808 Tuning Chart & Note Frequency Chart
Pick your song's key and get every note your 808 can play in it, with the frequency in Hz and the MIDI note number. Below: the full note frequency chart, with the octave names your DAW uses.
Tune the 808 to the root (gold) and let it follow the chord roots. The octave shown keeps the fundamental between about 41 and 78 Hz; the "octave down" value is for deeper 808s on systems that can reproduce it.
Note frequency chart (A4 = 440 Hz)
Scientific pitch notation: middle C = C4 = MIDI 60. Ableton Live, Logic Pro and Pro Tools call MIDI 60 "C3"; FL Studio calls it "C5". The highlighted rows are the notes of your selected key in the 808 range.
| Note | MIDI | Hz | Ableton / Logic | FL Studio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C0 | 12 | 16.35 | C-1 | C1 |
| C♯/D♭0 | 13 | 17.32 | C♯/D♭-1 | C♯/D♭1 |
| D0 | 14 | 18.35 | D-1 | D1 |
| D♯/E♭0 | 15 | 19.45 | D♯/E♭-1 | D♯/E♭1 |
| E0 | 16 | 20.60 | E-1 | E1 |
| F0 | 17 | 21.83 | F-1 | F1 |
| F♯/G♭0 | 18 | 23.12 | F♯/G♭-1 | F♯/G♭1 |
| G0 | 19 | 24.50 | G-1 | G1 |
| G♯/A♭0 | 20 | 25.96 | G♯/A♭-1 | G♯/A♭1 |
| A0 | 21 | 27.50 | A-1 | A1 |
| A♯/B♭0 | 22 | 29.14 | A♯/B♭-1 | A♯/B♭1 |
| B0 | 23 | 30.87 | B-1 | B1 |
| C1 | 24 | 32.70 | C0 | C2 |
| C♯/D♭1 | 25 | 34.65 | C♯/D♭0 | C♯/D♭2 |
| D1 | 26 | 36.71 | D0 | D2 |
| D♯/E♭1 | 27 | 38.89 | D♯/E♭0 | D♯/E♭2 |
| E1 | 28 | 41.20 | E0 | E2 |
| F1 | 29 | 43.65 | F0 | F2 |
| F♯/G♭1 | 30 | 46.25 | F♯/G♭0 | F♯/G♭2 |
| G1 | 31 | 49.00 | G0 | G2 |
| G♯/A♭1 | 32 | 51.91 | G♯/A♭0 | G♯/A♭2 |
| A1 | 33 | 55.00 | A0 | A2 |
| A♯/B♭1 | 34 | 58.27 | A♯/B♭0 | A♯/B♭2 |
| B1 | 35 | 61.74 | B0 | B2 |
| C2 | 36 | 65.41 | C1 | C3 |
| C♯/D♭2 | 37 | 69.30 | C♯/D♭1 | C♯/D♭3 |
| D2 | 38 | 73.42 | D1 | D3 |
| D♯/E♭2 | 39 | 77.78 | D♯/E♭1 | D♯/E♭3 |
| E2 | 40 | 82.41 | E1 | E3 |
| F2 | 41 | 87.31 | F1 | F3 |
| F♯/G♭2 | 42 | 92.50 | F♯/G♭1 | F♯/G♭3 |
| G2 | 43 | 98.00 | G1 | G3 |
| G♯/A♭2 | 44 | 103.83 | G♯/A♭1 | G♯/A♭3 |
| A2 | 45 | 110.00 | A1 | A3 |
| A♯/B♭2 | 46 | 116.54 | A♯/B♭1 | A♯/B♭3 |
| B2 | 47 | 123.47 | B1 | B3 |
| C3 | 48 | 130.81 | C2 | C4 |
| C♯/D♭3 | 49 | 138.59 | C♯/D♭2 | C♯/D♭4 |
| D3 | 50 | 146.83 | D2 | D4 |
| D♯/E♭3 | 51 | 155.56 | D♯/E♭2 | D♯/E♭4 |
| E3 | 52 | 164.81 | E2 | E4 |
| F3 | 53 | 174.61 | F2 | F4 |
| F♯/G♭3 | 54 | 185.00 | F♯/G♭2 | F♯/G♭4 |
| G3 | 55 | 196.00 | G2 | G4 |
| G♯/A♭3 | 56 | 207.65 | G♯/A♭2 | G♯/A♭4 |
| A3 | 57 | 220.00 | A2 | A4 |
| A♯/B♭3 | 58 | 233.08 | A♯/B♭2 | A♯/B♭4 |
| B3 | 59 | 246.94 | B2 | B4 |
| C4 | 60 | 261.63 | C3 | C5 |
| C♯/D♭4 | 61 | 277.18 | C♯/D♭3 | C♯/D♭5 |
| D4 | 62 | 293.66 | D3 | D5 |
| D♯/E♭4 | 63 | 311.13 | D♯/E♭3 | D♯/E♭5 |
| E4 | 64 | 329.63 | E3 | E5 |
| F4 | 65 | 349.23 | F3 | F5 |
| F♯/G♭4 | 66 | 369.99 | F♯/G♭3 | F♯/G♭5 |
| G4 | 67 | 392.00 | G3 | G5 |
| G♯/A♭4 | 68 | 415.30 | G♯/A♭3 | G♯/A♭5 |
| A4 | 69 | 440.00 | A3 | A5 |
| A♯/B♭4 | 70 | 466.16 | A♯/B♭3 | A♯/B♭5 |
| B4 | 71 | 493.88 | B3 | B5 |
| C5 | 72 | 523.25 | C4 | C6 |
| C♯/D♭5 | 73 | 554.37 | C♯/D♭4 | C♯/D♭6 |
| D5 | 74 | 587.33 | D4 | D6 |
| D♯/E♭5 | 75 | 622.25 | D♯/E♭4 | D♯/E♭6 |
| E5 | 76 | 659.26 | E4 | E6 |
| F5 | 77 | 698.46 | F4 | F6 |
| F♯/G♭5 | 78 | 739.99 | F♯/G♭4 | F♯/G♭6 |
| G5 | 79 | 783.99 | G4 | G6 |
| G♯/A♭5 | 80 | 830.61 | G♯/A♭4 | G♯/A♭6 |
| A5 | 81 | 880.00 | A4 | A6 |
| A♯/B♭5 | 82 | 932.33 | A♯/B♭4 | A♯/B♭6 |
| B5 | 83 | 987.77 | B4 | B6 |
| C6 | 84 | 1046.50 | C5 | C7 |
| C♯/D♭6 | 85 | 1108.73 | C♯/D♭5 | C♯/D♭7 |
| D6 | 86 | 1174.66 | D5 | D7 |
