro teach me to be like you...

referencing 10+year old jokes... I bet you get allll da ladiez

[Dayl]

Originally Posted by knowsis

bro teach me to be like you...

referencing 10+year old jokes... I bet you get allll da ladiez

I used to..... but then I took an arrow to the knee

[VCrane]

Originally Posted by knowsis

how do you do that?

Just like you "tune" any instrument. You have a sampler and there the kik. Either use overall pitch parameter or play different notes.

[knowsis]

Cool. Who actually has some knowledge they can share?

[knowsis]

Originally Posted by VCrane

Just like you "tune" any instrument. You have a sampler and there the kik. Either use overall pitch parameter or play different notes.

So could I take my sample and play it across the keys? I've tried that and it sounds shitty. Does it matter what sampled 808 I use?

Or is there a VST that would be better for this sorta thing?

[Dayl]

Originally Posted by knowsis

Cool. Who actually has some knowledge they can share?

Sorry, I'm sleep deprived.

Lets start here...

Check amplitube free first... it has effects that ill come in handy... byt most important.. has a tuner. AmpliTube 3 FREE - Custom Shop - Your New Tone Shop Plug-in

Secondly.. maybe first..., this is a vst plugin from memory. just insert and tweak / pitch your 808 until it's in at the desired tune. GVST - GTune

finally...... use your ears when you are doing this. I'm not trying to sound patronizing but with practice, you should be able to tell when your 808 is in harmony with the track... nite I said harmony... that doesn't always mean that it has to be in tune.

Cheers

[knowsis]

Originally Posted by Dayl

Sorry, I'm sleep deprived.

Lets start here...

Check amplitube free first... it has effects that ill come in handy... byt most important.. has a tuner. AmpliTube 3 FREE - Custom Shop - Your New Tone Shop Plug-in

Secondly.. maybe first..., this is a vst plugin from memory. just insert and tweak / pitch your 808 until it's in at the desired tune. GVST - GTune

finally...... use your ears when you are doing this. I'm not trying to sound patronizing but with practice, you should be able to tell when your 808 is in harmony with the track... nite I said harmony... that doesn't always mean that it has to be in tune.

Cheers

I will try this out. 'ppreciate it.

[Dayl]

Originally Posted by knowsis

I will try this out. 'ppreciate it.

safe

Just as a pointer.... stop looking at the screen... just listen to the music & feel the pitch out. I have found that 808's are pretty food at telling you when they are in the pocket

good luck

[knowsis]

Originally Posted by Dayl

safe

Just as a pointer.... stop looking at the screen... just listen to the music & feel the pitch out. I have found that 808's are pretty food at telling you when they are in the pocket

good luck

Ur right. I just want my stuff to sound immaculate.

[bigblessin]

Most 808 samples are already tuned to C expect when you get ones that say otherwise. So if your kick is in D then you have to drop the sample 2 semitones. You know it will be tuned in C when you can play the classic song twinkle twinkle little star from the root lol.

[stuartb]

Unless your sample is tuned to another note. Then you'll be playing the notes of c maj on the keys but hearing it in another key!!!

So just use your ears!!!

[beat you down]

Originally Posted by knowsis

Cool. Who actually has some knowledge they can share?

Audio Downloads : Autotune /// AnalogX

it works and its free.

just drop the 808 into it and tell it to pitch it to C.

[Storyville]

Originally Posted by bigblessin

Most 808 samples are already tuned to C expect when you get ones that say otherwise. So if your kick is in D then you have to drop the sample 2 semitones. You know it will be tuned in C when you can play the classic song twinkle twinkle little star from the root lol.

I think 808s are traditionally just a little off from a G#.

[Balalaikka]

Originally Posted by Storyville

I think 808s are traditionally just a little off from a G#.

That's what I've noticed too: G or G#. When I use an 808 I have never used before I will always check the tuning first. I've noticed that they sound like shit when I pitch them too much so I'll rather change the key of the song if needed. Sometimes 808 kick that is in the key of G sound good when the rest of the instruments are in C (G is the perfect fifth in C-major/minor scale).

[Johntron512]

When it comes to things in the digital domain it definitely helps to know how to tune an instrument or simply develop the skill to know when something is in harmony by listening. I find some plugins, VSTs, and samples to be downright wrong with how they label the notes in the software or filename. Other things can affect the perception of the intonation as well, like sub bass.

