Miami bass is built around the Roland TR-808 as its defining drum machine

Miami bass is defined by its dependence on the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Virtually all drum sounds in the genre — kick, snare, clap, hats, and percussion — come from 808 samples or the original hardware. This gives the genre a characteristic electronic, slightly artificial sound distinct from sample-based or acoustic drums. The 808 kick’s analog character (long decay, sub-bass fundamental) and the 808 hat’s metallic texture are the sonic backbone of Miami bass at 130–135 BPM.

Examples

Build a Miami bass drum pattern using only TR-808 samples: 808 kick, 808 closed hat, 808 open hat, 808 clap.

Assessment

Identify the drum machine most associated with Miami bass and name three sonic characteristics that make it genre-defining for this style.