Learn · All Quick-Starts · 6 min
KNOCK
quick-start.
Make an 808 read on a phone speaker while the sub stays clean and tight underneath.
6 steps · every control name is the real one · Saturation
Set SUB LOCK
In DRIVE & KNOCK, set the SUB LOCK crossover just above the 808's fundamental — everything below it stays clean and out of the saturation; SUB sets how much of that locked low end comes back. This is the reason KNOCK doesn't turn your sub to mud.
Drive it
Blend TRIODE for even-harmonic warmth and roundness against PENTODE for odd-harmonic edge and bite, with AUTO GAIN on in the header so you judge tone, not level. Pick a CHARACTER voicing (WARM, SMOOTH, AGGRESSIVE) and a saturation knee — SOFT, MEDIUM or HARD.
Turn up KNOCK
KNOCK is the signature control — it emphasises the punchy attack and midrange so the 808 stays audible on small speakers and phones. Dial it while monitoring on something small; that's the target device.
Reinforce the sub on the SUB tab
Switch the bottom-left tabs from 808 to SUB. Raise SUB SYNTH to regenerate a clean pitch-locked sine at the tracked fundamental — it rebuilds a weak 808's sub and holds through glides; AUTO / MIDI / AUDIO picks where the pitch comes from and NOTE LOCK pins it. MONO collapses the low end to centre, GLIDE and GROOVE shape the movement.
Add attack on the BASS tab
On the BASS tab, raise CLICK for a defined point of impact, TUNE it to sit with the beat (lower = thud, higher = tick), and set DECAY short for a tick or longer for a pluck. INPUT trims the level going into the saturator.
Finish the output
In OUTPUT, use MIX for parallel blending if the full-wet version is too much, set CEILING a dB or two down as a safety clip, and match OUTPUT against BYPASS.
Pro moves
Once it's working.
- FOCUS, AIR and DENSITY under 808 — SATURATION tilt just the saturated harmonics without touching the clean locked sub — use them instead of EQ after the fact.
- The OVERSAMPLING readout in the footer shows the current factor (4X by default) — raise it for hot PENTODE settings on bright 808s.
- Check the result on a phone speaker AND a system with sub. The phone tells you if KNOCK worked; the sub tells you if SUB LOCK did.
