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Home » Don’t Make This 808 Tuning Mistake! ❌

Don’t Make This 808 Tuning Mistake! ❌

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Don't Make This 808 Tuning Mistake! ❌


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A tip I see a lot when tuning 808 samples is to pitch the 808 up by 1, 2 or 3 octaves, so you can easily hear the pitch.

But here’s the problem with this. Most 808 samples have a pitchbend, where the pitch starts high, and drops down to a lower pitch.

When pitched 2 octaves up, an 808 sample will play back at four times the speed, shortening the attack.

Now the attack goes by so fast, you end up focusing on the long decay/sustain of the 808, and tuning to that.

Then when you pitch back down to the bass range, the attack is out of key.

If it’s a busy pattern, you might be retriggering the 808 so much that the tail is hardly heard, depending on the sample and the style of music.

So your 808 will sound out of tune!

Stay tuned for my next video, where I’ll show you a trick to tune your 808s perfectly without pitching up.

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