Pro Tools | Sonic Drop: 808 Mutations

This month’s Sonic Drop is called 808 Mutations—a collection of futuristic and hybrid 808 subs for the Pro Tools | PlayCell virtual instrument as well as the raw audio samples themselves. As we all know, the Roland TR-808 is the most well-known drum machine of all time, especially for its kick drum, which now is often simply a description of any kind of sub hit that resembles that of the original machine. It’s a great sound, no argument there. I personally love the sound of an 808-style kick, and in that spirit, I created a PlayCell instrument and collection of samples around evolving the 808 Kick into a slightly more complex world. Like all Pro Tools | Sonic Drops, 808 Mutations is FREE with your active Pro Tools annual or monthly subscription or current upgrade plan (for perpetual license holders). You can download 808 Mutations from the Sonic Drop tab in Avid Link—watch this video to learn how.

As opposed to a 40-year-old plastic drum machine, 808 Mutations was made with some more modern outboard synths and drum machines, as well as a smattering of some nice tube outboard to give them some extra weight. The Elektron Syntakt and the ASM Hydrasynth were prime candidates due to the flexibility and depth of their programming, and these were recorded through 1073-style preamps and an AudioScape V-Comp+ tube compressor for some flavor. On the software side, Minimal Audio’s Current was utilized thanks to its highly shapable envelopes and layering possibilities. Some of them went through distortion and fuzz pedals too, such as the Electro-Harmonix Russian Big Muff or the Boss HM-2W Heavy Metal. Even the Eventide H9000 put forth some proper 808 processing.

In creating these, the intention was not to make another common 808, but to have something more sonically complex. Some of them are quite distorted and by design can be sustained as opposed to the typical decade of an 808. Some of them are a little more traditional by comparison but quite weighty. My personal favorite came from essentially turning a Drum and Bass Reese-style bass into an 808. They’re all varied from clean and powerful to warpy and complex. These aren’t the 808s of old—these are 808 Mutations.