Does the 808 clap sound evoke a human clap for you? Do people receive it semiotically? Or is it now completely separated from the gesture of clapping? This is an interesting topic to me.
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I think this is actually an age related question... ... for example, I was listening to Talking Heads "Found A Job" and realized in the end build, there are handclaps... When I played it for a younger coworker, he thought it was an 808 with delay.
aug 30, 2025, 7:58 pm • 1 0 • view
(i won that one - the song dates from '78, but the 808 didn't go into production until 1980)
aug 30, 2025, 7:59 pm • 1 0 • view
Not really but I know that is what it's supposed to represent. Its like a stick figure or an emoji.
aug 30, 2025, 7:53 pm • 7 0 • view
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulac...
aug 30, 2025, 11:31 pm • 2 0 • view
I’m fascinated by this. The sounds that came from those early analog drum machines were by necessity simple synthetic abstractions of real instruments—not faithful imitations, but sufficiently reminiscent to fill the role. It takes some sensory training (and interest) to hear the difference.
aug 31, 2025, 4:37 am • 0 0 • view
The really cool thing is that those designs, that arguably failed to imitate the things they were supposed to be imitating, instead gave us whole new categories of synthetic kicks, synthetic snares, etc., with traits and uses that are distinct from their acoustic counterparts.
aug 31, 2025, 4:37 am • 0 0 • view
The real question is: Does anybody hear an 808 cowbell and think “cowbell”?
aug 31, 2025, 4:37 am • 0 0 • view
no, and never did. if i imagine a physical thing making that sound it's more like wood blocks than human skin.
aug 30, 2025, 8:32 pm • 0 0 • view