'808' drops - is it as simple as...

[Thrush]

Just having a brain and a pad > plug into mixer/PA and off you go?

Purely hypothetical, but I've always loved the sub drops Adler throws in during the breakdowns in LoG songs live, and I know he uses a TD-7 module with a single pad to do it - but HOW do you do it? Use preset ones, or upload custom ones from a laptop to the brain? IE, you could upload ones at different "notes" (I think 'E' is 50Hz, and 'D' is 44-45hz, no?), customised for sustain and tail off

Also, what sort of speakers would you run these through? Bass cabs? Or go the whole hog and build a pair of dual reflex box with a pair of 18" car audio subs and a reference grade mono-block to juice them

[mf daniel]

If he's just using a brain, then it's a stock sound on that particular brain.

Some people use samples, or make their own waveform to use by producing it in a DAW. A sample of a sub bass dropping in pitch would be incredibly easy to find.

If you're playing them live, the engineer is gonna take care of speakers it plays out of. If you're trying to run it at practice, I would just use your P.A. knowing it's going to be more powerful over a venue's speakers.

[Thrush]

It's hypothetical, but if it ever became a reality, it'd be at home, using my own gear, and unlikely there'd be a PA involved. But throwing together some boxes and some 18" JL Audio subs, powered by a pair of Genesis monoblocks wouldn't be too much of an issue!

Sample wise, I don't think they are hard to find over the net - I'm sure I saw somewhere, a soundcloud link maybe, someone had made up some tapered notes, to E and D I think, so whats the deal with downloading, or even creating your own for different pitches, lengths, tail offs etc, on a computer and uploading into a control unit/brain?

[Bass Brain]

my td-9 has that sample, its boss

[frenchy drums]

My Alesis DM10 has a drop sound under 'electronic bass drums' sounds killer
(kinda reminds me of the studio rehearsal sound triggered by the drummer on NIN's Head Down)

[mf daniel]

It's hypothetical, but if it ever became a reality, it'd be at home, using my own gear, and unlikely there'd be a PA involved. But throwing together some boxes and some 18" JL Audio subs, powered by a pair of Genesis monoblocks wouldn't be too much of an issue!

Sample wise, I don't think they are hard to find over the net - I'm sure I saw somewhere, a soundcloud link maybe, someone had made up some tapered notes, to E and D I think, so whats the deal with downloading, or even creating your own for different pitches, lengths, tail offs etc, on a computer and uploading into a control unit/brain?

I see, not sure what would be best speaker wise, not an area I am expert in at all.

But, do you have a DAW of any kind? If so, I have a wicked sub bass sample I could send you. I use Ableton, with it all I'd have to do is put it in a sampler in Ableton's instrument rack and pick whatever note I want it to play at, and then put a pitch bend effect going down. Really pretty simple, if you have the tools!
If I have a little time, I'll do this for you and can send you the waveform.

You can also easily make your own sub basses with the same type of program. Most of them will actually come with loads of great stock sounds, sub basses included. Then you'd need something like an SPD-S to play it back percussively, though any type of midi controller could play it as well!

I also own an Octapad, and it has a killer one. The Octapad even has effects settings where you can pitch bend up or down any sound you want. Super cool.
I think most modern Roland modules have at least one "sub drop" or whatever stock sound on em, though.

[Thrush]

Umm, DAW? I have NO electronics at all on or for my kit.

I wouldn't want to pitch bend or drop tho. I'd want a solid freq/note that fades out. For example, using Lamb of God for reference, most of their stuff is in D, so Adler triggers a 44/45Hz note, tuned to D, that when hit, unleashes a mega low, sub level note that fades out after a second or so. So it has a bit of sustain, then fades out. That's really the sort of thing I'm looking for

[mf daniel]

Sorry man, I'll clarify! A DAW is a digital audio workstation. It's what producers use to create and record music on a computer. Some popular ones are Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Fruity Loops, etc.

Okay, so you don't have the capability to make your own. You could still search for the sample online, which I think is viable. Otherwise, you'll need to invest in a brain/module/controller that has a sound you're looking forward to it in it's stock library, or you could buy a DAW and go the aforementioned route.

But! When I'm at my studio tomorrow, I'll try and remember to make you one right quick. What notes do you want? I could do a few, as well.

[Thrush]

Oh gotcha! Thanks for the offer, but I don't have anything to play them back on - no brain, no pad, no sub cab, no amps - I guess I could convert to MP3 format and play it on my home hifi? LOL, but nah, this was just a hypothetical thing really - just something I was interested in!

[m@k]

Alesis just released the SamplePad, which sounds like it would be the simplest/least expensive solution for you. I don't know if a sub drop is a stock sound, but you can ad sounds with an SD card. They sell for $199 I think. Just search for Alesis SamplePad on YouTube. To play live I would suggests keyboard amp. They are meant to reproduce both lower and higher pitched sounds. Roland also make speakers for their drum modules...