The History of the 808
The Roland VR-808 Rhythm Composer might be Hip Hop’s most iconic instrument. Originally released in 1980 for over a thousand bucks, the 808 was intended to be a tool for producing demos. It’s digital samples, which sounded nothing like real drums, were quickly adopted however as an instrument entirely of their own.
Though production stopped in 1984, the 808 persisted as a fundamental tool for producers of R&B, rap, techno, house, rock and pop. The 808’s kick drum was just the right sound that many artists were looking for in their mix. Just a few of the stars who have used the 808 are Marvin Gaye, Run DMC, Beck, Kanye West, Beastie Boys, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins and last year's big Grammy winner, Daft Punk.
Recognizing the unwavering demand for the 808 samples, Novation released a clone sampler, the Drum Station, in 1996. Others began selling old 808’s on eBay for thousands of dollars. This past year Roland recently released the highly anticipated Aira TR-8 , which featured samples from the original 808 as well as their follow-up TR-909 and retails for $500.
Free 808 Samples
But, as yet another testament to the amazing digital age of music production we’re living in, you don’t have to pay anything to get the pivotal sounds of the 808. Trash Audio now offers a free sample library of the 808 you can download for free. We tried it out in Battery, and it sounds as good as we hoped. For one of the most prolific drum samples in popular music of the past 30 years, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better free sample online.
The sound of the 808 will bring an early hip hop, techno throwback sensibility to your mix and master. It's a long loved sound that your audience will certainly recognize even if unnoticed. Of course, if you want the experience of working within the Roland interface, you can always get an Aira TR-8. Even for $500, we still think you’d be getting a lot of bang (and kick) for your buck.
So, Why A Membership?
Let’s face it — trying to create professional mixes without the correct knowledge, tools, services, and network is like playing a concert with a broken instrument to an audience of no one.
That’s where the Sage Audio membership comes in — the membership gives you everything you need to create professional mixes consistently.
The membership is the secret to your success — it’s the difference between the 1,929,999,999 of poor-sounding mixes and the .00000002% of mixes that make people say 'WOW!"
There are 7 unique value-points included in your Sage Audio membership.
Let’s go over each one so you can decide if the membership is right for you.
1. Sage Audio University
- SAU Flagship Mixing Course: 23-video in-depth mixing course that reveals the little-known secrets of mixing and matches the needs of the new music industry.
- SAU Flagship Mastering Course: 19-video in-depth modern mastering course that dives into every nuance of making professional-sounding masters.
- SAU Pre-Mastering Course: Concise pre-mastering course that details the latest industry standards for preparing your mixes for mastering.
- SAU is designed for every experience level, ranging from budding mixing engineers to advanced engineers. The techniques and concepts taught can be applied to any DAW to create industry-leading mixes without expensive software or plugins - and free plugin alternatives are suggested throughout each course.
- Each SAU course includes Start-to-Finish session walkthrough lessons for multiple genres so you can follow along with your preferred genre.
- SAU Certification Document, which can be downloaded and showcased on your website and social channels.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
2. Private 1-on-1 Mentorship
- The Sage Audio private 1-on-1 Mentorship gives you direct access to us for advanced mixing feedback, in-depth discussions, and customized guidance that's tailored to your specific needs.
- Unlimited private access to us for advanced mixing feedback, where we provide detailed suggestions for improvement.
- Unlimited private access to us for in-depth discussions to help you improve every aspect of your mixes and masters.
- Customized guidance that’s tailored specifically to your needs.
- Fast communication so you can improve your skills quickly.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
3. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited professional mixing feedback directly from us so you can consistently improve your skills and create professional mixes.
- Mixing feedback is invaluable, and the Sage Audio membership gives you continual direct access to us for real-world feedback so you can improve every aspect of each of your mixes while you're in the process of mixing.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
4. 50 Free Mastered Songs Per Year
- 50 free mastered songs per year with your own dedicated professional mastering engineer so you can get all your mixes sounding like professional songs.
- You get your own dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer to create custom masters that are specific to you and sound exactly how you want.
- Unlimited revisions with your dedicated mastering engineer. As a standard of our service, we are not happy until you are happy with the sound of your masters.
- All masters are delivered as commercial, industry-standard high-resolution 24-bit HD WAV masters so they will sound clean and clear on every platform.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
5. Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers who can provide you with additional real-world mixing feedback, meaningful discussions, networking, collaborations, and more.
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6. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content
- 36 multitrack sessions spanning multiple genres for mixing practice.
- 57 un-mastered mixes spanning multiple genres for mastering practice.
- 62 Recommended Free Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 39 Recommended Paid Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 71 Sage Audio custom plugin presets to improve your mixes and masters.
- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
7. 800+ Video Catalog
- Access 700+ in-depth Sage Audio mixing and mastering videos - curated and organized into categories so you can easily take a deep dive into all aspects of audio engineering with thousands of hours of concise, expertly crafted Sage Audio videos to continually improve your skills at your own pace.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
