The sound that
shook everything.

What is an 808?

The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was released in 1980. Its bass drum sound is produced by a bridged-T oscillator circuit that creates a punchy attack followed by a long, tunable sine-wave decay — closer to a pitched tone than a traditional kick drum. That pitch and sustain let it cut through dense mixes at low frequencies, making it feel as much like a bass instrument as a drum.

Modern producers use sampled 808s, software emulations, and synthesized recreations. All share the same fundamental character: deep sub-bass, a sharp transient click, and a tone that slides or sustains at a definite pitch.