| D♯/E♭6 | 87 | 1244.51 | D♯/E♭5 | D♯/E♭7 |
| E6 | 88 | 1318.51 | E5 | E7 |
| F6 | 89 | 1396.91 | F5 | F7 |
| F♯/G♭6 | 90 | 1479.98 | F♯/G♭5 | F♯/G♭7 |
| G6 | 91 | 1567.98 | G5 | G7 |
| G♯/A♭6 | 92 | 1661.22 | G♯/A♭5 | G♯/A♭7 |
| A6 | 93 | 1760.00 | A5 | A7 |
| A♯/B♭6 | 94 | 1864.66 | A♯/B♭5 | A♯/B♭7 |
| B6 | 95 | 1975.53 | B5 | B7 |
| C7 | 96 | 2093.00 | C6 | C8 |
| C♯/D♭7 | 97 | 2217.46 | C♯/D♭6 | C♯/D♭8 |
| D7 | 98 | 2349.32 | D6 | D8 |
| D♯/E♭7 | 99 | 2489.02 | D♯/E♭6 | D♯/E♭8 |
| E7 | 100 | 2637.02 | E6 | E8 |
| F7 | 101 | 2793.83 | F6 | F8 |
| F♯/G♭7 | 102 | 2959.96 | F♯/G♭6 | F♯/G♭8 |
| G7 | 103 | 3135.96 | G6 | G8 |
| G♯/A♭7 | 104 | 3322.44 | G♯/A♭6 | G♯/A♭8 |
| A7 | 105 | 3520.00 | A6 | A8 |
| A♯/B♭7 | 106 | 3729.31 | A♯/B♭6 | A♯/B♭8 |
| B7 | 107 | 3951.07 | B6 | B8 |
| C8 | 108 | 4186.01 | C7 | C9 |
| C♯/D♭8 | 109 | 4434.92 | C♯/D♭7 | C♯/D♭9 |
| D8 | 110 | 4698.64 | D7 | D9 |
| D♯/E♭8 | 111 | 4978.03 | D♯/E♭7 | D♯/E♭9 |
| E8 | 112 | 5274.04 | E7 | E9 |
| F8 | 113 | 5587.65 | F7 | F9 |
| F♯/G♭8 | 114 | 5919.91 | F♯/G♭7 | F♯/G♭9 |
| G8 | 115 | 6271.93 | G7 | G9 |
| G♯/A♭8 | 116 | 6644.88 | G♯/A♭7 | G♯/A♭9 |
| A8 | 117 | 7040.00 | A7 | A9 |
| A♯/B♭8 | 118 | 7458.62 | A♯/B♭7 | A♯/B♭9 |
| B8 | 119 | 7902.13 | B7 | B9 |
Formula: frequency = 440 × 2(MIDI − 69) / 12 (equal temperament). Switch to A4 = 432 Hz above and the chart updates.
How to tune an 808
- Find the key of the song (or the root of the chord loop). Our hip-hop chord progressions show common loops in their keys.
- Check the 808 sample's pitch with a tuner plugin on the sample. Many 808 samples are tuned to a note but not all are labelled correctly.
- Transpose the sample so it plays the root note of the key when you play that note on the keyboard.
- Follow the chords. Program the 808 to play the root of each chord, using the notes in the chart above.
- Check the kick against the 808. If they clash, tune the kick to the root or 5th of the key, or shorten one of them. See how to mix kick and bass.
Quick answers
What note should I tune my 808 to?
Tune the 808 to the root note of the song's key (for example C for a song in C minor), and let it follow the root of each chord if the bass line moves. The chart above lists every note of the key in the 808 range.
What frequency is C1?
With A4 = 440 Hz, C1 is 32.70 Hz and C2 is 65.41 Hz. Most 808 notes in modern hip-hop and trap have their fundamental somewhere between about 30 and 80 Hz; small speakers mainly reproduce the 808's upper harmonics.
Why does the same note have a different octave name in my DAW?
There is no single standard. This chart uses scientific pitch notation (middle C = C4 = MIDI note 60). Ableton Live, Logic Pro and Pro Tools label MIDI note 60 as C3, and FL Studio labels it C5. Use the MIDI number to be sure.
Need the 808 line itself? The free 808 & bassline generator writes a pattern in any key with matching drums, ready to download as MIDI.
The Drum Patterns Cheat Sheet
Trap, drill, boom bap and 11 more genre drum patterns as printable step grids with tempo and swing, plus 864 chord progression MIDI files to put on top of the beat.
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DRUM CHEAT SHEET PDF → CHORD MIDI PACKWhere the 808 sits in a finished mix
MixMap maps 63 elements across 5 genres, including 808 and kick in Hip-Hop: frequency, level, panning, compression and effects. ProductionMap shows what the 808 does in each section of the arrangement.