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My 808
Sounds
Analog circuitry doing impressions of drums.
These are synthesized in your browser but still sound pretty close to the original.
BD
Bass Drum
That one. The long, round, sub-heavy thud every rap record is built on. Crank the decay and it stops being a drum and becomes a bassline.
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SD
Snare
A tuned thump with a spray of noise on top. Thin on its own, immortal in a mix.
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LT
Low Tom
A falling sine wave wearing a tom costume. Great for fills nobody asked for.
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MT
Mid Tom
The same trick, a fourth up. Three of these in a row is a whole drum solo.
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HT
High Tom
Boinnng. Used mostly as punctuation.
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LC
Low Conga
The tom circuit with the skin swapped out — drier, rounder, suddenly Latin.
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MC
Mid Conga
The one that does the actual pattern while the other two answer it.
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HC
High Conga
Short, bright and bossy. Two of these end every bar in half of electro.
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RS
Rimshot
A dry tick with real bite. Hides under a hi-hat and does all the work.
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CP
Hand Clap
Three noise bursts and a tail pretending to be a room full of people. Loudest thing in the building.
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CL
Claves
One short sine at 2.5kHz. Basically a beep, and yet.
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SH
Shaker / Maracas
Filtered white noise, gone in 40 milliseconds. The machine's idea of a shaker.
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CB
Cowbell
Two square waves in stubborn disagreement. Legally required in electro.
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CH
Closed Hat
Six detuned squares through a high-pass. Sizzles like nothing in nature.
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OH
Open Hat
Same circuit, longer leash. The sound of a hi-hat left slightly ajar for forty years.
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CY
Cymbal
The long shimmering wash that eats your whole mix. Use once per song.
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