[KevWest]

watch this video it will teach u how to make 808s then use your keyboard to play the 808 in key.
Tutorial on How To Make Dirty South 808 Kick/Bass Drums using any synth! - YouTube

[narcoman]

Originally Posted by knowsis

So could I take my sample and play it across the keys? I've tried that and it sounds shitty. Does it matter what sampled 808 I use?

Or is there a VST that would be better for this sorta thing?

Ah. A SAMPLED 808- ..... okay. a real 808 has a pitch knob for the kick. Okay - what about using Rebirth for the 808? OR that D16 system ?

[bigyo]

I drag mines to the Exs24 in logic...in there i can just drag the region from the lowest c to the highest c

[Zachariah]

It's good to start with the kick tuned anyway. Regardless of what it's tuned to, it's nice to know that when you hit a key, you're actually hitting the right key.

If you like your 808 slightly out of tune then tune it down a couple of cents after you have mapped it correctly on your sampler.

[G. Kaye]

Just get a digital tuner, that'll tell you the original pitch, then if you want to change it pitch it up/down in your sampler.

[OK USA]

Originally Posted by narcoman

Ah. A SAMPLED 808- ..... okay. a real 808 has a pitch knob for the kick. Okay - what about using Rebirth for the 808? OR that D16 system ?

A real 808 does not have a pitch knob.

[Ken Lewis]

If you have autotune, put autotune across the 808 channel, set autotune to "Bass Instrument". Then play the 808 a few times and see if it tells you what the closest note its hitting in Autotune is.

If your 808 is still MIDI, then you can use the Coarse Tune and Fine Tune funtions on your sampler to dial in the 808 to the note you want it to be. you can also use Autotune to Lock the note in exactly to one pitch as 808's drift a little bit over the course of the sound. Autotune will work best if you are close to the right pitch to begin with.

If your 808 is audio, you can still put autotune across it and see what note its closest to. If its nowhere near the note you want, you might consider re-sampling it (or for instance in Logic you can convert a one shot of the sound to an EXS Sampler instrument and then see the above explanation for MIDI. if it must stay as audio, just try to tune it to the closest workable note that autotune will dial in for you. it usually does a pretty good job if you dont ask too much of it.

[KT1]

Originally Posted by Ken Lewis

If you have autotune, put autotune across the 808 channel, set autotune to "Bass Instrument". Then play the 808 a few times and see if it tells you what the closest note its hitting in Autotune is.

If your 808 is still MIDI, then you can use the Coarse Tune and Fine Tune funtions on your sampler to dial in the 808 to the note you want it to be. you can also use Autotune to Lock the note in exactly to one pitch as 808's drift a little bit over the course of the sound. Autotune will work best if you are close to the right pitch to begin with.

If your 808 is audio, you can still put autotune across it and see what note its closest to. If its nowhere near the note you want, you might consider re-sampling it (or for instance in Logic you can convert a one shot of the sound to an EXS Sampler instrument and then see the above explanation for MIDI. if it must stay as audio, just try to tune it to the closest workable note that autotune will dial in for you. it usually does a pretty good job if you dont ask too much of it.

Oh nice idea Ken. I usually just adjust fine tuning etc with ear. If it's really sine orientated (IE no distortion) i may even use a spectrum). If its harmonically rich then i can see the fundamental but need to adjust for harmonics.

[VCrane]

Originally Posted by knowsis

So could I take my sample and play it across the keys? I've tried that and it sounds shitty. Does it matter what sampled 808 I use?

Or is there a VST that would be better for this sorta thing?

Well, raising pitch by playing higher notes makes the audio faster and vice versa, so especially with a critically time-related sound like kik the sound does alter much when you play it on different keys. If your sampler has a pitch shifter you can use it, it changes the pitch without altering the speed just like Autotune. Depending on the algorithm, it may sound good or it may sound bad.

What DAW do you use?

[narcoman]

Originally Posted by OK USA

A real 808 does not have a pitch knob.

actually yes. You're right. The tune knobs are on the toms....

[ttown23]

Originally Posted by narcoman

actually yes. You're right. The tune knobs are on the toms....

Uh sort of- technically you're both right. The bass drum has a 'tone' knob which allows you to adjust tuning within a narrow range. It also has this knob for the cymbal... I find that it helps a bit to tweek this knob if things are a bit off (remember, you're always only a half-step away from being in tune!).