With this totally free download, you gain access to an impressive sample pack that fits into hip-hop and many electronic musical styles. It’s all about that distinctive 808 sound. It’s not about the number of drums or anything like that.
So, when someone says “808” on a drum kit, they’re talking about the unique sounds that the famous Roland TR-808 drum machine makes. Today, the sound of the 808 is still loved and used a lot in music.
Many musicians loved that and started using the 808 in all kinds of music genres, from hip-hop to electronic dance music and everything in between. Instead, it had its own electronic sound. The 808 was really different because it didn’t try to sound exactly like a real drum. Unlike real drums that you have to hit to make sound, the 808 is an electronic machine that creates drum sounds, like the deep “boom” of a bass drum or the sharp “clap” of a snare drum, all by itself. Why is it so famous, you ask? When it was introduced in the 1980s, the 808 was one of the first drum machines that musicians could program to make their own unique beats. It’s officially called the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, but everyone just shortens it to the “808.” The “808” in 808 drum kit comes from the name of a famous drum machine made by the Roland Corporation.
