What is an 808?
An 808 is a long, tuned bass built from a kick drum: a sine wave that starts with a quick pitch drop and then rings out, played as the bassline. The name comes from Roland's TR-808 drum machine. In Veena, the free AI DAW in your browser, six 808 presets sit on the Bass + 808s shelf, and CoProducer writes the notes for you.
What an 808 is made of
Every 808, from a hard trap slide to a short bounce, is the same five parts turned differently:
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sine wave | The sub you feel, with its fundamental between about 35 and 65 Hz |
| Pitch drop | The knock at the start of each hit |
| Decay | How long each note rings, from about 150 ms to over a second |
| Harmonics | Saturation above the sub, so phone speakers can play it |
| Glide | The slide between two overlapping notes |
808 in Veena
The 808 presets are shaped with macro knobs: DROP for the pitch drop, DECAY for the length, DRIVE for the harmonics and GLIDE for the slide. They play one note at a time, so overlapping two notes in the piano roll slides between them automatically. DRIVE saturates only above about 90 Hz, so the sub stays clean while the note gets audible on small speakers.
Or just ask: "Put an 808 under this beat, on 808 Long" writes the bassline on your chord roots, and "slide up an octave into bar 4" adds the glide. CoProducer writes the 808 after the drums so it reads the kick notes actually placed and lands with them, and one Ctrl/Cmd+Z reverses any change.
For the step-by-step build, see how to make an 808. For patterns to play it with, see the trap 808 bassline guide, basslines and 808s in Veena, the bassline generator and the rest of the music production glossary. Make an 808 free.
Try this in Veena
Make a 140 BPM trap beat in F minor with an 808 on 808 Long that follows the kick, roots on F1, Db1, Ab1 and Eb1 across a 4-bar progression, a glide into the downbeat of bar 4, drive so it reads on phone speakers, a clap on beat 3 and hi-hats with triplet rolls
Frequently asked questions
Does Veena have 808 sounds?
Yes. The Bass + 808s shelf holds six 808 presets on Veena's own synth, free, with no watermark on exports. Veena is an AI DAW with a personal music producer built in. Describe the song you want and CoProducer builds it with you — beats, chords, melody, arrangement and mix — as real tracks you can edit, mix and export. Free, in your browser.
Why is it called an 808?
It is named after the Roland TR-808, a drum machine whose bass drum producers stretched into a tuned, ringing bass. The sound is now a staple of hip-hop, trap and pop. In Veena, 808 Classic Kick is the drum-machine voice for single hits, and the other presets are tuned for playing basslines.
Is an 808 a kick or a bass?
Both, depending on how it is played. A short 808 hit is a kick; the same sound played at different pitches for longer notes is the bassline. In Veena, ask CoProducer to 'put an 808 under this beat' and it writes the notes on the chord roots, locked to the kick.
What key should an 808 be in?
The key of your song, on the root of each chord, with the fundamental low, roughly 35 to 65 Hz: F1 is 43.7 Hz, A1 is 55 Hz. In Veena, set the key in the transport bar and CoProducer writes the 808 on the roots of the chords already on your timeline.
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