>Step by step

Building a modern 808 kick/bass with FAW SubLab

1

Here’s SubLab loaded on an Instrument Track in Cubase. Click New at the top to start from scratch. The instrument’s Synth oscillator outputs a basic sine tone by default, and three hardwired envelopes govern Volume, Filter and Pitch – head to the latter and dial in front-end attack. 2

Modern 808s usually consist of two layers: a synthetic sub oscillator for clean, deep weight; and a short kick sample for impact. To layer in the latter, head to the Sampler section (orange) and select a kick sample – we choose Tempest > Kick Attack Nice. Raise the orange slider in the bottom mixer to blend this in. 3

Saturation is generally used to beef up an 808, so let’s engage SubLab’s multimode Distortion module. The synth and sample layers have their own amount sliders, so you can send each by different amounts. By sending more of the kick sample to the drive, we keep the synthetic low end fairly clean compared to the overdriven front end. 4

Distortion helps this 808 smack harder, but we need more upper harmonics to help the kick/bass cut through on smaller speakers. SubLab’s X-Sub “psychoacoustic bass oscillator” adds a pitched-tracked fundamental and relative upper harmonics, so blend the X-Sub into the mix, then use the Lows and Harmonics sliders to balance levels. 5

When layering a kick sample and a sub tone, you’ll often use the former to sidechain-compress the latter out of the way momentarily, helping the initial kick cut through. SubLab’s Compressor facilitates this process with just a few clicks – engage the module, toggle Sidechain, then raise the Synth amount to duck the sub using the kick. 6

Finally, many hip-hop and trap producers break traditional rules by heavily widening their 808s in parallel. A Width control sits under SubLab’s main Output slider – pull this down to apply stereo widening to non-sub bass frequencies and fill out the sides of the mix while keeping the low end monocompatible and focused.