Updated 808 Cowbell

PercussionPercussion Bell
Written By Peter Barata

This is an update to the 808 cowbell patch. The main difference is mixing some highpass filtering into VCA-A. While it still doesn’t perfectly recreate the 808 cowbell, it now has the right character. The drive and distortion of the ‘swing-type’ VCA Roland used in the 808’s cowbell has a distinct quality that isn’t captured here. But this is about as close as I think it needs to be for my interest.

Oscillators:

The 808 cowbell uses two square wave oscillators detuned roughly a fifth apart. In order to recreate the clangorousness of the bell, the oscillators have to buzz against each other. It loses that metallic sound if they have too harmonious a tuning. Because their frequencies aren’t exact multiples, they beat against each other, creating the complex dissonance we associate with metallic instruments.

1: Tune VCO-A to 800 Hz (G5 +35 cents).

2: Tune VCO-B to 540 Hz (C#5 -45 cents). Then patch the VCO-B square wave into the mixer.

3: Turn the VCO-A and B squares up in the mixer.

Envelopes:

The 808 cowbell uses a two-stage, decay-only envelope. This simulates a real bell’s strike followed by a decaying ring.

Transient Envelope:  0.05 seconds (50 ms):

Envelope-A will be used to simulate the snap of the stick hitting the cowbell. Set the level switch to ‘X,’ and the speed switch to ‘Fast.’ Set attack, sustain, and release to 0. Push the decay slider up to where it goes from a tick to a chik, and pull back slightly. The sound should be snappy and have a punch. If you make the decay too long it’ll start to sound snare-like. Too short and it’ll be too clicky. You can try adding some release to give the envelope a slightly exponential shape.

Reverb Envelope: 0.5 seconds (500 ms):

Patch envelope-B out to VCA-B audio in. Patch envelope-A and VCA-B outs to the sum ins, then patch the sum out to VCA level.

Envelope-B will be used to simulate the sustained ringing of the bell. It should be softer than the initial strike. Use VCA-B to attenuate it down: Set the VCA-B control switch up. The CV amount knob is now acting like a dry/wet control. Set the CV amount knob to taste; about 30% seems right to me.

Optional:

To add some dynamics, patch MIDI velocity to the VCA-B CV in. This will cause louder strikes to have louder ringing, and softer strikes to be less prominent.

Filter:

1: Tune the filter to 880 Hz (A5): Turn the level dial fully counter-clockwise so no audio is going into the filter. Set Q to 100%, and patch your tuner into the VCF output. Then tune the filter with the frequency slider. When tuned, drop the Q slider to about 50%.

Notice how the filter’s centre frequency is just above the frequency of the higher oscillator (880 vs 800 Hz). This will cause the 800 Hz oscillator to sound more prominent in the mix than the 540 Hz oscillator.

2: Set the filter type to BP2 (2-pole, 12 dB/oct bandpass). The 808 cowbell’s bandpass has an asymmetrical response. It cuts out more from the low end. To simulate this, patch HP4 to VCA-A AUX in. Then set the AUX slider about halfway.

3: Set the Q to taste. It should be high enough that the cowbell has a strongly resonant tail, but not so high that the whole thing sounds squawky.

Output:

Set the drive knob to about 25%, and keep soft clipping off.

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