808 Fairchild Sample
The Roland TR 808 is without a doubt the most iconic Drum Machine of all time. Combine that iconic sound with one of the most sought-after compressors (once with very dusty tubes, and then again after a full refurbish) and then wrap that into a bundle to leverage the creative power of Ableton Live 11 or 10, and you have the latest edition of our 808 Fairchild sample.
And for a brief time we’re making it free…
Roland TR 808
This drum machine’s position as the staple tool of electronic music is testament to its enormous versatility. Whole genres like Trap and Electro have been built off the back of the 808, each harnessing different parts of the machine’s character to bring new sounds and possibilities into existence. That’s why we have gone to great lengths to create our 808 x Fairchild pack, filled to the brim with vintage character and levels of control not possible on the original unit.
We meticulously multi-sampled each voice, tweaking as many settings as the original hardware will allow and ensuring that you can mix and match sounds to your exact tastes.
Fairchild 670 Compressor
We decided to take it a step further, running the 808 into the similarly legendary Fairchild 670 Compressor. While less well known outside of musical circles than the 808, the Fairchild occupies a rightful place in the music production hall of fame. With its origins in 1950’s Broadcast technology, the Fairchild has gone on to become one of the most desirable pieces of outboard equipment in the world, fetching eye watering prices – when you’re lucky enough to see one pop up for sale!
We didn’t stop there though, we recorded through the Fairchild twice! We recorded one pass before it was serviced, for that dusty vintage sound you might expect from a 70 year old piece of gear. The second pass we recorded straight after a fresh service, which brought the Fairchild back to the original clear and open character it’s famous for.
The Pack
All of these samples have been combined together into our custom drum racks, which harness the power of Live’s sampler instrument to bring you granular control over tone, decay, pitch, reverb and many other parameters, making this one of the most versatile 808 instruments you’ll likely find anywhere. If you’re an Ableton Push user, the drum racks have been set up to allow a huge amount of control as well as empty macro slots allowing you to customise the racks to fit your performance style.
The drum pack is divided into three versions, Lean, Standard and Weighty versions which account for differences in CPU power available. If you’re on an older machine the Lean version will be perfect, giving you access to all the iconic sounds of the 808 and some great effects. For more powerful machines Standard and Weighty will allow you to push the boundaries of sound design with FX racks designed to send the 808 in to a new dimension. Enjoy our 808 Fairchild sample pack.