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I bought this machine, because I was very curious about the way the TR-808 can be programmed, and how close the way of programming (pattern write/track write) is to the programming of the other x0x-machines (like the 303, 606, 707 and 909). I also bought the TR-8, but it lacks all the beauty of the 808 programming.
I was very suprised by how beautifully the 808 can be programmed, without even using the Track Write function, but only using the Pattern Write, and using different "Auto Fill In" and "A/B Variation" settings for Patterns and for Fills. Just sheer pleasure.
The consistency of the 808 kick drum
Also, I found out why a quick succession of 808 Kick drums results in "strange behaviour" of the 808/08/8, Kurt James Werner did great research on this:
"Although it is usually attributed to the non-linearities of analog circuitry, or some sort of real-world randomness, the dominant reason that TR-808 bass drums can sound different when many notes are played in quick succession is that a filter’s response is going to be added to any response that is already happening. The decaying tail of the previous note and the new note can interfere constructively, destructively, or anywhere in-between.
Anyone who has jumped on a trampoline knows the phenomenon of “double bouncing” and the disappointment of a slightly mis-timed double bounce. This is precisely the same concept, and it has everything to do with the fact that it is a filter creating the drum sound, and nothing to do with the fact that that filter is analog."
Thank you Kurt James Werner: