808 Kick

Listen & Download

What Is This Sound?

This is a synthesized 808 kick drum created entirely using web audio synthesis — no samples or recordings involved. The deep, punchy thud you hear is generated in real-time by your browser, replicating the legendary bass drum sound of the Roland TR-808 drum machine that has shaped hip-hop, electronic, and pop music since the early 1980s.

The 808 kick is arguably the most influential drum sound in modern music production. Its distinctive combination of a sine wave pitch drop and a sharp noise transient has defined genres from Miami bass and trap to contemporary pop and R&B.

How Is the 808 Kick Created with Code?

The 808 kick consists of two layered components: a pitch-dropping sine oscillator for the body and a short noise burst for the attack transient. Here is the Tone.js implementation:

Step 1: Create the Sine Wave Body

The core of the 808 kick is a sine oscillator that starts at 150 Hz and rapidly drops to 40 Hz over 50 milliseconds. This pitch sweep creates the characteristic “boom” that gives the 808 its weight:

const osc = new Tone.Oscillator({
  type: "sine",
  frequency: 150,
});
const bodyGain = new Tone.Gain(0.8);

osc.connect(bodyGain);
bodyGain.toDestination();

osc.start();
osc.frequency.rampTo(40, 0.05);
bodyGain.gain.rampTo(0, 0.5);

Step 2: Add the Noise Transient Click

The beater impact — that initial click at the very start of the kick — is created with a short burst of highpass-filtered white noise lasting only 30 milliseconds:

const noise = new Tone.Noise("white");
const highpass = new Tone.Filter({
  type: "highpass",
  frequency: 1000,
});
const clickGain = new Tone.Gain(0.3);

noise.connect(highpass);
highpass.connect(clickGain);
clickGain.toDestination();

noise.start();
clickGain.gain.rampTo(0, 0.03);

Step 3: Signal Chain

Two parallel paths combine at the output: Sine Oscillator (150Hz → 40Hz) → Gain Decay → Speakers and White Noise → Highpass (1000Hz) → Short Gain Burst → Speakers

The Science Behind the 808 Kick

Drum Membrane Physics and Pitch Drop

A real bass drum produces sound when a beater strikes a tensioned membrane. The initial impact creates a complex burst of energy, and the membrane then vibrates at its resonant frequency. As the vibration decays, the effective tension decreases slightly, causing a downward pitch glide — the same behavior we simulate with our sine wave sweep from 150 Hz to 40 Hz.

The original TR-808 used a bridged-T oscillator circuit that naturally produced this pitch-dropping behavior. Roland engineer Tadao Kikumoto designed the circuit to mimic the acoustic properties of a real bass drum, but the exaggerated pitch sweep and extended sustain of the electronic version created something entirely new — a sound that transcended imitation and became iconic in its own right.

The Role of the Noise Transient

The 30-millisecond noise burst at the beginning of the kick serves as the beater impact simulation. In acoustic drums, the initial contact between the beater and the drumhead generates a broadband impulse rich in high-frequency content. By highpass filtering the noise at 1000 Hz, we isolate just the sharp “click” frequencies, ensuring the transient cuts through a mix without adding muddy low-end interference to the sine body.

Frequency Spectrum

Common Uses

• Hip-Hop & Trap Production — The foundation of modern beat-making, providing deep sub-bass punch that defines the genre
• Electronic Dance Music — Used across house, techno, dubstep, and drum & bass for powerful low-end impact
• Pop Music — Widely adopted in mainstream pop production for its clean, powerful bass response
• Sound System Testing — The extended sub-bass content makes it useful for testing speaker and subwoofer response
• Game Audio — Deep impact sounds for punches, stomps, and heavy collisions in game sound design
• Film Sound Design — Layered into impacts, door slams, and dramatic punctuation in post-production

Technical Details

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use this kick drum in my music?

Yes. The sound is generated by code in your browser. The downloaded WAV file is yours to use freely in any personal or commercial music production, beat-making, or sound design project.

How do I make the kick longer or shorter?

Adjust the gain decay time. For a short, punchy kick, reduce the body decay to 0.15 seconds. For a long, booming 808 sub-bass, extend it to 1.5 seconds or more. The pitch sweep duration can remain at 50ms in both cases — it primarily affects the initial transient character.

How do I get more sub-bass?

Lower the ending frequency from 40 Hz to 30 Hz or even 25 Hz. Be aware that frequencies below 30 Hz require a quality subwoofer or headphones to hear properly. You can also increase the body gain for more overall level.

Can I tune the kick to a specific key?

Absolutely. Change the ending frequency to match your desired note. For example, E1 is approximately 41 Hz, F1 is 44 Hz, and G1 is 49 Hz. Tuning the kick to match your bassline is a common technique in modern production for achieving a tight, cohesive low end.