The sliding 808 is the signature of drill. That gliding, melodic bassline doing the work of a bass guitar is what separates a drill beat from generic trap. The good news: it is a simple technique once you understand the three things that make it work – tuning, glide and note timing. Here is how to get it, step by step, with free tools you can grab today.
If you want the sounds first, our drill kits category has the 808s and loops, and most of the wider trap sample packs work for drill too.
What an 808 slide actually is
An 808 slide is one 808 note gliding smoothly into the next pitch instead of retriggering. Musically it is portamento (glide). In a drill beat you use it to play a bassline – sliding between root notes and the odd fifth or octave – so the 808 carries the melody and the groove at once.
Step 1: Pick an 808 you can tune
You need an 808 that holds a clear pitch so it can glide in key. A dedicated 808 tool makes this far easier than a one-shot. The free Subdivine Lite is a solid starting point – it is a free sub-bass and 808 instrument, so you can play slides from your keyboard with proper pitch control. If you prefer one-shots, grab a tuned 808 from a drill kit and make sure you know its root note.
Step 2: Tune it to your key
An out-of-key 808 fights the whole beat. Set your 808 to the root note of your track, then build the bassline from notes in your scale. Drill often sits in a dark minor key, so a natural minor scale is a safe home base. Play the root on the main hits and save movement for the ends of phrases.
Step 3: Program the notes, then add glide
- Draw your 808 pattern in the piano roll, following your melody’s root notes.
- To make two notes slide, overlap them so the second note starts before the first one ends. In FL Studio this means enabling Portamento / slide on the channel; in other DAWs, use the instrument’s glide or legato control.
- Set the glide time: short for a quick snap between notes, longer for a slow, obvious slide. Drill usually lives in the short-to-medium range so the groove stays tight.
Step 4: Place slides for feel, not everywhere
The slide is seasoning. Sliding on every note turns the bassline to mush. Use slides to lead into a downbeat or to connect the last two notes of a phrase, and leave the rest as clean, retriggered hits. Listen to the bounce – the space between notes is as important as the slides.
Step 5: Shape and mix the 808
- Keep it mono and in key so it translates on small speakers.
- Add a touch of distortion or saturation so the 808 reads on phones and laptops that cannot reproduce deep sub.
- Sidechain the 808 to the kick so they do not clash on the low end.
- High-pass anything below the fundamental to keep the low end clean.
Free patterns and where to go next
Want starting points? Free loop and MIDI packs are the fastest way to study how the pros voice drill basslines – drop the MIDI onto your own 808 and reverse-engineer the slides. Browse the free options inside the drill category.
Drill 808s share DNA with amapiano log drums – both are tuned, gliding bass instruments – so if you make both styles, our guide to the best log drum VST plugins covers the same tuning-and-glide workflow from another angle.
FAQ
What plugin makes 808 slides? Any 808 instrument with a glide or portamento control. The free Subdivine Lite is a good start; FL Studio users can also slide stock 808 one-shots using the channel’s portamento setting.
Why do my 808 slides sound off-key? The 808 is not tuned to your track. Set its root note to your key and build the bassline from notes in your scale before adding glide.
How do I make 808 slides in FL Studio? Place two notes so they overlap in the piano roll, then enable Portamento (slide) on the 808 channel and set the glide time. Shorter glide for a snap, longer for a slow slide.
Should the 808 be mono or stereo? Mono. A mono, in-key 808 translates on phones and club systems alike, where a wide stereo sub can lose punch or cause phase problems.
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